US Congressional Budget Office's 10-year projections for US defence spending, interest payments, and total deficit. (Congressional Budget Office/Janes)  The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its regular 10-year budget and economic report on 7 February, projecting growing deficits, public debt, and costs attributable to an ageing population while revenue remains largely the same by 2034.  The CBO emphasised that its forecasts, based on legislation enacted through 3 January 2024 and economic data as of 5 December 2023, assume current l...

The RQ-7B Shadow was deployed during JPMRC 24-02 at a brigade level. (US Army)  After the US Army announced it would not buy any more RQ-7 Shadows, an11th Airborne Division official told Janes that the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) could not be used in cold temperatures.  The Shadow is not approved to operate at temperatures below -20ºF, Lieutenant Colonel James Jones, assistant G3, the assistant officer in charge of operations for the 11th Airborne Division, said in an interview. The UAV was deployed during the the Joint Pacific Multinationa...

An Arjun Mk 1A main battle tank. (Indian MoD/Janes)  The deliveries of Defence Research and Development Organisation's (DRDO's) Arjun Mk 1A main battle tanks (MBTs) to the Indian Army will experience a delay because of an engine shortage, a DRDO official told Janes on 20 February.  The Indian Army ordered 118 Arjun Mk 1A MBTs worth INR75.23 billion (USD907 million) in September 2021, with deliveries of the initial batch scheduled for 2024 and the final batch in 2027.  However, because of a delay in the delivery of engines from German company...

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...

Screengrab of a video showing the first flight of the Kaan combat aircraft on 21 February 2024. (Presidency of the Republic of Turkey)  Turkey has flown its Kaan National Combat Aircraft (MMU) for the first time, Turkish Aerospace (TA) announced.  The domestically developed ‘fifth-generation' fighter departed TA's Ankara facility for its approximately 15-minute maiden flight on 21 February. For the flight, the Kaan MMU was accompanied by a Turkish Air Force Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon chase plane.  “We have carved another development...

According to Elbit Systems, the Hermes 650's front-engine configuration is designed to support several capabilities such as short take-off, increased endurance, and the ability to support a diverse payload. (Elbit Systems/Janes)  Elbit Systems unveiled its new front-engine Hermes 650 Spark tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on 21 February at Singapore Airshow 2024.  Speaking to   Janes, vice-president and head of Business Development and Marketing at Elbit Systems, Ziv Avni described the Hermes 650 as being in the one-tonne category...

Workers at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant prepare 155 mm artillery rounds to be filled as a part of the load, assemble, and pack operation. (US Army)  It has been more than a year since the US Army announced its ramp-up of 155 mm ammunition was under way. Now, the Pentagon has to find a way to more than double its production output by the end of the year as the war in Ukraine marches on.  The 155 mm artillery round is fired by several weapons that see heavy usage in Ukraine, and one estimate – cited by the European Union's (EU's) European Par...

HMS   Vanguard   is the lead boat of a four-strong class of Trident-armed SSBNs whose role is to provide the UK's strategic nuclear deterrent.  (UK MoD)  The test firing of an unarmed Trident II D5 missile from one of the UK Royal Navy's (RN's) nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) has failed, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed.    During the test launch, which took place from HMS   Vanguard  (S28) off the US eastern seaboard on 30 January, an “anomaly” occurred, an MoD s...

HMAS   Waller  sails through Sydney Harbour as the boat prepares to berth at Fleet Base East, Sydney. Commissioned in July 1999, HMAS   Waller  is the third of six RAN Collins-class submarines.   (Commonwealth of Australia)  Although planning is well-advanced for the Life of Type Extension (LOTE) planned for all six of the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN's) conventionally powered Collins-class submarines, some question marks hang over the schedule and implementation of the multibillion-dollar programm...

The Super Tucano that was demonstrated at Air Force Base Accra in Ghana on 19 February 2024. (Ghana Air Force)  The Ghana Air Force hosted an event to promote the A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft to the defence minister and other senior officials and officers on 19 February.  The demonstration was put on by Embraer, the Super Tucano's designer, and Sierra Nevada Corp (SNC), which produces the aircraft for US Foreign Military Sales customers, at Air Force Base Accra and was live-streamed by the air force via YouTube.  In his speech, Air...

