The British Army will shortly launch the competition to find a commercial Strategic Training Partner to help deliver the Future Collective Training System (pictured: soldiers from A Company, 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, training in Morocco in late 2022). (Crown copyright)  Lockheed Martin UK (LMUK) has announced that it is leading the seven-company Alliance team to bid to become the Strategic Training Partner (STP) for the British Army's Collective Training Transformation Programme (CTTP). The programme will deliver the army's Futur...

Italy has 68 PzH 2000s in service. (Italian Army)  The Italian Army's plans for its artillery corps were presented on the second day of Defence iQ's Future Artillery conference held in Munich from 30 May to 1 June.  The branch has nine tube and two deep fires artillery regiments and plans to stand up two more regiments.  Italy is working on multidomain operations, with a focus on deep fires. This includes participation in NATO's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps' concept development, experimentation, and innovation project for a multinational field...

The PULS MRL is entering service with the IDF as the Lahav. (Elbit Systems)    The Precise and Universal Launching System (PULS) multiple rocket launcher (MRL) is entering service with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF),   Janes  learnt at the Defence iQ's Future Artillery conference held in Munich from 30 May to 1 June.   Janes  understands that the IDF is test-firing PULS, which is known in Israeli service as the Lahav.   PULS can launch unguided and precision-guided rockets with a range of 12–300 km, according t...

Slovak self-propelled artillery battalions are equipped with the Zuzana self-propelled howitzer armed with a 155 mm gun. (Kerametal)  Janes learnt details of the plans for the Slovak Armed Forces' artillery on the last day of Defence iQ's Future Artillery 2023 conference held in Munich from 30 May to 1 June.  The branch will see its 5th Artillery Regiment become a brigade again in 2035, as it was before April 2005, with its battalions to be assigned to manoeuvre brigades.  The regiment consists of the 21st Self-Propelled Artillery Battalion w...

The Swedish Army plans to have three artillery brigades totalling 72 Archer SPHs in 2030. (Försvarsmakten/Marcus Olsson)    Sweden has been rebuilding artillery from scratch over the last decade, following neglect after the end of the Cold War,   Janes  learnt on the last day of Defence iQ's Future Artillery conference held in Munich from 30 May to 1 June.   Sweden's two artillery brigades with 24 Archer 6×6 self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) each will grow by a third brigade with 24 Archer 8×8 SPHs in 2030. The country has n...

Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell formally handing over the first batch of EU-funded military assistance to Moldova on 31 May. (European Commission)  The Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova has received its first batch of European Union (EU)-funded military equipment as part of the European Peace Facility (EPF), the EU announced on 31 May.  Over a 36-month period, Moldova will receive EUR40 million (USD42.87 million) worth of non-lethal military equipment in the areas pertaining to air surveillance, mobility and tran...

Military science students man the SARP weapon stations fitted to Qatar's upgraded VAB armoured personnel carriers during Exercise ‘Lebsair'. (Qatar Ministry of Defense)  Qatar unveiled its modernised 6×6 Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé (VAB) armoured personnel carriers (APCs) on 31 May, when its Ministry of Defense released a video showing several being used in a training exercise.  The video showed students from the Military Sciences Diploma course using three VABs to simulate an assault at a coastal training facility north of Dukhan as part of E...

South Korea has announced plans to upgrade the RoKA's K9A1 self-propelled howitzers. (Hanwha Defense)  South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has announced plans to upgrade K9A1 Thunder 155 mm/52 calibre self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) and 120 mm self-propelled mortars (SPMs) in service with the Republic of Korea Army (RoKA).  A DAPA spokesperson told Janes on 31 May that a visit by the agency earlier that month to the RoKA's Capital Mechanized Infantry Division in Gapyeong had identified about 15 upgrade requirements...

Australia has reduced its procurement of infantry fighting vehicles from 450 units to 129. Two platforms are competing for the tender – Rheinmetall's Lynx KF41 and, pictured above, Hanwha's Redback. (Hanwha Defense Australia)  Australia has announced the establishment of an external advisory panel (EAP) to oversee the implementation of the Defence Strategic Review (DSR) recommendations, which include a reorganisation of the Australian Army.  The EAP will provide an independent assessment of the DSR's progress biannually to the government, the...

KMW displayed a PULS MRL armed with a Kongsberg NSM at its site in Munich on the first day of Defence iQ's Future Artillery conference held in Munich from 29 May to 1 June. (Janes/Nicholas Fiorenza)  Krauss-Maffei Wegmann-Nexter Defense Systems (KNDS) is proposing that the Precise and Universal Launching System (PULS) multiple rocket launcher (MRL) be armed with Kongsberg's Naval Strike Missile (NSM). An Elbit Systems-Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) EuroPULS MRL mounted on an Iveco Trakker 8×8 chassis was displayed at KMW's site in Munich on the...

