An F-35B with UK-specific ASRAAM, SPEAR 3, and Meteor laid out in front of it. While the ASRAAM is already fielded, the SPEAR 3 and Meteor will not be available until the end of the decade, the government has now said. (Crown Copyright)  The Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning should receive additional UK-specific weapons “by the end of the decade”, the government said on 16 January.  Answering questions in the House of Commons, Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) James Cartlidge said that, with the MBDA AIM-132 Advanced Short-Rang...

An artist's portrayal of the Northrop Grumman LGM-35A Sentinel ICBM. (Northrop Grumman)  The US Air Force's (USAF's) LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) programme is to cost at least 37% more and enter service two years later than anticipated, the USAF said in a 19 January statement.  The Program Acquisition Unit Cost (PAUC) has increased from a projected USD118 million in 2020 to roughly USD162 million per missile in December 2023. Most of the overrun is due to cost increases in the command-and-control (C2) and missile...

PT PAL officials making final checks ahead of the keel-laying ceremony for the third SSV that will be delivered to the Philippine Navy. (PT PAL)  Indonesian state-owned shipbuilder PT PAL has laid down the keel for what will be the third landing platform dock (LPD)-like strategic sealift vessel (SSV) it will deliver to the Philippine Navy.  The keel was laid down on 22 January at the shipbuilder's facility at Surabaya, a representative from the shipbuilder told Janes on the same day.  Manila signed a follow-on contract for two more SSVs with...

The Saniya C-UAS fitted on the turret roof cage of a Russian 1st Army Corps T-80BVM tank. (Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation)  A new counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) known as Saniya, developed by Russian company 3MX, has been equipped on one of Russia's T-80BVM tanks.  The system was seen onboard a Russian 1st Army Corps T-80BVM tank operating near Pervomayskoye, Ukraine in a video posted by the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation on Telegram on 14 January.  Tests of the C-UAS were scheduled to be completed by the...

The Sabal-10 UAV is pictured in trials with a payload attached to the centre of its tubular fuselage. (EndureAir Systems)  Indian firm EndureAir Systems has developed two new unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for military logistics operations. The ‘Sabal' series UAVs consist of small, electrically propelled tandem-rotor aerial vehicles designed primarily for cargo and observation applications, the company said.    Rama Krishna, CEO of EndureAir, told   Janes  that the Sabal UAVs, comprising Sabal-10 and Sabal-20, have a low aud...

Work on the first of 16 F-16 Block 70 aircraft for Bulgaria was officially launched on 16 January. (Lockheed Martin)  Lockheed Martin has begun building the first F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft for Bulgaria at its Greenville facility in South Carolina.  The manufacturer announced the milestone on 16 January, saying seven Block 70 aircraft for Bulgaria are now in various stages of production. One of these, factory serial MY-01, was signed by Bulgarian Minister of Defence Todor Tagarev.  This first aircraft is scheduled to make its maiden flight...

An artist's rendering of the upgraded BriteCloud countermeasure for aircraft. (Leonardo)  The UK-based electronic warfare (EW) business of Leonardo has upgraded the large aircraft variant of its BriteCloud expendable active decoy (EAD) to meet the latest NATO STANAG-4871 self-protection standard and offer compatibility with new ‘smart' countermeasure dispenser systems.  Announcing the development on 18 January the company revealed that the latest BriteCloud 55-T variant will also be able to exchange data with the host aircraft's onboard self-...

LATACC is primarily being funded by the European Defence Fund and includes a range of companies specialising in key technology areas such as cloud software, communications, sensors, robotics, artificial intelligence, and system resilience in challenging environments. (Thales)  A project to enhance and accelerate collaborative combat for European land forces has been launched following the signing of a grant agreement between Thales and the European Commission, the company announced on 17 January.  Called the Land Tactical Collaborative Combat...

US marines with Marine Corps Systems Command fire a Stinger Missile from the Marine Air Defense Integrated System at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona on 13 December 2023. (US Marine Corps )  Marines recently got their hands on a Marine Air-Defense Integrated System (MADIS) for the first live fire of an initial rate production model, US Marine Corps (USMC) officials announced on 11 January.  As one of the marine's central air-defence capabilities, MADIS is being developed to take on the threat of advanced unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other...

France has announced a package of air-launched munitions for Ukraine, including the AASM Hammer guided bomb. Although seen here in its baseline GPS/INS-guided version in front of French Rafale fighters, they will likely be used by Ukraine on the F-16. (Safran)  France is to send to Ukraine the Safran Armement Air-Sol Modulaire (AASM) Hammer guided bomb for the first time while pledging more MBDA SCALP EG cruise missiles. At the same time, Germany has refused to transfer the Taurus KEPD 350 cruise missile.  French President Emmanuel Macron sai...

