The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) has signed its fifth agreement with a not-for-profit organisation, enabling it to start procurement activities under the Not-For-Profit Framework (NFPF) initiative, the NCIA announced on 15 Febr...

NATO Cyber Security Centre updates technology at its Security Operations Centre. (Shutterstock)  The NATO Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has completed a project in collaboration with industry partners Cisco, RSA, and EuroOne to replace equipment at its Security Operations Centre in Mons, Belgium.  The project, completed in December 2021, involved the upgrade of two central management systems that work together to help the NCSC monitor NATO networks for threats and flag key issues, the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA), which ru...

China has introduced regulations to govern the testing and evaluation of defence equipment. The new rules are intended to enhance the capability of indigenously developed military technologies and systems.  On 13 February China's official news agen...

The Black Sea Fleet's improved ‘Kilo'-class submarine   Rostov-na-Donu  makes a northbound transit through Istanbul on 13 February en route to the Black Sea.  (Cem Devrim Yaylali)  The Russian Navy has launched missile and naval gunnery exercises that will close off Ukraine's Black Sea coast for six days from 13 February, according to maritime safety notices posted online.  The start of the exercises coincides with growing tension between Moscow and Western countries over Russia's troop buildup around Ukraine.  R...

The Polish Ministry of National Defence launched the Cyberspace Defence Force (Wojska Obrony Cyberprzestrzeni, WOC), the newest component of the Polish Armed Forces, on 8 February.  At the launch ceremony at the Military University of Technology, t...

South Korea's Agency for Defense Development (ADD) announced that it has developed “real-time three-dimensional (3D) target extraction and matching technology” as part of the country's core technology plan aimed at advancing key areas of military c...

South Korean firms S&T Dynamics and Hanwha Defense have collaborated on developing and producing a new 120 mm mortar system for the Republic of Korea Army. (Hanwha Defense)  South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced on 4 February the delivery of an initial batch of indigenous 120 mm self-propelled mortar systems to the Republic of Korea Army (RoKA).  According to DAPA, the new mortar system has a range 2.3 times and firepower 1.9 times greater than the system it will replace. It also features improved accuracy...

The Indian Army has ordered another batch of Konkurs-M weapons (pictured) from BDL. (KBP Instrument Design Bureau)  India's Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) announced that it has signed a contract to manufacture the Konkurs-M anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) system for the Indian Army.  BDL said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange that the contract was signed on 2 February and is worth INR31.31 billion (USD419 million). The company, which is majority-owned by the government, said the deal will be executed in three years but disclosed no detai...

Australian telecommunications company Optus has announced that it is partnering with Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (Melco) in bidding to supply defence satellite communications (satcom) capability to the Australian Defence Force (ADF).  Optus sai...

A high-power laser burns through a target drone during a trial of an airborne system announced in June 2021. (Israeli MoD)  Israel is to deploy a laser interception system within the next 12 months to protect itself from ground-launched and airborne threats, the government announced on 1 February.  Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that the laser system will first be deployed in an experimental capacity before being rolled out operationally.  “Within about a year, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will implement a laser interception s...

Intelsat is utilising its satellite technology to provide communication services in collaboration with Australian and New Zealand firms to support humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) in Tonga after it was hit by a devastating earthqu...

The Project 11711 large landing ship   Pyotr Morgunov  , one of three Northern Fleet large landing ships headed to the Mediterranean.  (Michael Nitz)  Russia has agreed to relocate a live-firing exercise that was planned to take place in international waters in the Irish Sea, Moscow's ambassador to Ireland has announced.  The Irish Aviation Authority was originally notified on 21 January of the Russian Navy's plans to carry out the live artillery and missile firing in early February, 240 km southwest of the Irish...

Russia's military build-up in Belarus and along the Ukrainian border has continued unabated over the past 14 days. Social media indicates the frequency of deployments has increased, with daily sightings of equipment on the move at their highest sin...

DAPA has completed delivery of a second batch of K2 main battle tanks to the Republic of Korea Army. (Hyundai Rotem)  South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has announced that local firm Hyundai Rotem has completed production of its latest batches of the K1A2 and K2 Black Panther main battle tanks (MBTs).  According to DAPA, the third batch of the mass-produced K1A2s offers “improved performance” over the K1A1 MBT, enabling interlinked Republic of Korea Army (RoKA) operations with the K2 MBTs and K21 infantry fighting...

According to the Japanese Ministry of Defense, the missile that North Korea launched on 30 January travelled a distance of 800 km and landed in the sea outside of Japanese territory. The yellow dot in this Japan MoD image indicates Pyongyang. (Japan Ministry of Defense)  North Korea has confirmed that it test-launched on 30 January its locally developed Hwaseong-12 (also spelt Hwasong-12) intermediate‐range ballistic missile (IRBM).  The launch was the seventh missile test that Pyongyang has conducted since the start of 2022. It is also the...

The Philippine Army is likely to induct the BrahMos PJ-10 variant (pictured) for coastal defence missions. (Gordon Arthur)  The Philippine Army (PA) is seeking to procure the BrahMos missile system under the third phase of the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program (RAFPMP).  The 'third horizon' will be from 2023 to 2027, PA spokesperson Colonel Xerxes Trinidad told the state-run Philippine News Agency (PNA). “The PA is yet to acquire [the BrahMos missile] since we are still on the second horizon (2018–22) [and] some o...

North Korea disclosed on 28 January details about its latest missile launch tests. The tests are the latest in a flurry of launches since the start of the year.  Pyongyang said through its official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) that launches on...

The Model 351 Stratolaunch underwent modifications between December 2019 and April 2021 to allow its carriage of Talon-series hypersonic test vehicles. The aircraft successfully flew its third test flight in January 2022. (Stratolaunch LLC)  US-based hypersonic flight-test services provider Stratolaunch LLC announced on 25 January that it had signed a contract to assist the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) with its hypersonic flight research programme.  In partnership with US information technology consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton, Str...

Bangladesh's Directorate General Defence Purchase (DGDP) has issued a tender in support of the procurement of 2,000 7.62 mm AK-15 assault rifles from Russia's Kalashnikov.  The tender, which calls for industry and agent responses by mid-February, d...

The Ministry of National Defense (MND) in Seoul told Janes on 26 January that North Korea had fired two ground-launched missiles a day earlier. The missile launches are yet to be confirmed by Pyongyang.  An official MND spokesperson said, “We detec...