Steadicopter's Black Eagle 50E electric-powered unmanned aerial vehicle is designed for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations from land and naval locations. (Steadicopter)  Israeli-based Steadicopter Ltd is improving its Black Eagle and Golden Eagle series of rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (RUAVs) and positioning them for the larger Asia-Pacific (APAC) market.  Itai Toren, CEO of Steadicopter, told Janes during Singapore Airshow 2024 that the company is improving its Black Eagle 50 and 25 series of RUAVs and increasi...

Hungary is to bring its Gripen fleet up to 18, with the addition of a further four aircraft announced on 23 February. (Janes/Patrick Allen)  Hungary is to increase the size of its fleet of Saab Gripen combat aircraft, with a deal announced on 23 February for an additional four airframes.  With 14 Gripen C/D aircraft having been leased from Sweden in 2001 and entering service in 2006, Saab has said that it has signed an agreement with the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) for four additional Gripen Cs for the Hungarian Air Force (H...

The US Army's 11th Airborne Division Cold Weather All-Terrain Vehicle variants are outfitted with radios and Starshield to perform command-and-control functions. (Janes/Meredith Roaten)  The first – almost fully decked out – command-and-control (C2) variants of the Cold Weather All-Terrain Vehicle (CATV), complete with shifted seating arrangements and integrated communications equipment, have been used in the first large scale exercise, a US Army brigade combat team commander told Janes.  The new CATVs were first put through their paces at Op...

Norway extends life of its GAMER live training solution with Saab. (Saab)  Saab has been contracted to support Norway's training and simulation facilities, including the Combat Training Centre in Rena, the company announced on 22 February.    As part of the contract, the company will offer support, service, and maintenance for the modular GAMER (gunnery and manoeuvre exercise) live training system, a company spokesperson confirmed to   Janes  .   The contract totals SEK190 million (USD18.4 million) and spans between 2024 an...

The Terrex s5 infantry fighting vehicle is likely to incorporate a small unmanned aerial vehicle as a MUM-T capability to assist with waypoint navigation. (Janes/Akhil Kadidal/ST Engineering)  A range of manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) capabilities are being planned for Singapore's recently unveiled Terrex s5 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV).  The Terrex is an 8×8 IFV with six distinct operational roles such as a troop carrier, command vehicle, anti-tank guided-missile (ATGM) vehicle, fire-support vehicle, mortar vehicle, and an amphibious ass...

Croatia took over official ownership of six Rafale combat aircraft from France on 23 February. (Croatian MoD)  Croatia has taken over formal ownership of the Dassault Rafale combat aircraft to be received from France.  The Croatian Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced the development on 23 February, saying it now owns the first six of 12 Rafales it has ordered.  This milestone came about five months after the first Rafale was handed over to the Croatian MoD during a ceremony at the French Air and Space Force (Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace: AAE...

Aero Vodochody has completed deliveries of the first batch of L-39NGs to the Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF). The company is also focusing on selling the aircraft to Thailand. (Aero Vodochody)  Aero Vodochody AS has delivered its first batch of L-39NG trainer and light-attack aircraft to the Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF), with remaining deliveries expected to be completed in 2024.  Vietnam ordered 12 L-39NG aircraft in February 2021. Filip Gunnar Kulštrunk, executive vice-president and chief commercial officer of Aero, told Janes that d...

Malloy Aeronautics T-150, flown during a live demonstration at the company's factory in Maidenhead in February 2024, is being acquired by the Royal Marines and Japan for experimentation and trials. (Crown Copyright)    The T-150 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufactured by UK-based company Malloy Aeronautics has been acquired by the Royal Marines and Japan, UK's Minister for Defence Procurement James Cartlidge announced to   Janes   and other media representatives on 22 February.   Speaking at the Defence Drone Strategy la...

The US Army tested Weatherhaven's pop-up tent for mobile command-and-control operations during the JPMRC 24-02 training rotation. (Janes/Meredith Roaten)    The US Army is observing lessons regarding inexpensive unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) and electronic warfare (EW) emerging from Ukraine, and making sure its own capabilities can hold up, officials told   Janes  during the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center (JPMRC) 24-02 training rotation held from 12 to 22 February.   The army needs to become stealthier and...

HII has started testing the catapults on aircraft carrier  John F Kennedy  with dead-load launches.  (HII)    HII's Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) unit has started testing of the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) on aircraft carrier   John F Kennedy  (CVN 79), marking a major milestone for the ship, HII confirmed on 21 February.     After testing catapults one and two – the bow cats – with no-load launch movements, NNS workers and   Kennedy  sailors started the d...

