The overhaul of HMS  Victorious  will allow the boat to carry out deterrent patrols until the next generation of SSBNs, the Dreadnought class, enters service.  (Babcock)    Babcock has been awarded a contract by the UK Submarine Delivery Agency to carry out the non-refuelling deep maintenance and life-extension (LIFEX) programme for the UK Royal Navy's (RN's) second Vanguard-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), HMS  Victorious.  The full-cost recovery contract, worth an estimated GBP...

CASIC is enhancing its Sky Hawk low-observable UAV for improved stealth characteristics and greater range. This graphic is based on the most recent imagery of the UAV, from February 2024. (Janes)  China's Tianying (Sky Hawk) tailless low-observable, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has started flight-testing following upgrades to its “main parameters”. According to Chinese state-owned media, the changes improve the UAV's “stealth” characteristics and “endurance”.  Janes has assessed video imagery of the Sky Hawk conducting a test flight aired by...

The M1A2 Abrams MBTs – pictured above from a US Army exercise – are protected by composite armours, armed with a 120 mm smoothbore gun, and powered by a bespoke gas-turbine engine. (US Army)  The Republic of China Army (RoCA) will receive 38 M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks (MBTs), 11 M142 High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and associated ammunition, and 81 ‘BGM‐71F tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided (TOW) 2B' anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) from the United States in 2024, a RoCA officer told Janes on 3 March.  The RoCA...

Changes to the projected spending profile for Canada's Strong, Secure, Engaged defence policy over time. (Canadian Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer)  Projected capital spending under Canada's Strong, Secure, Engaged (SSE) defence policy has increased by CAD51.5 billion (USD38 billion) since 2022, according to the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO), a nonpartisan agent of the Canadian Parliament.  The SSE policy, unveiled in June 2017, projected CAD553 billion in spending over a 20-year period ending in 2036–37. This in...

Discussions on work share agreements for the sixth-generation GCAP fighter aircraft are scheduled to start in March 2024. (BAE Systems)  Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom are in talks on the preliminary design of the sixth-generation Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) aircraft, with discussions on the division of responsibilities for the overall programme expected to start in March.    A spokesperson for Japan's Acquisitions, Logistics and Technology Agency (ATLA) told   Janes   on 29 February that the three countries “have...

An artist's rendition of Sierra Space's T2TL low Earth orbit satellite prototype for the PWSA. (Sierra Space)  Arizona-based sensor payload company GEOST is betting big that improved focal plane fidelity, coupled with artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled imagery processing at the edge, will be the solution for the new fire-control payload being developed for the Pentagon's Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA).  GEOST – a subsidiary of LightRidge Solutions – and the Space Development Agency (SDA) in February reached a deal for GEO...

Denmark is replacing its coastal air-defence radars, including the fixed long-range 3D RAT-31DL radar acquired back in 1995. (Selex ES)  Denmark has launched a EUR220 million (USD238.4 million) competition to replace its coastal radars in Bornholm and Skagen as well as on the Faroe Islands.  Three new Fixed Air Defence Radar (FADR) systems will be procured, each comprising a 3D phased-array Primary Surveillance Radar (PSR), Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR) with all civilian and military interrogation modes, and Monitor and Control Units for...

China accounted for 46% of total APAC defence spending in 2024. (Janes)  In a global geopolitical and economic context of ever-increasing uncertainty, Asia-Pacific's defence spending growth in 2024 is, at first glance at least, remarkably pedestrian – even subdued. With a significant proportion of the region's budgets published at least in draft form, military expenditure in Asia in the year is expected to have risen to USD603.9 billion.  This represents a nominal rise of 4.9% but is just 2.1% larger after the effects of inflation are taken...

Poland signs an agreement for IBCS air and missile defence C2 capability for phase two of the Wisła programme and the Narew short-range air-defence system. Pictured is the interior of the IBCS Engagement Operations Centre, which Poland will receive under phase two of Wisła. (Northrop Grumman)  Poland has signed a USD2.53 billion agreement with the US government for the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS).  Spanning from 2024 to 2031, the impending contract will involve integrating the IBCS with Poland's Narew and W...

The DGA ordered 3,000 multispectral camouflage nets from Saab Barracuda on 21 January. (DGA)  The Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA), France's defence procurement agency, announced on its website on 27 February that it had ordered 3,000 multispectral camouflage nets from Saab Barracuda on 21 January under its Filet écran radar-IR (Fenrir) procurement programme.  Under the EUR30 million (USD32.4 million) contract, the French Army and Air and Space Force will receive multispectral camouflage nets between 2024 and 2026, which the DGA expects...

