10 July 2023
by Nicholas Fiorenza & Olivia Savage
Austrian Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner (right) and Viola Amherd, head of Switzerland's Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection, and Sports (centre), signed a letter of intent with German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius (left) for Austria and Switzerland to join the German-led European Sky Shield Initiative during a trilateral meeting in Bern on 7 July. (DDPS)
Austria and Switzerland signed a letter of intent (LOI) to join the German-led European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) on air defence during a trilateral meeting with Germany in Bern on 7 July. The LOI was signed by Austrian Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner, Viola Amherd, head of Switzerland's Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection, and Sports (DDPS), and German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius.
Austria and Switzerland will join 16 NATO members and alliance invitee Sweden in ESSI, which was launched in August 2022 to improve European air defences and make them more interoperable through joint procurement, maintenance, logistics, and training, as well as through the exchange of air surveillance data.
10 May 2024
by Carlo Munoz
Multichannel transmission systems operator-maintainers from the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, assemble a Terrestrial Transmission Line Of Sight radio system at Fort Stewart in Georgia in August 2019. (US Army )
US Army officials are soliciting industry feedback on the service's technology development strategy to revamp its Terrestrial Transmission Line of Sight (TRILOS) communications equipment, with plans to acquire two to three new TRILOS variants beginning in fiscal year (FY) 2026.
Led by Program Manager Tactical Network (PM TN), the 3 May request for information (RFI) will inform development of the new TRILOS variants.
The variants will feature a radio frequency (RF) base system, “with modular extensions incorporating Free Space Optics (FSO)” to connect with aerial tier assets via a “variable height, mast type configuration”, the 3 May RFI stated. Army officials plan to acquire over 700 modernised TRILOS systems.
10 May 2024
by Vinod Kumar CV
Poly Technologies' UUV300CB LLUV was displayed at the DSA 2024 exhibition in Malaysia. (Janes/Vinod Kumar CV)
China's Poly Technologies has displayed a new multimission-capable large unmanned underwater vehicle (LUUV) at the Defence Services Asia (DSA) 2024 exhibition held in Kuala Lumpur.
According to the company, the LUUV – named UUV300CB – can undertake missions including intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance and minelaying operations.
A Poly Technologies official told Janes that the UUV300CB is in development phase and that several variants of the platform could be produced by the company.
A cutaway model of the platform displayed at DSA 2024 shows torpedo tubes, a belly bay for loading EM12-500/1000 mines or UUVs, an image intelligence and reconnaissance mast, an electromagnetic intelligence and reconnaissance mast, sonar systems, and a covered vertical launcher for small missiles in its rear.
Other capabilities include satellite/ultra-high frequency communication and low acoustic signature.
10 May 2024
by Andrew White
Anduril's Pulsar multimission EW solution is to be available in air (Pulsar-V) and ground (Pulsar-G) variants. (Andrew White)
US Special Operations Command's (USSOCOM's) electronic warfare (EW) Family of Systems (FoS) is the “newest” programme in the Program Executive Office (PEO) – SOF Warrior portfolio and was initially approved in November 2023 to focus on the “ground domain” operations, the command announced on 7 May.
SOF Warrior documents stated the EW FoS will include “dismounted/body-worn; mounted; unattended sensor; and small unmanned payloads to enable electromagnetic surveillance (ES), electromagnetic attack (EA), and electromagnetic protection (EP) capabilities”. The documents were presented at Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week 2024 in Tampa, Florida.
Officials suggested aspects of EP would be “pertinent” to countering unmanned aircraft systems as well as electromagnetic countermeasures (ECM). Other areas of interest include jamming-resilient radar capabilities.
Austria and Switzerland signed a letter of intent (LOI) to join the German-led European Sky Shield I...
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