Exercises like ‘Cold Response' in Norway help NATO countries prepare for Arctic operations. (Janes/Michael Fabey)  NATO will benefit from Finland's Arctic naval experience, naval experts said on 3 April during the annual Navy League Sea-Air-Space conference 2023 held in National Harbor, Maryland.  The new NATO member will be particularly helpful as naval mining and countermine operations become a greater consideration, James Foggo, a retired US Navy (USN) admiral who is now the dean of the Navy League's Center for Maritime Strategy, said duri...

The PLA has deployed 120 mm PLZ-10 SPMs and some variants of the ZSD-89A family of tracked AFVs, pictured above, with the 35th Heavy Combined-Arms Brigade of the PLA 71st Group Army of the ETC. (Norinco)  The People's Liberation Army (PLA) has deployed 120 mm PLZ-10 self-propelled mortars (SPMs) with the 35th Heavy Combined-Arms Brigade of the PLA 71st Group Army of the Eastern Theater Command (ETC), which is in charge of dealing with conflicts around the Taiwan Strait.  A video clip of the equipment-deploying exercise released by state-owne...

The interior of the IBCS Interactive Collaborative Environment. (Northrop Grumman)  The US Department of Defense (DOD) has officially given the US Army's Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS) the green light to enter into full-rate production, allowing army personnel to begin planning for eventual deployments of the advanced command-and-control (C2) capability.  The full-rate production approval decision comes months after the system cleared the Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) milestone in late 2022,...

The USN awarded Northrop Grumman a full-rate production contract for AN/WSN-12 INS sensor packages. (Northrop Grumman)    The US Navy (USN) recently awarded Northrop Grumman a full-rate production contract for AN/WSN-12 Inertial Navigation System (INS) sensor packages, Rudy Fernandez, director of Maritime Systems and Integration at Northrop Grumman, confirmed to   Janes  on 3 April.     The company has delivered three AN/WSN-12 INS low-rate initial production (LRIP) sets – two for surface ships and one for submarines,...

The PLA has deployed PGZ-09 SPAAGs, an example of which is pictured above from a parade in Beijing in September 2015, along the Taiwan Strait. The service also deployed the HQ-17 SHORAD system and 122 mm PZH-11 MLRSs in the area. (Simon Song/South China Morning Post via Getty Images)  The People's Liberation Army (PLA) has deployed weapons and equipment – including multiple launch rocket systems (MLRSs), air-defence missiles, command vehicles, and ammunition supply vehicles – along the Taiwan Strait.  According to the Ministry of National Def...

The Bushmaster, seen here with the Australian Army, weighs 15.4 tonnes in its combat configuration. It has a top speed of 100 km/h and an operational range of 800 km. (Commonwealth of Australia)  The Indonesian Ministry of Defense has approved Australia's offer to donate Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles to the Indonesian National Armed Forces.    An Australian Department of Defence (DoD) spokesperson told   Janes   on 12 April that Australia is donating 15 Bushmaster vehicles to support Indonesia's peacekeeping capabiliti...

The Finnish Defence Forces are procuring the David's Sling long-range air-defence system, pictured launching a Stunner missile in an image released by the Israeli MoD on 21 December 2015. (IDF)  The Finnish Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 5 April that it has authorised the Finnish Defence Forces to procure the David's Sling long-range air-defence system from Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. It is the first export order for the system, which has been operational with the Israel Defense Forces since 2017.  The contract is valued at EUR31...

DroneShield launched the DroneGun Mk4 (pictured), a “rugged pistol jammer” with enhanced performance ranges compared with its previous variants. (DroneShield)    Australian company DroneShield has launched a new variant of its DroneGun family of counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UASs), developed in response to end-user feedback, using the “latest science in waveform design, jamming techniques, and other technologies”, the CEO and managing director of the company, Oleg Vornik, told  Janes  on 5 April.   The new variant, D...

The Netherlands is procuring 20 PULS MRLs in 2023–26. (Elbit Systems)  The Netherlands is procuring Precise and Universal Launching System (PULS) multiple rocket launchers (MRLs), its Ministry of Defence (MoD) revealed on its website on 3 April. The MoD said the Royal Netherlands Army would receive the first systems in 2023. It will be the first time since 2004 that the Netherlands operates rocket artillery.  A Dutch MoD spokesperson told Janes on 6 April that the first PULS system will be delivered fully military off-the-shelf by the end of...

Japan's new OSA scheme will provide funding for allied countries to procure defence equipment such as radars, transport aircraft, and surveillance ships. Pictured above is Japan's third Hibiki-class ocean surveillance ship on its commissioning in March 2021. (Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force)  Japan has said it will launch a new credit facility to support defence exports. The Official Security Assistance (OSA) scheme – the first of its kind in Japan – will be aligned with the country's national security interests, the Ministry of Foreign...

