UK orders 5.56 mm rifles

by Nicholas Fiorenza

DE&S has awarded a contract for the AIW system to equip the British Army and the Royal Marines (pictured). (Royal Navy)

The UK Ministry of Defence and its Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) organisation announced on 7 September the award of a contract for the Alternative Individual Weapon (AIW) system, designated the L403A1 in UK service. DE&S awarded an initial contract for 1,620 AIW systems worth GBP15 million (USD18.7 million), with options for 10,000 systems for a total of GBP90 million.

The systems will equip the British Army and the Royal Marines, starting with the Army Special Operations Brigade. The brigade's Ranger Regiment will receive the AIW later in 2023.

UK-based prime contractor Edgar Brothers is responsible for sourcing and assembling AIW subsystems. The system, Knight's Stoner 1 (KS-1) 5.56 mm rifle, is manufactured by Knights Armament Company and the optical sight with magnification by Vortex Optics, both US companies.


Get the full article by
Already a Janes subscriber? Keep reading


TADTE 2023: GEOSAT to manufacture Japanese C-UAV systems in Taiwan

by Kapil Kajal

DDD (Drone Detective & Disabilitating System), pictured above from TADTE 2023, can detect UAVs within a range of 25 km. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)

Taiwan's GEOSAT Aerospace & Technology signed a transfer of technology (ToT) agreement with Fortunio Japan to manufacture the latter's counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (C-UAV) known as ‘DDD (Drone Detective & Disabilitating System)' in Taiwan at the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition 2023 (TADTE 2023) held in Taipei from 14 to 16 September.

A GEOSAT spokesperson told Janes at the showthat the system will be offered to the Republic of China (RoC) Armed Forces to meet the service's C-UAV requirements.

According to the company specifications, the DDD can detect UAVs within a range of 25 km.

The DDD comprises three units: detection head unit, tripod, and software and personal computer. The circular detection head unit is mounted on the tripod with an overall height and weight of 1,430 mm and 35 kg respectively.

The height, weight, and diameter of the head unit are 150 mm, 7 kg, and 375 mm respectively. The system can be mounted on a ship or a military vehicle, the spokesperson added.


Get the full article by
Already a Janes subscriber? Keep reading


DSEI 2023: Norway's FFI to test Viking UGVs in extreme conditions

by Ares Simone Monzio Compagnoni

IDV Robotics' Viking UGV at DSEI 2023 (Janes/Ares Simone Monzio Compagnoni)

The Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) has purchased two IDV Robotics Viking Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs), Janes has learned.

Speaking at DSEI 2023 in London, IDV Robotics' head of sales and marketing, Robert Mohacsi, said that the vehicles will undergo testing for operations in extreme weather conditions.

The Viking UGV is a 6×6 electric and diesel hybrid platform that features a large payload bay. It is primarily designed to operate as a robotic mule and transport up to 750 kg. At DSEI 2023, IDV Robotics also displayed a variant equipped with a 12.7 mm Machine Gun (MG) and a Thales FZ602 LGR Launcher. Janes understands that IDV Robotics is planning to perform firing tests within the next year.

According to the company, the Viking can operate in temperatures from -20 to 39 ˚C. On a flat road at the nominal temperature of 20 ˚C the range in electric and hybrid modes is 20 and 250 km respectively.


Get the full article by
Already a Janes subscriber? Keep reading


Australia's Ryan Aerospace bags US Navy flight simulator contract

by Ridzwan Rahmat

Examples of the extended reality flight simulators that are being supplied by Ryan Aerospace to the US Navy. (Ryan Aerospace)

Ryan Aerospace (Australia) has secured a USD28 million contract to supply the US Navy (USN) with extended reality flight simulators.

Under the deal, Ryan Aerospace will supply 50 units of the equipment, which it refers to as immersive training devices (ITDs), to the USN's Naval Aviation Training Next (NATN) programme.

The ITDs can be configured to simulate a wide range of aircraft types.

Each unit consists of a virtual reality headset, a console set consisting of a monitor and a keyboard, and a cockpit seat with various flight controllers.

“The fact that they were designed with the future in mind, they can now rapidly and cost-effectively be transformed into mixed reality simulators for a different aircraft,” said Ryan Aerospace in a media statement to announce the contract.

“This is important for [the] government and taxpayers, as they are getting great value for money,” the statement added.

Ryan Aerospace has indicated that the contract will be delivered to the USN within the next 12 months.

In response to questions from


Get the full article by
Already a Janes subscriber? Keep reading


https://www.janes.com/defence-news/industry-headlines/latest/uk-orders-556-mm-rifles

The UK Ministry of Defence and its Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) organisation announced on 7 Se...

Latest Podcasts

The role of OSINT in understanding VEOs

Dr Joana Cook and Dr Shiraz Maher authors of 'The Rule is for None but Allah: Islamist Approaches to Governance' join Harry Kemsley and Sean Corbett to discuss the role that OSINT has to play in understanding violent extremist organisations and ...

Listen now

Using OSINT to understand an emerging situation in Haiti

Role of imagery in support of OSINT - Part two

Role of imagery in support of OSINT - Part one

Using OSINT to understand the closed environment of North Korea

Janes Case Studies

Using Janes Intara to build a common intelligence picture: Russian build up on the Ukrainian border

View Case Study

Assessing threats in the South China Sea 

A competitive assessment of the military aircraft market

Identifying an unknown aircraft

Case study: Using Interconnected Intelligence to Monitor Russian Troop Movement

News Categories

Request Consultation

Request a free consultation to discover how Janes can provide you with assured, interconnected open-source intelligence.

Industry Details