The preliminary design of the future aircraft carrier was visible in photos shared by the Turkish Navy. (Turkish MND)  The Turkish Naval Forces has initiated design activities to advance efforts towards acquiring a domestically built aircraft carrier.  In early January the Turkish government gave the green light during a meeting of the Defence Industry Executive Committee (SSİK), chaired by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to progress plans for an indigenous aircraft carrier to the design phase.  During a visit to the Design Project Of...

The Portuguese Navy is progressively introducing unmanned systems. Shown here are the OGS42VN VTOL UAV for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions, and a UAV mobile ground control station. (Victor Barreira)  As part of its ambitious effort to widen the use of unmanned systems, the Portuguese Navy has established a squadron-sized unit for the operation of military-grade unmanned systems.    The new unit, called ‘X31', was officially stood up on 9 February. It is subordinated to naval command and will be responsible for ope...

ST Engineering AirX has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Eurasia Mobility Solutions for an order of up to 10 AirFish wing-in-ground (WIG) craft. (ST Engineering)  ST Engineering is considering military sales for its AirFish 8 wing-in-ground (WiG) effect craft even as it announced on 21 February that it had received a letter of intent (LOI) for its first commercial order.    Designed to take off and land on water, the AirFish 8 has been developed as a commercial WiG craft capable of carrying up to 10 passengers, including crew members...

MD Helicopters has changed the designation of its MD 530F to the TH530 or AH530 depending on whether it is a trainer or a light combat platform. (MD Helicopters)    MD Helicopters (MDH) has relaunched its MD 530F rotorcraft as the TH530 and AH530 for the military trainer and light attack markets respectively, a company spokesperson confirmed to  Janes  .     The move to rebadge MDH's version of the ‘Little Bird' came some 11 months after the company told  Janes  in March 2023 that it was consolidating the dif...

Denmark will send the first of its F-16s to Ukraine in the third quarter of 2024. (Royal Danish Air Force)  Ukraine is to field the first of its promised Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon combat aircraft “this summer”, the Danish Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on 22 February.  In a release updating the progress of the ‘F-16 coalition' of which it is a member, Denmark said that work to prepare the first former Royal Danish Air Force (RDAF) aircraft is now under way, with their transfer to Ukraine expected in the third quarter (Q3) of 2024....

A C-2A Greyhound launches from the USS   Theodore Roosevelt  in 2017. C-2As are back on west coast carrier decks after the grounding of their replacement, the CMV-22B.   (US Navy)  The US Navy (USN) has paused the retirement of the C-2A Greyhound carrier onboard delivery (COD) aircraft as it works to bridge the immediate gap left by the grounding of its successor CMV-22B Osprey tiltrotor.    C-2As from Naval Air Station Norfolk's Virginia-based Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 40 (VRC 40) are now deployed to...

United Aircraft's UR6000 tiltrotor AAV concept. (Janes)  United Aircraft, a China-based manufacturer of logistics and surveillance rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), revealed a concept of its UR6000 tiltrotor autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) during the Singapore Airshow 2024 held from 20 to 25 February.    Speaking to   Janes  , an official from United Aircraft said the UR6000 AAV is a fully autonomous platform being designed for cargo and passenger transport applications. The AAV is being developed independently and...

A file photo of an RNoAF C-130J-30. Norway has four such aircraft, which it is now retrofitting to the latest Block 8.1 standard for greater global reach, enhanced navigation, and additional defensive capabilities. (Lockheed Martin)  Norway has upgraded the first of its Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules transport aircraft to the latest standard now rolling off the production line.  The manufacturer announced on 21 February that the first of four ‘stretched' C-130J-30 aircraft operated by the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) has been retrofitte...

A convoy of Cold-Weather All-Terrain Vehicle perform command-and-control operations for the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center training rotation in Fort Greely, Alaska. (Janes/Meredith Roaten)  The US Army needs to buy more Cold-Weather All-Terrain Vehicles (CATVs) and is considering buying an armoured variant in addition to the general-purpose and cargo variants it has already decided to buy, Major General Brian Eifler, commanding general of the 11th Airborne Division, told Janes on 21 February.  BAE Systems delivered five CATVs to...

A model of AVIC's new AR-500W rotary-wing UAV displayed at Singapore Airshow 2024 shows that it is armed with a substantial missions and weapons payload. (Janes/Akhil Kadidal)  The Aviation Industry Corporation of China's (AVIC's) AR-500 rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) being developed for naval (including carrier-borne) operations appears to be now armed with missiles and a heavy gun.  The model of an export variant of the UAV, the AR-500W, was unveiled during the Singapore Airshow 2024 held from 20 to 25 February. This AR-500W mode...