Models of the Teevra 40 naval gun system on display during Indo Defence 2022. (Janes/Ridzwan Rahmat)  Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has secured a contract to deliver 40 mm naval gun systems to the Indonesian Navy, which marks the first-ever export of the weapon system from India to Indonesia.    Speaking on the condition of anonymity, two sources at the Indo Defence 2022 exhibition, being held in Jakarta, from 2 to 5 November, have confirmed with   Janes  that L&T will supply the company's Teevra 40 system and the weapon will go onbo...

JODDB unveiled the Al-Tareq mobile mortar system at the SOFEX 2022 show. (Janes/Jeremy Binnie)  The Jordan Design and Development Bureau (JODDB) displayed a prototype of its mobile Al-Tareq rapidly deployable 81 mm mortar system at the SOFEX 2022 show, being held in Aqaba from 1 to 3 November.  The system was displayed on a Toyota Land Cruiser fitted with a hydraulic system at the back of its bed that lowers the mortar into a firing position in two minutes, Engineer Abdelrahman al-Rowwad, the project manager, told Janes.  The Al-Tareq has a f...

The Didgori 120 mm mortar carrier displayed at SOFEX 2022. (Janes/Jeremy Binnie)  The Jordanian company Petra Global is confident it will find Middle Eastern customers for the 120 mm mortar variant of the Didgori armoured vehicle it displayed at the SOFEX 2022 show held in Aqaba from 1 to 3 November.  Established as a military procurement company in 2010, Petra Global has an agreement with Georgia's Delta State Military Scientific-Technical Centre to market the Didgori in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It has sold Didgori am...

The Teledyne FLIR Defense MUVE R430 is pictured here. It is a radiation detector payload suited for UASs. (Teledyne FLIR Defense )  Teledyne FLIR Defense has unveiled MUVE R430, a payload that remotely detects and identifies radiation sources.  Launched at the 2022 CBRNe Convergence in Boston on 1 November, the radiation detector is suited for use on unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) and can detect, locate, measure, map, and identify radioactive sources, a company announcement said.    Joe Ailinger, director of public relations at Teledy...

In 2018 the CAR 816 was selected to meet an Indian Army requirement for a new carbine. That contract was cancelled but the requirement has re-emerged. (Edge)  Edge Group's Caracal subsidiary is planning to achieve full production capabilities for its small arms in India, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Hyderabad-based ICOMM.    Speaking to   Janes  , Caracal's CEO, Hamad Alameri, explained that the company has developed partnerships with suppliers in India that will enable ICOMM to commence pro...

The Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb combines an M26 ground-based rocket motor with an air-launched Small Diameter Bomb. (Saab/Boeing)  The Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB), which Boeing and Saab developed to provide long-range, ground-to-ground precision fires, is close to lining up its first customer, according to Saab's chief executive.  “We are imminently, shortly expecting contracts on that,” Saab president and CEO Micael Johansson told analysts on 28 October.  Johansson did not elaborate, and spokespersons for Sweden's Saa...

Ukrainian unmanned surface vessels (USVs) targeted naval units from Russia's Black Sea Fleet at Russia's naval base in Sevastopol during a ‘kamikaze' attack on 29 October.  According to video footage circulating widely on social media, a Project 11...

The Ford  -  class design features changes meant to improve carrier operations.  (HII)    As the aircraft carrier USS   Gerald R Ford  made its arduous journey from development towards US Navy (USN) fleet operations, the spotlight always shone brightest on the ship's futuristic launching, recovery, and weapons-elevators systems.   However, now that the ship unmoored in the first week of October 2022 for its first deployment to lead the USN's inaugural Gerald R Ford Carrier Strike Group (CSG), U...

The laser weapon demonstrator, co-developed by MBDA Deutschland and Rheinmetall Waffe Munition, has been installed on   Sachsen  inside a 20 ft container.   (Rheinmetall)  A German industry partnership (ARGE) comprising MBDA Deutschland and Rheinmetall Waffe Munition has revealed the first operational tests of a laser weapon from a German warship.    Announcing the milestone on 27 October, Rheinmetall said that initial testing of the High-Energy Laser Naval Demonstrator against unmanned air vehicle (UAV) tar...

The Mrt Me Acg 81 mm mortar was developed by the Brazilian Army's Technological Center, and is being produced at the War Arsenal of Rio de Janeiro. (Victor Barreira)  The Brazilian Army plans to progressively convert 182 of its more than 550 IDV VBTP-MSR Guarani 6×6 amphibious armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) into 81 mm mortar carriers.  The effort intends to increase fire-support troops' mobility and protection, while also safely transporting mortar and related equipment inside a vehicle, the army said. The kit must be easy to install, util...

The Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence's Defence Materiel Agency has signed a contract with Saab Dynamics for Bolide and Mk 2 missiles for the RBS 70 short-range air-defence system. (Lithuanian Army)  The Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence (MND) announced on its website on 21 October that its Defence Materiel Agency had signed a EUR45 million (USD45.1 million) contract with Sweden's Saab Dynamics for Bolide and Mk 2 missiles for the RBS 70 short-range air-defence system. Saab said in a press release published on 24 October that the...

The Royal Saudi Naval Forces received its first Couach FPB 2200 patrol boats at the Jeddah naval base on 25 October. (Saudi Press Agency)  Saudi Arabia has confirmed that its new FPB 2200 patrol boats that the French shipyard Couach is delivering are armed with LIG Nex1's Low-Cost Guided Imaging Rocket (LOGIR) missile launcher for countering small attack boats.  The Saudi Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 25 October that the first batch of Couach patrol boats had been delivered to the Western Fleet. It did not mention how many had been d...

Poland signed a framework contract with Hanwha for 288 K239 Chunmoo MRLs on 19 October. (Hanwha)  Poland signed a framework contract with Hanwha for 288 K239 Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers (MRLs) on 19 October. The contract was signed by Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak and Son Jaeil, president and CEO of Hanwha Defense.  Under the framework agreement, the first batch of 18 Chunmoo systems and ammunition will be delivered to the Polish Armed Forces in 2023, Hanwha announced in a press release...

A 1/4 scale model of a canistered LRASM-SL configuration for use with Mk 41 Strike Length VLS. Note the booster. To the immediate left of the LRASM-SL is a smaller-scale model of Mk 41 VLS configured with four LRASM-SL effectors. (Robin Hughes)  Lockheed Martin Australia, teamed with Thales Australia, is advancing a surface-launched (SL) derivative of the AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) for the Australian Department of Defence's (DoD's) future land- and sea-based maritime strike requirements.  Canberra is preparing to acquire up...

The HDF received the first of 209 Lynx armoured vehicles (foreground) and the first of nine Büffel ARVs (background) from Rheinmetall on 15 October. (HDF)  Hungary received its first KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) and Büffel armoured recovery vehicle (ARV) on 15 October. Rheinmetall announced in a press release on 17 October that it delivered the first of 209 Lynx armoured vehicles for the Hungarian Defence Forces (HDF) at Petöfi Sándor Barracks in Budapest.    A Rheinmetall spokesperson told   Janes  on 19 October...

The first block of the first FDI HN frigate is laid down in dry dock at Naval Group's shipyard in Lorient on 21 October. (Naval Group)  French shipbuilder Naval Group has laid down the keel for the first Frégate de Défense et d'Intervention (FDI) multimission frigate on order for the Hellenic Navy (HN).    The first block of the first FDI HN, to be named  Kimon  , was officially laid down in dry dock during a ceremony held at Naval Group's shipyard in Lorient on 21 October. The keel-laying follows a steel-cutting ceremony for t...

An F-15E Strike Eagle drops a JASSM-ER during trials. The US Air Force has launched an effort to develop an improved version of the missile, dubbed the JASSM New Variant. (US DoD)  The US Air Force (USAF) has launched an effort to develop a new version of the AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-off Missile (JASSM), posting a sole source notification of a contract award to Lockheed Martin on 20 October.  Announced on the sam.gov US government procurement website, the JASSM New Variant is a classified version of the air-launched weapon that will...

A Typhoon pilot launches an ASRAAM missile during a mass live-fire exercise held in September. (Crown Copyright)  The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) has honed its aerial combat capabilities with a major missile firing exercise off the coast of Scotland in September.  Announced by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on 22 October, the exercise saw Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 and Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning combat aircraft launch multiple MBDA AIM-132 Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missiles (ASRAAMs) during a 10-day period.  “The Missile Practice Camp to...

Among the land platforms were Titan-DS vehicles. (Watan Habarlary)  The Armed Forces of Turkmenistan displayed a wide range of military equipment at a parade held in Ashgabat to commemorate the 31st anniversary of Turkmenistan's independence.  Video footage released by the state-run TV channel, Watan Habarlary, showed Chinese, Emirati, Israeli, Italian, Russian, South Korean, and Turkish equipment.    Highlights included footage of the newly inducted Turkmen-class corvette   Deniz Han  , Cavalon two-seat autogyro, StormRider li...

NATO combat aircraft tested Luftwaffe Patriot batteries defending Sliač airbase in Slovakia on 20 October during ‘Neptune Strike 2022.2'. (Janes/Nicholas Fiorenza)  NATO combat aircraft tested Luftwaffe Patriot batteries defending Sliač airbase in Slovakia on 20 October during exercise ‘Neptune Strike 2022.2' (‘NEST 22.2'), which is being held from 14 to 28 October.    Aircraft including US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets and EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft flying from the USS   George H W Bush  aircraft carrier in the Ae...