The withdrawal of Australia's NHIndustries MRH90s from flight operations increases the burden on other army aviation rotary-wing assets, until adequate numbers of new Sikorsky UH-60Ms can be inducted into service. In this image, an MRH90 from the 5th Aviation Regiment prepares to land behind a CH-47F at Ingham Airport in Queensland in May 2022. (Commonwealth of Australia)  The Australian government is permanently withdrawing its NHIndustries (NHI) MRH90 ‘Taipan' fleet from flight operations.  The “MRH-90 Taipan helicopters will not return to...

Seen in the service of the former Afghan Air Force, the MD 530F is to be flown by the Latvian Air Force also according to a US Army contract notification. (US DoD)  Latvia is to field the MD Helicopters (MDH) MD 530F Cayuse Warrior light attack rotorcraft in a deal that was disclosed by neither the manufacturer nor the customer.  First revealed by the scramble.nl aviation blog on 1 October, the order came to light in a US Army Contracting Command (ACC)-Redstone Arsenal notification for component repair and contracted field service in support...

Seen in a test rig, the RM12 engine that powers the Gripen C/D is to be upgraded by GKN Aerospace. (GKN Aerospace)  Sweden is to upgrade the powerplant of its Saab JAS 39 Gripen C/D combat aircraft for greater performance and lower life-cycle costs, GKN Aerospace announced on 3 October.  GKN Aerospace currently holds the type certificate for the General Electric (GE) F404 turbofan-derived Volvo Aero RM12 engine in the Gripen C/D and has been contracted by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) to implement the upgrade in co-operati...

The KVD-002 UCAV is capable of supporting the PLAGF's large fleet of attack and transport helicopters. (Janes)  The People's Liberation Army Ground Force's (PLAGF's) acquisition of the new KVD-002 integrated surveillance unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) has reinforced the modernisation of its airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.    Since 2021 the PLAGF has focused on the acquisition of ISR or target-detection platforms such as the KVD-001 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and HAIG Z-11...

Griffon Aerospace's Valiant. (Griffon Aerospace)  The US Army on 26 September selected the Griffon Aerospace Valiant and Textron Systems Aerosonde Mk 4.8 Hybrid Quadrotor (HQ) for the second phase of the Future Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems (FTUAS) competition.  Phase 2 of FTUAS is intended to advance the two designs through critical design review (CDR), the last step before building and testing a prototype aircraft.  “Following the CDR, the remaining [companies] will participate in flight demonstrations and MOSA [Modular Open Systems Ar...

The first of 14 F-16 Block 70 aircraft for Slovakia made its maiden flight in the US on 29 September. (Lockheed Martin)  Lockheed Martin flew the first F-16C Block 70 Fighting Falcon multirole combat aircraft for Slovakia at its Greenville production facility in South Carolina on 29 September.  The first of 12 single-seat F-16C and two twin-seat F-16D Block 70 aircraft for the Slovak Air Force made its maiden flight about three weeks after being officially presented to the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic on 6 September.  Slovakia signed f...

The first of 12 Rafales was officially handed over to Croatia on 2 October. (Croatian MoD)  Croatia received the first of 12 Dassault Rafale combat aircraft from France on 2 October, the Croatian Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced.  Aircraft tail number 170 was officially handed over to the Croatian MoD during a ceremony at the French Air and Space Force (Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace: AAE) base at Mont-de-Marsan.  The event, attended by Croatian Defence Minister Mario Banožić and other high-ranking national political and military figures, c...

SNC's HAB will participate in the second phase of the UK's Project Aether. (Sierra Nevada Corporation)  The UK has selected two companies – Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) and Airbus subsidiary AALTO – to compete in the second phase of Project Aether, Janes learnt.  Project Aether is a UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) programme that seeks an unmanned stratospheric ultra-persistent communication and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capability or high altitude platform station (HAPS).  The second phase will see SNC's high altit...

Q-CTRL and Diraq have partnered to develop silicon-based quantum processors under three projects funded by the Australian government and the US Army Research Office. The companies will also explore defence applications of quantum computing technologies developed under these projects. (Commonwealth of Australia)  Sydney-based quantum-focused companies Q-CTRL and Diraq have partnered to develop advanced quantum computing technologies under three multimillion-dollar projects secured from the Australian government and the US Army Research Office...

The withdrawal of Australia's NHIndustries MRH90s from flight operations increases the burden on other army aviation rotary-wing assets, until adequate numbers of new Sikorsky UH-60Ms can be inducted into service. In this image, an MRH90 from the 5th Aviation Regiment prepares to land behind a CH-47F at Ingham Airport in Queensland in May 2022. (Commonwealth of Australia)  The Australian government is permanently withdrawing its NHIndustries MRH90 ‘Taipan' fleet from flight operations.  The “MRH-90 Taipan helicopters will not return to flying...

