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...

Sako rifles for Finnish and Swedish armed forces. (Sako)  Finland and Sweden are jointly procuring assault and sniper rifles from Finnish company Sako. The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) and the logistics department of the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) signed a framework agreement on the joint procurement with Sako at its factory in Riihimäki on 27 March.  Sako said in a press release the same day that the framework agreement would enable Finland and Sweden to procure the weapons, initially covering a period of 10 years, with an...

Destroyer   Lyndon B Johnson's  delivery is being delayed to prepare the ship for Conventional Prompt Strike missions.  (US Navy)    The US Navy's (USN's) fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget proposal has confirmed plans to delay the delivery of its third and final DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer – USS   Lyndon B Johnson  (DDG 1002) – so that the ship can receive the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) weapon system at Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Ingalls Division in Pascagoula, Mississippi, on compl...

Very short-range air-defence system missile. (Janes)  India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) test-fired two of its very short-range air-defence system (VSHORADS) missiles in March 2023. The flight tests were the second development trial of the missile.  VSHORADS is a manportable air-defence system (MANPADS) designed and developed by the DRDO and Indian industry partners. VSHORADS was first test-fired in September 2022.  According to the DRDO, VSHORADS is a fourth-generation weapon system equipped with a dual-thrust rocke...

China showcased the HQ-9B surface-to-air missile weapons system at Airshow China 2022. The country has deployed the upgraded system with eight smaller missiles in PLA's Central Theater Command. (Future Publishing via Getty Images)  The People's Liberation Army (PLA) has deployed the upgraded HQ-9B medium-range, medium-altitude air-defence system in an anti-aircraft brigade of Central Theater Command (CTC).  Video footage released by PLA-affiliated broadcaster js7tv shows the PLA deploying and testing the HQ-9B surface-to-air missile (SAM) sy...

HNLMS  De Zeven Provinciën  pictured in the Atlantic in May 2021 during Exercise ‘At-Sea Demo/Formidable Shield 21'. ASD/FS-21 served as a ‘graduation exercise' for the new MBMD capability.  (US Navy)  Some two decades after entering service, the Royal Netherlands Navy's (RNLN's) four De Zeven Provinciën-class air defence and command frigates (luchtverdedigings en commandofregatten: LCF) are receiving a package of improvements intended to sustain and enhance their operational capability into the 2030s.    Alo...

The new ATGMs will replace Metis-M ATGM systems mounted on the Malaysian Army's Mercedes G-Wagen 4×4 weapon carriers. The picture above is an example of a Mercedes G-Wagen weapon carrier. (Janes/Patrick Allen )  The Malaysian Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) has requested bids for the supply of 18 medium-range anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) systems.  In the bid document, MINDEF said there is a requirement for the anti-tank platoon of the infantry battalion to be equipped with medium-range ATGMs, which can engage and destroy enemy armour at a dis...

The US is expected to provide a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine in the coming weeks. (AFP via Getty Images)  The soldiers selected by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to train on the Patriot missile battery completed their training curriculum faster than expected, a Pentagon official announced on 21 March.  When Ukraine sent about 100 troops to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to be trained on the MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile (SAM) battery in January, officials expected them to need more time to wrap up their courses at the Fires Center of Excel...

Egyptian naval special forces display weapons that include an Akeron MP to a Qatari delegation at their base in Abu Qir. (Egyptian Ministry of Defense)  An Egyptian naval special forces unit is the first confirmed export customer for the MBDA Akeron MP anti-tank guided missile system, a video released by the Egyptian Ministry of Defense on 18 March revealed.  The video showed a high-level Qatari military delegation visiting several Egyptian units, including one that identified itself as the naval Special Forces Brigade, which displayed weapo...

The Archers will be drawn from Swedish Army stocks and enter into service in 2024. (Marcus Olsson/Försvarsmakten)  The UK Ministry of Defence's (MoD's) announcement on 16 March that the British Army is to receive BAE Systems Bofors Archer self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) will see the army take into service a more mobile, leaner-crewed platform than the AS90, currently in its inventory.  Fourteen Archers will be transferred to the British Army from Swedish Army stocks, and these will serve as an interim replacement for the 32 AS90 SPHs gifted t...

