The Netherlands has ordered seven additional GM200 MM/C radars from Thales after having ordered an initial nine in February 2019. Pictured is the first GM200 MM/C radar being handed over to the Royal Netherlands Army in Hengelo in February 2024. (Dutch MoD/Sgt Maj Gregory Fréni)

The Dutch Command Materiel and IT (COMMIT) procurement authority has ordered seven additional Ground Master 200 Multi-Mission/Compact (GM200 MM/C) radars from Thales.

The contract includes an option for two additional radars, according to a Thales announcement on 15 April.

The GM200 MM/C is a compact mobile radar that can detect, track, and classify a large number of targets including rockets, artillery shells, mortar rounds, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), aircraft, helicopters, and cruise missiles.

For the Royal Netherlands Army (RNLA), the radars will be mounted on Scania Gryphus 8×8 trucks to enable rapid deployment.

A Thales spokesperson was unable to comment to Janes on the delivery timeframes.

This latest contract follows an initial agreement in February 2019 for nine GM200 MM/C radars for EUR100–250 million (USD106–266 million) to replace its legacy TPQ-36 radars. Deliveries are expected to be completed by 2024. In February Janes

VBS4 24.1, the latest version of BISim's VBS4 virtual simulation software pictured being used by MoD personnel with commercial-off-the-shelf hardware, is due to be released in May. (Bohemia Interactive Simulations )

The latest version of Bohemia Interactive Simulations' (BISim's) Virtual Battlespace 4 (VBS4) environment will feature munition-equipped unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the company announced at the International Training Technology Exhibition & Conference (IT²EC) 2024 held from 9 to 11 April in London.

VBS4 is a virtual desktop training environment with whole-earth rendering for tactical training, experimentation, and mission rehearsal.

The latest version – VBS4 24.1 – is due to be released by the end of May and will integrate all major gun-tank variants of the T-72 main battle tank and will include a new feature that allows any UAV to drop improvised munitions or have impact-detonating munitions, the company detailed.

Control AI will now also be default in VBS4 24.1, which the company says is a “big step towards removing all legacy ‘game' AI from the product”.

The Babcock Immersive Training Experience (BITE), unveiled at IT²EC 2024, was configured to imitate a bunker control room, equipped with communication devices and video feeds, including from UAVs and social media. (Janes/Olivia Savage)

Babcock unveiled a new modular, immersive training system at the International Training Technology Exhibition & Conference (IT²EC) 2024 held from 9 to 11 April in London.

Known as the Babcock Immersive Training Experience (BITE), the system is designed to provide trainees with a realistic training environment in a modular, transportable 20-foot container, Matthew Chuter, the Babcock campaign director for the Collective Training Transformation Programme (CTTP), told Janes and other media representatives at the exhibition.

The system, co-developed by Babcock and BeaverFit, is equipped with audio, visual, and physical effects that can be increased in intensity and adjusted to suit a range of scenarios, placing the trainees in a realistic battlefield environment. The effects and the trainees actions, including their biometric data, are all controlled and monitored in an external control room. Additional containers or different configurations can also be provided depending on the customer's needs.