The IqAF is to equip all 34 of its F-16 combat aircraft with the AIDEWS electronic warfare suite. (Lockheed Martin)

Iraq is to equip its Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon combat aircraft with the L3Harris AN/ALQ-211 Advanced Integrated Defensive Electronic Warfare Suite (AIDEWS) electronic warfare (EW) system, the US Department of Defense (DoD) disclosed on 22 April.

The DoD requires the retrofit of the AIDEWS system into 34 Iraqi Air Force (IqAF) F-16C/D Block 52M aircraft located at Martyr Brigadier General Ali Flaih Air Base (Ali Flaih AB [AFAB], previously known as Balad Air Base), a solicitation posted on the SAM.gov US government procurement website said.

The DoD solicitation provided no contract value or timeline details.

The AIDEWS comes in both an AN/ALQ-211(V)4 integrated and an AN/ALQ-211(V)9 podded configuration, with the newer Block 52 and above aircraft of operators such as the IqAF having the internal space needed for integration, while older block aircraft do not and therefore, require the podded system.

The IqAF fields 24 single-seat F-16C and 10 twin-seat F-16D aircraft, deliveries of which commenced in 2014.

For more information on the IqAF, please seeIraq – Air Force .

The Brazilian Navy wants to improve the radar capabilities of its OPVs. (Victor Barreira)

As part of an effort to update its Amazonas-class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs), the Brazilian Navy is acquiring a new air and surface search radar with identification friend-or-foe capability (IFF), according to the Navy Weapon Systems Directorate (Diretoria de Sistemas de Armas da Marinha: DSAM).

The Brazilian Naval Commission in Washington, DC, (Comissão Naval Brasileira em Washington: CNBW) on behalf of the DSAM has requested a request for information (RFI) and the price availability for up to three radars on 25 March.

The navy seeks to recover the combat capability of the OPVs by updating several of the ship's systems, the Navy Directorate-General for Material (Diretoria-Geral do Material da Marinha: DGMM) recently told Janes .

The modernisation of the OPVs will be carried out by the DSAM, the DGMM added, without detailing a schedule and the scale of the effort.

The DSAM is subordinated to the DGMM.

Pilots from the French Navy surveillance frigate Vendémiaire (F734) practice landing aboard the amphibious command ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) during an interoperability exercise. Blue Ridge is the flagship for Commander, US 7th Fleet. (US Navy)

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the US military have begun the most complex iteration of Exercise ‘Balikatan', which is seeing the first-time participation of a French Navy warship and vessels from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

A ceremony to mark the start of the exercise was held on 22 April at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Philippines. Drills under the annual bilateral exercise will be held at various locations across the Philippines till 10 May.

“With over 16,000 service members participating across Luzon from today until 10 May, ‘Balikatan' 2024 is designed to address the ever-evolving security landscape in the region and is poised to be the most complex and comprehensive iteration to date,” reads a statement issued by the AFP on 22 April.