A US Navy E-2D Advanced Hawkeye demonstrating its aerial refuelling capability. (Northrop Grumman)    The E-2 Hawkeye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft has been the eyes of US Navy carrier strike groups for more than 60 years. The newest variant, the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, brings the latest technology into the platform that can confront threats anywhere in the world, Janice Zilch, Northrop Grumman's vice-president for multi-domain command and control, told   Janes  on 5 April, ahead of the Navy League Sea-Air...

An MQ-4C maritime unmanned aerial vehicle in flight. (Northrop Grumman)  Northrop Grumman's MQ-4C Triton unmanned maritime intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft achieved initial operational capability (IOC) with the latest multi-intelligence (multi-INT) Integrated Functional Capability–4 (IFC-4) in August 2023. The first orbit of four air vehicles is operating with 7th Fleet out of Guam.    Since reaching IOC, the MQ-4C is meeting the fleet's mission capability rate requirement and has become an integral ISR capab...

Raytheon Technologies is ramping up production of RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile guided weapon systems. (Raytheon Technologies)    Raytheon Technologies is ramping up RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) production as it works on improving operational missile communication capabilities, Roger Bissmeyer, company's RAM programme director, told   Janes  .   Future missile iterations will likely feature “next level of communication,” Bissmeyer noted. “When missiles talk to the ship and the ship talks to missiles, that's a w...

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket (pictured) launched South Korea's second reconnaissance satellite on 7 April. The satellite is equipped with a SAR payload that can capture high resolution images of strategic areas of interests. (SpaceX)  South Korea has launched a second reconnaissance satellite to strengthen military preparedness against possible threats from North Korea.  South Korea's Ministry of National Defense (MND) announced on 8 April that this synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite was carried into space using SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, wh...

The Mission Master SP UGV (pictured above) features a bay that can be equipped with a variety of payloads such as remote weapon stations and masts equipped with sensors, and it is fitted with localisation and navigation sensors for remote and autonomous control. (Rheinmetall)  German automotive and arms manufacturer Rheinmetall has signed a “multimillion-dollar” contract with the Japan Ministry of Defense (MoD) to supply three Mission Master SP wheeled unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) to the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) for testing,...

The Agni-Prime – pictured above from its first test firing in June 2021 – is a surface-to-surface missile with a length of 10 m. It has a conical-shaped re-entry vehicle in comparison with the Agni II's blunt biconic re-entry vehicle. (DRDO via PIB)  India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Strategic Forces Command (SFC) test-fired the Agni-Prime medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) on 3 April from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the northeastern coast of Odisha, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a press rele...

US Coast Guard heavy icebreaker  Polar Star  is undergoing more recapitalisation work.  (US Coast Guard)    Having completed a 138-day deployment to Antarctica on 31 March to support Operation ‘Deep Freeze 2024', US Coast Guard (USCG) Cutter  Polar Star  (WAGB 10), the only operational US heavy icebreaker, is about to start phase four of its five-year Service Life Extension Project (SLEP) in Vallejo, California, USCG officials confirmed on 4 April.   The SLEP work is being done by Mare Island Dr...

L3Harris Technologies is supplying its AN/PRC-163 handheld radio (pictured) for the ‘Replacement of Ground-Air Radios' requirement under Foxtrot. The very-high-frequency (VHF)/ultra-high-frequency (UHF) radio supports secure two-channel, simultaneous up-and-down echelon connectivity and Mobile Ad hoc Network (MANET) applications. (Janes/Olivia Savage)    The Netherlands Ministry of Defence (MoD) is looking for a systems integrator to assist with running the Foxtrot tactical digitisation programme,   Janes  learnt.   Foxtro...

The earthquake in Taiwan affected infrastructure at Hualien city and also damaged Lockheed Martin F-16V aircraft (pictured) at the airport. This representative photo from August 2022 shows two F-16Vs at the Republic of China Air Force (RoCAF) base in the airport. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images)  The Taiwanese government has said the 3 April earthquake in the country damaged eight combat aircraft of the Republic of China Air Force (RoCAF).  In a statement on 4 April, the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense (MND) said the earthquake resulted...

The US Navy is requesting additional funding for the overhaul work on aircraft carrier USS  John C Stennis  to cover costs associated with the ship's redelivery delay.  (US Navy)    The US Navy (USN) is requesting an additional USD731.7 million for the refuelling and complex overhaul (RCOH) of aircraft carrier USS   John C Stennis  (CVN 74) to cover costs associated with the delayed redelivery date for the ship, according to USN officials and the service's Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget request doc...

