Soldiers from South Korea's V Corps operate a Chun Ma surface-to-air missile during training to counter and destroy enemy small UAVs. (Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Republic of Korea)  South Korea has conducted a drill with manned and unmanned aircraft to improve its response to incursions by small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).  South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced on 29 December that the training was “to respond to and destroy enemy small drones”. During the exercise, about “20 manned and unmanned assets [including KAI KA-1...

While incursions by Chinese military aircraft over the Taiwan Strait median line have been recorded in previous years, data shows that Chinese aircraft began to cross the median line in larger numbers from 2022. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense/Janes)  Chinese military aircraft have conducted the largest breach of the Taiwan Strait median line to date.    According to data revealed by Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND),   Janes   has assessed that between 34 and 43 combat aircraft crossed the median line over a 24-...

Three THeMIS UGVs pictured at the Lehnin Training Area, Germany during the fifth iMUGS demonstration. (Milrem Robotics/Sami Laaksonen)  Integrated Modular Unmanned Ground System (iMUGS), the European Union's (EU's) programme for a common unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), concluded its fifth and final demonstration on 15 December.  The demonstration, which was conducted at the Lehnin Training Area near Berlin, exhibited the programme's swarming and autonomy technologies in their most advanced public display to date, and represented the culminatio...

The acquisition of Tomahawk cruise missiles will strengthen Japan's ability to strike back at regional adversaries in the event of war. The subsonic cruise missile can be fired from surface ships, such as in this case of a launch from the USS   Curtis Wilbur  in the Philippine Sea in May 2019.  (US Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Taylor DiMartino)  The Japanese government has approved three new security documents that will reshape the country's military strategy, increase the national defence budget,...

The IAF has launched a two-day exercise over its northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Nagaland. They said the exercise is not connected to tensions with China. IAF aircraft participating in the exercise include Su-30MKI multirole combat jets such as these photographed in 2008. (Irkut)  Indian Air Force (IAF) combat jets have been scrambled several times in the last few weeks in the country's northeastern borders in response to growing tensions with China, a defence source confirmed.    Speaking to   Janes  , the...

A majority of Chinaʼs largest H-6 bomber incursions into Taiwanʼs ADIZ are accompanied by a range of supporting aircraft such as fighter jets, electronic warfare, electronic intelligence, and AEW&C aircraft. (Janes)  China has sent a record number of heavy bombers into Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ).  On 12 December, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) said that 29 Chinese military aircraft were monitored around Taiwan over a 24-hour period between 12 and 13 December. Of these, 21 aircraft entered the ADIZ, including...

Egyptian Navy frigate ENS   Alexandria  and US Navy amphibious command ship USS   Mount Whitney  operate in the Red Sea in support of the newly established CTF-153 in April 2022. The US handed over the command of CTF-153 to Egypt on 12 December.  (US Army)  The Egyptian Navy has assumed leadership of the recently established multinational Combined Task Force 153 (CTF-153) in the Red Sea.  The US Navy officially handed over the command to Egypt during a ceremony held in Bahrain on 12 December.  The transitio...

While China has said that the road-mobile DF-17 is a conventional platform, the Pentagon has determined that it may be equipped with nuclear warheads. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)  China's Dong Feng-17 (DF-17) hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV)-powered medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) has been designed to strike foreign military bases and fleets in the Western Pacific, a US Pentagon report said.  In its 2022 China Military Power Report (CMPR), the US Department of Defense (DoD) said that the DF-17 is transforming the People Liberation A...

The European Commission's updated military mobility plan will intensify its work on dual-use transport networks. (Bundeswehr/Marco Dorow)  The European Union's (EU's) newly revised military mobility (MM) plan will focus largely on boosting Europe's intermodal transport connections, digitalising paper-based national border clearances for troops and materiel, and enhancing Western Europe's rail connections to Ukraine and Moldova, according to EU officials. Fuel supply chains and space services for Europe's militaries will also be addressed, the...

In a boost to interoperability, long-range Chinese and Russian bombers landed in each other's airbases for the first time, as part of a joint air patrol.  According to the Japanese Ministry of Defence (MoD), the drills began on the morning of 30 November. Two Chinese H-6K bombers were observed as they flew over the East China Sea.  “After passing through the Tsushima Strait, [the Chinese aircraft] advanced into the Sea of Japan [East Sea]. It was confirmed that it flew north towards the continent,” the MoD said in a statement.  “Around the sa...

