The test launch of an InfraRed Imaging System-Tail control missile from a KF-21 fighter aircraft on 4 April suggests that South Korea is moving to acquire quantities of this advanced short-range missile. (Diehl Defence GmbH & Co KG)  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...

An F-35C Lightning II test aircraft conducts the first separation of an AGM-154C variant Joint Standoff Weapon from an F-35. (US Navy)  The F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) in conjunction with prime contractor Lockheed Martin is exploring methods to accelerate the process of certifying and integrating new weapons and systems into the advanced jet fighter.  JPO officials are weighing alternatives, from modernising current weapon test plans to issuing rapidly integrated clearances or interim clearances for weapon systems, to dramatically ramp up...

An AARGM-ER is fired from a US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet during a test. (US Navy)  The US Navy (USN) and Northrop Grumman are negotiating the third low-rate initial production (LRIP) contract for the air-launched AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-Extended Range (AARGM-ER), according to a service official.  The USN awarded contracts to Northrop Grumman for the first two LRIP lots in September 2021 and December 2021, respectively. A total of four LRIP lots are planned. The USN expects to award the first full-rate production contract...

The Netherlands is procuring 20 PULS MRLs in 2023–26. (Elbit Systems)  The Netherlands is procuring Precise and Universal Launching System (PULS) multiple rocket launchers (MRLs), its Ministry of Defence (MoD) revealed on its website on 3 April. The MoD said the Royal Netherlands Army would receive the first systems in 2023. It will be the first time since 2004 that the Netherlands operates rocket artillery.  A Dutch MoD spokesperson told Janes on 6 April that the first PULS system will be delivered fully military off-the-shelf by the end of...

DroneShield launched the DroneGun Mk4 (pictured), a “rugged pistol jammer” with enhanced performance ranges compared with its previous variants. (DroneShield)    Australian company DroneShield has launched a new variant of its DroneGun family of counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UASs), developed in response to end-user feedback, using the “latest science in waveform design, jamming techniques, and other technologies”, the CEO and managing director of the company, Oleg Vornik, told  Janes  on 5 April.   The new variant, D...

The RNLAF F-35s will be equipped with JASSM systems to enhance their long-range strike capabilities, pending US government approval. (Janes/Patrick Allen)  The Netherlands Ministry of Defence (MoD) has requested to purchase the Lockheed Martin Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM-ER) system for its F-35 fleet, the authority announced on 3 April.  The procurement is intended to bolster the Netherlands' long-range strike capabilities, and if approved by the US government, would meet a requirement detailed in the 2022 Defe...

The RNLN plans to procure surface- and submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles. (Raytheon Aircraft Company)  The Netherlands has revealed plans to procure the Tomahawk land attack cruise missile from the US government, with deployment planned from both frigates and submarines.  Forming part of a broader investment in air and maritime strike capabilities, the planned procurement will make the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) only the second naval service in Europe to introduce the Tomahawk into service. A proof of concept firing from a De Zeven Prov...

Saudi Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Fayyad bin Hamed al-Ruwaili (centre) inspects a Chun-Moo multiple rocket launcher during a visit to Jizan and Najran. (Ministry of Defense of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)  South Korean-made Chun-Moo multiple rocket launchers (MRLs) were seen for the first time in Saudi service on 31 March, when Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Fayyad bin Hamed al-Ruwaili visited military units deployed to defend the kingdom's border with Yemen.  The Saudi Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the visit...

The Australian subsidiary of the UK-headquartered QinetiQ has secured an AUD12.9 million (USD8.68 million) contract from the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) to co-develop and manufacture a high-energy laser system prototype.  The laser syste...

The Taliban government has restored High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles abandoned by the Afghan National Army. The above picture shows a US Army exercise with an HMMWV. (US Army)  The Taliban government in Afghanistan has restored at least 341 vehicles and 1,050 military weapons abandoned by the Afghan National Army (ANA) following the United States military's withdrawal from the country in 2021.  In a social media post in late March, Afghanistan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) announced that it had restored 300 military vehicles...

The Satellite Control Network's largest remote tracking station, operated by the 23rd Space Operations Squadron, at New Boston Space Force Station, New Hampshire. DARPA's Overwatch programme will allow for active tracking of 1,000 targets from space. (US Space Force)  The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is developing a new satellite-based targeting software, capable of tracking upwards of 1,000 individual terrestrial targets simultaneously from space, once it is mature.  DARPA's Oversight project, as designed, “seeks softwar...

