30 May 2023
by Olivia Savage
The AN/PRC-163 two-channel radio will be procured for the Dutch armed forces as part of a wider communications programme known as Foxtrot that seeks to develop an agile interoperable land force supported with secure communications. (Harris Corp)
The Netherlands will replace all of its existing portable ground-to-air radios as part of the broader EUR1.5 billion (USD1.6 billion) 10-year Foxtrot tactical communications programme.
The project, known as the ‘Replacement of Ground-Air Radios', will involve acquiring L3Harris Technologies Falcon III AN/PRC-117G and AN/PRC-163 radios, replacing existing AN/PRC-117F and AN/PRC-152 systems that have been in service with the armed forces since 2002, the Dutch Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 25 May.
A number of AN/PRC-167 radios integrated into specific vehicles will also be purchased.
A total of 1,200 new radios will be acquired with up to EUR250 million allocated for the programme, the MoD said.
14 March 2024
by Akhil Kadidal
The Chinese PLA conducted air operation over the Western Pacific, in the vicinity of the Japan's southwestern islands and Taiwan on 9–10 and 12 March 2024. (Japan Ministry of Defense/Taiwan Ministry of National Defense/Janes)
The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) conducted a long-range operation over the Western Pacific with special mission and combat aircraft.
The operation, conducted over three days from 9 to 10 March and on 12 March, according to data from the Japan Ministry of Defense (MoD), was potentially an effort to gauge Japan's strengthening of air defences and military units on its southernmost islands, towards Taiwan. The air operations were also potentially part of an anti-access/aerial denial (A2/AD) drill.
According to MoD data, a PLA Shaanxi Aircraft Industry (Group) Corporation (SAIC) Y-8Q anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft operated about 230 n miles west of Taiwan and about 115 n miles south of Miyako-jima from “morning to afternoon”. On the following day, the same Y-8Q (no 61) conducted a larger patrol sweep from “morning to the afternoon” over the same area, the Japan MoD data added.
11 March 2024
by Ajay Shankar Pandey & Jeremy Binnie
The airborne SAR was displayed on the Iranian stand labelled as both the S-811 and the larger S-813. (Janes/Ajay Shankar Pandey)
Iran displayed a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) that it has developed for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during the DIMDEX 2024 show held in Doha from 4 to 6 March.
The SAR has a monopulse flat-plate slotted-array antenna and was labelled as both the S-811 and S-813, with Iranian officials refusing to identify which one it was.
An Arabic-language brochure provided details of both types, saying they can provide high-resolution images at long ranges in all light and weather conditions. It also claimed they have ground moving target indicator (GMTI) and micro-motion target indication (MMTI) modes.
Weighing 40 kg and drawing 500 W of power, the S-811 is the smaller one and was said to have a maximum detection range of 40 km, a resolution of 1 or 2 m, and a swath width of 1–5 km.
07 March 2024
by Richard Scott
A GQM-163 Coyote target overflies a mobile ship target. (Orbital Sciences)
The US Navy (USN) is looking to expand the kinematic envelope of the GQM-163A Coyote supersonic aerial target to enable more stressing and realistic threat representations.
US Naval Air Systems Command's (NAVAIR's) Aerial Targets program office (PMA-208) in February issued a pre-solicitation of its intent to contract Northrop Grumman for a 12-month study to increase the target's performance envelope. A contract award is anticipated in the first quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2025.
PMA-208 programme manager Greg Crewse told Janes on 4 March that the programme was seeking “a system-level solution that provides the [GQM-163A] vehicle with [a] higher cruise altitude, a steeper dive angle, vertical/combined manoeuvres, and a greater lateral acceleration capability”. He added that the enhancements package – intended to enhance testing of various ship self-defence systems – was “open to alternative propulsion systems”.
PMA-208 also confirmed that it approved the capability to employ chaff with the GQM-163A during FY 2023, intended to increase complexity presentation.
The Netherlands will replace all of its existing portable ground-to-air radios as part of the broade...
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