The Hwaseong-16Na missile has an estimated range of 3,000–5,500 km. When launched from Pyongyang, the missile has the ability to strike US military base in Guam at its maximum estimated range. (Janes)  North Korea test-fired a “new” solid-fuelled intermediate-range hypersonic missile known as Hwaseong-16Na for the first time on 2 April, state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on 3 April.  The test firing of the missile – which features a “newly developed” hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) – was aimed at confirming its designed techn...

An Australian Army M113AS4 armoured logistics vehicle, fitted with optionally crewed combat vehicle technology and a remote weapon station, fires from a support-by-fire position during a human-machine team exercise at Puckapunyal Military Area. (Commonwealth of Australia)  The Australian Army's Robotic and Autonomous Systems Implementation and Coordination Office (RICO) and Electro Optic Systems (EOS) have conducted a remote firing exercise from an uncrewed M113 armoured personnel carrier (APC) at Puckapunyal Military Area in Victoria, EOS sa...

A screenshot showing the scaled demonstrator beached during testing. (Steller Systems)  UK ship design house Steller Systems has performed sea trials of a subscale concept demonstrator intended to prove a novel hullform that could be exploited as the basis for a future high-speed offshore insertion craft.  Funded by the UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) through the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) Novel Amphibious Craft competition, the demonstrator has “successfully proven the innovative features” of a full-scale...

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Starlink payload launches from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 17 December 2022. (US Space Force)  The US Department of Defense (DoD), for the first time, has issued guidance on how the Pentagon will continue to and possibly accelerate integration of commercial, space-based technologies into the department's national security space architecture.  The 2024 Commercial Space Integration Strategy, released on 2 March, establishes the “foundational principles, priorities, and approaches” that the DoD will leverage a...

Exail's R7 remotely operated vehicle has been procured for the Belgian Navy. (Exail)  Exail has been contracted to supply six R7 remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) for the Belgian Navy, the company announced on 2 April.  The ROVs will be used for the inspection and disposal of underwater explosive ordnance, as well as safeguarding harbours, coastal areas, ships, and key infrastructures.  Launched in October 2021, Exail's R7 ROV is a small, compact manportable system designed for operation from small craft such as rigid-hulled inflatable boats...

The GM400α radar from Thales is replacing the MPR (pictured) in Nieuw Milligen while the new Herwijnen radar station is fitted with the long-range SMART-L Multi-Mission/Fixed system. (Netherlands Ministry of Defence )  The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) has retired its 52-year-old Medium Power Radar (MPR) based in Nieuw Milligen, the Netherlands Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 2 April.  The MPR in Nieuw Milligen has been in service since 1971, supporting the RNLAF Nieuw Milligen air operations control station (AOCS) with air surve...

LMUK's Skykeeper Command is designed for main HQs in semi-static locations or in an ISO-container configuration. (Lockheed Martin UK)  Lockheed Martin UK (LMUK) has finished upgrading the British Army's Land Environment Air Picture Provision (LEAPP) capability and is developing future iterations of its SkyKeeper command-and-control (C2) software,   Janes   learnt at a media briefing on 26 March.   LEAPP is a truck-mounted system integrated with the Saab Giraffe Agile Multi-Beam (G-AMB) 3D surveillance radar that provides early air-de...

Brazilian shipbuilder Itaguaí Construções Navais (ICN) launched the third unit of the Riachuelo-class diesel-electric attack submarine (SSK), S Tonelero (S42), on 27 March.  The launch of the S Tonelero (S42) SSK by ICN (a joint venture between Novonor and Naval Group) took place at the Itaguaí Naval Complex.  The submarine is scheduled to be commissioned for Brazilian Submarine Force Command in May 2025, after the vessel completes successful sea trials, the Brazilian Navy told Janes.  S Tonelero is the third of four Riachuelo-class S-BR subm...

Aircraft carrier   Enterprise  is running 18–26 months behind schedule.  (Janes/Michael Fabey)  Major US Navy (USN) shipbuilding programmes are running one to three years behind schedule due in a large part to the lack of a sufficient workforce and supply-chain disruptions, according to a 45-day shipbuilding review of these programmes and USN officials who spoke about the review's findings on 2 April during a roundtable media discussion.  While some of these issues are “lingering” Covid impacts, Nickolas Guertin,...

Indian defence exports increased by 150% between 2020–21 and 2023–24, according to statistics issued by the MoD. (Indian MoD/Janes)  Indian defence exports reached INR210.83 billion (USD2.5 billion) in fiscal year (FY) 2023–24, an annual increase of 32%, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.  The MoD said in a statement on 1 April that private sector firms contributed to 60% of exports in 2023–24, with state-owned defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) accounting for the remainder.  It added, “The figures indicate that defence ex...