The Pralay short-range ballistic missile (pictured above) can carry three different types of warheads and has the capability to strike targets between 150 and 400 km. (DRDO)  India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has provided details of its tactical, short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile known as Pralay at the Aero India 2023 show being held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February.    A DRDO official told   Janes  that the missile can carry three different types of warheads and is capable of strik...

The DRDO showcased its very short-range air-defence system missile at the Aero India 2023 show being held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February. According to the DRDO, the development of the missiles is completed. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has completed development of its very short-range air-defence system (VSHORADS) missiles, the organisation told Janes at the Aero India 2023 show being held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February.  A DRDO official told Janes that the development of VSHORADS...

The QRSAM – a model of which was on display at the Aero India 2023 show in Bangalore – can intercept targets at an altitude of 14 km. The missile has a length of 4.4 m, a weight of 270 kg, and a diameter of 0.225 m. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)    The Indian Army has ordered five Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM) weapon systems, manufacturer Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) told   Janes   at the Aero India 2023 show in Bangalore.     A BEL official told   Janes   that the company will deliver all five weap...

A photograph released by the UK Ministry of Defence on 7 July 2022 shows the weapons found by HMS   Montrose  when it searched vessels off southern Iran on 28 January 2022 and 25 February 2022. A 358 SAM is laid out at the front and engines for 351 cruise missiles can be seen at the back right.   (Crown Copyright)  Data from a commercial quadcopter has established a direct link between a weapons shipment seized by the UK Royal Navy (RN) and Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), the British government a...

Israel Aerospace Industries displayed the Long-Range Artillery surface-to-surface missile system at the Aero India 2023 show held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  India's state-run Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will jointly produce the Long-Range Artillery (LORA) surface-to-surface missile system in India, BEL told Janes at the Aero India 2023 show held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February.  A BEL official told Janes that the company will be the production partner for LORA missi...

India's state-run Munitions India Limited showcased Pinaka rockets in the Aero India 2023 being held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February. The company said that the ER and DPICM versions of Pinaka have cleared the trials with the Indian Army and qualified for induction. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  The extended-range (ER) and dual-purpose improved conventional munition (DPICM) warhead versions of the surface-to-surface Pinaka Multi‐Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) have qualified for induction into the Indian Army.  An official from India's state-run Muni...

The DRDO is designing a lightweight manportable anti-tank guided missile (MPATGM) for the Indian Army. The MPATGM, in its current form, weighs 14.5 kg. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)    India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is designing a lightweight manportable anti-tank guided missile (MPATGM) for the Indian Army, a DRDO official told   Janes   at the Aero India 2023 show, which is being held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February.   The official said that the development of MPATGM is not completed because of its...

Tata Aerospace and Defence has unveiled a 155 mm/52 calibre mounted gun system for the Indian Army at the Aero India 2023 show. The range of the gun is 31 km with a boat tail projectile, 42 km with a base-bleed projectile, and 55 km with a V-LAP projectile. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  India's Tata Aerospace and Defence (TAD) unveiled a 155 mm/52 calibre mounted gun system (MGS) for the Indian Army at the Aero India 2023 show, which is being held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February.  A spokesperson for TAD told Janes that the company developed the MG...

India's FICVs will be equipped with American aerospace company Lockheed Martin's Javelin ATGMs. Javelin is a medium-range, manportable, shoulder-fired, fire-and-forget, lock-on before launch ATGM system. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)    India's Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicles (FICVs) will be equipped with American aerospace company Lockheed Martin's Javelin anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), the company told   Janes   at the Aero India 2023 show, which is being held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February.     Jagmohan Singh, Lock...

The US Army awarded AM General a contract to produce its Joint Light Tactical Vehicle that could be worth up to USD8.66 billion. (US Army)  Newcomer AM General beat out Oshkosh Defense to manufacture the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) for US armed forces in a deal that could be worth up to USD8.66 billion over 10 years, US Army programme officials said.  Following a competition between the incumbent and AM General, the army selected the latter for a contract for up to 20,000 vehicles and up to 10,000 JLTV-Trailers (JLTV-Ts) for joint and...

Germany is donating two MANTIS C-RAM systems to Slovakia for the protection of critical infrastructure. (Luftwaffe/Rheinmetall Defence)  Germany is donating two Modular, Automatic and Network capable Targeting and Interception System (MANTIS) counter-rocket, artillery, and mortar defence (C-RAM) systems to Slovakia, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius and General Eberhard Zorn, Inspekteur der Bundeswehr (armed forces chief), announced in a 7 February order of the day. They said the donation would permanently strengthen Slovak air defences and th...

