24 November 2023
by Gareth Jennings
Belgium has set up a new F-35 conversion unit at Luke AFB in Arizona, where it will join other international operators in training its ground and air crews on the type. (US Air Force)
Belgium has set up a new conversion unit in the United States to train its personnel on the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).
The Belgian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on 23 November that the first elements of the Belgian F-35 Conversion Unit (BEL F-35 CU) arrived at Luke Air Force Base (AFB) in Arizona at the end of July. The BEL F-35 CU is to be integrated into the US Air Force's (USAF's) 312th Fighter Squadron (FS).
“The detachment is currently working hard to prepare for the arrival of the first Belgian F-35A aircraft and trainees. A total of 48 pilots, 14 flight simulator instructors, and 120 technicians will pass through for their training on, or conversion to, the state-of-the-art F-35A in the coming years,” the Belgian MoD said, adding that it expects the first Belgian Air Component (BAC) trainees to begin passing through the BEL F-35 CU from February 2024.
07 May 2024
by Carlo Munoz
An AFRL chart outlining the Battle Management of AI concept under development by the US Air Force. (US Air Force)
The US Air Force's (USAF's) main research and development (R&D) directorate is soliciting industry solutions to accelerate the air service's integration of artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities into its command-and-control (C2) and battle management systems.
Officials from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) issued a broad agency announcement (BAA) in March, seeking industry input on “development and application of AI to C2, new concepts and techniques for the battle management, and orchestration of AI at pace and scale”.
AFRL officials at the organisation's Rome Research Site in Rome, New York, are seeking proposals to also explore “how the use of AI by adversaries can be considered in the C2 planning and execution process and distributed and collaborative C2 to enable C2 anywhere and anyplace”, the 24 March BAA noted.
07 May 2024
by Kapil Kajal
The PT-91M main battle tanks (MBTs) in Malaysian service will be maintained by DEFTECH (recently acquired MMC Defence), which had the contract to provide in-country support for the tanks. (Malaysian Ministry of Defence)
Malaysia's state-owned DRB-HICOM Defence Technologies (DEFTECH) has outlined the Malaysian Army's plans to upgrade its plaguing fleet of PT-91M ‘Pendekar' main battle tanks (MBTs) at the Defence Services Asia (DSA) 2024 exhibition held in Kuala Lumpur from 6 to 9 May.
Wan Mohamed Aizat bin Wan Mohamed, lead engineer for weapon system integration at FNSS, told Janes on 6 May that the Malaysian Army plans to upgrade the PT-91M tanks – delivered to the army by Poland's PHZ Bumar between 2007 and 2011 – as a part of the MBT's life extension programme.
The upgrades will include the integration of a new fire-control system (FCS), which will be supplied by Polish Armaments Group (PGZ), with the tank, Wan Mohamed said.
Other upgrades include the addition of new controllers and displays for the turret, a new autoloader system, a new day-and-night-vision camera in the tank, and a remote-controlled weapon station (RCWS), Wan Mohamed added.
06 May 2024
by Akhil Kadidal
The Australian government said that a Chinese combat aircraft launched flares in front of HMAS Hobart 's embarked MH-60R helicopter (nicknamed Voodoo), pictured here, on 4 May 2024 while the helicopter was flying over international waters in the Yellow Sea (West Sea). (Commonwealth of Australia)
A Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) fighter aircraft conducted an unsafe interception of a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) helicopter in the Yellow Sea (West Sea), the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) said.
The incident occurred when HMAS Hobart launched a Sikorsky MH-60R helicopter on 4 May as part of “routine” operations, the DoD said on 6 May. At the time, HMAS Hobart , a 7,000 tonne air warfare destroyer (AWD) was “in international waters in the Yellow Sea [West Sea] undertaking … activities as part of Operation ‘Argos'”, the DoD added.
Operation ‘Argos' is the Australian Defence Force's (ADF's) commitment to the international effort to enforce United Nations Security Council sanctions on North Korea. Australian units involved in the operation assist with monitoring illegal ship-to-ship transfers of sanctioned goods, according to the DoD.
Belgium has set up a new conversion unit in the United States to train its personnel on the Lockheed...
Ritu Gill, Intelligence Analyst, joins Harry and Sean to discuss the practical use of OSINT to support law enforcement. Ritu discusses it’s use in supporting risk assessments and classified or closed sources of intelligence. She also discusses t...
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