The 120 mm guided mortar round that was recovered in North Kivu province in the DRC in June 2023. (United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo via the United Nations Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of Congo)  Sophisticated guided mortar rounds are being used to attack the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) in the eastern province of North Kivu, according to the latest report from the United Nations Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)...

Finland has ordered 13 more Sisu GTP 4×4 off-road vehicles in addition to the 31 it is already procuring. (Sisu Auto)  Finnish Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen has authorised the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) to order 13 more Sisu GTP 4×4 off-road vehicles worth EUR9.7 million (USD10.6 million), the defence ministry announced in a press release on 27 December.  This is in addition to the 31 Sisu GTPs sold to the FDF in 2020 and 2022. The FDF signed a contract with Sisu Auto in June 2020 for six GTP 4×4 vehicles for trials to assess mobility...

Finland has exercised part of the option to order 40 more 6×6 CAVS vehicles under the agreement for 91 vehicles signed by the Finnish Defence Forces Logistics Command and Patria in June 2023. (Patria)  The Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) is procuring 40 more 6×6 Common Armoured Vehicle Systems (CAVS), prime contractor Patria announced in a press release on 4 January. The FDF was exercising part of the option for 70 vehicles in the agreement for 91 vehicles signed by the FDF Logistics Command and Patria in June 2023.  CAVS production and deliveri...

The NSPA ordered up to 1,000 PAC-2 GEM-Ts from COMLOG on 3 January for Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, and Spain (photo of German Patriots deployed to Sliač Air Base in Slovakia in March 2022). (Janes/Nicholas Fiorenza)  The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) has ordered up to 1,000 Patriot Advanced Capability-2 (PAC-2) Guidance Enhanced Missiles-Tactical (GEM-Ts) from MBDA-Raytheon joint venture COMLOG for Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, and Spain, the NSPA and COMLOG announced in a joint press release on 3 January. In addition...

Lithuania acquires Thales GM200 MM/C radar systems in a deal with the Netherlands Ministry of Defence. (Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Lithuania)  Lithuania has acquired new Thales Ground Master 200 Multi-Mission Compact radars (GM200 MM/C) to strengthen its artillery capabilities.  The deal, struck between the Lithuanian and Netherlands ministries of defence, is valued at EUR126.7 million (USD138.6 million) for an undisclosed number of GM200 MM/C radar systems, the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence (MND) announced on 3...

A news broadcast with file footage of North Korea's artillery firing, at a railway station in Seoul on 5 January 2024. North Korea fired more than 200 artillery shells near two South Korean islands that day, said the South Korean government. (Jung Yeon-je /AFP via Getty Images)  North Korea fired more than 200 artillery shells into waters near the Seoul-controlled Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong islands early on 5 January, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) spokesperson Colonel Lee Sung-jun disclosed in a statement to reporters on the same...

The Lithuanian MND has completed the first phase of the procurement of JLTVs, with the delivery on 29 December 2023 of the last 50 of the first 200 vehicles ordered in 2019. (Lithuanian MND)  The Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence (MND) announced on 30 December 2023 that it had completed the first phase of the procurement of Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs), with the delivery of the last 50 of the first 200 vehicles the day before.  The ministry signed a first contract with the US government for 200 JLTVs in 2019 and a second one fo...

The PCP001 vehicles are based on a modified 4×4 Dongfeng EQ2050 vehicle (pictured above) fitted with an 82 mm rapid-deployment automatic mortar system. (Dongfeng Motor Corporation)  The People's Liberation Army's (PLA's) Hong Kong Garrison has received at least 13 new 4×4 armoured vehicles, according to video footage released by Chinese state-owned broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) in early January.  The CCTV footage showed six Dongfeng Mengshi CSK181 armoured vehicles, four PCP001 fire-support vehicles, two Red Arrow 10 launch vehi...

Poland has ordered 12 new command vehicles from Polish manufacturer Rosomak to support its 250 M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 MBTs. (Polish Armaments Agency)  Poland has ordered 12 new command vehicles based on the Rosomak wheeled armoured personnel carrier (APC) to support its 250 M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 main battle tanks (MBTs).  The command vehicles will be used at the battalion level and will be equipped with internal communication subsystems and other basic communication equipment to ensure the secure exchange of classified information, the Polish Armament...

Mass production of Aselsan's new electro-optical reconnaissance, surveillance, and targeting system, ASELFLIR-500, has begun and it is expected to be integrated onboard the Bayraktar TB3 unmanned combat aerial vehicle and the TCG   Anadolu  multi-purpose amphibious assault ship.  (Janes/Olivia Savage)  Aselsan's latest electro-optical systems – ASELFLIR-500, DORUK-2, and TULGAR – achieved important production and delivery milestones in 2023.  According to Aselsan's General Manager Ahmet Akyol on 31 December, the...