The XQ-67A in flight (location unknown). (GA-ASI)  General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has flown the XQ-67A unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for the first time, the company announced on 29 February.  “Flight demonstration of this system is a major first step towards showing the ability to produce affordable combat mass,” said Trenton White, Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL's) Off-Board Sensing Station (OBSS) programme manager, in a statement announcing the flight.  The flight took place on 28 February at GA-ASI's Gray Butte Flight...

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 o...

The Bundeswehr has ordered Skyranger 30 air-defence systems mounted on Boxers, Rheinmetall announced on 27 February 2024. (Rheinmetall)  The Bundeswehr has ordered Skyranger 30 air-defence systems mounted on Boxer armoured vehicles, Rheinmetall announced in a press release on 27 February. Under the EUR595 million (USD644.8 million) worth of contract, the prototype will be delivered at the end of 2024, followed by 18 production vehicles, with an option for 30 more.  According to the German company, the Skyranger 30 will be a key component of t...

The Indonesian Army's Harimau tank on display at Indo Defence 2022. The tank uses a modular armour for protection and is armed with a 150 mm Cockerill main gun and a 7.62 mm co-axial machine gun. (Janes/Andrew Galer)  The Indonesian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has handed over 52 armoured vehicles manufactured by PT Pindad to the Indonesian National Armed Forces (Tentara Nasional Indonesia: TNI).  According to a press release by PT Pindad on 28 February, the MoD handed over 10 Harimau medium tanks, three Badak 6×6 wheeled armoured direct-fire su...

The Indian Army has been seeking to replace its ageing Maruti Gypsys and Mahindra MMs with new light vehicles since the early 2010s in a phased manner. As part of this, the service awarded a contract to Tata Motors to supply 3,192 4×4 Safari Storme vehicles (pictured above) in 2016. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  The Indian Army has issued a tender to procure 4×4 ‘light vehicles' to perform general service (GS) roles.  According to a request for proposal (RFP) issued by the Indian Army on 29 February, the service intends to procure 1,054 light vehicles...

VSHORADS – pictured above from a DRDO test in March 2023 – is a tripod-launched missile system designed to strike moving aerial targets such as unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, and fighter aircraft. (DRDO)  India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) test-fired two of its very short-range air-defence system (VSHORADS) missiles from a ground-based portable launcher, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a press release on 29 February.  The tests were conducted on 28 and 29 February from the Integrated Test Range (...

CASIC is enhancing its Sky Hawk low-observable UAV for improved stealth characteristics and greater range. (Janes)  China's Tianying (Sky Hawk) tailless low-observable, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has started flight-testing following upgrades to its primary parameters. According to Chinese state-owned media, the changes improve the UAV's stealth characteristics and endurance.  Developed by the No 3 Research Institute of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), the Sky Hawk has been designed to conduct stealth-based reco...

The Indian MoD is procuring an undisclosed number of Jaga unmanned aerial vehicles (pictured) from Noida-based IG Drones to enhance the surveillance capabilities of the Indian Armed Forces. (IG Drones)  Noida-based IG Drones has secured a contract from the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) to provide its 5G-enabled Jaga unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to enhance the surveillance capabilities of the Indian Armed Forces.  A spokesperson for IG Drones told Janes on 28 February that the company plans to complete the supply of an undisclosed number...

According to Janes Defence Budgets, Australia's total defence spending will rise from the equivalent of about USD38.4 billion in 2024 to nearly USD48 billion by 2030. About 19% of the annual defence expenditure is allocated to procurement. (Janes Defence Budgets)  Australia launched on 29 February a new strategy to enable local industry to meet the future capability requirements of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The Department of Defence (DoD) in Canberra said the Defence Industry Development Strategy (DIDS) will shape Australia's indust...

Repair work on attack submarine USS   Boise  is just one of the programmes that could be at risk during a year-long continuing resolution restricting funding.  (Newport News Shipbuilding)  Officials for the US Navy, US Air Force, and US Army painted a grim picture for the services if they are saddled with a full-year Continuing Resolution (CR) and unauthorised supplemental funding for fiscal year (FY) 2024 during a 28 February round-table media briefing at the Pentagon.  “I'm so very concerned about where we are...