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...

Following a relative lull in activity after 1 January, Russia's armed forces appear to have entered their highest level of activity and movement since the autumn-winter build-up began in late October.  Evidence indicates activity from all of Russia...

The AT4 platform (mock-ups in picture) will enhance the Indian Armed Forces' urban warfare capabilities. (Janes/Amael Kotlarski)  The Indian Armed Forces have selected Saab's AT4 as their new single-shot weapon.  Saab has been awarded a contract for providing AT4 single-shot support weapons to the Indian Army and Indian Air Force, the company announced on 20 January. The AT4 was selected by the Indian Armed Forces following a competitive programme, the company said.  Janes understands that Saab was awarded the contract during the fourth quart...

The US government has imposed sanctions on subsidiaries operated by three of China's biggest defence-technology firms.  The State Department said on 21 January that the sanctions, which run for two years, are a response to the subsidiaries' “missil...

An Su-57 with bort number 52; it is likely to be one of the pair of production aircraft delivered to the VKS in Q4 2021. (Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant)  The third and fourth production Su-57 aircraft were delivered to the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) in late 2021. They were among 77 aircraft delivered to the Russian Armed Forces during the year. A note on the delivery of these two aircraft was originally included in a wider press release on the website of the Russian Ministry of Defence, released on 20 January 2022, and although the co...

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) announced on 21 January that it had received direct notification from the Russian Navy that the service intends to carry out live artillery and missile firing to the southwest of Ireland at the beginning of Februa...

The BAe146 has been in service with the Royal Air Force since 1983. (BAE Systems)  The UK Royal Air Force announced on 21 January that of its remaining four BAe146 aircraft, the two BAe146 Mk2 will go to museums in the UK and the two BAe146 Mk3 aircraft have been acquired by a civilian operator. The aircraft will be flown to their respective retirement locations over the next few weeks. The RAF said of the two Mk2 aircraft, one would be delivered to the air museum at Duxford, Cambridgeshire, and the other, to the South Wales Aviation Museum a...

Australian Army's Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon vehicles are parked at the Port of Brisbane, ready to be loaded onto HMAS   Adelaide   before departure on Operation ‘Tonga Assist 2022'.  (Commonwealth of Australia)  Australia, New Zealand, and Japan have ramped up defence-force operations to support Tonga, which was hit by a devastating tsunami caused by the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai underwater volcano on 15 January.  On 20 and 21 January the three countries deployed equipment including transport aircraft,...

Russia's Southern Military District is to receive a range of new armaments and systems during 2022, as well as reinforcements, district commander General Alexander Dvornikov announced in   Voenny Vestnik Yuga Rossii  (Military Her...