Armenia has ordered three GM200 tactical, medium-range air-defence radars from Thales. (Thales)  Armenia is acquiring three tactical, medium-range air-defence radars from Thales and night-vision binoculars from Safran in a bid to strengthen its capabilities and territorial integrity.  The deal, announced on 23 October and signed between Armenian Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan and his French counterpart, Sébastien Lecornu, involves the supply of Thales Ground Master 200 (GM200) tactical air-defence radars.    The French Armed Forces w...

Elbit Systems Sweden will oversee the roll-out of LSS Mark for the Swedish Army. In 2022 the latest configuration of the tactical C2 system, LSS Mark 2.0, was installed in the Skaraborg Regiment's CV90 armoured combat vehicles and Mercedes-Benz G-Class vehicles for testing. (Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV))  Elbit Systems Sweden has been selected as the integration partner for the Swedish Army's digitalisation programme LSS Mark, the company announced on 25 October.  LSS Mark is a new tactical command-and-control (C2) system bei...

Under a recently announced agreement, Australian company Sentient will provide its Visual Detection and Ranging system for Shield AI's V-BAT unmanned aerial vehicle (pictured) to enhance the surveillance capabilities of the platform. (Shield AI)  Australia's Sentient Vision Systems has signed an agreement with US-based Shield AI to provide its wide-area motion imagery (WAMI) system for the latter's V-BAT unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).  Under the agreement, Sentient will supply its Visual Detection and Ranging (ViDAR) system, which will work a...

The KaraOk anti-tank guided weapon (pictured above) is fitted with a tandem high-explosive anti-tank warhead designed to defeat explosive reactive armour. (Rocketsan Missiles Inc)  The Malaysian Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) has selected Turkey's defence company Roketsan's KaraOK anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) for the Malaysian Army requirement of 18 medium-range anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) systems, Rahayu Bahaudin, general manager at Malaysia's Ketech Asia, told Janes on 26 October.  The contract has been signed, and Ketech Asia – which i...

A still shows a K9 howitzer during President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's inspection of the 4th Armoured Division. (Egyptian Presidency)  The Egyptian Army displayed a 155 mm K9 self-propelled howitzer and its associated K10 ammunition vehicle for the first time during an inspection of the 4th Armoured Division by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on 25 October.  The president's office released a video of the event, which was held at a location that could be identified as an inspection ground about 40 km northwest of Suez. Labelled as a K9 A1EGY, the...

Under a recently announced agreement, Australian company Sentient will provide its Visual Detection and Ranging (ViDAR) system for Shield AI's V-BAT unmanned aerial vehicle (pictured) to enhance the surveillance capabilities of the platform. (Shield AI)  Australia's Sentient Vision Systems has signed an agreement with US-based Shield AI to provide its wide-area motion imagery (WAMI) system for the latter's V-BAT unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).  Under the agreement, Sentient will supply its Visual Detection and Ranging (ViDAR) system, which wi...

US Army soldiers conduct electronic warfare operations during field exercises at Camp Atterbury. (US Army)  The US Army's top officer is leading an effort to implement changes to the ground service's strategy for capability development on electronic warfare (EW) and deep-sensing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations, identifying both areas as top priorities for research, development, and procurement.  “I think we recognise that EW is an area that the army has probably made limited investment in as a capability during...

The US State Department has approved the possible FMS of six HIMARSs to Latvia. (ECDI)  The US State Department has approved the possible Foreign Military Sales (FMS) of the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and related equipment worth USD220 million to Latvia, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced in a press release on 24 October.  The agency said Latvia has requested six M142 HIMARSs; 12 M30A2 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) Alternative Warhead pods with Insensitive Munitions Propulsion S...

The US State Department has approved the possible FMS of 36 AIM-120C-8 AMRAAMs and related equipment for Lithuanian NASAMS, pictured during its first live firing during Exercise ‘Silver Arrow 2023' in Norway. (Norwegian Armed Forces)  The US State Department has approved the possible Foreign Military Sales (FMS) of AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs) and related equipment worth USD100 million for the Lithuanian National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS), the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA...

The Bundeswehr will procure 2,600 DM22s starting in 2026, with an option for 10,000 more. (TDW)  The budget committee of the Bundestag, Germany's parliament, has approved the production and delivery of an initial 2,600 Panzerabwehrrichtmine Deutsches Modell 22 (PARM DM22) anti-tank mines to replace mines sent to Ukraine, the German Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on its website on 19 October. The EUR68 million (over USD72 million) that the DM22s will cost will come from funds allocated to partner countries for equipment and training and m...