The first of two Saab 340 AEW&C for Poland was presented to the Polish Air Force on 29 September, ahead of the formal delivery in the coming months. (Polish Armament Agency)  Poland has been presented with the first of two Saab 340 Erieye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft contracted earlier in 2023.  The event at Saab's Linkoping facility in southern Sweden on 29 September was attended by Polish Minister of National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak who noted that this first aircraft will be delivered “within a few months”.  The pre...

One of the USAF's trio of legacy ‘Senior Scout' SIGINT shelters being loaded into a fixed-wing transport aircraft. (Lockheed Martin)  The US Air Force's (USAF's) research division is looking to develop advanced cyber and signals intelligence (SIGINT) processing capabilities, which once developed and deployed will accelerate SIGINT data distribution to operational and tactical units in near real time.  The broad agency announcement (BAA), issued on 25 September by the information directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), is spec...

Nigeria is set to become the latest customer of the MD 530F light attack helicopter, with the announcement that a deal has now been finalised. (MDH)  Nigeria has signed for MD Helicopters (MDH) MD 530F Cayuse Warrior Plus (CWP) light attack helicopters, the company announced on 28 September.  The Arizona-based company said it has finalised a deal to supply the West African country with its CWP helicopters, closing out a deal that was first disclosed in March.  “MD Helicopters closed a contract with the Nigerian federal government for 12 MD 53...

The 81 mm mobile mortar system mounted on a HMMWV was showcased for the first time at the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition 2023 (TADTE 2023) held in Taipei from 14 to 16 September. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  The Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense's (MND's) Armaments Bureau has developed an 81 mm mobile mortar system mounted on a high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle (HMMWV), a spokesperson for the bureau told Janes in mid-September.  The system is already deployed to an undisclosed number of Republic of China Army's (RoCA's...

A South Korean military KIA Light Tactical Vehicle carries a stealth unmanned aerial vehicle during the 75th Armed Forces Day on 26 September. (Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images)  The South Korean military revealed a stealthy, tailless unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) during the country's 75th Armed Forces Day parade on 26 September.  Janes assessed that the unmanned aircraft were Kaori-Xs (Stingray-Xs), a downscaled stealth UCAV demonstrator. The Kaori-X programme aims to provide the South Korean military with a stealth UCAV capabili...

Australian Army soldiers from the 1st Brigade and the Armed Forces of the Philippines travel by Zodiac small craft from Darwin to Channel Island, Northern Territory, to conduct an assault as part of Exercise Predator's Run 2023. (Department of Defence, Commonwealth of Australia)  Major changes to the Australian Army's capability and structure including the transfer of key combat units from South Australia to the country's north were announced by Defence Minister Richard Marles on 28 September.  The new order of battle implements recommendatio...

The Czech Republic is to join other European NATO countries, including Denmark (aircraft pictured), in fielding the F-35 Lightning II. (Danish MoD/Lockheed Martin)  The Czech Republic has decided to proceed with a procurement of Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), with the announcement that 24 aircraft will be acquired.  The Czech Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on 27 September that the government had approved the acquisition as the Czech Air Force (CzAF) looks to replace its leased Saab Gripen C/D aircraft.  “The fut...

The 105 mm CS/AH2 howitzer (pictured above) is similar in all aspects to the BAE Systems L118/L119 (105 mm) light howitzer. The gun is produced by Poly Technologies, with likely involvement from Norinco. (Poly Technologies Inc)  Thailand's Defense Technology Institute (DTI) and the Artillery Center of the Royal Thai Army (RTA) have test-fired five artillery rounds from a prototype of the 105 mm CS/AH2 light howitzer, the DTI said in a social media post in late September.  The tests, according to the DTI, were conducted at the Khao Phu Lon Art...

Romania intends to acquire 48 F-35s to be operated across three squadrons. (USAF)  Romania has firmed up its procurement plan for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), disclosing that it intends to acquire 48 aircraft across two acquisition tranches.  The Romanian Ministry of National Defence (MND) informed the country's parliament of its Foreign Military Sales (FMS) plan in a letter that was sent on 4 August and published on 26 September.  In the letter, the MND outlined a short-term Phase 1 acquisition of two squ...

Japan's new medium-range AAM programme will assimilate research findings from the earlier Joint New AAM (JNAAM) project. (Japan Ministry of Defense/Janes)  Japan has said it will develop a new medium-range air-to-air missile (AAM) to arm its sixth-generation Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) fighter aircraft.  According to a spokesperson of the Japan Ministry of Defense (MoD) and the Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA), development of the missile will begin in Japan fiscal year (JFY) 2024.  The spokesperson told Janes that the...