Avibras has designed the ASTROS III AV-LMU missile and rocket launcher to offer significant artillery saturation firepower. (Avibras)  Avibras Indústria Aeroespacial is considering building a prototype of its newly designed Artillery Saturation Rocket System (ASTROS) III self-propelled missile- and rocket-launching system.    The development of the ASTROS III was fuelled by the lessons learned from the military conflict in Ukraine, where artillery saturation systems have been in demand and effective, João Brasil Carvalho Leite, the comp...

The GMST being supplied by Elbit Systems will provide individual classroom training through to integrated crew training at platoon level for up to four networked vehicles. (Janes/Patrick Allen)  Elbit Systems UK has been awarded a contract under Project Vulcan to supply and operate the British Army's Ground Manoeuvre Synthetic Trainer (GMST) system intended for the UK's Boxer and Challenger 3 (CR3) armoured vehicles, the company announced on 9 May.  The GMST is designed to offer comprehensive training for crews and individuals (drivers, gunn...

Senop ‘Lilly' is a compact, handheld, multifunctional observation and surveillance target acquisition device in service with the Finnish Army, which will receive a life-cycle upgrade as part of the latest contract signed with the company. (Senop)  Senop has received a large order from the Finnish Defence Forces Logistics Command for the provision of its night-vision goggles (NVGs), laser sights, and target acquisition devices.  The contract comprises the ‘Senop EVA 40 NVG' image intensifier, ‘Lilly' compact thermal imager observation and targ...

The JMSDF's second Mogami-class frigate, JS   Kumano  , seen here while it was at Changi Naval Base for IMDEX 2023.  (Janes/Ridzwan Rahmat)  The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) has begun to deploy the OZZ-5 mine-countermeasures (MCM) unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) on its Mogami-class frigates.    This was confirmed by a representative from the second-of-class, JS   Kumano  , during a visit by   Janes  to the ship while it was at Changi Naval Base for the IMDEX 2023 naval exhi...

The Australian DoD will procure around 80 EOD robots from L3Harris Micreo. These new robots are likely to be L3Harris' T7 robots (pictured). The T7 is also used by the British Armed Forces and the USAF. (Janes/Melanie Rovery)  The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) has signed a AUD46 million (USD30.7 million) contract with L3Harris Micreo to procure around 80 explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) robots for the Australian Defence Force (ADF).  “[These new robots] will carry cameras and sensors that have an improved ability to find, examine, a...

Estonia has ordered long-range loitering munitions from IAI. (ECDI)  Estonia has ordered long-range loitering munitions from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments (ECDI) and the Israeli company announced in a joint press release on 2 May. The ECDI and IAI said it was one of the most expensive defence procurements Estonia has undertaken, “significantly increasing its indirect fire capabilities”. An ECDI spokesperson told Janes on 5 May that the contract is valued at over EUR100 million (USD110 million),...

Trainers wearing the logo of Sparta Security Solutions and Israeli flag patches train special forces personnel in Equatorial Guinea. (Press Office of the Vice-President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea)  Israeli company Sparta Security Solutions is training special forces personnel in Equatorial Guinea. This was revealed when Vice-President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue – President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo's son and heir apparent – visited their training facility.  The vice-president's office released photographs and a video of the vi...

The Giraffe 1X is a lightweight X-band 3D radar with an AESA digital beam-forming antenna. It is available in land and naval iterations. (Saab EDS)  The British Armed Forces will be equipped with new Saab Giraffe 1X radars.  According to a company announcement on 2 May, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has ordered 11 Saab Giraffe 1X radars for approximately SEK264 million (USD25.6 million).    Deliveries began at the end of 2022 and are scheduled to conclude in the summer of 2023 (June to September), an MoD spokesperson told   Janes...

China's ZBL-09 infantry fighting vehicle, seen here from Russia's Victory Day parade, is armed with a 30 mm cannon, a 7.62 mm machine gun, and anti-tank guided missiles. The country has deployed 18 such vehicles in Eastern Theatre Command. (Russian MoD)  Northern Theatre Command (NTC) of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has inducted several ground force components including ZBL-09 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), ZSL-10 armoured personnel carriers (APCs), and ZTL-11 fire support vehicles (FSVs).  A video clip of the equipment-deploying ex...

Singapore has selected the Colt Infantry Automatic Rifle 6940, an example of which is pictured above, as the army's new section automatic weapon, replacing the Ultimax 100 Mk2 in service. (Janes/Patrick Allen)  The Singapore Army has selected American firearms manufacturer Colt's Infantry Automatic Rifle 6940 (IAR6940) as the new section automatic weapon (SAW) to replace in-service ST Engineering's 5.56 mm Ultimax 100 Mk2 light machine gun (LMG).  “As part of continued force modernisation efforts, our army has conducted extensive trials and e...

