The first of two Textron T-54s delivered to the US Navy, intended to replace the T-44s. The deliveries were announced on 22 April. (US Navy)

US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) accepted delivery of the first two Textron T-54 Multi-Engine Training System (METS) aircraft at Naval Air Station (NAS) Corpus Christi, Texas, the service announced on 22 April. The aircraft are set to begin training students at NAS Corpus Christi's Training Air Wing Four in boreal spring 2025, the US Navy (USN) told Janes .

The USN intends to operate 64 of the Textron King Air 200-based aircraft, which will replace the Textron T-44 as the service's main twin-engine pilot training aircraft. Deliveries are set to run through 2026, and the aircraft is meant to operate until 2055.

“This aircraft brings modernised training to student naval aviators and prepares them for the advanced aircraft they will fly in the fleet,” said Captain Duane Whitmer, USN programme manager.

M10 Booker Combat Vehicle (pictured) will be put through its paces at Fort Liberty in boreal summer 2024. (US Army photo by Bernardo Fuller)

One company in the 82nd Airborne Division will be the first unit to perform operational testing on the new M10 Booker combat vehicle in boreal summer 2024 and will then become the first unit equipped if the testing is successful, army leaders announced on 18 April.

Testing at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, will focus on making sure the platform is baseline operational, Major General Glenn Dean, programme executive officer for Ground Combat Systems, told reporters on the sidelines of an army live-fire and commemoration event. Training for soldiers will focus on logistics and new maintenance after the unit receives the vehicles in July, Captain Rachel Ledbetter, company commander of the M10 Booker test detachment, 82nd Airborne Division, told Janes on 18 April.

While the Abrams M1A2 main battle tank (MBT) and M10 Booker share many commonalities, such as the Commander's Independent Thermal Viewer (CITV) and machine guns, the logistics tail is different. This means that the test detachment, which come from armoured backgrounds, will have to practice, Capt Ledbetter said.

Sonar 2087 (the variable depth towed body is pictured here) remains the RN surface fleet's principal long-range ASW sensor. SEA's software application is designed to automatically determine the optimum deployment depth of an active sonar projector and the receive array within the water column. (Richard Scott/NAVYPIX)

UK company Systems Engineering and Assessment (SEA) has been tasked to demonstrate a software application designed to enhance the performance of the UK Royal Navy's (RN's) principal surface ship anti-submarine warfare (ASW) sonar system.

In a 16 April announcement, the company said it would work with prime contractor Thales UK to test the software under the umbrella of the RN's ASW Spearhead programme. While SEA has not explicitly identified the potential exploitation, it is understood to be a candidate solution for the Capability Insertion Project (CIP) designed to improve the performance of the Sonar 2087 variable depth low-frequency active/passive sonar system fitted to RN Type 23 frigates.