US Army seeks spectrum analysis capability, eyes EWPMT integration

by Carlo Munoz

US Army officials are in the midst of developing requirements for a spectrum analyser (Spec A) capability focused on identifying electromagnetic spectrum signatures and threats at the operational and tactical level, with plans to transition those requirements into a viable programme of record.

“For years, our spectrum managers have been clamouring for a programme of record spectrum analyser,” said Colonel Dan Holland, the electronic warfare capability manager at the Army Cyber Center of Excellence. Ongoing requirements development work will support efforts to close operational gaps in mission command, command post survivability, and signature management requirements, Col Holland said.

“The Spec A capability that we are pursuing will be a portable piece of equipment deployed in a [tactical operations centre] or on a mobile platform to provide situational awareness by monitoring and analysing the electromagnetic environment,” he said during an AFCEA International-sponsored webinar on the army’s future multidomain operations strategy. Service officials are targeting the third quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2021 to have the initiative mature enough to draft informal programme proposals to army leaders at US Army Futures Command, Col Holland said.

A US Army electronic warfare officer with the 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) discusses the measurements on a handheld spectrum analyser collected during combat operations in Iraq.  (US Army )


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Australia passes law to boost AUKUS defence trade

by Jon Grevatt

New Australian legislation aims to support defence trade between partners working on the AUKUS submarine. A visual concept of the submarine is pictured above. (BAE Systems)

Australia's parliament passed legislation on 27 March that will support the country's AUKUS partnership with the United Kingdom and United States but toughen rules on the transfer of technologies to other foreign countries.

The Department of Defence (DoD) in Canberra said the new Defence Trade Controls Amendment Act 2024 (DTC Act) will enhance the protection of “Australian technology and information as well as that of key partners”.

It added that the law will “fast-track the delivery of high-end capabilities to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) by streamlining trade and collaboration with our AUKUS partners, maintaining Australia's capability edge”.

The cornerstone of the legislation, which amends the existing Defence Trade Controls Act 2012, is the easing of red tape in defence trade between AUKUS partners by supporting the establishment of a “licence-free environment for Australian industry”, the DoD said.


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New Chinese attack helicopter in development

by Akhil Kadidal

This concept image of China's new attack helicopter, tentatively designated as Z-21, is based on photographs of the prototype aircraft in flight. (Janes)

China is developing a new attack helicopter that appears to be in the same weight class as the US Boeing AH-64 Apache and the Russian Mil Mi-28 Havoc.

Images of the new helicopter, which emerged on Chinese social media in March 2024, show an aircraft that is larger than the People's Liberation Army's (PLA's) in-service AVIC (Aviation Industry Corporation of China) Changhe Aircraft Industries Group (CHAIG) Z-10 attack helicopter, and with a wider central fuselage that is comparable with the Apache. The fuselage includes cheek fairings similar to the AH-64 Apache and a nose configuration similar to the Mi-28. The AH-64E and the Mi-28N have a maximum operating weight of 10–12 tons.

The new helicopter (tentatively designated as Z-21 by Chinese military observers) also appears to incorporate some of the PLA's latest combat helicopter features such as upward-facing engine exhausts to reduce its infrared signature.


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New Aselsan radar makes debut flight on F-16 aircraft

by Olivia Savage & Cem Devrim Yaylali & Raghuraman C S

A screenshot from an Aselsan video showing its new AESA radar in an anechoic chamber prior to flight trials aboard an F-16. (Aselsan)

Aselsan's new active electronically scanned array (AESA) Nose Radar has completed its maiden flight onboard the Turkish Air Force's (TuAF's) Lockheed Martin F-16 Block-30 fighter jet.

According to Aselsan on 26 March, the indigenously developed radar is designed to support both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions and offers capabilities such as multitarget detection and tracking, beyond-visual-range missile guidance, high-resolution imaging, and electronic warfare functionalities.

Commonly referred to as Murad, the Nose Radar is a key component of the Özgür programme, dedicated to modernising the TuAF's F-16 Block-30 fleet. The initiative involves integrating new indigenous software and hardware on the aircraft, including for the mission control computer, and replacing elements of the avionics and cockpit displays.

After successful integration of the Nose Radar on the F-16 Block-30s, the aircraft will become a 4.5-generation platform, according to the President of Defence Industry Agency (SSB), Haluk Görgün. İsmail Demir, then president of SSB, noted in November 2022 during an unveiling of the radar that its capabilities were “equivalent to the most advanced radars in the world”.


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https://www.janes.com/defence-news/c4isr-command-tech/latest/us-army-seeks-spectrum-analysis-capability-eyes-ewpmt-integration

US Army officials are in the midst of developing requirements for a spectrum analyser (Spec A) capab...

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