GA-ASI has secured a contract to provide four MQ-9B SeaGuardians (pictured) along with two ground control stations, spares, and support equipment to Taiwan. (General Atomics)  General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) has secured a contract to provide four MQ-9B SeaGuardian medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to the Republic of China (RoC) Armed Forces. .  The US Department of Defense (DoD) announced on 1 May that the value of this “undefinitised contract action” secured by GA-ASI will not exceed USD2...

The Polish Armament Agency and MBDA have signed a contract for 44 iLaunchers and hundreds of CAMMs for Poland's Pilica+ air-defence upgrade programme. (Polish Armament Agency)  The Polish Armament Agency (AA) and MBDA have announced that they have signed a contract for 44 iLaunchers and hundreds of Common Anti-Air Modular Missiles (CAMMs) for Poland's Pilica+ air-defence upgrade programme. MBDA said in a press release on 27 April that the GBP1.9 billion (USD2.37 billion) contract to modernise and manufacture iLaunchers and CAMMs for 22 Pilica...

US Coast Guard icebreaker Healy conducted operations using the Arctic-capable communications, sending, and navigation system in 2022. (Michael Fabey)  The US Navy (USN) will deploy a new Arctic navigation, communication, and environmental sensing system later in 2023, according to Admiral Michael Gilday, chief of naval operations (CNO).  “Our navy continues important communications, surveillance, navigation, marine meteorology, and physical oceanography research activities to improve situational awareness in support of future cold weather hig...

An M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System fires a Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System rocket in Grafenwӧhr, Germany, in 2019. The US Army announced a new contract for GMLRS and supporting equipment that is not to exceed USD4.79 billion. (US Army)  Lockheed Martin won a contract to build Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) for the US Army, the US Department of Defense (DoD) announced on 27 April.  The contract – worth up to USD4.79 billion – would task Lockheed with manufacturing two full-rate production lots of the GMLRS Unitary and Alt...

The Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence plans to buy more than 120 additional Boxers, designated Vilkas in Lithuanian service. (Lithuanian Armed Forces)  The Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence (MND) revealed on its website on 24 April that it plans to buy more than 120 additional Boxers, designated Vilkas in Lithuanian service. It reported that negotiations began in 2022 and that it had consulted Rheinmetall-Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) consortium Artec and presented the required information to the Organisation for Joint Armament Coop...

The RPP will be used to control UGVs from inside a manned platform, such as the Foxhound mine-protected vehicle pictured. By enabling the operators to remain within close range of the UGV, it could help overcome some of the communications issues that have been encountered in trials with UGV wingmen at beyond-line-of-sight ranges. (Janes/Patrick Allen)  The British Army's Armoured Trials and Development Unit (ATDU) is developing a remote pilot pod (RPP) for the operation of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), Lieutenant Colonel James de St John-P...

IACIT is offering its OTH 0100 surveillance radar complex, shown here in a mock-up, for the Brazilian Navy to monitor the country's jurisdictional waters. (Victor Barreira)  Brazilian technology company IACIT Soluções Tecnológicas, partially owned by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), completed installing its OTH 0100 over-the-horizon coastal surveillance radar system.  The radar, installed at the Albardão Lighthouse in Brazil's state of Rio Grande do Sul, is scheduled to be temporarily utilised by the Brazilian Navy, according to a 13 April...

The Swedish Armed Forces fired an RBS 23 medium-range surface-to-air missile from Gotland on 24 April. (Swedish Armed Forces)  The Swedish Armed Forces announced on 25 April that they had fired an RBS 23 medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) at the Tofta firing range on Gotland the day before, strengthening the defence of the Baltic island and contributing to building up its anti-aircraft capabilities. The missile was fired by an RBS 23 towed launcher and shot down a target drone detected by a PS-90 radar, the Swedish designation for the...

South Korea approved the development of the L-SAM II and the M-SAM Block III. The M-SAM Block III will be an enhanced version of M-SAM's earlier versions. The picture above shows the live-fire drill M-SAM Block I. (RoKAF)  South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has announced the development of advanced missile interceptors.  The country's Defense Project Promotion Committee (DPPC) approved the funding to develop the long-range surface-to-air missile (L-SAM) II and the medium-range surface-to-air missile (M-SAM) Block...

Australia intends for its northern military bases to become a forward deployment line for joint combat capabilities and the protection of the country's northern maritime approaches. Here, an RAAF F-35A flies over HMAS   Sydney   during Exercise ‘Tasman Shield' in April 2023.  (Commonwealth of Australia)  The Australian government has announced an investment of AUD3.8 billion (USD2.5 billion) to improve a network of military bases across the northern part of the country.  The funding will be spread over four years,...