South Korea approved the deployment of the THAAD system at Seongju base. The picture shows a THAAD interceptor launching from the Republic of the Marshall Islands during a flight test in 2019. (US Missile Defense Agency)  South Korea's Ministry of Environment (MoE) has completed an environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the US Army's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system temporarily deployed at the US military base in Seongju – nearly 215 km southeast of Seoul.  According to a press release by South Korea's Ministry of National...

The HELMA-P LDEW prototype was housed in a containerised shelter installed on   Forbin's  fight deck.   (DGA)  France's Direction générale de l'armement (DGA), the French Navy, and CILAS (a subsidiary of ArianeGroup) have undertaken first at-sea trials of the High-Energy Laser for Multiple Application – Power (HELMA-P) laser directed-energy weapon (LDEW) demonstrator, the DGA said on 20 June.    Testing was performed from the Horizon-class anti-air warfare frigate   Forbin  in the Mediterranean fr...

Akash Prime – seen here on its flight test in September 2021 – has a maximum firing range of 30 km and can hit targets at a maximum elevation of 18 km. (Ministry of Defence, India)  India's Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has received an order worth INR39.14 billion (USD477 million) from missile manufacturer Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) to supply two improved Akash weapon systems for the Indian Army, BEL announced on 20 June.  According to BEL, the improved Akash system – also known as Akash Prime – comprises an “indigenously developed” act...

The lead ship of the US Coast Guard's Offshore Patrol Cutter fleet will face another delivery delay. (US Coast Guard)  The delivery of the lead ship of the new US Coast Guard (USCG) Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) fleet being built by Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) is delayed until at least near the end of 2023, USCG officials told Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigators, according to a recently released GAO report.    “ESG is scheduled to deliver the lead ship in June 2023, but according to coast guard officials, this delive...

The third MANSUP test launch was carried out in July 2019. (Marinha do Brasil)  The Brazilian Navy and the United Arab Emirates' (UAE's) Edge Group signed an agreement on 14 June to co-operate on the development of a “family of anti-ship missiles”, the navy announced two days later.  Brazilian Navy Chief Fleet Admiral José Augusto Vieira da Cunha de Menezes said Edge would help form a sustainable business model for the sale and production of the National Surface Anti-Ship Missile (MANSUP).  “This memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Edg...

Commissioned into service between 1990 and 1994, the Royal Netherlands Navy's four Walrus-class submarines are planned to be replaced from around 2034. (Royal Netherlands Navy)  As the tender submission deadline for the Walrus-class submarine replacement programme approaches, the Netherlands Ministry of Defence (MoD) has provided further details on the awards process.  In a 15 June letter to the Dutch parliament's House of Representatives, State Secretary for Defence Christophe van der Maat said the three candidate yards had been advised to s...

Singapore's first Type 218SG submarine seen here during its sea trials in 2020. The second-of-class has begun its journey home to Singapore from Germany. (Michael Nitz/Naval Press Service)  A Type 218SG diesel-electric submarine (SSK) destined for service with the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) has begun its journey home and is expected to arrive in-country by August 2023.  Janes has learnt that the vessel, which will be in service as RSS Impeccable once commissioned, was loaded onto the heavy-lift cargo ship Rolldock Storm in May 2023 at T...

Thales has partnered with PT Len to provide 13 GM400α long-range air surveillance radars (pictured) and the SkyView command-and-control system to the Indonesian National Armed Forces. (Thales)  Thales will supply 13 Ground Master 400 Alpha (GM400α) long-range air surveillance radars and the associated SkyView command-and-control (C2) system to Indonesia, in collaboration with its local partner, PT Len Industri.  The contract will “span the next few years” with Thales building the radars and the C2 system and PT Len manufacturing “certain comp...

Introduced between 2002 and 2005, the four De Zeven Provinciën-class ships are planned to remain in commission through to 2032–35. (US Navy)  The Netherlands government has confirmed its intention to upgrade the inner-layer hard-kill defences on two of the Royal Netherlands Navy's (RNLN's) four De Zeven Provinciën-class air-defence and command frigates (Luchtverdedigings en commandofregat: LCF).  In a 15 June letter to the Dutch parliament's House of Representatives, State Secretary for Defence Christophe van der Maat said that the two LCF fr...

The DAGR-SA system on trial with the British Army in a drop-down hands-free harness configuration. BAE Systems is proposing its new NavGuide platform as a replacement to the legacy DAGR. (Rockwell Collins)  Programme officials at BAE Systems have unveiled their newest Assured-Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (A-PNT) end-user device featuring full integration of M-Code-enabled Global Positioning System (GPS) technology.  The NavGuide system is a portable, handheld A-PNT device designed to replace legacy Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (DAGR)...

