The DRDO has partnered with Adani Defence and Aerospace to manufacture its D4 C-UAS (pictured above). (Janes/Akshara Parakala)    The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has partnered with Adani Defence and Aerospace to manufacture its Drone Detect, Deter, and Destroy (D4) counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS), a company official told  Janes  at the Aero India 2023 show, which was held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February.   The technology transfer has been completed, and Adani has started manufacturing...

A multimode hand grenade from Munitions India Limited displayed at Aero India 2023. (Janes/Saketha Potlapalli)  Munitions India Limited (MIL) has received an order for one million multimode hand grenades for the Indian Army, the state-run company has confirmed to Janes.  Shailesh Vagerwal, the general manager of MIL, said that under the order MIL has produced an initial 100,000 grenades for the Indian Army and that supplies of these weapons started in fiscal year (FY) 2022–23.  He added that MIL is awaiting clearance from the Indian Army to p...

A K9 Vajra-T self-propelled howitzer – seen here from an Indian Army firepower exercise along the western borders with Pakistan in November 2022 – has a maximum firing range of 38 km. The Indian Army has ordered 100 additional K9s, which will be upgraded with high-altitude area application. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  The Indian Army has ordered additional 155 mm/52 calibre self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) known as K9 Vajra-T designed by South Korea's Hanwha Aerospace, the company told Janes.  A Hanwha spokesperson told Janes that the company has rec...

MKU's Veer helmet offers NIJ Level IIIA protection. (Janes/Vishal Sengupta)  Indian firm MKU Limited displayed its new Kavro SCH 111 T ‘Veer' helmet at the Aero India 2023 show being held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February.  The company said the helmet is designed specifically for Sikh soldiers. It said the shape of the helmet allows it to be worn over a cloth patka or turban and will provide all-around ballistic protection across the head.  The helmet offers NIJ Level IIIA protection, which can resist 9 mm bullets. MKU said the helmet is li...

General Dynamics is developing the Ajax armoured fighting vehicle for the British Army. (Crown Copyright)  General Dynamics believes it has resolved noise and vibration problems with its Ajax armoured fighting vehicle and that the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) will resume making payments for the programme by the end of March, according to officials at the US-based defence contractor.  “We anticipate, given the maturity of the vehicle and where it is in its test programme, that payments will begin to flow again,” General Dynamics chairman and C...

The Indian Air Force's 9 Base Repair Depot unit has developed a new counter-unmanned aircraft system with soft-kill capabilities (pictured). (Janes/Oishee Majumdar)    The Indian Air Force (IAF) has developed a low-cost counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) with soft-kill capabilities to improve security of vital areas/vital points (VAs/VPs) against hostile unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Project Officer Wing Commander Ranjith Unnikrishnan, told  Janes   at the Aero India 2023 show being held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 Feb...

The air cycle machine for cooling ECM pods. (TurboTech Defence & Aerospace )  Indian firm TurboTech Defence & Aerospace Pvt Ltd has displayed an air cycle machine (ACM) for cooling electronic countermeasure (ECM) pods and an air compressor for Tatra military trucks at the Aero India 2023 show in Bangalore, held from 13 to 17 February.  The ACM provides 3.5 kW of cooling and can reduce the temperature inside the pod by -30° during operation. The ACM, which is powered solely by the ram air effect utilising the forward speed of the aircraft, is...

Vem Technologies' AsiBal ATGM is equipped with a compact fire-control unit for surveillance and target acquisition. (VEM Technologies)  VEM Technologies has displayed its AsiBal anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) at the Aero India 2023 show in Bangalore, which runs from 13 to 17 February.  The AsiBal is a third-generation manportable fire-and-forget ATGM. It is integrated with a tandem high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead with a penetration of 750–850 mm. The system weighs a total of 18.5 kg – the launch unit 6 kg, and the missile 12.5 kg.  T...

German Army Gepard anti-aircraft system during an exercise in 2010. (Bundeswehr/Marcus Rott)  Countries supplying Ukraine with military equipment are taking measures to prevent Kyiv from running low on ammunition. Meetings of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group and NATO defence ministers in Brussels on 14–15 February addressed the issue.  In a pre-ministerial press conference on 13 February, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, “It is clear that we are in a race of logistics. Key capabilities like ammunition, fuel, and spare parts must...

According to the DRDO, the Nag    ATGM – seen here displayed at Aero India 2023 – is ready for induction into the Indian Army.  (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  The Nag anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) has cleared the trials required for induction into the Indian Army, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) told Janes at the Aero India 2023 show being held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February.  A DRDO official told Janes that the Nag ATGM is ready for induction into the Indian Army after completing all require...