FN SCAR-H precision rifle fitted with Elity ballistic calculator. (FN Herstal)  FN Herstal announced in a press release on 7 February that it had supplied an unspecified number of Elity ballistic calculators to the French Army.  The company said that the decision to acquirethe Elity followed several months of testing and evaluation by the French Army's Battle-Lab Terre (BLT) land battle lab on the FN SCAR-H (heavy) 7.62 mm Fusil de Précision Semi-Automatique (Semi-Automatic Precision Rifle) in French service, as well as the PGM Hécate II reva...

A television screen, on 9 February 2023, showing news of North Korea's military parade, during which the regime carried out its largest-known display of ICBMs. (JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images)  Pyongyang carried out the largest-known display of its long-range nuclear strike capabilities on 8 February when it celebrated the 75th founding anniversary of its army.  On display at the parade include about a dozen 11 axel transporter erector launcher (TEL) vehicles with what appears to be either the Hwaseong-16 or Hwaseong-17 two-stage intercont...

India's Defence Acquisition Council has approved the procurement of MGS, the example of which is pictured above, for the Indian Army. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  India's Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, has approved the procurement of the mounted gun system (MGS) for the Indian Army.  The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a statement that the procurement, approved through the provision of an ‘Acceptance of Necessity' (AoN) status under the ‘Buy (Indian)' category, includes 155 mm/52 calibre MGS.  The MoD...

India's state-run Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited unveiled the Dhanush 155 mm/52 calibre towed howitzer (pictured above) at Defexpo 2022, held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The company has proposed Dhanush for the Indian Army's requirement of 155 mm/52 calibre towed guns. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  India's state-run Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (AWEIL) has proposed Dhanush 155 mm/52 calibre towed gun systems and mounted gun systems (MGSs) armed with Dhanush for the Indian Army, Rajeev Sharma, AWEIL's general manager, told J...

US Navy officials plan to use littoral combat ships for more operations as the Pentagon calls for more testing. (Michael Fabey)  US Navy (USN) officials say they are now gaining understanding of the operational flexibility of their littoral combat ship (LCS) fleet, even as the service plans to cut LCS anti-submarine warfare (ASW) missions, decommission several of the ships, and address testing needs recently identified by the Pentagon Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E).  “My hope is to make the best of all the remaining LCSs,” Na...

A still from a video released by the Kuwait Army shows Sheikh Talal Khaled al-Ahmad al-Sabah inspecting an H225M with a launcher for MBDA Exocet anti-ship missiles during a visit to the Ali al-Salem Air Base. (Kuwait Army)  At least two of the Kuwait Air Force's (KAF's) new Airbus H225M Caracal helicopters have been equipped for the anti-ship role, it was revealed on 5 February, when the emirate's acting defence minister visited the Ali al-Salem Air Base.  Media coverage showed Sheikh Talal Khaled al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who also serves as the de...

The Indian Army seeks to extend the life of 300 mm rockets used with the BM-30 Smerch Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS). In the image, the employees of Russian arms company Splav can be seen loading a 300 mm rocket in Smerch MLRS. (Splav)  The Indian Army has released a tender to support its programme for the life extension of 300 mm rockets used with the BM-30 Smerch Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS).  According to a request for information (RFI) by the Indian Army, the service seeks to identify private Indian vendors for participating...

Luftwaffe Patriot air-defence systems deployed close to Zamość on the Polish-Ukrainian border have reached IOC. (Bundeswehr/Lars Koch)    Luftwaffe Patriot air-defence systems deployed to Poland have reached an initial operational capability (IOC), a German Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesperson told   Janes  on 4 February. Three Patriot firing units with around 350 military personnel had been deployed close to Zamość near the Polish-Ukrainian border, the spokesperson added.   The Luftwaffe announced the deployment to Pola...

Poland has ordered more Javelin anti-tank guided missiles, with which the WOT began training in 2021 (pictured). (Polish MND)  Poland has ordered 50 more Javelin Light Weight Command Launch Units and approximately 500 FGM-148F Javelin anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs), the Polish Armaments Agency (AA) announced on its website on 31 January. Warsaw was exercising an option in a 2020 Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract with the United States for 60 Command Launch Units and 180 Javelin missiles worth USD54.5 million for the Polish Territorial...