A mock-up of the Eurodrone displayed at the Paris Air Show 2023. Japan has now joined the programme as an observer. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)

Japan has attained official observer status on the Eurodrone project, the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) announced on 30 November.

The letter of approval was presented in Berlin by OCCAR Executive Administration Director Joachim Sucker to the Japanese Ambassador to Germany, Hidenao Yanagi.

Also known as the European medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) remotely piloted air system (RPAS), the Eurodrone was officially launched in February 2022 by Germany, along with France, Italy, and Spain.

Mock-ups presented at several European air shows show the twin-engined Eurodrone to be slightly larger than the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) MQ-9A Reaper. Although intended primarily as an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) vehicle (including signals intelligence), there will be an option for it to be armed (the MBDA Akeron LP air-to-surface missile was recently selected as one weapon type for the platform).

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket (pictured) launched South Korea's first military reconnaissance satellite on 1 December. The satellite is expected to strengthen the RoK Armed Forces' early warning capabilities against potential North Korean threats. (SpaceX)

South Korea has launched its first military reconnaissance satellite using SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.

The Falcon 9 rocket carrying the reconnaissance satellite was launched from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on 1 December, South Korea's Ministry of National Defense (MND) announced on 2 December.

The satellite separated from the Falcon 9 after about 14 minutes of the launch, and made its first communication with an “overseas” ground control station after about 78 minutes, confirming that it had been placed in orbit in “good condition”, the MND said.

Once the Republic of Korea (RoK) Armed Forces complete in-orbit testing, the satellite will start conducting surveillance and reconnaissance operations, the MND added.

The reconnaissance satellite has been developed and launched as part of a programme called Project 425, which aims to launch four more reconnaissance satellites by 2025. The MND contracted SpaceX in April 2022 to launch these satellites.

According to Janes

Anduril's Roadrunner-M C-UAS vehicle. (Anduril)

Anduril unveiled a reusable, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) air vehicle on 1 December. The twin turbojet-powered vehicle, dubbed Roadrunner, can be fitted with modular payloads, while the Roadrunner-M (Munition) is intended as a counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS).

The company said in a statement that the Roadrunner is capable of “high subsonic speeds and extreme maneuverability”, though specifications were not immediately available.

The Roadrunner can be launched from a dedicated container, which Anduril described as a “networked, automated hangar”, and comes equipped with three extendable landing legs such that it can be recovered should it not be expended during a mission.

“This … shift in thinking allows for large-scale defensive launches at … low cost, increasing redundancy for higher probability of lethality and enhancing the ability to simultaneously engage many targets,” said the company.

The craft can be networked, such that a single operator could control multiple Roadrunners.

Anduril had not responded to questions at the time of publication.