The British Army will own 14 Archer SPHs from early April. (BAE Systems Bofors)  UK Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace and Swedish Minister of Defence Pål Jonson signed a letter of intent (LOI) in London on 29 March on a bilateral strategic partnership. The Swedish and UK ministries of defence (MoDs) said in press releases on 28 and 29 March, respectively, that the signing of the LOI strengthened bilateral military co-operation and the two countries' defence relationship.  The two MoDs linked Jonson and Wallace's meeting in London to...

UK Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace and Swedish Minister of Defence Pål Jonson signed a letter of intent (LOI) in London on 29 March on a bilateral strategic partnership. The Swedish and UK ministries of defence (MoDs) said in press releases on 28 and 29 March, respectively, that the signing of the LOI strengthened bilateral military co-operation and the two countries' defence relationship.  The two MoDs linked Jonson and Wallace's meeting in London to Sweden's sale of 14 Archer self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) to the UK, which the S...

The maximum range of the Indian Army's Akash Weapon System, seen here taking part in the full dress rehearsal for the Republic Day parade 2023, is 30 km and it can hit targets at a maximum elevation of 18 km. (Money Sharma/AFP via Getty Images)  The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded contracts to supply Akash Weapon System (AWS), next-generation maritime mobile coastal batteries-long range (NGMMCB-LR), and BrahMos missiles to the Indian Armed Forces.  On 30 March 2023, the MoD signed a contract worth INR81.6 billion (USD993 million)...

Bystra, fitted on an AMZ Kutno Żubr-P armoured vehicle, is a redeployable radar developed by PIT-RADWAR that is capable of detecting aerial threats, such as helicopters, missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles for V/SHORAD systems. (PIT-RADWAR)  The Polish Armament Agency has signed a PLN1.1 billion (USD255.4 million) agreement with the PGZ-Pilica+ consortium for the Bystra radar, the authority announced on 29 March.  In total, 22 Bystra radars, developed by PIT-RADWAR under the PGZ-Pilica+ consortium, will be delivered between 2026 and 2028,...

KYSEA approved the purchase of 100 Spike NLOS missiles to arm AH-64A attack helicopters of the Hellenic Army Air Corps, the upgrade of 19 of the helicopters by Israeli company Elbit, and the certification of nine of them to be armed with the air-to-ground version of Spike NLOS. (Boeing)  Greece's Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defence (KYSEA) chaired by Prime Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos approved the purchase of Spike Non-Line-of-Sight (NLOS) systems and missiles for all three services on 29 March.  KYSEA approved the purchas...

The 105 mm CS/AH2 howitzer, pictured above, is similar in all aspects to the BAE systems L118/L119 (105 mm) light howitzer. The gun is produced by Poly Technologies, with likely involvement from Norinco. (Poly Technologies Inc)    Thailand's Defense Technology Institute (DTI) has signed a    memorandum of understanding    (MOU) with the Artillery Center of the Royal Thai Army (RTA) for the research and development (R&D) of a 105 mm CS/AH2 light howitzer prototype.   According to a press release by the DTI, the two...

Nexter Colibri loitering munition. (Janes/Amael Kotlarski)  Nexter revealed the design of its Dard (Stinger) loitering munition at the SOFINS 2023 defence exhibition, held near Bordeaux, France.  The Dard was selected as part of France's Colibri project, launched in May 2022 by the Direction générale de l'armement (DGA) and the Agence de l'innovation de défense (AID). The Colibri project seeks to rapidly develop an indigenous, low-cost loitering munition for use with the French Armed Forces. The Colibri requirements call for a loitering muni...

MBDA Enforcer. (Janes/Amael Kotlarski)    MBDA's Enforcer lightweight missile launcher is in the final qualification phases and first deliveries to the German customer are expected in 2024, company officials told   Janes   at the SOFINS 2023 exhibition, near Bordeaux, France.   Developed by MBDA Germany at the request of German special forces, the Enforcer is designed to complement the Wirkmittel 90 (RGW 90) already in use. Under a contract signed in 2019, up to 3,000 Enforcer systems will be delivered to the German special...

An illustration of an extended-range Precision Strike Missile. Lockheed Martin is one of two industry teams working on the US Army's Precision Strike Missile Increment 4. (Lockheed Martin)  US defence companies have begun competing for the fourth increment of the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM Inc 4), officials said on 27 March.  Lockheed Martin and a team of Raytheon Technologies and Northrop Grumman announced they will participate in the army's science and technology (S&T) effort for an extended-range version of the weapon system, which is...