The joint Russia-China bomber flight conducted on 30 November is the fifth such event in the last three years. It prompted a major show of force from countries in the region. The US Air Force scrambled at least two Lockheed Martin F-22s to intercept the bomber force. (US Air Force)  In an unprecedented boost to interoperability, long-range Chinese and Russian bombers landed in each other's airbases for the first time, as part of a joint air patrol.  According to the Japanese Ministry of Defence (MoD), the drills began on the morning of 30 Nov...

Japan's acquisition of two additional KC-46A tankers will enhance its capability for ‘expeditionary' operations. (Boeing)  Japan has ordered two additional KC-46A Pegasus tankers for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF).  According to Boeing, the order of these two additional KC-46As brings the total contract number to six. The US Department of Defense (DoD) said on 29 November that the value of the order is USD398.24 million. The DoD added that the aircraft are scheduled to be delivered by 30 June 2025.  Boeing said in a statement that i...

The new SIGINT ships will replace the Polish Navy's Modified Moma-class (Project 863) intelligence-collection ships, ORP   Nawigator  (pictured) and ORP   Hydrograf  , which have been in service since the mid-1970s.  (Jaroslaw Cislak)  Swedish defence and security company Saab has been awarded a contract by the Polish Armaments Agency to design and build two signals intelligence (SIGINT) ships for the Polish Navy.  Under the contract, announced on 25 November and worth EUR620 million (USD644 million...

The Dutch navy's new ESB   Hydrograaf   entered service on 21 November.  (RNLN)    The Royal Netherlands Navy's (RNLN's) new expeditionary survey boat (ESB), HrMs   Hydrograaf  (H 8021), has officially entered service.   The mini hydrographic survey vessel was formally handed over to the RNLN by the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) on 21 November.  Hydrograaf  was designed and built by Damen Shipyards Den Helder (DSDH) under a contract awarded by the DMO in 2019. Laid down in February...

The withdrawal from Okinawa of two USAF squadrons equipped with F-15C Eagles has alarmed US Republican lawmakers who said the move could embolden a militarily resurgent China. (US Air Force photo/Staff Sgt Kyle Johnson)  The withdrawal of two squadrons of US Air Force (USAF) Boeing F-15C fighter jets from Okinawa has prompted concerns of a decline in US force capability in the Indo-Pacific region.  The US Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) announced the withdrawal in a statement on 28 October. “Starting in November [2022] the Department of Defense wi...

Royal Canadian Navy frigates, including the HMCS   Vancouver  , have participated in a multinational effort to monitor North Korea's evasion of UN Security Council sanctions.  (US Navy)  Canada plans to bolster its military presence and partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region amid growing threats from China and North Korea, according to Canadian Minister of National Defence Anita Anand.  The Canadian government will “soon” release a “comprehensive” Indo-Pacific strategy to “position Canada as a leader in promoting...

A Royal Australian Air Force KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport refuels a KF-16U Fighting Falcon aircraft of the Republic of Korea Air Force during Exercise ‘Vigilant Storm 23'. (Republic of Korea Air Force)  Weeks after signing a formal arrangement to co-operate on air-to-air refuelling, Australia and South Korea have conducted the first aerial refuel exercise involving military aircraft from both countries.  The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) said on 15 November that a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Airbus KC-30A Multi Role Tanke...

The withdrawal from Okinawa of two USAF squadrons equipped with F-15C Eagles has alarmed US Republican lawmakers who said the move could embolden a militarily resurgent China. (US Air Force photo/Staff Sgt Kyle Johnson)  The withdrawal of two squadrons of US Air Force (USAF) Boeing F-15C fighter jets from Okinawa has prompted concerns of a decline in US force capability in the Indo-Pacific region.  The US Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) announced the withdrawal in a statement on 28 October. “Starting in November [2022] the Department of Defense wi...

Japan has confirmed plans to integrate SM-6 air-defence missiles onto its two JMSDF Maya-class destroyers. Pictured above is the second of these two vessels, JS  Haguro  , which was commissioned in March 2021.  (Japanese MoD)    The Japanese Ministry of Defense (MoD) has disclosed to  Janes  plans to integrate Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) air-defence missiles onto Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Maya-class destroyers from 2026.   The plans were revealed nearly two weeks after the US Defen...

THeMIS UGVs pictured alongside French Army soldiers of the Vulcan robotics testing unit at a demonstration of iMUGS autonomy capabilities, Camp Satory, in October 2022. (iMUGS)    Companies working on the Integrated Modular Unmanned Ground System (iMUGS) – the European Union's (EU's) project for a common unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) – have commenced the integration of swarming technology into Milrem's THeMIS medium UGV,   Janes  has learnt.   Experts from three organisations within the iMUGS consortium – dotOcean, the Roy...