The Blue Bear Ghost fixed-wing UAV tested during the inaugural AUKUS AI and autonomy trial. (Crown Copyright)  The UK hosted the first AUKUS artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomy trial in April to promote synergies between Australian, UK, and US AI-enabled assets.  Held at Upavon in Wiltshire, the exercise involved collaboratively swarming the different AI platforms to detect and track military targets in real time in a representative environment, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 26 May.  The trial incorporated platforms such...

Inflatech displayed an inflatable Leopard 2A4 tank decoy system at IDET 2023. (Janes/Nicholas Fiorenza)  Inflatable Leopard 2A4 tank decoys are being supplied to Ukraine, Janes learnt at the International Defence and Security Technology Fair (IDET) 2023 held in Brno, Czech Republic, from 24 to 26 May. At the show, Czech-based company Inflatech displayed Leopard 2A4 and Czech STARKOM communication jammer inflatable decoys.  The decoys are designed to deceive and mislead an enemy by simulating objects and for use in electronic warfare training....

In service with the Republic of Korea Army, Hyundai Rotem's K2 main battle tank, pictured above, is replacing ageing inventories of M48 Patton tanks and older models of the K1 MBT. (Janes/Kelvin Wong)  South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has approved the mass production of a fourth batch of the Hyundai Rotem K2 main battle tank (MBT) for the Republic of Korea Army (RoKA).  DAPA said on 25 May that the project to build the batch-four MBTs has been allocated KRW1.94 trillion (USD1.46 billion) between 2024 and 2028. I...

M-113A2 Colombian, with desert scheme and camouflage mesh. (Janes/Erich Saumeth Cadavid)  The Colombian Army has 28 operational M113A2 armoured personnel carriers (APCs), about half of what it operated 10 years ago, according to army documents viewed by Janes.  Food Machinery Corp – now part of BAE Systems – delivered up to 88 units of the A1 variant in 1977. This stock shrunk to 54 vehicles in service at the beginning of the last decade, and Dynamic Trading Solutions (DTS) upgraded the vehicles to the A2 variant.  The army supply was reduced...

Hungary received the first four of 12 Leopard 2A4HU tanks in July 2020. (Hungarian government)  Brigadier General Gábor Lőrincz, commander of the Hungarian Defence Forces' land forces, outlined lessons learned from Hungary's transition to the Leopard 2 main battle tank (MBT) at SAE Media's Future Armoured Vehicles Central and Eastern Europe 2023 conference in Prague.  Hungarian forces have received a company of 12 Leopard 2A4 tanks that will be used to train crews and technicians as the country undertakes efforts to switch its MBT fleet from...

The New Zealand Army has received the first batch of 18 Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles from Thales Australia. The above picture shows a Bushmaster in service with the Australian Army. (Australian Department of Defence)  The New Zealand Army has inducted the first batch of Bushmaster 4×4 Protected Mobility Vehicles at the Trentham Military Camp located in Upper Hutt near Wellington.  According to a press release by New Zealand's Defence Minister Andrew Little, the army has received 18 Bushmasters.  In July 2020 New Zealand approved th...

Caracal has signed an agreement with Ketech Asia for the production of the CAR 816 assault rifles, pictured above, in Malaysia. The CAR 816 is chambered for the 5.56×45 mm cartridge. (Edge)  The United Arab Emirates small-arms manufacturer Edge Group's Caracal subsidiary has signed an agreement with Ketech Asia for the production and resale of the CAR 816 assault rifles in Malaysia.  The agreement was signed on 24 May at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) Exhibition 2023, held in Langkawi, Malaysia, from 23 to 27 May.  U...

The Czech Republic has awarded BAE Systems a contract for 246 CV90 IFVs. (BAE Systems Hägglunds)  The Czech Republic has awarded BAE Systems a CZK49.3 billion (USD2.2 billion) contract for 246 CV90 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs). The contract was announced at the end of the first day of the International Defence and Security Technology Fair (IDET) 2023 being held in Brno, Czech Republic, from 24 to 26 May.  The Czech Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a press release on 24 May that the order also includes 29 workshop vehicles, training, spa...

The T-72M4 CZ has served in the Czech Army for 20 years and utilises locally built hulls coupled with additional explosive reactive armour, a new powerpack, a fire-control system, a commander panoramic sight, and an upgraded gunner sight, among other modifications. (Maulincio)  The Czech Army will develop plans to address the approaching obsolescence of its T-72M4 CZ main battle tank (MBT), Colonel Jan Kerdik, head of the land forces development division at the Czech Armed Forces, told SAE Media's Future Armoured Vehicles Central and Eastern...

Raytheon is replacing the US Army's Patriot radar with the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor. Some of the prototypes are undergoing testing with the army. (Raytheon)  The US Army is testing two of its new air-defence sensors at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) in New Mexico, the service recently announced.  The Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) has begun contractor verification testing (CVT), the army's Program Executive Office Missiles and Space (PEO MS) announced on 18 May. The army envisions the radar as a key tech...