The Aerospace Times Feipeng Company Limited's FP-981C vertical take-off landing unmanned aerial vehicle. (Janes)  China is developing a new vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for short-range cargo transport tasks.  A representative of the Aerospace Times Feipeng Company Limited said the UAV, called the FP-981C, is being developed to transport cargo and supplies in “complex environments”.    “The developmental programme of the FP-981C started in 2022, and the UAV is currently involved in flight-testing,” th...

A MANTAS T-12 USV, front, operates alongside Royal Bahrain Naval Force fast-attack craft RBNS   Abdul Rahman Al-fadel  during operations in support of Task Force 59 in the Gulf.  (US Navy)  Anxious to avoid gifting an operational advantage to China, the US Navy's senior officer in the Pacific said the service will maintain a veil of secrecy over the pace at which it is ‘operationalising' new unmanned systems capabilities and concepts in the Pacific Fleet.  In his 14 February keynote to the AFCEA International and...

An artist's impression of the future Hunter-class frigate for the Royal Australian Navy. Canberra has announced plans to reduce its procurement of nine of the type to six. (Commonwealth of Australia)  The Australian government has announced a major expansion of the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN's) surface combatant fleet. Under plans announced on 20 February in response to an independent review of RAN surface combatant capability, Defence Minister Richard Marles said the RAN will more than double the size of its warship fleet to meet future st...

Singapore's defence budget is forecast by   Janes  to grow to around USD16.1 billion in real terms in 2025, up from USD12.1 billion five years earlier.  (Janes Defence Budgets)  Singapore has announced a defence budget of SGD20.25 billion (USD15 billion) for 2024. The new expenditure, announced on 16 February, is a 13% increase over the original defence budget for 2023 and a 2.5% increase over the revised allocation of SGD19.76 billion.  The 2024 defence budget includes SGD19.34 billion (95.5% of the total expend...

Through the NMH programme, the UK is looking to replace its ageing Puma HC2 helicopters with up to 44 new rotorcraft. (Janes/Patrick Allen)  The UK government has said “positive progress” is being made on the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) programme to replace the Airbus SA 330E Puma HC2 in military service.  Answering questions in the House of Commons, Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) James Cartlidge said on 13 February that the effort to replace the Puma HC2s with up to 44 new rotorcraft should enter into its second half shor...

Italy has been approved to buy further SDB II and AIM-120C-8 air-launched munitions to be carried by its combat aircraft types, such as the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. (Italian Air Force)  The US government has approved the sale of air-launched munitions to Italy for an estimated USD219.3 million.  In two separate approval notifications posted by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) on 15 February, the US Department of State cleared the sale to Italy of RTX GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) II (also known as StormBreaker)...

The SAMAR air-defence system – seen here at Aero India 2023 – features two refurbished Russian Vympel R-73E infrared‐guided air-to-air missiles mounted on a Stallion 4×4 Mk IV BS-III truck. (Janes/Saketha Potlapalli)  The Indian Air Force test-fired its newly inducted Surface to Air Missile for Assured Retaliation (SAMAR) air-defence system during Exercise ‘Vayu Shakti-24', which took place in the Pokhran range near Jaisalmer on 17 February.  According to a press release by the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) on 17 February, the Indian Air F...

The US Navy plans significant investments for large unmanned surface vessel programmes. (US Department of Defense)  The US Navy's (USN's) most senior uniformed officer has outlined her planned timeline to transition the surface navy to a new hybrid force structure mixing manned and unmanned vessels.  Speaking at the AFCEA International and US Naval Institute WEST 2024 conference in San Diego, California, on 13 February, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral Lisa Franchetti said the navy road map was looking out across three five-year Future...

India has cleared various defence equipment aquisitions, including the procurement of heavyweight torpedoes to enhance the attacking capabilities of Kalvari-class submarines, as shown in the above picture. (Ministry of Defence, India)  India's Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, has approved the procurement of various defence equipment worth INR845.6 billion (USD10.19 billion) for the Indian Armed Forces and the Indian Coast Guard.  The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a statement on 16 February that...

The Netherlands has received the first of 20 PULS MRLs it ordered on 17 May 2023. (Elbit Systems)  The first of 20 Precise and Universal Launching System (PULS) multiple rocket launchers (MRLs) ordered by the Netherlands on 17 May 2023 has arrived in the country and will be presented to the local media in May, Janes has learnt.  The systems were ordered under an agreement between the Israeli and Dutch ministries of defence (MoDs). Under a USD305 million contract, Elbit Systems is supplying the MRLs as well rockets and missiles of various rang...