20 December 2022
by Alexander Stronell
Three THeMIS UGVs pictured at the Lehnin Training Area, Germany during the fifth iMUGS demonstration. (Milrem Robotics/Sami Laaksonen)
Integrated Modular Unmanned Ground System (iMUGS), the European Union's (EU's) programme for a common unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), concluded its fifth and final demonstration on 15 December.
The demonstration, which was conducted at the Lehnin Training Area near Berlin, exhibited the programme's swarming and autonomy technologies in their most advanced public display to date, and represented the culmination of iMUGS technological efforts, according to officials and industry representatives working on the iMUGS programme.
During the demonstration, UGVs of various classes autonomously carried out a series of tasks, including mapping and force screening missions, before assisting ‘blue' force troops in assaulting a ‘red' force fortified position.
In the first task, THeMIS medium UGVs acting in an autonomous swarm carried out reconnaissance of the tactical area before the insertion of personnel from the ‘blue' force. The THeMIS UGVs utilised local swarming technologies exhibited on basic unmanned platforms in previous iMUGS demonstrations. Janes reported in November that the iMUGS consortium had commenced the integration of this technology into the far more advanced THeMIS platform.
29 March 2024
by Michael Fabey
The USN CNO noted the need for the development of directed energy weapons, such as the laser system shown in this artist's rendition. (Lockheed Martin)
Recent US Navy (USN) operations in the Red Sea have underscored the importance of logistics, according to Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the USN chief of naval operations (CNO).
Adm Franchetti also noted the importance of developing new weapons and related capabilities to match emerging threats.
The CNO made the comments during a discussion for Defense One that was shown online on 27 March.
“I've focused a lot especially on contested logistics and the need to think creatively about how to resupply our ships that are out there on the pointy end,” Adm Franchetti said. “We've been able to do that.”
22 March 2024
by Michael Fabey & Ridzwan Rahmat
BAE Systems was confirmed as the UK shipbuilding partner for AUKUS submarines, shown here as an artist rendition. (BAE Systems)
Britian's BAE Systems will partner with Australian shipbuilder ASC to build Canberra's nuclear-powered submarines for the trilateral AUKUS defence agreement, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed on 21 March.
The partnership deal follows “months of negotiations” and could be worth “billions of pounds”, theMoD said in a release.
First announced in September 2021, AUKUS calls for the three countries – Australia, the UK, and the US – to work together on a range of capabilities, including a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine capability for Australia, the ministry release noted.
Phase Two of AUKUS involves the sale of three US Virginia-class submarines to Australia with an option for up to two more, subject to US Congressional approval. Phase Three is the construction of the trilateral nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) for AUKUS.
The first UK submarines built to this design will be delivered in the late 2030s to replace the current Astute-class vessels, and the first Australian submarines will follow in the early 2040s.
19 March 2024
by Nicholas Fiorenza & Andrew MacDonald
The Swedish flag was raised at NATO headquarters in Brussels on 11 March to mark the country's accession to the alliance as its 32nd member on 7 March. (NATO)
NATO welcomed Sweden as its 32nd member on 7 March. The Scandinavian country had intended to join together with Finland, but Turkey and Hungary blocked Swedish accession until the Grand National Assembly of Turkey approved it on 23 January, followed by the Hungarian parliament on 26 February.
In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership on 18 May 2022 and were invited to join the alliance by the Madrid summit of allied leaders on 4 July 2022. Finland joined NATO on 4 April 2023.
As Enhanced Opportunities Partners under NATO's Partnership Interoperability Initiative, Finland and Sweden were able to skip joining the alliance's Membership Action Plan that has been required of the most recent countries to become NATO members, reflecting the fact that the two Nordic countries are more interoperable with allies than some NATO countries.
Integrated Modular Unmanned Ground System (iMUGS), the European Union's (EU's) programme for a commo...
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