The German parliament's budget committee has approved the purchase of additional ESSMs for the German Navy's Sachsen-class guided-missile frigates. (Michael Nitz)  The German federal parliament's budget committee has authorised the procurement of an initial tranche of RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missiles (ESSMs) for the German Navy's Type 124 Sachsen-class guided-missile frigates.  The procurement proposal is worth in excess of EUR25 million (USD27.53 million) and the scope of supply also covers launch containers, transport containers, and spa...

A Royal Australian Navy MH-60R helicopter carries the Australian national flag during the 2023 Avalon International Airshow. (Commonwealth of Australia)  Australia is to adopt a defence strategy of denial centred on anti-access/area-denial capabilities focused on its northern approaches and its primary regional area of military interest, the country's most significant strategic review in a generation has revealed.  Conducted by former Australian Defence Force (ADF) Chief Angus Houston and former Defence Minister Stephen Smith, and released on...

Japan's MoD ordered the deployment of the PAC-3 system in Okinawa Prefecture, and Aegis BMD systems equipped with SM-3 missiles in waters around Japan. The picture shows the PAC-3 live-firing at the NATO Missile Firing Installation (NAMFI) range in Crete. (Luftwaffe/Nurgün Schmidt)  Japan's Ministry of Defense (MoD) has deployed its ballistic missile defence (BMD) system to intercept North Korea's ballistic missiles and spy satellites entering its territory.  Japan relies on a two-layered BMD system to protect the region from hostile missiles...

The FMV has ordered the first 20 troop transport vehicles for the Swedish Armed Forces after signing the technical arrangement for the CAVS programme. (Patria)  Germany formally joined the Finnish-led Common Armoured Vehicle System (CAVS) programme on 17 April with the signing of the technical arrangement, while the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) ordered the first 20 troop transport vehicles for Sweden after joining the CAVS framework agreement. Germany signed a statement of intent to join CAVS in June 2022.  The Finnish Minist...

DroneShield will deliver the DroneGun Mk4 (pictured) as well as some of its other portable C-UAS solutions to the US DoD and another US government agency under two recently secured contracts. (DroneShield)  DroneShield has secured two contracts, one from the US Department of Defense (DoD) and the other from a US government agency, to provide multiple types of handheld counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) equipment.    The deliveries under the two contracts, together valued at USD2.2 million, are expected to be completed by June, the...

South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration has announced the development of KTSSM-II, which will be an enhanced version of KTSSM (pictured above). (ADD)  South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has announced the development of an enhanced version of the Korean Tactical Surface-to-Surface Missile (KTSSM) or KTSSM-II.  The project to develop the missile is named the Tactical Ground-Based Guided Weapon-II Project. DAPA allocated KRW1.55 trillion (USD1.17 billion) for the project. The missile development is...

Patriot air-defence systems have arrived in Ukraine (photo of Luftwaffe Patriot published when the air-defence system was deployed close to Zamość on the Polish-Ukrainian border in January). (Bundeswehr/Lars Koch)  Patriot air-defence systems have arrived in Ukraine, the country's Defence Minister, Oleksii Reznikov, tweeted on 19 April, expecting them to make the Ukrainian sky more secure. He thanked US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, as well as the American, German, and Dutch people.  The list o...

PAC-3 missiles are being tested in operations with Aegis Combat Systems. (Lockheed Martin)    Having proved it can operate the PAC-3 (Patriot Advanced Capability-3) missile with Aegis Ashore, Lockheed Martin is now set to conduct additional flight tests at White Sands in early 2024 using the Aegis Combat System, Joe DePietro, company vice-president and general manager for Naval Combat and Missile Defense Systems, told   Janes   on 4 April during the Navy League Sea-Air-Space 2023 conference held in National Harbor, Maryland....

Armasuisse has awarded a CHF175 million contract to GDELS-Mowag for 16 more Mörser 16 120 mm self-propelled mortars with RUAG's turntable-mounted Cobra system. (RUAG)  Armasuisse, the Swiss Federal Office for Defence Procurement, has awarded a contract to General Dynamics European Land Systems-Mowag (GDELS-Mowag) for 16 more Mörser 16 120 mm mortar systems, the company and the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) announced on 12 April. RUAG has been subcontracted to deliver its Cobra mortar for installation in the...

The Philippines and US troops fired HIMARS for the first time in live-fire Exercise ‘Salaknib'. The picture shows a HIMARS system from Exercise ‘Eager Lion' in Jordan. (US Army/Sgt 1st Class Steven Queen)  The troops of the US and Philippine armies conducted live firing of Autonomous Truck Mounted howitzer System (ATMOS) 155 mm/52 calibre self-propelled artillery units and M-142 High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) in ‘Balikatan' and ‘Salaknib' exercises.  Philippine Army (PA) spokesperson Colonel Xerxes Trinidad said in a press rel...