Finland has ordered 13 more Sisu GTP 4×4 off-road vehicles in addition to the 31 it is already procuring. (Sisu Auto)  Finnish Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen has authorised the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) to order 13 more Sisu GTP 4×4 off-road vehicles worth EUR9.7 million (USD10.6 million), the defence ministry announced in a press release on 27 December.  This is in addition to the 31 Sisu GTPs sold to the FDF in 2020 and 2022. The FDF signed a contract with Sisu Auto in June 2020 for six GTP 4×4 vehicles for trials to assess mobility...

The Armado LSV (pictured above) is equipped with an in-service Global Positioning System (GPS), detachable and adjustable modular racks, an automatic grenade launcher, an electric winch, a high-frequency radio, and screen and window mesh protection. (MDSL)    The Indian Army has deployed an unknown number of 4×4 Light Specialist Vehicles (LSVs) known as Armado in the Rajouri-Poonch sector near the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan, Lieutenant Colonel Suneel Bartwal, the Indian Ministry of Defence's (MoD's) Public Relations Officer (PRO...

South Korea's upgraded Joint Fire Operation System (JFOS-K) provides the Republic of Korea's (RoK's) military with the ability to conduct theatre-level integrated firepower operations with air, sea, and ground forces. It is also connected to other battlefield information, asset management, and command-and-control systems of the RoK and US military forces. (DAPA/Janes)  South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has announced that the military's Joint Fire Operation System (JFOS-K) has been upgraded to support integrated,...

The US Army's 30 mm counter-UAS turret in M-LIDS fires at a target from Udairi Range, Kuwait. (US Army)  The US Army is increasing the number of Coyote loitering munition interceptors as part of the Mobile-Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat System (M-LIDS), according to a new contracting notice.  The army plans put Raytheon on contract to build 6,000 Coyote kinetic interceptors by 2029, according to the request for information (RFI) released on 18 December. The Coyote Block 2 counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UASs) have b...

The Brazilian Marine Corps Amphibious Vehicles Battalion received 23 AAV7A1 RAM/RS vehicles between 2017 and 2018 in three different configurations. (Victor Barreira)  The Brazilian Marine Corps (Corpo de Fuzileiros Navais: CFN) is implementing an ambitious effort to replace several of its older platforms, acquire new capabilities, update infrastructure and organisations, and simultaneously bolster the local Defence Technological and Industrial Base (DTIB).  Marine Materiel Command (Comando do Material de Fuzileiros Navais: CMatFN) under Gene...

An RRAI Small Multipurpose Equipment Transport participates in an automated breaching experiment led by the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Liberty, North Carolina. (US Army)  The small robots of the 264th Clearance Company will participate in a training centre rotation at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Johnson, Louisiana, in one of the earliest tests of the ground vehicles in army operations, a US army officer told Janes.  The Small Multipurpose Equipment Transport (S-MET) and the Expeditionary Modular Autonomous Vehicle (EMAV) – wh...

BAE Systems M777 155 mm/39 calibre ultra lightweight howitzer in service with the Ukrainian forces can hit targets to a maximum range of 24.7 km using unassisted rounds and has a sustained rate of fire of 2 rds/min. (Ministry of Defence of Ukraine)  BAE Systems and AMS Integrated Solutions have signed an agreement to provide maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services for artillery systems in Ukraine.  According to a BAE Systems statement on 18 December, the agreement will enable the two companies to offer “specialised artillery systems...

The Dawon 4×4 all-terrain vehicle (pictured above) features a 4,400 cc Caterpillar diesel engine pushing out 200 bhp and 800 Nm of torque, an Allison automatic transmission, and Dana's differential unit. (DACA War Trucks)  Indian defence vehicle manufacturer DACA War Trucks has proposed its Dawon 4×4 all-terrain vehicle to the Indian Army, the company's co-founder Yash Srivastava told Janes in mid-December.  The Indian Army has initiated several vehicle procurement programmes, and DACA has offered Dawon for the service's all-terrain vehicle p...

The army's new DPET electronic surveillance system consists of four stations, which are transported by Tatra T-815 8×8 vehicles. (Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic/Warrant Officer Jan Králíček)  The Army of the Czech Republic (ACR) has received the first of two new deployable passive electronic surveillance systems following an official handover ceremony to the 532nd Electronic Warfare Battalion on 13 December.  The system, known as the Deployable Passive Electronic Support Measures Tracker (DPET), is replacing the in-service Vera-S/...

The SIG716 is a gas-cycled, air‐cooled, magazine box-fed weapon of a conventional layout with a maximum hitting range of 800 m. (SIG SAUER)  India's Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved the procurement of 70,000 additional SIG Sauer's SIG716 7.62×51 mm rifles worth INR8.4 billion (USD100 million) for the Indian Army, A Bharat Bhushan Babu, principal spokesperson for the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD),told Janes on 14 December.  The MoD ordered the first batch of 72,400 SIG716 rifles worth USD90 million in 2020 using the Fast Track...