Belgium has been cleared to field the extended-range AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM missile for its F-16 (pictured) and F-35 aircraft fleets. (Belgian MoD)  Belgium has been cleared to buy the extended-range Raytheon AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) for its fleet of Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-35 Lightning II combat aircraft.  The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on 8 November that the Department of State had approved the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) of up to 120 missiles to Belgium, to be...

The missile labelled as a Sayyad-4B in the unveiling ceremony looked like the original Sayyad-4 but different from the SAM shown in the Sayyad-4B test. (defapress.ir)  The Iranian military unveiled the longer-range Sayyad-4B surface-to-air missile (SAM) for its Bavar-373 air-defence system on 6 November.  The missile was unveiled during a ceremony attended by Minister of Defence Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani and Islamic Republic of Iran Air Defense Force (IRIADF) Commander Brigadier General Alireza Sabahifard.  The Iranian media re...

The US Navy is considering whether to further extend the life of the strategic submarine USS   Alaska  .  (US Navy)  The US Navy (USN) is planning to target five Ohio-class strategic submarines (SSBNs) for possible life extensions to help ease the transition to Columbia-class vessels, Rear Admiral Scott Pappano, USN executive officer of Strategic Submarines, said.  “We'll need two or three, [and] plan to go up to five [Ohio-class submarines for possible life extensions],” Rear Adm Pappano said on 1 November during...

US Navy officials say land-based prototype testing is helping keep the Columbia-class submarine system on track. (US Navy)  Land-based prototyping has helped keep the Columbia-class strategic missile submarine programme on track for development and delivery, according to US Navy (USN) submarine officials.  “Nearly everything on the ship” has been tried or tested either through prototyping or installation on the Virginia-class attack submarines, Rear Admiral Douglas Perry, US Navy (USN) director of Undersea Warfare, said on 1 November during a...

A Badak fire support vehicle, seen here with a mock-up of the Skyranger 30 turret, at Indo Defence 2022. (Janes/Ridzwan Rahmat)  Rheinmetall Air Defence AG has indicated that it will be able to produce units of the Oerlikon Skyranger mobile ground-based air defence (GBAD) system in-country should it be selected for the Indonesian armed forces anti-air requirements.    Stefan Schadler and Gerson Jaklin,    who are the    vice-president for Sales and vice-president for Marketing and Sales, respectively, at Rheinmetall's...

An XAC H-6K bomber of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force carries a pair of the new air-launched ballistic missile at Zhuhai on 3 November. The missile has design similarities with Russia's Kinzhal hypersonic, anti-access/area-denial missile. (Chen Jimin/China News Service via Getty Images)  China has unveiled a new air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM) for use by the People's Liberation Army's (PLA's) H-6K bomber fleet.  Two of the new missiles were carried by a Xi'an Aircraft Company (XAC) H-6K bomber, which arrived in Zhuhai, in...

The Jadara Raptor on display at the SOFEX 2022 show. (Mohammed Najib)    The new Raptor rocket launcher developed by Jadara Equipment & Defence Systems has completed testing and will enter production later this year, the Jordanian company's general director told  Janes  at the SOFEX 2022 show held in Aqaba from 1 to 3 November.   “By the end of this year, 2022, the Jadara factory will start producing the Raptor in marketing quantities,” Colonel Engineer (retd) Ayman Mashouqah said.  The Raptor uses the same reusable sightin...

India's DRDO conducted a maiden flight test of the Phase-II Ballistic Missile Defence interceptor known as the AD-1 missile from APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha on 2 November. The DRDO said that the missile has the ability to intercept targets within a range of 5,000 km. (Indian MoD)  India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has conducted a maiden flight test of the Phase-II Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) interceptor known as the AD-1 missile, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.  According to a p...

Petra Global's JF-56 ultra-light machine gun at the SOFEX 2022 show in Aqaba. (Janes/Karl Ballard)  Petra Global, a Jordanian defence company, displayed an ultra-lightweight 5.56×45 mm light machine gun (LMG) during the SOFEX 2022 show held in Aqaba from 1 to 3 November.  Two prototypes were displayed as the JF-56 (short for Jordanian Forces 56), although some of the marketing material referred to the LMG as the MFR-56. The name MFR-56 was used by the Turkish company System Defence when it unveiled the weapon at the IDEF show held in Istanbu...

A poster of the Hunter MANPADS at the Jadara stand at SOFEX 2022. (Janes/Jeremy Binnie)  Jordan's Jadara Equipment & Defence Systems is developing its first manportable air defence system (MANPADS), it was revealed at the SOFEX 2022 show held in Aqaba from 1 to 3 November.    The Hunter (Al-Sayad in Arabic) was not displayed at the show, and a Jadara official told  Janes  it is still in development.   However, a brochure provided specifications, saying the missile is 1.5 m in length, has a calibre of 72 mm, and weighs 10.77...

A model of the Respati RCWS that has been installed on several Indonesian Army Anoa armoured personnel carriers. (Janes/Ridzwan Rahmat)  Indonesian firm PT Respati Solusi Rekatama (Respati) has secured a contract to supply the Indonesian Army with its locally developed remote controlled weapon station (RCWS).  The system, which is said to have been designed and built fully in-country, would be installed on the Indonesian Army's Anoa armoured personnel carriers. The contract was signed in late 2021, and it covers the delivery of 11 RCWS units....

Japan has confirmed plans to integrate SM-6 air-defence missiles onto its two JMSDF Maya-class destroyers. Pictured above is the second of these two vessels, JS  Haguro  , which was commissioned in March 2021.  (Japanese MoD)    The Japanese Ministry of Defense (MoD) has disclosed to  Janes  plans to integrate Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) air-defence missiles onto Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Maya-class destroyers from 2026.   The plans were revealed nearly two weeks after the US Defen...

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...

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 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...

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 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 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...