A scale model of the ADE Abhyas at ADMS 2023. (Janes/Akshara Parakala)  Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) – an agency under the state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) – revealed an updated configuration of the Abhyas High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) at the eighth Aerospace & Defence Manufacturing Show (ADMS) 2023 held in Bangalore on 26 and 27 October.  The original configuration of Abhyas was launched in 2013 and featured twin underslung boosters. However, the new configuration features a single...

The Taurus KEPD 350 cruise missile during integration tests with a Spanish Air Force EF-18. (Spanish Air Force)    Integration of the Taurus KEPD 350 air-launched cruise missile into a Ukrainian Su-24 combat aircraft would take a couple of months and training crews for its use would take three or four months, Joachim Knopf, CEO of MBDA Deutschland-Saab Dynamics 67:33 joint venture Taurus Systems, told international journalists, including   Janes,  visiting MBDA Deutschland on 27 October. Integration of Taurus into F-16 combat...

In this photo taken in March 2023 members of ethnic rebel group Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) take part in a training exercise at their base camp in the forest in Myanmar's northern Shan State. (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)  The Myanmar Army is facing unprecedented pressure to respond to the sharpest military reverses it has suffered since the coup of 2021 that have severed the country's overland trade routes to China and seen the loss of a border town.  The latest challenge for a force already overstretched by a multifront civ...

Dstl alongside the Royal Navy and British Army conducted a beach landing exercise with a multitude of vessels including the Madfox unmanned surface vessel, to shape AI development. (Crown Copyright)  The UK held a large beach landing exercise in Hampshire to shape the development of artificial intelligence (AI) for the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the authority announced on 31 October.  Held over five days, the maritime exercise involved 130 personnel, 13 vessels, multiple unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), a light aircraft, and more than 50 cameras...

Poland formally accepted the first two of 32 Leonardo AW149 armed battlefield utility helicopters on 30 October. (Polish Ministry of National Defense)  Poland has formally accepted the first two of 32 Leonardo AW149 armed battlefield utility helicopters.  The acceptance ceremony was held on 30 October at the type's future operating station at Nowy Glinnik Airport, some 70 km southwest of Warsaw, and was attended by the Minister of National Defence, Mariusz Błaszczak.  News of the handover came around 17 months after Błaszczak announced the AW...

The first of seven H135 helicopters for the Armada was delivered on 27 October. (Airbus)  The Spanish Navy (Armada) has received into service its first Airbus Helicopters H135 rotorcraft, the manufacturer announced on 27 October.  Delivery of the first of seven helicopters ordered by the Armada will allow the service to launch crew training ahead of their deployment to sea in 2024.  In Armada service the H135 will replace ageing Hughes MD 500 in the maritime support and training roles.  Spain ordered 36 Airbus H135 helicopters for use by the...

GM Defense displays a mission power system on the back of an infantry squad vehicle. It can power one of Hoverfly's unmanned aerial vehicles, pictured on the back of the vehicle. (Janes/Meredith Roaten)    GM Defense has begun vehicle integration testing for its contract with the Defense Innovation Unit's (DIU's) mission power system and is looking at how it can expand its electric and hybrid-electric options for expeditionary military power, an executive told   Janes  at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) 2023...

Frequentis C4i has secured a contract to provide its VOICE C2 system to Lockheed Martin to support the Joint Air Battle Management System that will be delivered under the second tranche of Project Air 6500 Phase 1. (Lockheed Martin Australia)  Melbourne-based C4i, a part of Austrian communications and information systems company Frequentis, has secured a contract to provide its internet protocol communications system to Lockheed Martin for the Australian Defence Force's (ADF's) Project Air 6500.  Frequentis C4i will provide its Voice Over Int...

The Royal New Zealand Navy's three 12.5 m-long Littoral Manoeuvre Craft have been manufactured using high-density polyethylene to offer endurance and resistance to wave impacts. (NZDF)  A set of three new Littoral Manoeuvre Craft (LMC) is being introduced into the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN).  A New Zealand Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesperson told Janes that two of the LMCs have formally been handed over to the RNZN in Auckland. The third will arrive in December. “It is anticipated [that] all three LMCs will be fully operational by mid-[...