Armoured vehicles similar to the ones in the Senegalese parade are operated by the Nepalese contingent serving with MINUSCA. (MINUSCA)  The Senegalese Army revealed that it has new Chinese-made armoured vehicles when four were seen in the annual military parade marking the West African country's independence day on 4 April.  The vehicles were paraded between two units of WMA301 self-propelled guns from the Thiès-based armoured battalion, which a television commentator said was represented by three squadrons, including its reconnaissance squad...

Germany is procuring 227 more BvS10s under the CATV programme with Sweden and the UK (left to right: troop transport, medical evacuation, logistics, command-and-control, and recovery versions). (BAE Systems Hägglunds)  The Bundestag, Germany's parliament, approved the procurement of 227 more BvS10 all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) under the Collaborative All-Terrain Vehicle (CATV) programme, the German Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on its website on 29 March. The EUR919 million (USD1 billion) cost of the vehicles will be covered by Germany's...

Saudi Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Fayyad bin Hamed al-Ruwaili (centre) inspects a Chun-Moo multiple rocket launcher during a visit to Jizan and Najran. (Ministry of Defense of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)  South Korean-made Chun-Moo multiple rocket launchers (MRLs) were seen for the first time in Saudi service on 31 March, when Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Fayyad bin Hamed al-Ruwaili visited military units deployed to defend the kingdom's border with Yemen.  The Saudi Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the visit...

The Taliban government has restored High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles abandoned by the Afghan National Army. The above picture shows a US Army exercise with an HMMWV. (US Army)  The Taliban government in Afghanistan has restored at least 341 vehicles and 1,050 military weapons abandoned by the Afghan National Army (ANA) following the United States military's withdrawal from the country in 2021.  In a social media post in late March, Afghanistan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) announced that it had restored 300 military vehicles...

Arquus Sabre light tactical vehicle. (Janes/Amael Kotlarski)  Arquus outlined to Janes at the SOFINS 2023 exhibition, – held near Bordeaux, France – the current delivery timeline of its Sabre light tactical vehicle to the French special forces.  The Arquus Sabre, a derivative of the company's Sherpa Light platform, was selected in 2015 to replace the ACMAT liaison, reconnaissance, and support vehicle (Véhicules de Liaison, de Reconnaissance et d'Appui: VLRA ) in service in the French special forces. Known as heavy special forces vehicle (Poid...

The Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA missile, pictured above launching from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii, is jointly developed by the US and Japan. The MDA said if GPI joint development is pursued with Japan, the agency will pursue a construct similar to that used for the SM-3 missile. (US MDA)  The United States and Japan are exploring a partnership to jointly develop “glide phase intercept defensive capability” to counter hypersonic weapons, the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) told Janes.  An MDA spokesperson told Janes t...

Actronika haptic feedback suit. (Janes/Amael Kotlarski)  French company Actronika unveiled a virtual tactical training system centred around a haptic feedback suit at the SOFINS 2023 defence exhibition held near Bordeaux, France.  Adapted from Skinetic, the company's flagship product designed primarily to support virtual reality (VR) gaming, the new prototype suit was reworked to fit underneath a plate carrier. This is to enable users to train with a real-world equipment loadout. The outer shell of the suit is lined with haptic actuators, ena...

The British Army will own 14 Archer SPHs from early April. (BAE Systems Bofors)  UK Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace and Swedish Minister of Defence Pål Jonson signed a letter of intent (LOI) in London on 29 March on a bilateral strategic partnership. The Swedish and UK ministries of defence (MoDs) said in press releases on 28 and 29 March, respectively, that the signing of the LOI strengthened bilateral military co-operation and the two countries' defence relationship.  The two MoDs linked Jonson and Wallace's meeting in London to...

China's ZBL-09 armoured 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. (Russian MoD)  The Eastern Theater Command (ETC) of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has inducted China North Industries Group Corporation's (Norinco's) ZBL-09 (also known as Type 09) armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) in an equipment awarding ceremony in eastern Guangdong.  The official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the People's Daily, reported via its Wei...

UK Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace and Swedish Minister of Defence Pål Jonson signed a letter of intent (LOI) in London on 29 March on a bilateral strategic partnership. The Swedish and UK ministries of defence (MoDs) said in press releases on 28 and 29 March, respectively, that the signing of the LOI strengthened bilateral military co-operation and the two countries' defence relationship.  The two MoDs linked Jonson and Wallace's meeting in London to Sweden's sale of 14 Archer self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) to the UK, which the S...