The KF-21 prototype launched an InfraRed Imaging System-Tail control (IRIS-T) on 4 April. (Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA))  Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) has successfully test-fired an AIM-2000 InfraRed Imaging System-Tail control (IRIS-T) missile from its KF-21 fighter aircraft for the first time.  The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced this maiden launch of the IRIS-T missile from the KF-21 in a video on 7 April. The launch represents the expansion of the KF-21's armaments testing programme. T...

The army's Manoeuvre-Short Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD) system integrates existing guns, missiles, rockets, and sensors onto a Stryker A1 vehicle. The service is starting to develop the technologies for Increment 3 of that system. (US Army/Captain Jordan Allen)  The US Army plans to start development in 2024 on a munition that can be programmed to better take out small unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) and ground vehicles targets back to back, according to a service announcement.  The XM1223 Multi-Mode Proximity Airburst (MMPA) is a High Explo...

The Javelin is a medium-range, manportable, shoulder-fired, fire-and-forget, lock-on-before-launch ATGM system. The picture shows US Army soldiers firing Javelins during an exercise in Estonia. (Estonian Defence Forces)  The Philippine Army (PA) has expressed interest in acquiring the Javelin anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs).  According to a social media post by the PA, the service fired five Javelin ATGMs in Exercise ‘Balikatan' with the US Army and the US Marine Corps in Nueva Ecija province.  In the exercise, the troops demonstrated tacti...

Exercises like ‘Cold Response' in Norway help NATO countries prepare for Arctic operations. (Janes/Michael Fabey)  NATO will benefit from Finland's Arctic naval experience, naval experts said on 3 April during the annual Navy League Sea-Air-Space conference 2023 held in National Harbor, Maryland.  The new NATO member will be particularly helpful as naval mining and countermine operations become a greater consideration, James Foggo, a retired US Navy (USN) admiral who is now the dean of the Navy League's Center for Maritime Strategy, said duri...

The PLA has deployed 120 mm PLZ-10 SPMs and some variants of the ZSD-89A family of tracked AFVs, pictured above, with the 35th Heavy Combined-Arms Brigade of the PLA 71st Group Army of the ETC. (Norinco)  The People's Liberation Army (PLA) has deployed 120 mm PLZ-10 self-propelled mortars (SPMs) with the 35th Heavy Combined-Arms Brigade of the PLA 71st Group Army of the Eastern Theater Command (ETC), which is in charge of dealing with conflicts around the Taiwan Strait.  A video clip of the equipment-deploying exercise released by state-owne...

The USN is working on plans to increase missile capabilities of the new Constellation-class guided-missile frigates. (US Navy)  The US Navy (USN) plans to start construction soon on the second Constellation-class guided-missile frigate, Congress (FFG 63), and has plans to award a contract for the fourth ship of the class later in 2023, according to Captain Kevin Smith, USN Constellation programme manager.  The USN is also working with Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) and Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) to develop a plan for outfitting th...

A televised footage of a North Korean Hwaseong-18 missile test, at a railway station in Seoul on 13 April 2023. (Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images)  North Korea has test-fired a new solid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) known as Hwaseong-18, state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.  According to KCNA, the missile was test-fired on 13 April to ”confirm the performance of the high-thrust solid-fuel engines for multistage missiles”.  KCNA added that the test demonstrated the reliability of the stage-jettisoning tec...

Soldiers from the 1st Battalion Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment receiving training from a DefendTex instructor on the Drone40 system in February. The training took place at the Linton Military Camp in the North Island of New Zealand. (New Zealand Defence Force)  The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) is conducting its first experimentation with loitering munitions to keep pace with the changing nature of warfare.  Speaking to Janes in April, Hayden Robinson, the joint experimentation manager for the New Zealand Army, said the NZDF will use...

The PLA has deployed PGZ-09 SPAAGs, an example of which is pictured above from a parade in Beijing in September 2015, along the Taiwan Strait. The service also deployed the HQ-17 SHORAD system and 122 mm PZH-11 MLRSs in the area. (Simon Song/South China Morning Post via Getty Images)  The People's Liberation Army (PLA) has deployed weapons and equipment – including multiple launch rocket systems (MLRSs), air-defence missiles, command vehicles, and ammunition supply vehicles – along the Taiwan Strait.  According to the Ministry of National Def...

The upgraded Type 12 SSM will have a range of 1,000 km. The original version, pictured above, has a range of 200 km. While the original Type 12 SSM was designed as a land-based anti-ship missile, the upgraded variant can be launched from land, aircraft, and surface combatants. (Japanese Ground Self-Defence Force)  Japan's Ministry of Defense (MoD) has signed a contract with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) to develop and mass-produce upgraded Type 12 surface-to-ship missiles (SSMs).  The MoD also signed the contracts to mass-produce hyperson...