A Republic of Singapore Air Force Heron 1 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), seen here at Paya Lebar Air Base in September 2023. The Singapore Armed Forces' upgraded command and control information system is able to automatically detect and classify objects of interest in real-time video feeds provided by the UAV. (Janes/Ridzwan Rahmat)

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) is validating an upgraded command and control information system (CCIS) that seeks to improve the efficiency of its strike missions.

This new capability is being proven at Exercise ‘Forging Sabre' 2023, which is taking place from 11 to 30 September at the Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, US.

The CCIS is an indigenous system developed by the SAF in collaboration with the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA). It was first deployed in the command post at the 2021 iteration of Exercise ‘Forging Sabre' and incorporates features such as weapon-to-target matching algorithms.

The Skywiper EDM4S C-UAS handheld jammer, displayed at DSEI 2023 in London, is widely used by the Ukrainian army. Its dimensions are 1,045 (L) × 350 (H) × 250 (W) mm. (Janes/Olivia Savage)

“Thousands” of Lithuanian counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UASs) are operational with the Ukrainian army, Ivan Sybyriakov, manager of the unmanned systems centre at Ukrainian state-owned SpetsTechnoExport (STE), told Janes .

The C-UAS solutions in question are the Skywiper Electronic Drone Mitigation 4 - System (EDM4S) and the Skywiper Omni, developed by Lithuanian company NT Service.

The Skywiper EDM4S solution, which disrupts the UAS's control, video, and global navigation satellite services (GNSS) signals, is considered by the user to be the “best option for the regular soldier” because of its long-range (3–5 km line-of-sight) and relatively light weight (6.5 kg), he said.

He added that price was also an important consideration.

The system can operate for up to 1 hour and disrupts UASs operating on 900 MHz, 2.4 and 5.8 GHz, as well as GNSS L1 1.5 GHz frequency bands. Other custom frequencies can be added depending on the customer and local regulation rules, Sybyriakov said.

The MCM100 with DiveTrack transponder. The transponder slots into the recess in the back cover of the rebreather, which is shown separate from the equipment. Note the wrist monitor and the LED head-up display in front of the mask. (Janes/Giles Ebbutt)

Avon Protection and Sonardyne have combined to develop a system that can provide command-and-control (C2) for divers when they are submerged.

The system combines Avon's widely used MCM100 multirole military rebreather with Sonardyne's DiveTrack acoustic transponder to give an underwater communications system with a range of more than 1,500 m. Speaking to Janes at DSEI 2023 in London, Ollie Clarke, business development manager underwater systems for Avon, said that the MCM100 has a suite of sensors that monitor the state of the equipment and elements of the diver's activity, such as breathing rate.