A 5.56 mm XT112 assault rifle prototype showcased at TADTE 2023. The rifle has a firing range of 600 m. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  The Republic of China Army (RoCA) has granted the permission to produce a new direct fire support variant of the Cloud Leopard 8×8 wheeled armoured combat vehicle (ACV) and a new 5.56 mm assault rifle called XT112, Taiwan's state-owned Central News Agency (CNA) reported in late March.  According to the CNA, the ACV – fitted with a 105 mm gun – passed initial combat readiness testing with the RoCA in October 2023, while...

A US Army soldier with the 2nd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, inspects a MAPS Gen 1 A-PNT component installed on a tactical vehicle. (US Army)  The US Army's combat capabilities development directorate is seeking industry input on an Assured Position, Navigation, and Timing (A-PNT) capability specifically designed for dismounted operations.  Officials from the research and technology integration directorate at the service's Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Center are s...

The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system (pictured above) is armed with an anti-ship warhead of weight varying between 200 and 300 kg. (Janes/Patrick Allen)  The Indian Army test-fired the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile and the Akash semi-mobile surface-to-air missile (SAM) in two separate exercises that took place in late March.  The BrahMos test was carried out by the Rising Sun missile unit of the Indian Army's Eastern Command in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. According to a social media post by Eastern Command, the missile hit th...

An Australian Army AS9 Huntsman self-propelled howitzer test-fires a practice round at the Proof and Experimental Establishment in Port Wakefield. (Commonwealth of Australia)  South Korea's Hanwha Aerospace initiated the production of the first AS9 ‘Huntsman' self-propelled howitzer (SPH) and AS10 armoured ammunition resupply vehicle (AARV) for the Australian Army on 28 March at its Changwon facility, the company said in a social media post in late March.  Following initial production of two AS9s and one AS10 at the Changwon facility, all the...

Italian Navy Thaon di Revel-class PPA ITS   Francesco Morosini   seen at Langkawi during its 2023 Asia-Pacific tour.  (Janes/Mansasvi Sharma Shanker)  Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri announced on 28 March that it has signed a EUR1.18 billion (USD1.27) contract for two multirole offshore patrol ships (Pattugliatore Polivalente d'Altura: PPA) with the Indonesian Ministry of Defense (MoD).  However, Indonesia's ability to fund this commitment is presently unclear given the lack of an allocation for this programme in...

The first production Tejas Mk 1A takes off from the HAL airport in Bangalore on 28 March 2024. (HAL)    Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has test-flown its first production Tejas Mk 1A Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). However, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is unlikely to get the aircraft until mid-2024, an industry source told   Janes  .     According to HAL, the first production aircraft, serial no LA-5033, conducted an 18-minute successful sortie from the HAL airport in Bengaluru on 28 March. HAL intended to deliver at l...

In a recent demonstration to the ADF, Fleet Space Technologies applied the Beagle waveform technology to deliver push-to-talk capabilities using its Centauri 4 LEO satellite (pictured). (Fleet Space Technologies)  South Australia-based Fleet Space Technologies has used communications waveform technology Beagle to demonstrate satellite-enabled push-to-talk (PTT) capabilities to the Australian Defence Force (ADF).  Janes  understands Beagle is a design framework developed by Australian company Safety from Space to generate efficient radio...

New Australian legislation aims to support defence trade between partners working on the AUKUS submarine. A visual concept of the submarine is pictured above. (BAE Systems)  Australia's parliament passed legislation on 27 March that will support the country's AUKUS partnership with the United Kingdom and United States but toughen rules on the transfer of technologies to other foreign countries.  The Department of Defence (DoD) in Canberra said the new Defence Trade Controls Amendment Act 2024 (DTC Act) will enhance the protection of “Australi...

Rocket Lab's Electron launch vehicle taking off from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on 21 March. The rocket carried a US satellite, which includes an experimental communications payload developed by the NZDF. (Rocket Lab)  The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has launched an experimental communications payload into orbit with the help of a research satellite developed by the US Navy's (USN's) Naval Postgraduate School (NPS).  This communications payload, named ‘Korimako', will “allow defence scientists to conduct space communicati...

This concept image of China's new attack helicopter, tentatively designated as Z-21, is based on photographs of the prototype aircraft in flight. (Janes)  China is developing a new attack helicopter that appears to be in the same weight class as the US Boeing AH-64 Apache and the Russian Mil Mi-28 Havoc.  Images of the new helicopter, which emerged on Chinese social media in March 2024, show an aircraft that is larger than the People's Liberation Army's (PLA's) in-service AVIC (Aviation Industry Corporation of China) Changhe Aircraft Industr...

