The Bundeswehr will procure 118,718 G95A1 assault rifles from Heckler & Koch in 2024–26. (Heckler & Koch)  On 14 December the budget committee of the Bundestag, the German parliament, approved the retrofit of Puma infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) and the procurement of BvS10 all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and Heckler & Koch HK416A8 assault rifles.  The budget committee approved around EUR850 million (USD900 million) for the retrofit of 143 Pumas so all IFVs of the type are of the same operational technical standard.  It approved another EUR405...

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,...

India has conducted a flight test of theAgni-V intermediate‐range ballistic missile.Pictured above is an image from an earlier trial of the Agni-V. (Defence Research and Development Organisation)  India's Strategic Forces Command (SFC) has conducted a flight test of the Agni-V intermediate‐range ballistic missile (IRBM) from APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the northeastern coast of Odisha, the Indian Army said.    A senior Indian Army official told  Janes  that the SFC validated the maximum operational range of the missile with th...

HII's Mission Technologies division's REMUS AUVs are armed with Kraken Robotics' synthetic aperture sonar. (Kraken Robotics Systems)    Canada's Department of National Defence (DND) awarded two separate contracts that, combined, are worth about USD57.9 million to Kraken Robotics Systems of Mount Pearl, Newfoundland, to supply the modular mine-countermeasures (MCM) system for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), the DND confirmed to   Janes  .   The formal contract is scheduled to be signed in January 2023, and the acquisition wil...

NVL Group and its local partner MTG Dolphin started production of the second of two multipurpose modular patrol vessels for the Bulgarian Navy in Varna on 14 December. (NVL)  The Bulgarian Navy's multipurpose modular patrol vessel (MMPV) programme has marked another milestone with the start of production of the second ship.  German shipbuilder NVL Group (formerly Lürssen Werft) staged a steel-cutting ceremony for Smeli (11), the second of two MMPVs on order, at the yard of its local shipbuilding partner MTG Dolphin in Varna, Bulgaria on 14 De...

Rheinmetall and UVision are developing Hero-R rotary-wing loitering munition. (Rheinmetall)  Rheinmetall and UVision are developing Hero-R rotary-wing loitering munition, officials from the two companies told defence journalists in Berlin on 7 December.  Dirk Wecker, head of strategic programmes/mission systems at Rheinmetall Electronics, said the multirotor Hero-R can be launched from a mission pod on a vehicle and has a 10-minute flight time. An example he gave of its employment was landing Hero-Rs in the corners of trenches to destroy them...

Rheinmetall will supply Ukraine with two Skynex air-defence systems at the beginning of 2024, Germany's   Handelsblatt   newspaper reported on 9 December.  (Rheinmetall)    Rheinmetall will supply Ukraine with Skynex short- and very short-range air-defence systems, Germany's   Handelsblatt  newspaper reported on 9 December, citing German government officials.     The report came after Rheinmetall announced in a press release earlier the same day that it would supply an international custom...

A PAC-3 missile is fired from a Patriot launcher. (Lockheed Martin)  The US Department of Defense (DoD) and White House are finalising plans to deploy a Patriot air-defence battery to Ukraine, with final administration approval of the move expected in the coming weeks, according to published news reports  The plan, once approved, would be to deploy a single, truck-mounted Patriot battery armed with four launchers capable of carrying up to eight Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3) interceptor missiles, the reports added. CNN first disclosed...

South Korea's development of a new air-to-ground missile for its KF-21 fighter jet will very likely improve the ability of the RoKAF to conduct sustained long-range strikes. (DAPA/Janes)  South Korea has allocated additional funding to continue the development of a new air-to-ground missile being built for the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 Boramae fighter jet.    In an announcement on 12 December, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said that it will invest KRW190 billion (USD146.07 million) in the project. DAP...

The Spanish Air Force is to add the Brimstone air-to-surface missile to the existing weapons fit of its Eurofighter aircraft, seen here during a media event at Ala 14 Los Llanos-Albacete. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)    The Spanish Air Force (Ejército del Aire Español: EdAE) is to equip its Eurofighter Typhoon (C.16 in national service) combat aircraft with the MBDA Brimstone air-to-surface missile, a senior officer told   Janes  and other defence media on 13 December.   Speaking at Los Llanos-Albacete in central Spain, the Air...

