The US Marine Corps' unfunded priorities list include a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship. (HII)

The six US military services have told Congress they have identified more than USD12.6 billion in “unfunded priorities”, or necessary programmes that did not receive funding in the US Department of Defense's (DoD's) fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget request, according to documents obtained by Janes .

The US Marine Corps' unfunded priorities list (UPL) totals USD3.7 billion, including USD1.7 billion for a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship (LPD-33), USD252.9 million for two KC-130J refuelling aircraft and “initial spares”, and USD206.3 million for Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs) and Trailers.

The US Air Force (USAF) and the US Navy (USN) lists each total USD2.5 billion. The USAF list includes USD1.2 billion for military construction projects, USD227.8 million for “agile” communications equipment, and USD174.5 million for F-16 radar modernisation. The USN list includes USD550 million for targeted facilities sustainment, restoration, and modernisation; USD300 million for dry dock repairs at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Washington state; and USD264 million for electronic warfare improvements to two aircraft carriers.

Sako rifles for Finnish and Swedish armed forces. (Sako)

Finland and Sweden are jointly procuring assault and sniper rifles from Finnish company Sako. The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) and the logistics department of the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) signed a framework agreement on the joint procurement with Sako at its factory in Riihimäki on 27 March.

Sako said in a press release the same day that the framework agreement would enable Finland and Sweden to procure the weapons, initially covering a period of 10 years, with an option of three seven-year periods lasting until the end of 2053.

Finland will procure rifles and personal defence weapons worth EUR700,000 (USD757,911) for field testing. Major General Jari Mikkonen, director of the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) Logistics Command, said the FDF was “preparing to phase out the current weapon systems in stages, which will ensure a controlled and cost-effective phase out of the current system”. The Finnish Army's main personal weapons are the RK 62 and RK 95 TP assault rifles chambered in the Russian 7.62×39 mm cartridge.

The framework agreement also covers the Finnish Border Guard, customs, office of criminal sanctions, and police.

The new ATGMs will replace Metis-M ATGM systems mounted on the Malaysian Army's Mercedes G-Wagen 4×4 weapon carriers. The picture above is an example of a Mercedes G-Wagen weapon carrier. (Janes/Patrick Allen )

The Malaysian Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) has requested bids for the supply of 18 medium-range anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) systems.

In the bid document, MINDEF said there is a requirement for the anti-tank platoon of the infantry battalion to be equipped with medium-range ATGMs, which can engage and destroy enemy armour at a distance between 2,000 and 4,000 m.

According to MINDEF, an ATGM system includes a launching tube/canister, a missile, an observation and launching unit (OLU), a tripod, and a missile container.

The launching tube must receive and react to the task command from the OLU to ignite the ejection motor and eject the missile, MINDEF said. “The missile should not exceed a length of 1,200 mm and a diameter of 130 mm.”