The UK Ministry of Defence has selected Rafael Advanced Defense Systems' Trophy active protection system (APS) for the next phase of detailed assessment of and integration into the British Army's Challenger 3 main battle tank, the ministry and company announced on 24 June 2021. (Crown copyright)  The UK Ministry of Defence's Equipment & Support (DE&S) organisation and the British Army announced on their websites on 9 February that the critical design review (CDR) for the Challenger 3 main battle tank had been approved ahead of schedule and wi...

The DRDO showcased its very short-range air-defence system missile at the Aero India 2023 show being held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February. According to the DRDO, the development of the missiles is completed. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has completed development of its very short-range air-defence system (VSHORADS) missiles, the organisation told Janes at the Aero India 2023 show being held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February.  A DRDO official told Janes that the development of VSHORADS...

India's state-run BEL displayed a model of upgraded Shilka at the Aero India 2023 show being held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February. BEL upgraded the system with an air-conditioning unit for crew comfort and included a digital search-and-track radar with an electro-optical fire-control system that can track multiple targets. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  India's state-run Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has upgraded the ZSU-23-4 Shilka self-propelled anti-aircraft guns (SPAAGs) with the Indian Army. The company displayed a model of the upgraded Shi...

India's state-run Munitions India Limited showcased Pinaka rockets in the Aero India 2023 being held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February. The company said that the ER and DPICM versions of Pinaka have cleared the trials with the Indian Army and qualified for induction. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  The extended-range (ER) and dual-purpose improved conventional munition (DPICM) warhead versions of the surface-to-surface Pinaka Multi‐Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) have qualified for induction into the Indian Army.  An official from India's state-run Muni...

India's FICVs will be equipped with American aerospace company Lockheed Martin's Javelin ATGMs. Javelin is a medium-range, manportable, shoulder-fired, fire-and-forget, lock-on before launch ATGM system. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)    India's Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicles (FICVs) will be equipped with American aerospace company Lockheed Martin's Javelin anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), the company told   Janes   at the Aero India 2023 show, which is being held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February.     Jagmohan Singh, Lock...

Tata Aerospace and Defence has unveiled a 155 mm/52 calibre mounted gun system for the Indian Army at the Aero India 2023 show. The range of the gun is 31 km with a boat tail projectile, 42 km with a base-bleed projectile, and 55 km with a V-LAP projectile. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  India's Tata Aerospace and Defence (TAD) unveiled a 155 mm/52 calibre mounted gun system (MGS) for the Indian Army at the Aero India 2023 show, which is being held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February.  A spokesperson for TAD told Janes that the company developed the MG...

The DRDO is designing a lightweight manportable anti-tank guided missile (MPATGM) for the Indian Army. The MPATGM, in its current form, weighs 14.5 kg. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)    India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is designing a lightweight manportable anti-tank guided missile (MPATGM) for the Indian Army, a DRDO official told   Janes   at the Aero India 2023 show, which is being held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February.   The official said that the development of MPATGM is not completed because of its...

The US Army awarded AM General a contract to produce its Joint Light Tactical Vehicle that could be worth up to USD8.66 billion. (US Army)  Newcomer AM General beat out Oshkosh Defense to manufacture the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) for US armed forces in a deal that could be worth up to USD8.66 billion over 10 years, US Army programme officials said.  Following a competition between the incumbent and AM General, the army selected the latter for a contract for up to 20,000 vehicles and up to 10,000 JLTV-Trailers (JLTV-Ts) for joint and...

India's Defence Acquisition Council has approved the procurement of MGS, the example of which is pictured above, for the Indian Army. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  India's Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, has approved the procurement of the mounted gun system (MGS) for the Indian Army.  The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a statement that the procurement, approved through the provision of an ‘Acceptance of Necessity' (AoN) status under the ‘Buy (Indian)' category, includes 155 mm/52 calibre MGS.  The MoD...

FN SCAR-H precision rifle fitted with Elity ballistic calculator. (FN Herstal)  FN Herstal announced in a press release on 7 February that it had supplied an unspecified number of Elity ballistic calculators to the French Army.  The company said that the decision to acquirethe Elity followed several months of testing and evaluation by the French Army's Battle-Lab Terre (BLT) land battle lab on the FN SCAR-H (heavy) 7.62 mm Fusil de Précision Semi-Automatique (Semi-Automatic Precision Rifle) in French service, as well as the PGM Hécate II reva...