ACV is an eight-wheeled armoured personnel carrier designed to fully replace the USMC's ageing fleet of Amphibious Assault Vehicles. The USMC budget request includes a boost for ACV procurement in FY 2024. (USMC)  The US Marine Corps (USMC) is asking for USD705 million more in discretionary spending for its Force Design 2030 priorities in fiscal year (FY) 2024 than enacted in FY 2023, according to budget documents.  The USMC topline request for the modernisation experimentation campaign, which calls for a more agile force, was USD17.1 billion...

A computer rendering of the HACM. (Raytheon)  The US Air Force (USAF) requested USD500 million for hypersonic weapons research and development in fiscal year (FY) 2024, the same amount as the previous year.  Roughly USD150 million would be used to further develop the Lockheed MartinAGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW), a boost-glide system that in December 2022 saw its first successful launch following three failed tests. The USAF plans to conduct four additional ‘all-up round' test shots of the completed missile during FY 2024....

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force is expected to operate the OZZ-5 MCM UUV in Japan's disputed southern islands. (Janes/Jon Grevatt)  Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) is set to deliver its first OZZ-5 mine-countermeasures (MCM) unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).    Company officials told   Janes  at the DSEI Japan 2023 exhibition in Chiba that the first of five on-order OZZ-5 systems will be supplied to the JMSDF by the end of March. The initial five OZZ-5s are all...

The DRDO's Manportable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM). (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has designed and developed a “third-generation fire-and-forget” missile for special forces and infantry battalions of the Indian Army called Manportable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM).  The MPATGM missile weighs 14.5 kg and has a length of 1,340 mm and a diameter of 120 mm. The MPATGM is intended to replace the MILAN system of France and the Konkurs system of Russia in service with the Indian Army.  Ac...

The ATAGS, displayed in India's DefExpo 2022, can fire six rounds in 30 seconds to a range of 45 km. With the acquisition of ATAGS, the Indian Army seeks to provide direct fire support to the artillery units at the northern and eastern borders with China and the western border with Pakistan. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  India's Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, has approved the procurement of advanced towed artillery gun system (ATAGS), along with high-mobility vehicles (HMVs) and gun towing vehicles (GTVs)...

MC2 Technologies has been supplying its Nerod RF C-UAS (pictured) to the Japanese government with the help of its local partner, Mikuni Aerospace. (MC2 Technologies)  French company Microwave Characterization Center (MC2) Technologies has been supplying its Nerod RF counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) to the Japanese government with the help of its local partner in Japan, Mikuni Aerospace.    Speaking to   Janes   at the DSEI Japan 2023 show being held in Chiba, Camille Gaquiere, export control manager at MC2 Technologies...

The development of the Island Defence ASM – seen here on display at the DSEI Japan 2023 show – has been allocated funding of USD257 million in the 2023 defence budget. (Janes/Jon Grevatt)  Japanese company Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) has unveiled a model of a new long-range cruise missile at the DSEI Japan 2023 exhibition in Chiba.  KHI told Janes that the weapon – known tentatively as the ‘Island Defence' anti-ship missile (ASM) – is designed to be launched from warships, aircraft, and land platforms. The company said the missile could a...

A conceptual image, displayed at DSEI Japan 2023, showing how the UUV and semi-submersible USV developed by IHI Corporation will work together with the mother vessel to counter mines. (Janes/Oishee Majumdar)    Japanese heavy-industry manufacturer, IHI Corporation, has developed an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) to detect mines. The system has been delivered to the Japan Coast Guard and will also be provided to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), a company official told   Janes   at DSEI Japan 2023 being held in C...

The FN Minimi Mk 3 is a belt-fed, fully automatic, gas-operated, air-cooled LMG. The barrel of Mk 3 is chambered for 5.56×45 mm, and it is available in two lengths – 349 mm and 465 mm. (FN Herstal)  The Japanese Ministry of Defense (MoD) has selected Belgian armaments manufacturer Fabrique Nationale (FN) Herstal's Minimi Mk 3 light machine guns (LMGs) and German handgun manufacturer Heckler & Koch's (H&K's) G28 E2 anti-personnel sniper guns for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF).    A spokesperson for the MoD told   Janes...

The Kongsberg air-launched Joint Strike Missile is fired from a Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter in this artist's impression. (Norwegian MoD)  Japan is set to take delivery of an initial batch of Joint Strike Missiles (JSMs), manufacturer Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace has confirmed to Janes.  Speaking at the DSEI Japan 2023 show in Chiba on 16 March, a representative from Kongsberg said the country's first JSMs will be supplied “very soon” to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) for integration into its growing fleet...