Norway is to receive six MH-60R helicopters from 2025 to 2027. (US Navy)  Norway has signed for Lockheed Martin MH-60R Seahawk anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and search-and-rescue (SAR) helicopters, with a contract placed by the US Department of Defense (DoD) on 26 October.  The USD364.3 million Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract covers six helicopters to be delivered to the Norwegian government from 2025 to 2027.  Notification on the contract came months after the US State Department approved the sale in April. Including mission equipment,...

ST-1 is an experimental unmanned mine detector that is being actively tested in the field. (Mykhailo Fedorov/Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine)  Ukrainian innovators from the Brave1 defence technology cluster are developing an unmanned mine detector called ST-1.  According to Mykhailo Fedorov, minister of digital transformation for Ukraine on 27 October, the mine detector autonomously searches for mines and works, on average, four times faster than a human.  This will “significantly speed up the process of demining Ukrainian terri...

A graphic put out by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in May to mark the announcement by US President Joe Biden that F-16s would be sent to Ukraine. (Crown Copyright)  Ukrainian personnel have begun US-based training on the Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon combat aircraft, the US Air Force (USAF) confirmed on 25 October.  A “small number” of Ukrainian Air Force pilots and maintainers arrived at the 162nd Wing of the Arizona Air National Guard at Morris Air National Guard Base to begin learning the fundamentals of the F-16, a service spokespe...

An AH-64E flown by 3 Regiment during the recent Exercise ‘Iron Titan'. (Crown Copyright)  The British Army has declared the first regiment to transition to its latest Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopter to be “ready for frontline” operations, the service announced on 23 October.  The Army Air Corps' (AAC's) 3 Regiment passed its validation tests during Exercise ‘Iron Titan', the British Army's largest land exercise for over 20 years, in September. The exercise saw 3 Regiment AAC validated in its core role of providing to 3rd (UK)...

US Army soldiers conduct electronic warfare operations during field exercises at Camp Atterbury. (US Army)  The US Army's top officer is leading an effort to implement changes to the ground service's strategy for capability development on electronic warfare (EW) and deep-sensing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations, identifying both areas as top priorities for research, development, and procurement.  “I think we recognise that EW is an area that the army has probably made limited investment in as a capability during...

A single Australian Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft will support international aid operations into Ukraine. (Commonwealth of Australia)  A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Boeing E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft has deployed to Europe to help oversee military and humanitarian relief efforts into Ukraine.  The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) announced on 25 October that the aircraft that was pledged in July had arrived at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, from where it will support th...

Japan plans to gradually replace its earlier-generation Northrop Grumman E-2Cs with the newer E-2D Advanced Hawkeye. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force's (JASDF's) E-2Cs, such as the aircraft in this image, were first inducted in 1982. (Japan Air Self-Defense Force)  Japan signed a contract for five additional Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye (AHE) airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft in August 2023.  The Japan Ministry of Defense (MoD) told Janes that the contract was signed on 9 August. The MoD had not previously made thi...

A rendering of the Relay Ground Station-Asia antenna facility to be deployed in Guam. (Northrop Grumman)  A critical piece of the US Navy's early warning missile defence capability in the Indo-Pacific has achieved a key development milestone, clearing the way for eventual fielding and deployment into the region.  Service officials overseeing the Relay Ground Station-Asia (RGS-A) intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) antenna programme approved the Northrop Grumman-built system for critical design review (CDR) certification, comp...

US Navy personnel crew the workstations of a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft of the type that NATO has likely committed to increased aerial patrols of the Baltic Sea. (US Navy)  NATO has increased its aerial surveillance of the Baltic Sea following a spate of incidents that have seen critical subsea infrastructure damaged.  The alliance announced on 19 October that it is strengthening airborne patrols, assigning additional airborne early warning and control (AEW&C), maritime patrol aircraft (MPAs), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) t...

A British Army AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopter showcasing its weapons package. Part of this package will comprise the JAGM missile, whose approval was granted on 23 October. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)  The United States government has approved the sale of the Lockheed Martin AGM-179A Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) to the United Kingdom.  The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced the State Department's approval on 23 October, saying that 3,000 missiles and related items are to be acquired for an estimated USD957.4 mill...

Seen during fit trials for the F-35, the AARGM-ER anti-radiation missile has been approved for sale to Finland. (Northrop Grumman)  The United States government has approved the sale of the Northrop Grumman AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile – Extended Range (AARGM-ER) to Finland.  Announced by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), the State Department's approval covers up to 150 of the anti-radiation missiles, as well as related equipment and services for an estimated USD500 million.  Although not mentioned in the ap...