The DRDO showcased a scale model of the Zorawar light tank at Defexpo 2022 held in October 2022 in Gandhinagar. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)    India's state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has “successfully” developed a fully functional prototype of the Zorawar light tank, Vipin Kumar Kaushik, director of the DRDO's Directorate of Public Interface, told   Janes  on 16 January.   “The prototype of the light tank will now undergo development trials within the DRDO, and user trials with the Indian Army will b...

Janes Defence Budgets estimates a marginal increase in North Korea's defence spending in 2024. (Janes Defence Budgets)  North Korea said on 16 January that it expects to spend 15.9% of total government expenditure in 2024 on defence. The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) did not provide a monetary figure, but the proportion is the same as in recent years.  In 2023 Janes tracked North Korea's defence budget at about USD1.47 billion. Janes estimates that the new allocation represents a small increase but spending power in the isolated...

One of two new Su-30 combat aircraft received by Ethiopia on 16 January. (FDRE Defense Force)  Ethiopia has received new Sukhoi Su-30 ‘Flanker' fighters and Baykar Bayraktar Akıncı armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).  The Ethiopian National Defense Force (FDRE Defense Force) reported the arrival of an undisclosed number of Su-30s on 16 January, with the state-owned Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) reporting the arrival of an undisclosed number of Akıncı UAVs on the same day.  “We will continue to be equipped with modern weapons tha...

The German Navy has acquired six Revolution ROVs from Canadian company Deep Trekker. (Bundeswehr/Nguyen)  The German Navy has taken delivery of six new Deep Trekker Revolution remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), the German armed forces has confirmed.  The new ROVs, which were procured by the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) to meet an urgent operational requirement, will be deployed by the German Navy's 3rd Minesweeper Squadron for mine-warfare tasks, including port and hull inspec...

The first ECRS Mk 2 E-Scan radar has now been fitted aboard Eurofighter test aircraft ZK355/BS116 ahead of flight trials scheduled to begin later in 2024. (BAE Systems)  BAE Systems and its programme partners have progressed with the integration of...

The DRDO conducted a successful flight test of the new-generation missile from the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur, off the coast of Odisha, in mid-January. (Indian Ministry of Defence)  India's state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has test-fired the new-generation Akash (Akash-NG) surface-to-air missile (SAM) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur off India's northeastern coast of Odisha, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a press release in mid-January.  According to the MoD, the flight test...

The M142 HIMARS – pictured above from Exercise ‘Talisman Sabre' 2019 – is a 227 mm (six-round) MLRS. HIMARS can hit targets at a range of 70 km using GMLRS missiles. (Australian Department of Defence)  The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) has awarded a contract worth AUD37.4 million (USD24.9 million) to Lockheed Martin Australia (LMA) to manufacture guided multiple launch rocket system (GMLRS) missiles in Australia, the DoD said in a press release on 16 January.  Under the ‘Guided Weapons Production Capability (GWPC) Risk Reduction Acti...

Serbia is procuring equipment including 81 Miloš II 4×4 multi-purpose armoured combat vehicles (pictured during a live-firing demonstration at the Nikinci testing range on 18 July 2023). (Serbian MoD)  Serbia will spend nearly EUR740 million (USD810. million) in 2024 on new military equipment, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced on 13 January during a visit to Serbia's Military Security Agency.  He said, “We currently have EUR186 million of free funds in the bank account of [state-owned intermediary for export/import of defence equip...

A file photo of a UH-60A Black Hawk, of the type that Albania has received from surplus US Army stocks. (US Department of Defense)  A pair of US Army surplus Sikorsky UH-60A Black Hawk helicopters were delivered to Albania on 13 January, Albanian Minister of Defence Niko Peleshi disclosed on the same day.  Delivered aboard a US Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III strategic airlifter, the helicopters were transferred to Rinas Air Base, near Tirana.  Albania plans to use its UH-60s in utility, tactical transport, fast-roping, and aerial fire...

A Temsah-3 on display at the SOFEX show held in Jordan in November 2022. (Janes/Jeremy Binnie)  The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced the approval of two Egyptian requests on 10 January: one covering chassis and engines for light tactical vehicles and the other for additional 28 m coastal patrol craft.  It said the REV1-B Rolling Chassis, which is used for the Humvee series, and 205 hp turbocharged engines will be supplied by AM General. It did not say how many Egypt has requested but estimated the proposed sale to be wo...