Rheinmetall has conducted 300 test firings of the KF51 Panther's Future Gun System since 2016. (Rheinmetall)  Rheinmetall is targeting Leopard 2 operators with its KF51 Panther main battle tank (MBT), company officials working on the vehicle told defence journalists in Berlin on 5 December 2022.  Alexander Kuhrt, Rheinmetall's director for its tracked vehicle product portfolio, expressed confidence in the Panther's prospects on a NATO market estimated by the European Defence Agency at 500–800 or more vehicles in 2025–35, including upgrades, g...

A model of the six-tubed variant of Russia's Smerch MLRS, which is being marketed in Vietnam for the first time. (Janes/Ridzwan Rahmat)  A teaming of Russian companies has completed development works on a lightweight variant of the Smerch 300 mm Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) and is positioning the weapon for regional requirements.    Speaking to   Janes  at the Vietnam International Defense Exhibition (VIDEX) 2022 in Hanoi, a representative from Russian arms company Splav described the system, which utilises the 9A52-4...

The ECDI signed a contract with the DSCA on 3 December for the procurement of six Lockheed Martin HIMARS MLRSs. (ECDI)  The Estonian Centre for Defence Investments (ECDI) announced in a press release on 3 December that its director general, Magnus-Valdemar Saar, had signed a contract with the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) for the procurement of six Lockheed Martin High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRSs) worth USD200 million. The procurement also includes different types of missiles...

A People's Army of Vietnam ZSU-23-4M unit that has been upgraded with Igla missiles and a locally developed electro-optical system. (Janes/Ridzwan Rahmat)  The People's Army of Vietnam (PAV) has upgraded selected units of its ZSU-23-4M self-propelled anti-aircraft guns (SPAAGs) with a locally developed electro-optical system and Russia-supplied Igla surface-to-air missiles.  An example of the upgraded system was displayed by the service at the Vietnam International Defence Exhibition (VIDEX) 2022, which is taking place in Hanoi from 8 to 10...

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...

A file photo of a Tu-95 bomber. It was reported that two such aircraft were damaged in an attack on Engels-2 airbase in the early hours of 5 December. (UAC)  A Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) airbase that houses strategic bombers was seemingly attacked on 5 December.  Engels-2 airbase, about 400 km east of Ukraine and 700 km southeast of Moscow, was apparently struck by at least one air-launched munition in the early hours of 5 December, footage from a nearby CCTV appears to confirm. The base hosts a squadron of Tupolev Tu-95 ‘Bear' and Tu-160...

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...

Mesko vice-president Przemysław Kowalczuk (right), and Brigader Jarle Nergård, head of the NDMA's air systems division (left), signed a contract on 29 November for Piorun MANPADS for the Norwegian Army. Behind them (from left to right): NDMA Director General Gro Jære, Norwegian Chief of Defence Staff Elisabeth Natvig, and Polish Defence Attache Colonel Waldemar Torbicki. (NDMA)  The Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA) signed a NOK350 million (nearly USD36 million) contract with Mesko for Piorun manportable air-defence systems (MANPADS) f...

New concept imagery of KAI's MUM-T project shows the company's Light Attack Helicopter (LAH) teamed with at least three Air Launched Effects (ALE). The company has conceptualised this UAV as both a reconnaissance platform and a loitering munition. (Korean Aerospace Industries)  Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has signed an agreement with a research body to bolster the development of its manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) system for combat helicopters.  On November 29, KAI announced that it had entered into an agreement with the Korea Research I...

The Sa'ar 6 corvette INS   Magen   launches a Barak LRAD during the test.   (Israeli Ministry of Defense)  The Israeli Navy and Israel Ministry of Defense (MoD) conducted the first live-fire trial of the LRAD variant of the Barak surface-to-air missile from one of the new Sa'ar 6 corvettes, the MoD announced on 30 November.    The MoD referred to the overarching naval air-defence system as Barak Magen, which was confusing as the test was conducted by INS   Magen  , the first of the four Sa'ar 6s....