The US is expected to provide a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine in the coming weeks. (AFP via Getty Images)  The soldiers selected by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to train on the Patriot missile battery completed their training curriculum faster than expected, a Pentagon official announced on 21 March.  When Ukraine sent about 100 troops to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to be trained on the MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile (SAM) battery in January, officials expected them to need more time to wrap up their courses at the Fires Center of Excel...

After months of deliberations, top US Army officials have decided that sending the M1A1 Abrams tank to Ukraine is faster than sending the M1A2 as originally planned. (US Marine Corps)  The Pentagon announced on 21 March that the 31 Abrams main battle tanks (MBTs) promised to Ukraine will not be M1A2 model as initially planned.  In order to get platforms to Ukraine faster, the US will pull 31 M1A1 tanks from US Army stocks and spruce them up for battle, said Pentagon Press Secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder on 21 March. The variant change...

Egyptian naval special forces display weapons that include an Akeron MP to a Qatari delegation at their base in Abu Qir. (Egyptian Ministry of Defense)  An Egyptian naval special forces unit is the first confirmed export customer for the MBDA Akeron MP anti-tank guided missile system, a video released by the Egyptian Ministry of Defense on 18 March revealed.  The video showed a high-level Qatari military delegation visiting several Egyptian units, including one that identified itself as the naval Special Forces Brigade, which displayed weapo...

Hensoldt UK will supply its Kelvin Hughes Mk11 SharpEye naval navigation radars (pictured) for the Philippine Navy's new offshore patrol vessels and corvettes, being developed by Hyundai Heavy Industries. (Hensoldt)  Hensoldt UK, formerly known as Kelvin Hughes, has secured two contracts to supply its Mk11 SharpEye naval navigation radars for the Philippine Navy's new offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) and corvettes, being developed by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI).  In addition to navigation, the Mk11 SharpEye pulse-doppler radar can provide en...

Rheinmetall Defence Australia's Boxer CRV, the variant of the ARTEC Boxer designed for the Australian project Land 400 Phase 2 requirement, and fitted with the Lance two-person turret armed with the MK30-2/ABM cannon. (Rheinmetall Defence)  Rheinmetall Defence Australia's Military Vehicle Centre of Excellence (MILVEHCOE) has begun full-scale production of the locally made Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles (CRVs) in Redbank, Ipswich.  In a joint press release on 20 March, the Queensland government and Rheinmetall Defence Australia said that...

The Archers will be drawn from Swedish Army stocks and enter into service in 2024. (Marcus Olsson/Försvarsmakten)  The UK Ministry of Defence's (MoD's) announcement on 16 March that the British Army is to receive BAE Systems Bofors Archer self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) will see the army take into service a more mobile, leaner-crewed platform than the AS90, currently in its inventory.  Fourteen Archers will be transferred to the British Army from Swedish Army stocks, and these will serve as an interim replacement for the 32 AS90 SPHs gifted t...

Taiwan has announced that the country is upgrading its M60A3 MBTs, an example of which is pictured above with the US Army, with 1,000 hp engines. (General Dynamics Land Systems)  Taiwan has announced plans to upgrade the US-made M60A3 main battle tanks (MBTs) in service with the Republic of China Army (RoCA).    Ministry of National Defense (MND) of Taiwan has awarded a contract worth USD241 million to US-based engine manufacturer Renk America (RA) for supplying its AVDS 750 hp engines to modernise the M60A3 fleet in service with RoCA, R...

The DRDO's Manportable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM). (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has designed and developed a “third-generation fire-and-forget” missile for special forces and infantry battalions of the Indian Army called Manportable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM).  The MPATGM missile weighs 14.5 kg and has a length of 1,340 mm and a diameter of 120 mm. The MPATGM is intended to replace the MILAN system of France and the Konkurs system of Russia in service with the Indian Army.  Ac...

The ATAGS, displayed in India's DefExpo 2022, can fire six rounds in 30 seconds to a range of 45 km. With the acquisition of ATAGS, the Indian Army seeks to provide direct fire support to the artillery units at the northern and eastern borders with China and the western border with Pakistan. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  India's Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, has approved the procurement of advanced towed artillery gun system (ATAGS), along with high-mobility vehicles (HMVs) and gun towing vehicles (GTVs)...

ATLA displayed the Type 16 MCV at the DSEI Japan 2023 exhibition in Chiba. (Janes/Jon Grevatt)    The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) plans to procure a total of 250 Type 16 Mobile Combat Vehicles (MCVs), Japan's Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) told   Janes  on 15 March at the DSEI Japan 2023 exhibition in Chiba.   ATLA officials said the JGSDF has ordered and taken delivery of about 100 MCVs and orders for 150 additional vehicles – including variants – are expected in the next few years. The MCVs...

