The Australian government said that a Chinese combat aircraft launched flares in front of HMAS Hobart 's embarked MH-60R helicopter (nicknamed Voodoo), pictured here, on 4 May 2024 while the helicopter was flying over international waters in the Yellow Sea (West Sea). (Commonwealth of Australia)

A Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) fighter aircraft conducted an unsafe interception of a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) helicopter in the Yellow Sea (West Sea), the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) said.

The incident occurred when HMAS Hobart launched a Sikorsky MH-60R helicopter on 4 May as part of “routine” operations, the DoD said on 6 May. At the time, HMAS Hobart , a 7,000 tonne air warfare destroyer (AWD) was “in international waters in the Yellow Sea [West Sea] undertaking … activities as part of Operation ‘Argos'”, the DoD added.

Operation ‘Argos' is the Australian Defence Force's (ADF's) commitment to the international effort to enforce United Nations Security Council sanctions on North Korea. Australian units involved in the operation assist with monitoring illegal ship-to-ship transfers of sanctioned goods, according to the DoD.

A file image of a USMC ACV from 2022. The service marked its first employment of the ACV at an overseas exercise during ‘Balikatan' 2024 in the Philippines. (US Marine Corps)

The US Marine Corps (USMC) has marked the first employment of its amphibious combat vehicles (ACVs) in an overseas military exercise.

This milestone was accomplished on 4 May when ACVs from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) splashed down into Oyster Bay on the Philippines' Palawan Island from US Navy (USN) landing ship dock USS Harpers Ferry.

It was done as part of the 2024 iteration of Exercise ‘Balikatan', a bilateral drill between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the US military.

As part of the amphibious manoeuvres, the ACV platoon organised itself into assault sections in the water after being launched from Harpers Ferry, the USMC said in a 4 May statement.

The vehicles then engaged multiple shore-based targets using their remote weapons systems to control externally mounted Mk 19 40 mm grenade machine guns.

These weapons were co-ordinated and fired simultaneously while afloat to maximise the effect against the targets at shore, the service added.

China first unveiled the new ALBM in November 2022, during AirShow China 2022. At the time, the two missiles unveiled had a yellow stripe and a code signifying that they were training missiles (as shown in the image, in the top part of this graphic). Recent imagery shows the ALBM in a low-observable grey-blue colour scheme, indicating that the missile is progressing to production. (Janes/Gettyimages)

China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has released a video showing a Xi'an H-6K strategic bomber launching a new ballistic missile in flight.

Imagery of the air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM) being dropped from the H-6K was included in an official PLA video released on 1 May. In the video, the new missile is dropped from the port side wing pylon of an H-6K. The missile, which has the tentative designation of KD-21, is not shown igniting its engine.

The new ALBM is potentially a hypersonic missile, similar to the Russian Kh‐47M2 Kinzhal (AS-24 ‘Killjoy'). Janes has previously assessed that the KD-21 ALBM is likely powered by a solid-propellant rocket engine. However, it is unclear if the KD-21 in the recent video was equipped with an engine.