The Republic of Singapore Navy's combatant craft large. (Janes/Ridzwan Rahmat)  The combatant craft large (CCL) was first unveiled by Singapore's Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) in 2021. It was conceived by the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) for the service's special forces formation known as the Naval Diving Unit (NDU) and jointly developed with the country's Defence Science & Technology Agency (DSTA).    MINDEF has since confirmed to   Janes  that as of April 2023 the combatant craft is fully operational with the NDU, which i...

The Indian Army is upgrading its 9K111-1M Konkurs-M ATGW systems – pictured above in operation with the Russian Army – with thermal imagers for use in low-light or night operations. (KBP Instrument Design Bureau)    The Indian Army has upgraded its 9K111‐1M Konkurs‐M anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) systems with Bangalore-based Tonbo Imaging's cooled, longwave Infrared (LWIR) thermal imagers known as Sarisa, a source at Tonbo told   Janes.  According to Tonbo, Sarisa is a thermal imaging camera used for detection, recognition, and id...

The SSB awarded a contract to FNSS on 26 May to upgrade some of the Turkish Land Forces' ACV-15 APCs. (FNSS)  Turkey's Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) awarded a contract to FNSS on 26 May to modernise and upgrade some of the Turkish Land Forces' fleet of ACV-15 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) under the Advanced Armoured Personnel Carrier (GZTP) capability enhancement and life extension programme. The Turkish company held a press event the same day to mark the occasion.  The modernisation programme aims to upgrade 52 of the Turkish L...

Lockheed Martin's AN/TPS-77 ground-based radar is a deployable version of the AN/TPS-117 radar that can be set up within 30 minutes. (Lockheed Martin)  The Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition Logistics Organisation (Forsvarsministeriets Materiel: FMI) has contracted Lockheed Martin to extend the life of the Royal Danish Air Force's two AN/TPS-77 long-range transportable radars.  According to the FMI on 31 May, the two radars will receive a mid-life upgrade (MLU) that was planned as part of the Danish Defence Agreement 2018–2023. The MLU is...

The AN/PRC-163 two-channel radio will be procured for the Dutch armed forces as part of a wider communications programme known as Foxtrot that seeks to develop an agile interoperable land force supported with secure communications. (Harris Corp)  The Netherlands will replace all of its existing portable ground-to-air radios as part of the broader EUR1.5 billion (USD1.6 billion) 10-year Foxtrot tactical communications programme.  The project, known as the ‘Replacement of Ground-Air Radios', will involve acquiring L3Harris Technologies Falcon I...

Sweden is donating 50 CV90s to Ukraine. (Alvis Hägglunds)  Ukraine is waiting for the CV90 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) Sweden is donating, to launch its anticipated spring offensive, an attendee of the International Defence and Security Technology Fair (IDET) 2023 held in Brno, Czech Republic, from 24 to 26 May, told Janes on the second day of the exhibition.  UK and Swedish media reported on 18–19 May that 3,000–5,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been trained in Sweden on the CV90, Leopard 2 main battle tank, and Archer self-propelled howitz...

Arquus and VTU are offering the Light European Vehicle for a long-standing Czech special forces requirement. (Janes/Nicholas Fiorenza)  Arquus and the Czech Military Technical Institute (VTU) displayed the Light European Vehicle (LEV) at the International Defence and Security Technology Fair (IDET) held in Brno, Czech Republic, from 24 to 26 May.    Arquus and VTU representatives told   Janes  that 169 LEVs had been offered to the Czech Republic under a tender for vehicles for the 601st Special Forces Group.   The LEV is b...

The Czech MoD is aiming to participate in the Leopard 2A8 programme, which would represent a considerable leap in capability over the ageing T-72M4 CZ. (IMOD)  The Czech Ministry of Defence (MoD) will develop plans to address the approaching obsolescence of its main battle tank (MBT), the T-72M4 CZ, Colonel Jan Kerdik, head of Land Forces development division at the Czech Armed Forces, told SAE Media's Future Armoured Vehicles Central and Eastern Europe conference in Prague. The Czech army has now stated its ambition to join the Leopard 2A8 p...

Excalibur Army displayed its MR-2 Viktor light air-defence vehicle at IDET 2023. (Janes/Nicholas Fiorenza)  The Excalibur Army MR-2 Viktor light air-defence vehicle displayed at the International Defence and Security Technology Fair (IDET) 2023 held in Brno, Czech Republic, from 24 to 26 May is being supplied to Ukraine.    An Excalibur Army representative told   Janes  on 24 May that two batches totalling 10 to 20 vehicles had been delivered during the fourth quarter of 2022 and that 130 to 140 were planned.     Some...

A TITUS 6×6 armoured vehicle was handed over to the ACR during a ceremony at IDET 2023 on 24 May. (Janes/Nicholas Fiorenza)  The Tactical Infantry Transport and Utility System (TITUS) 6×6 armoured vehicle was handed over to the Army of the Czech Republic (ACR) on the first day of the International Defence and Security Technology Fair (IDET) 2023 held in Brno, Czech Republic, on 24–26 May 2023. The vehicle was one of five TITUS artillery fire support co-ordination posts delivered earlier in May, according to a 23 May Nexter press release on it...