The Heron medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is a success story for Israel, with 15 or more countries known to be operating the systems. (Janes/Patrick Allen)  Demand for Israeli-made defence systems has increased significantly in the past five years, with the value of government-to-government agreements amounting to USD4 billion in 2022, up from USD412 million in 2018, Brigadier General (Res) Yair Kulas, director of the Israeli Ministry of Defense International Defense Coo...

The RNoN's six Skjold-class corvettes are undergoing a life-extension programme to enable them to remain in service until at least 2030. (Norwegian Armed Forces)  Danish defence and aerospace company Terma has confirmed that Royal Norwegian Navy's (RNoN's) Skjold-class corvettes will be equipped with its Scanter 6000 surveillance radar as part of the class's life-extension programme.  In a 15 June announcement the company said the radar had recently completed factory acceptance testing (FAT) for the Skjold-class upgrade programme.  “These tes...

Schiebel Camcopter S-100 unmanned aerial vehicle fitted with the Riegl VQ-840-G laser mapping device at the Paris Air Show 2023. (Janes/Olivia Savage)  Schiebel has exhibited a new airborne laser payload onboard its S-300 Camcopter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at the Paris Air Show 2023, held from 19 to 25 June.  The payload, dubbed VQ-840-G, is a compact airborne laser scanner developed by Riegl. The sensor is designed for high-resolution surveying of underwater topography with a narrow, visible green laser beam that penetrates water enabli...

The UK Royal Navy's Type 31 frigates are being equipped with the TACTICOS Baseline 2 combat management system. (NAVYPIX/Richard Scott)  The first Type 31 integrated combat system is on course to undergo factory acceptance testing (FAT) in the third quarter (Q3) of 2023, Thales has confirmed.  Speaking to media at Thales UK's facilities in Templecombe, UK, Julie Martin, naval senior account director, said that delivery of the first Type 31 mission system was on schedule.  “The key focus for us right now on the Type 31 is the fully integrated c...

US lawmakers raised no official objection to the decommissioning of LCS USS   Jackson  .  (Michael Fabey)  In its National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year (FY) 2024 mark, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee detailed its desires during a 13 June hearing of the mark to retain most of the vessels the US Navy (USN) is seeking to decommission soon.    The USN's FY 2024 budget proposal sought to decommission 11 ships: Whidbey Island-class dock landi...

RNMB   Apollo   being passed by a Hunt-class MCM vessel during trials in December 2022 that took place as part of the Anglo-French Maritime Mine Counter Measures programme, which is delivering autonomous capability for both the Royal Navy and the Marine Nationale.  (Thales)  The UK Royal Navy's (RN's) unmanned surface vessel (USV) RNMB Apollo has completed a series of navy and industry open water assurance trials claimed by Thales to be the first UK military clearance of its kind.  The safety trials, which were de...

RNMB Apollo being passed by a Hunt-class MCM vessel during trials in December 2022 that took place as part of the Anglo-French Maritime Mine Counter Measures (MMCM) programme, which is delivering autonomous capability for both the Royal Navy and the Marine Nationale.  (Thales)    The UK Royal Navy's (RN's) unmanned surface vessel (USV) RNMB   Apollo   has completed a series of navy and industry open water assurance trials claimed by Thales to be the first UK military clearance of its kind.   The safety trials, which were d...

USS   Freedom  and USS   Independence  were both decommissioned in 2021.  (US Navy)  As the US Navy (USN) assesses some of the first overall fleet operations – and recreates operational concepts – for its littoral combat ships (LCSs), the service appears to be just as determined to quickly reduce LCS numbers as it was to introduce and augment the LCS force decades ago.  LCSs were initially designed decades ago and built to conduct antisubmarine warfare (ASW), surface warfare (SuW), and mine counter...

BAE Systems will support radars on UK Royal Navy Type 45 destroyers, such as HMS   Dauntless  .  (Derek Fox)  BAE Systems has received a GBP270 million (USD338.71 million) contract to support the radars on Royal Navy (RN) Type 23 and Type 26 frigates, Type 45 destroyers, and the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.  The company will upgrade, maintain, and provide in-service support for the BAE Systems Sampson multifunction radar and Advanced Radar Target Indication Situational Awareness and Navigation (ARTISAN...

The Indian Army seeks to upgrade its T-90 MBTs with 1,200–1,500 hp engines. The image shows a T-90 MBT at an Indian Army exercise in November 2022. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has approved plans to procure Future Ready Combat Vehicles (FRCVs) and engines to upgrade in-service T-90 main battle tanks (MBTs).  The two projects were granted ‘Approval in Principle' (AIP) by the MoD in late May. The MoD said the programmes will proceed under the government-funded ‘Make-I' category.  The FRCV project features the acqui...