Aerojet Rocketdyne provides solid rocket motor boosters and other products for ‘hypersonic' weapons. (Aerojet Rocketdyne artist concept)  The US Army is in the midst of a massive effort to ramp up its production capacity for artillery, but will still have to contend with supply chains for the fuel that powers the in-demand rockets. Ammonium perchlorate (AP) – an oxidiser used in solid rocket fuels – is a crucial ingredient but can be difficult to source.    The number of approved sources for AP increased in recent years, US Office of the...

The UK has reopened the HMT programme to new suppliers. Pictured is DefendTex D40 nUAS, which was involved in one of the frameworks projects. (Crown Copyright)  The UK Ministry of Defence's (MoD's) Human Machine Teaming (HMT) programme reopened to new suppliers on 22 May.  Initially announced in May 2022, the three-year GBP300 million (USD372.4 million) HMT project seeks to collate lessons from the British Army's experimentation activity in Robotic and Autonomous Systems (RAS) and enable rapid iterations across the full spectrum of potential...

The UK has signed a contract with Elbit Systems UK for up to 130 ground-based surveillance radars. (Elbit Systems UK)  The UK will receive new ground-based surveillance radars (GBSRs) to bolster its front-line threat-detection capabilities following a contract signed with Elbit Systems UK.  Under the contract, Elbit Systems UK will deliver 90 GBSR systems between 2023 and 2024, with an option for an additional 40 systems, the company announced on 23 May.  The portable GBSR systems are designed to detect, track, and classify targets moving on...

Estonia and Latvia are jointly procuring the IRIS-T air-defence system. (Diehl)  Estonia and Latvia are jointly procuring the IRIS-T air-defence system, the two Baltic states' defence ministers announced in Riga on 21 May. Latvian Defence Minister Ināra Mūrniece and her Estonian counterpart, Hanno Pevkur, said the joint purchase would create a new ‘Livonian shield' protecting their countries' airspace.  The two defence ministers said negotiations would begin with Diehl Defence, which if successful Pevkur hoped would result in a contract and a...

The Guardian 30 unmanned turret displayed on the International Golden Group stand at IDEX in February 2023. (Janes/Sonny Butterworth)  Spain's Escribano Mechanical and Engineering (EM&E) announced on 22 May that it has signed a contract to deliver its Guardian 30 remotely operated weapon stations (ROWSs) to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Armed Forces.  A deal was signed at the beginning of this year covering 516 Guardian 30s to upgrade wheeled and tracked armoured vehicles in service with the UAE Armed Forces over an initial three-year period...

Thailand's DTI unveiled a prototype of the 8×8 amphibious armoured personnel carrier at the Defense & Security 2017 trade show in Bangkok. The primary armament of the AAPC is Northrop Grumman Corporation's MK44 30 mm Bushmaster chain gun. (Janes/Jon Grevatt)  Thailand's Defence Technology Institute (DTI) has delivered an unknown number of locally developed 8×8 amphibious armoured personnel carriers (AAPCs) to the Royal Thai Marine Corps (RTMC).  The DTI, a research and development (R&D) agency under the Thai Ministry of Defence (MoD), said...

The Netherlands ordered 20 PULS MRLs on 17 May. (Elbit Systems)  The Netherlands ordered 20 Precise and Universal Launching System (PULS) multiple rocket launchers (MRLs) on 17 May under an agreement between the Israeli and Dutch ministries of defence (MoDs), Elbit Systems announced in a press release the next day. The Israeli company said the USD305 million contract would be conducted over a five-year period. It will supply PULSs integrated into Dutch-produced Scania Gryphus trucks selected by the Netherlands' Materiel and IT Command (Comman...

Since February China's Eastern Theater Command has inducted several new military platforms including multiple launch rocket systems, propelled mortars, and armoured fighting vehicles. (China MND, state media, and social media)  The People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF) and PLA Rocket Force (PLARF) are increasing their presence along the Taiwan Strait to pressurise Taiwanese pro-independence developments and deter foreign actors from explicitly supporting the island.  National reunification is a core tenet of the Communist Party of Chi...

A Challenger 3 main battle tank prototype shown at DSEI fitted with a mock-up of the Trophy APS. (Janes/Riccardo Cociani)  Further details of EuroTrophy GmbH's Othello sensor and the silent-mode capabilities of the active protection system (APS) were revealed at SAE Media's Future Armoured Vehicles Central and Eastern Europe conference, which was held in Prague on 15 and 16 May.  Speaking at the event, Dan Kalfus, managing director and co-founder of EuroTrophy GmbH, said the Othello sensor is designed to minimise the host vehicle's exposure t...

Rheinmetall and Elbit Systems conducted a live-fire demonstration of an automated 155 mm L52 10×10 SPH in March at the Shivta firing range in southern Israel. (Rheinmetall)  Rheinmetall and Elbit Systems announced in a joint press release on 16 May that they had conducted a live-fire demonstration of an automated 155 mm L52 10×10 self-propelled howitzer (SPH) at the beginning of March at the Shivta firing range in southern Israel. The two companies signed a co-operation agreement to develop, produce, and market a European fully automated whee...