MC2 Technologies has been supplying its Nerod RF C-UAS (pictured) to the Japanese government with the help of its local partner, Mikuni Aerospace. (MC2 Technologies)  French company Microwave Characterization Center (MC2) Technologies has been supplying its Nerod RF counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) to the Japanese government with the help of its local partner in Japan, Mikuni Aerospace.    Speaking to   Janes   at the DSEI Japan 2023 show being held in Chiba, Camille Gaquiere, export control manager at MC2 Technologies...

Ghost Robotics plans to deliver at least six units of its Vision 60 UGV to the Japanese Self-Defense Forces in 2024, a company official told   Janes  on 15 March. The company has displayed Vision 60 at the DSEI Japan 2023 show being held in Chiba.   (Janes/Oishee Majumdar)    Philadelphia-based Ghost Robotics plans to deliver at least six units of its Vision 60 (V60) quadrupedal unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) to the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) in 2024, a company official told   Janes  at...

A conceptual image, displayed at DSEI Japan 2023, showing how the UUV and semi-submersible USV developed by IHI Corporation will work together with the mother vessel to counter mines. (Janes/Oishee Majumdar)    Japanese heavy-industry manufacturer, IHI Corporation, has developed an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) to detect mines. The system has been delivered to the Japan Coast Guard and will also be provided to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), a company official told   Janes   at DSEI Japan 2023 being held in C...

The FN Minimi Mk 3 is a belt-fed, fully automatic, gas-operated, air-cooled LMG. The barrel of Mk 3 is chambered for 5.56×45 mm, and it is available in two lengths – 349 mm and 465 mm. (FN Herstal)  The Japanese Ministry of Defense (MoD) has selected Belgian armaments manufacturer Fabrique Nationale (FN) Herstal's Minimi Mk 3 light machine guns (LMGs) and German handgun manufacturer Heckler & Koch's (H&K's) G28 E2 anti-personnel sniper guns for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF).    A spokesperson for the MoD told   Janes...

Toshiba displayed its C-UAS, incorporating a long-range radar, at the DSEI Japan 2023 show in Chiba. (Janes/Sunil)  Japanese firm Toshiba revealed a radio frequency (RF) detection sensor and a long-range detection radar as part of a counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) solution at the DSEI Japan 2023 show in Chiba.  The C-UAS solution, which the company has not named, includes an RF sensor; a short-, medium-, and long-range radar; two cameras; and a net gun-based autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) countermeasure.  Toshiba said its R...

Israel Aerospace Industries has announced a partnership with Australian defence company Daronmont Technologies to deliver the Barak-MX air and missile defence system, the example of which is pictured above, to the Australian Defence Force. (Israel Aerospace Industries)  Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has announced a partnership with Australian defence company Daronmont Technologies to support the Australian Defence Force's (ADF's) medium-range ground-based air defence (MRGBAD) project also known as Air-6502 Phase 1.  In a press release on...

India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) test-flies a very short-range air-defence system missile in Odisha on 14 March 2023. The missile has a length of 2 m, a diameter of 0.09 m, and a weight of 21 kg. (DRDO)  India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has completed two flight tests of its very short-range air-defence system (VSHORADS) missiles, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.    According to a press release by the MoD on 14 March, the tests were conducted from the Integrated Test Range...

The 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, received the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV), signifying the completion of the US Army's First Unit Equipped for the platform. (US Army)  The Pentagon's fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget request includes production investments for the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) programme, US Army officials said 14 March.  The AMPV – manufactured and designed by BAE Systems – will take two years to reach the maximum production capacity, eventually delivering a brigade-and-a-half per year to...

A Chinese surveillance balloon flies above in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the United States on 4 February 2023. The incursion prompted the US Department of Defense to include USD90 million in last-minute ISR investments in its FY 2024 budget proposal. (Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)  The fallout from the detection and eventual shoot-down of a Chinese high-altitude intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) balloon operating in US airspace prompted several last-minute changes in the US Department of Defense (DoD) budg...

The 155 mm/39 calibre M777 ultra lightweight howitzer, displayed above undergoing trials with the UK Army, has a maximum range of 24.7 km using unassisted rounds and a sustained rate of fire of 2 rds/min. India and the US are exploring the development of a 155 mm/52 calibre M777 with an extended range. (BAE Systems Landsystems UK)  India and the US are exploring the development of an extended-range, longer barrel variant of the M777 155 mm/39 calibre ultra lightweight howitzer (ULH), manufacturer BAE Systems told Janes.  Ravi Nirgudkar, manag...