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...

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 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...

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...

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...

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...

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....

The joint Russia-China bomber flight conducted on 30 November is the fifth such event in the last three years. It prompted a major show of force from countries in the region. The US Air Force scrambled at least two Lockheed Martin F-22s to intercept the bomber force. (US Air Force)  In an unprecedented 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 Nov...

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...

A Tactical ‘Tomahawk' Block IV cruise missile conducts a controlled flight test over the Naval Air Systems Command's western test range complex in Southern California. (US Navy)  Japan's Ministry of Defense (MoD) is considering the procurement of Tomahawk cruise missiles as part of its plan to bolster Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) counterstrike capability.  The MoD indicated to Janes that a procurement of the Tomahawk is a possibility as it seeks to redefine the country's defence posture in the face of what is perceived in Tokyo as rapidly...

A still from a video released by Raytheon shows a Coyote Block 2 being launched during tests at Yuma Proving Ground in August 2021. (Raytheon Technologies)  The US Department of State has approved the sale of counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems estimated to be worth USD1 billion, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on 29 November.  The approval covers 10 Fixed Site-Low, Slow, Small UAV Integrated Defeat Systems (FS-LIDS) and 200 Coyote Block 2 interceptors, as well as associated equipment and services.  The FS-L...

An Iranian infographic says the Ghaem-100 satellite launch vehicle could be used to carry a nuclear warhead. (Iran Metropolis News Agency)  The Ghaem-100 satellite launch vehicle (SLV) that Iran unveiled on 5 November could be used as an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), the British, French, and German governments said in a joint letter to the United Nations Security Council.  “Modelling and simulation of the elements constituting the Ghaem-100 indicate that, if converted to a ballistic missile role and equipped with a 500 kg warhe...

Finland has been approved for a multimillion-dollar weapons package to equip its fleet of Hornet fighters. (Janes/Patrick Allen)  The United States has approved the sale to Finland of 88 air-launched weapons valued at an estimated USD323.3 million.  Announced on 28 November, the package comprises 40 Raytheon AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and 48 Raytheon AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) cruise missiles, as well as related equipment, training, and support.  “It is vital to the US national interest to assist Finland in devel...

Sahand  with the new rotating radar above and launcher in front of its bridge.  (President Ebrahim Raisi)    The Iranian Jamaran-class frigate   Sahand  (74) has been upgraded with a new air-defence system, it was revealed when President Ebrahim Raisi boarded the ship during a visit to Jask on 27 November.   Photographs of the event showed the new rotating radar with a single phased-array antenna on top of the frigate's bridge. This is presumably a new target engagement radar as it still had its previous Ples...

Mines constitute the most cost-efficient anti-access, area-denial (A2/AD) naval weapon. NATO's Naval Mine Warfare Centre of Excellence defines mines as small, easy to conceal, and cheap explosive devices that require minimal maintenance. These can be easily laid in the water or on seabed from almost any type of platform. Mines have been used by the navies both in defensive and offensive ways. They can be used to directly attack the adversary's ships or submarines or to protect one's own ships, submarines, or critical sea areas, ports, or wa...

A South Korean Air Force F-35 fighter jet drops a GBU-12 precision bomb during joint air drills in response to North Korea's ICBM launch on 18 November. (South Korean Defense Ministry via Getty Images)  South Korean Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters have started training to destroy North Korean missile launchers amid continuing provocations by Pyongyang.  The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said that four F-35As began training to drop GBU-12 Paveway II precision-guided bombs at Pilseung Shooting Range in Gangwon...

An artist's rendering of a HAAWC weapon being released from a P-8A Poseidon at altitude. (Boeing)  The US Navy (USN) has confirmed an initial operational capability (IOC) for its High Altitude Anti-Submarine Warfare Weapon Capability (HAAWC), paving the way for fleet introduction on the Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.  Designed to enable the deployment of the MK 54 lightweight torpedo from P-8A aircraft operating at altitude, the HAAWC programme introduces the Boeing-developed MK 14 MOD 0 adaptor wing kit to enable the torpedo...

The Indian Army exercised with the K9 Vajra-T self-propelled howitzer along the border with Pakistan. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  The South Western Command (SWC) of the Indian Army has conducted an Integrated Battle Group (IBG) exercise along the country's western border with Pakistan.  The integrated firepower exercise took place on 21 November and was conducted by the SWC's Chetak Corps (X Corps) at the Mahajan Field Firing Range (MFFR) in the Thar Desert, Rajasthan.  During the exercise, attended by   Janes  , the Indian Army performed a se...

JS   Maya  , seen here firing the SM-3 Block IIA interceptor against a ballistic target in waters near Hawaii on 16 November 2022.  (JMSDF)  The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) has demonstrated its ability to engage in enhanced co-operative ballistic missile defence (BMD) operations by test-firing two sea-based variants of the SM-3 interceptor.  The firings were carried out by the Maya-class destroyers, JS Maya and JS Haguro, in waters near Hawaii on 16 and 19 November, respectively, the service disclose...

Canada plans to upgrade its LAV 6.0 light armoured vehicles. (Elbit Systems)  Canada is seeking equipment for its forces in Latvia and to replace arms supplied to Ukraine, Director Armament Sustainment Program Management in the Canadian Department of National Defence, Colonel Yves Raymond, said the first day of SAE Media Group's Future Armoured Vehicles Survivability 2022 conference held in London from 16 to 17 November.  He told the conference that Canada had an urgent operational requirement (UOR) for anti-tank guided weapons and counter-un...