12 May 2021
by Brooks Tigner
National governments, the EU, and NATO are considering how to expand their individual and joint military mobility (MM) efforts across Europe during the next decade, with a broad emphasis on speeding up procedures for transit movement across national borders.
The Dutch Ministry of Defence has worked with civil authorities to create three multimodal corridors of infrastructure for military movements across the Netherlands: road (photo of CV90 infantry fighting vehicles moving by highway), rail, and inland waterways. (Dutch MoD)
“We want a well-functioning hub-and-spoke model in Europe where the spokes would be its main multi-use routes and corridors and its hubs would be logistics centres for host nation transit support of military movements,” said Dutch Defence Minister Ank Bijleveld.
She and other officials proffered their views during a 6 May symposium on MM hosted at the European Defence Agency (EDA) in Brussels.
13 March 2024
by Neil Dee
UK Royal Navy Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond. (Gordon Brodie)
The UK Royal Navy (RN) Daring (Type 45)-class destroyer HMS Diamond (D 34) is returning to the Red Sea to replace Duke (Type 23)-class frigate HMS Richmond (F 239), the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 12 March.
Diamond previously operated in the Red Sea from December 2023 as part of the US-led Operation ‘Prosperity Guardian' to protect ships against attacks by Yemeni rebel group Ansar Allah (popularly known as the Houthis), and then sailed to replenish in Gibraltar in February. The RN said it shot down nine unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) using its Sea Viper missile system and guns in three separate engagements during that time.
Richmond sailed from Plymouth in January and arrived in the Red Sea in February. The MoD reported that the frigate successfully destroyed two UAVs on 9 March using its Sea Ceptor surface-to-air missiles, the first combat use of the missile system.
“Overnight, Royal Navy frigate HMS Richmond and international allies fully repelled a Houthi drone attack, with no injuries or damage sustained,” the MoD said. “The crew of HMS
05 March 2024
by Kapil Kajal
The Carl-Gustaf M4 – pictured above – can be fired from the shoulder from the prone position with the soldier's body at an angle of at least 45° to the axis of the bore, or from a mount on an armoured personnel carrier. A heavy‐duty, detachable bipod is used when firing from the prone position. (ECDI)
Swedish defence company Saab has started the construction of a new Carl-Gustaf manufacturing facility in India, Saab said on 4 March.
Saab is building the new facility in Jhajjar, in India's northern state of Haryana, approximately 80 km from New Delhi, the company said.
The new facility – operated by Saab subsidiary company Saab FFVO India – will deploy technologies such as the sighting technology and carbon fibre winding to manufacture Carl-Gustaf M4 recoilless rifles for the Indian Armed Forces as well as components for users of the system around the world, Saab added.
Görgen Johansson, senior vice-president and head of Saab's business area dynamics, told Janes
01 March 2024
by Kate Tringham & Alex Pape
Hessen is pictured departing Wilhelmshaven naval base on 8 February to join the EU's new maritime security mission to protect commercial shipping in the Red Sea. (Bundeswehr/Julia Kelm)
The German Navy's Type 124 Sachsen-class air-defence frigate FGS Hessen (F 221) successfully repelled two one-way attack unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the Red Sea launched by Yemen-based Ansar Allah (commonly known as the Houthis) militants on 27 February.
Briefing media at a German government press conference on 28 February, German Federal Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesperson Michael Stempfle confirmed that the UAVs were launched in two separate attacks on the evening of 27 February.
The first UAV was detected by Hessen at 2000 h local time and was successfully intercepted shortly after using the ship's onboard 76 mm gun. The second UAV was detected 20 minutes later and was successfully engaged using the ship's RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) short-range defence system, he said.
“They were detected by the radar system and were at different distances,” he said. “That's why there were two different weapons that were used.”
National governments, the EU, and NATO are considering how to expand their individual and joint mili...
In this podcast Harry and Sean are joined by Dr Ingvild Bode to look at the application and challenges of AI use in weapons systems. Dr Ingvild Bode has spent the last year researching this subject for her most recent policy report, Loiteri...
Listen now