27 July 2022
by Ashley Roque
A US Army's new NGSW-AR in display. The service initially planned to begin fielding the weapon in late 2023. It is now reassessing its schedule following a competition protest that prompted a delay. (Janes/Ashley Roque)
The US Army asked Sig Sauer to resume Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) work in early July after LoneStar Future Weapons withdrew two source selection protests, the service told Janes . Army programme officials are poised to release an updated testing and fielding schedule.
In April, the service announced that it had selected Sig Sauer's XM5 NGSW-Rifle (NGSW-R) offering to replace the M4/M4A1 carbine weapon and the company's XM250 NGSW-Automatic Rifle (NGSW-AR) to replace the close-combat force's M249 Squad Automatic Weapon in the Automatic Rifleman role. The company's 6.8 mm ammunition was also selected.
LoneStar Future Weapons (previously under a General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems contract) and Textron Systems had also been competing for the contract. Colonel Scott Madore, the army's project manager for soldier lethality, confirmed during a 20 April press conference that the service had eliminated Textron Systems from the competition early on because its offering “had not fully met the success criteria”.
25 April 2024
by Gareth Jennings
An AARGM-ER seen being test fitted into the internal weapons bay of an F-35 combat aircraft. The US has approved the sale of the missile to both the Netherlands and Poland. (Northrop Grumman)
The US government has approved the sale of the Northrop Grumman AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile – Extended Range (AARGM-ER) to the Netherlands and Poland.
Announced by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) on 24 April, the approvals cover 265 of the suppression of enemy air defences/destruction of enemy air defences (SEAD/DEAD) missiles for the Netherlands for approximately USD700 million, and 360 missiles for Poland for approximately USD1.275 billion. Both approvals cover related equipment, training, and support.
“The proposed sale will improve the Netherlands'/Poland's capability to meet current and future threats by strengthening its self-defence capabilities to suppress and destroy land- or sea-based radar emitters associated with enemy air defences. This capability denies the adversary the use of its air-defence systems, thereby improving the survivability of the Netherlands'/Poland's tactical aircraft,” the DSCA said of both approvals.
18 March 2024
by Ridzwan Rahmat
An Exocet MM40 Block 3 missile being launched from an Indonesian Navy Bung Tomo-class frigate. The country's latest attempt to replenish its stock of Exocet missiles has been delayed by non-conformity issues. (Indonesian Navy Armada I)
Indonesia will have to restart a process to replenish the country's stock of MBDA Exocet MM40 Block 3 anti-ship missiles after an earlier attempt failed because of licensing non-conformity issues.
A 24 February letter from the Indonesian Ministry of Finance's (MoF's) Directorate General of Budget Financing and Risk Management sent to various departments at the country's Ministry of Defense (MoD) confirmed that a previously granted permission to procure the missiles with foreign loans has now lapsed.
A copy of the letter was provided to Janes on 18 March by sources close to the procurement process.
In the letter, the MoF advised the respective MoD departments to resubmit a request for a total of three programmes for which the permission to take on foreign loans has lapsed, including the Exocet missile procurement.
18 March 2024
by Neil Dee
EvoLogics Sonobot 5 USV being demonstrated at Oceanology International 2024 in London on 13 March. (Janes/Neil Dee)
German company EvoLogics is planning to deliver a further batch of Sonobot unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) to the Ukrainian armed forces. EvoLogics CEO Fabian Bannasch told Janes at Oceanology International 2024, held in London on 12–14 March, that his company is “currently preparing a fourth configuration of Sonobot with enhanced underwater data networking and positioning capabilities in order to guide and support complex underwater missions with dive teams, and AUVs [autonomous underwater vehicles] where the Sonobot will be the gateway buoy at the surface” for the Ukrainian armed forces. Sonobots are a family of small USVs of about 1.3 m in length that can be folded and transported by a single person.
The US Army asked Sig Sauer to resume Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) work in early July after L...
In this podcast Janes analysts discuss the Iranian attacks on Israel on the 14 April. They highlight the military systems used by Iran and the performance and impact of these on Israel. They also discuss the implications of this attack goi...
Listen now