Seen here in Italian service, the AW169M will soon be fielded by North Macedonia alongside the AW149 under a deal finalised on 26 March. (Bundesheer Fotos)  North Macedonia finalised its agreement to acquire eight new battlefield lift helicopters from Leonardo on 26 March, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on the same day.  The deal to buy four AW149 and four AW169M helicopters was signed between the North Macedonian Minister of Defence, Slavjanka Petrovska, and the vice-president of Leonardo, Cesare Cacha, in Skopje.  The milestone cam...

A screenshot from an Aselsan video showing its new AESA radar in an anechoic chamber prior to flight trials aboard an F-16. (Aselsan)  Aselsan revealed on 16 March that its domestically developed active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar made its maiden flight onboard a Turkish Air Force Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon combat aircraft.  The test was performed on 15 February aboard a test aircraft that also featured a mission computer developed by Aselsan.  The radar was designed with gallium nitride (GaN)-based chip technology, an...

One of four Reaper UAVs now operated by the RNLAF. As well as doubling its fleet to eight, the Netherlands plans to upgrade its Reapers with a raft of enhanced capabilities. (Royal Netherlands Air Force)  The Netherlands is to equip its General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) MQ-9A Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with a raft of enhancements over the next three years, the manufacturer said on 27 March.  Following previously disclosed plans by the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) to double its fleet size from four to eight...

An artist rendering of the proposed US Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter, whose cost estimates are being questioned. (VT Halter Marine/Technology)  The accuracy of the estimated procurement cost of the proposed US Coast Guard (USCG) Polar Security Cutter (PSC), given its size and internal complexity, is a potential issue of concern, according to the US Congressional Research Service (CRS).    “The PSC's estimated procurement cost per weight is roughly half that of the [US] Navy's LPD-17 Flight II and LHA amphibious ships,” the CRS said i...

A screenshot from an Aselsan video showing its new AESA radar in an anechoic chamber prior to flight trials aboard an F-16. (Aselsan)  Aselsan's new active electronically scanned array (AESA) Nose Radar has completed its maiden flight onboard the Turkish Air Force's (TuAF's) Lockheed Martin F-16 Block-30 fighter jet.  According to Aselsan on 26 March, the indigenously developed radar is designed to support both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions and offers capabilities such as multitarget detection and tracking, beyond-visual-range missile...

Saab has been contracted to deliver its Arexis electronic suite for the Luftwaffe's Eurofighter EK aircraft, a mock-up of which was displayed at the ILA Berlin Air Show in 2022 (pictured). (Janes/Gareth Jennings)  Airbus Defence and Space (DS) has contracted Saab to deliver its Arexis electronic warfare (EW) suite for the Luftwaffe's Eurofighter Elektronischer Kampf (EK) requirement, the Swedish company announced on 26 March.  The award came about nine months after Saab was selected in June 2023 by the Luftwaffe, along with its German partner...

A company graphic showing Magal Solutions' integrated military base solution, featuring sensor integration into the company's Fortis X C5I software solution. (Magal Solutions)  Magal Solutions is incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) tools into its military base protection solutions to enhance data fusion and analysis capabilities, the company has told Janes.  Part of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Magal's major focus for armed forces is an integrated military base solution. This combines sensors – such as short- and long-range cameras...

The US Navy is looking to decommission USS  Jackson  .  (Janes/Michael Fabey)    The US Navy (USN) wants to decommission 19 vessels during fiscal year (FY) 2025, including 10 ships before they have reached planned end of their expected service lives (ESLs), according to the  Report to Congress on the Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels for Fiscal Year 2025  , often called the USN's 30-year shipbuilding plan, sent to US lawmakers on 19 March.   The shipbuilding plan details t...

Aircraft BK35 seen at RAF Marham shortly after its arrival on 20 March. With deliveries to the UK of TR-2 standard aircraft now complete, the arrival of TR-3 standard aircraft should commence later in the year. (Crown Copyright)  The UK has received its final Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning combat aircraft to be delivered at the Technology Refresh-2 (TR-2) standard, the manufacturer confirmed to Janes on 25 March.  The Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced the arrival of the two jets on 20 March. Lockheed Martin told Janes that BK (the factory...

SEA's Ancilia trainable decoy launcher system has been selected to meet the UK's EWCM Increment 1a requirement. (SEA)  Systems Engineering & Assessment (SEA) has been selected by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to satisfy its requirement for a new trainable decoy launcher to enable soft-kill protection of Royal Navy (RN) Type 45 destroyers, Type 26 frigates, and Type 31 frigates.  On 26 March the MoD announced that SEA (part of the Cohort Group) had been selected to deliver the Electronic Warfare Counter Measures (EWCM) Increment 1a programm...