The ECDI has ordered Nurol Makina NMS 4×4 (right) and Otokar Arma 6×6 (left) armoured vehicles for the Estonian Defence Forces. (ECDI)  Estonia ordered Nurol Makina NMS 4×4 armoured vehicles and Otokar Arma 6×6 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) on 18 October, the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments (ECDI) announced in a press release the same day.  The ECDI signed contracts worth EUR200 million (USD212 million) with the two Turkish companies for 230 vehicles, plus documentation, training, special tools, equipment, and spare parts. Otoka...

The Bundestag budget committee has approved the procurement of the AWS and Arrow 3 missiles for around EUR4 billion. (IAI)  The budget committee of the Bundestag, Germany's parliament, has approved the procurement of the Arrow Weapon System (AWS) and Arrow 3 missiles, the German Federal Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on its website on 19 October. The procurement is worth around EUR4 billion (USD4.24 billion) and will be funded by the EUR100 billion Zeitenwende special fund approved by Germany after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  Germa...

The ECDI has ordered Nurol Makina NMS 4×4 (right) and Otokar Arma 6×6 (left) armoured vehicles for the Estonian Defence Forces. (ECDI)  Estonia ordered Nurol Makina NMS 4×4 armoured vehicles and Otokar Arma 6×6 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) on 18 October, the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments (ECDI) announced in a press release the same day.  The ECDI signed contracts worth EUR200 million (USD212 million) with the two Turkish companies for 230 vehicles, plus documentation, training, special tools, equipment, and spare parts. Otoka...

The Carl-Gustaf M4 (pictured above) is an 84 mm, shoulder-fired, one-manportable, breech-loaded, percussion-fired, recoilless rifle. (ECDI)  The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) has ordered 300 Carl-Gustaf 84 mm shoulder-fired recoilless rifles from Swedish defence company Saab, the company said in a press release on 19 October.  Without specifying the Carl-Gustaf variant to be acquired by the JGSDF or the cost of the order, Saab said the rifles will be delivered in 2025.  Janes assesses that the JGSDF order potentially includes the pr...

This infographic shows  Poongsan's 155 mm shells for the K9 Howitzer. A photograph of a cutaway version of the extended range 155 mm shell appears at the bottom.  (Janes/Akhil Kadidal)  The South Korean metal and munition manufacturer, Poongsan, has said that it has developed a new extended-range version of its 155 mm ammunition for the Hanwha Land Systems K9 self-propelled howitzer (SPH).    Speaking to   Janes   during the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2023, a company representative s...

Hyundai Rotem's new N-WAV was designed to improve upon the RoK Army's K808 White Tiger armoured fighting vehicles. (Janes/Akhil Kadidal)  Hyundai Rotem has unveiled a prototype of its next-generation N-WAV (wheeled armoured vehicle) for the first time at the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2023.    The new 30 ton-class armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is capable of being launched from amphibious assault vessels and has improvements from the previous K808 White Tiger 8×8 AFV following recommendations from the Repu...

The Himera G1 handheld jam-resistant radio displayed at the Inscience Conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, in June 2023. The radios dimensions are 60×120×20 mm. (Julia Kuleshova/Bloomberg via Getty Images)    A handheld radio developed by Ukraine-based Himera Tech and operational with the Ukrainian armed forces has proven highly resistant to Russia's electronic warfare (EW) systems,   Janes   has learnt.     Known as Himera G1, the handheld ultra-high frequency (UHF) radio has been designed to fill a capability gap at the squ...

Canada's Roshel said it has delivered over 750 Senator MRAPs to Ukraine. The vehicles have a V-shaped hull design and an underbelly blast protection armour. (Alejandro Sanchez)  Canada's Roshel showcased a mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) variant of the Senator smart armoured vehicle at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) 2023 annual conference in Washington, DC, held on 9–11 October.  “We have delivered over 750 Senators to Ukraine, including over 300 MRAP variants,” Roman Shimonov, CEO of Roshel, told Janes at AUSA 2023....

Germany's AWS will be based at Holzdorf Air Base starting in 2025. (IAI)  German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius visited Holzdorf Air Base, 100 km south of Berlin, on 16 October, where Germany will base components of the Luftwaffe's Arrow Weapon System (AWS) and CH-47F Chinook helicopters.  Pistorius told journalists that Arrow would be based in Holzdorf starting in 2025, although he did not know if the conflict between Israel and Hamas would have an impact on production of the system. He said other locations in southern and northern Germany...

An Israeli Merkava IV tank fitted with a metal cage canopy south of Ashkelon on 15 October. (AFP via Getty Images/Gil Cohen-Magen)  Some of the Merkava IV tanks that have been deployed to the border with the Gaza Strip have had metal cage canopies fitted to their turrets to increase their protection from overhead threats.  Photographs taken of the Israeli buildup in preparation for the operation to destroy the militant group Hamas show that some, but not all, of the Merkava IVs have the previously unseen canopies. One photograph taken north o...