China first unveiled the new ALBM in November 2022, during AirShow China 2022. At the time, the two missiles unveiled had a yellow stripe and a code signifying that they were training missiles (as shown in the image, in the top part of this graphic). Recent imagery shows the ALBM in a low-observable grey-blue colour scheme, indicating that the missile is progressing to production. (Janes/Gettyimages)  China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has released a video showing a Xi'an H-6K strategic bomber launching a new ballistic missile in flight....

A Luftwaffe Eurofighter on the flightline at the 2022 ILA Berlin Airshow. The service has told   Janes  that it does not yet know how many additional aircraft it will buy to replace the 90 Tornados being retired.  (Janes/Gareth Jennings)    The German Luftwaffe has not yet determined how many new combat aircraft it is to acquire to replace its fleet of Panavia Tornados, a senior service official told   Janes  on 2 May.   Responding to a request for clarification and confirmation of the 85 new...

Seen at the ILA 2024 Berlin Air Show, the Heron TP has now been cleared for global operations by the Luftwaffe. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)  The Luftwaffe has declared its leased Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Heron TP unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) to be ready for Germany-based operations worldwide, with flights to commence in mid-May.  The Luftwaffe announced the milestone on 2 May, saying that the airworthiness certificate for the UAS had been signed by the German Federal Aviation Office in Cologne on the same day. “The approval of our ne...

The six Airbus H145M helicopters ordered by Brunei will be used in the close air support and aerial observation roles after entering service. (Airbus Helicopters)  Brunei's Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) has signed a contract with Airbus Helicopters to acquire six H145M helicopters.  The contract was signed on 30 April, according to MINDEF. “All six helicopters will be introduced into service gradually, starting from the year 2026 to replace the Bolkow BO-105 helicopters, which have been retired from service,” MINDEF added.  According to the mi...

Airbus's unmanned UH-72 concept, displayed at Modern Day Marine 2024. (Janes/Zach Rosenberg)  Airbus unveiled a conceptual unmanned version of the company's UH-72B at Modern Day Marine 2024, which it intends to pitch to the US Marine Corps (USMC) to fulfil its expected unmanned ship-to-shore cargo carrier requirement.    Airbus has been working on the concept for roughly one year, Carl Forsling, senior director for business development and strategy at the company's US branch, told   Janes  at Modern Day Marine on 1 May....

The Elbit Systems Rampage is a stand-off weapon with all‐weather capabilities and is designed for deep penetration strikes. (Elbit Systems)  The Indian Air Force (IAF) is inducting Elbit Systems' Rampage supersonic, long-range air-to-ground missile, the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) announced.  As a stand‐off weapon (SoW) capable of engaging high‐value targets in attack missions, the Rampage is expected to give the IAF significant strike capabilities. The IAF's induction of the missile will allow its aircraft “to strik...

The first Kaman Kargo in flight-testing at an undisclosed Pennsylvania site. (Kaman)    Kaman's Kargo medium-lift unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has been in flight-testing since December 2023, the company's general manager, Romin Dasmalchi, told   Janes  in advance of Modern Day Marine on 24 April.   The UAV first flew while tethered to the ground for safety reasons. The tether has since been removed, Dasmalchi said, and the first Kargo is free-flying at an undisclosed UAV testing site in Pennsylvania.  Following a flight,...

One of four Boeing E-4Bs, which SAOC is intended to replace. (US Air Force)  The US Air Force (USAF) awarded Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) a USD13 billion contract to build the Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC), intended to replace the Boeing E-4B Nightwatch as the service's airborne nuclear command-and-control aircraft and primary transport for the secretary of defence. The contract was announced on 26 April, and is set to run through July 2036.  The contract covers ground support systems, including mission trainers, maintenance...

A pair of Norwegian F-35A Lightning IIs. In Polish service, the type will be named Husarz. (Royal Norwegian Air Force)  Poland has assigned the name Husarz to the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) in national service, the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces announced on 29 April.  The name, which translates in English to Hussar, has been given to the ‘fifth-generation' stealth fighter following a public competition.  At the same time as the new national name was disclosed, the Polish Ministry of National Defen...

Textron Systems' Aerosonde UAV. (Textron)  The US Army on 25 April declared Option 2 of the Future Tactical Uncrewed Aircraft System (FTUAS) Rapid Prototyping Program finished, exercising Options 3 and 4 for both Textron Systems and Griffon Aerospace to build and test production-representative Aerosonde Mk 4.8 and Valiant UASs respectively.  “FTUAS program Options 3 and 4 give us the opportunity to demonstrate our Aerosonde Mk 4.8 HQ [Hybrid Quadrotor] UAS and further advance its capabilities before delivering a system for customer test and e...

A full-scale mock-up of the New Generation Fighter that sits at the core of the FCAS/SCAF project of which Belgium is now an official observer. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)  Belgium has joined France, Germany, and Spain in the Future Combat Air System (FCAS)/Système de Combat Aérien du Futur (SCAF) programme, with the Belgian government saying the country now has observer status.  Defence Minister Ludivine Dedonder and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Labour Pierre-Yves Dermagne announced the news in a joint communiqué released on...

The UK has touted the prospect of additional procurement batches of the F-35 as it looks to fulfil its 138-aircraft programme of record. (Crown copyright)  The UK government has said that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will seek additional acquisition phases for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning combat aircraft, beyond the phase currently contracted and the one now in negotiation.  The Earl of Minto Gilbert Timothy George Lariston Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, minister of state at the MoD, said in early April that approval for further procurement...

A Kodiak-based MH-65 trains aboard the USCGC  Healy   in 2022.  (Janes/Michael Fabey)  The last US Coast Guard (USCG) Airbus MH-65 Dolphin in Alaska retired from Air Station Kodiak on 23 April, ending the type's 36-year employment in the service's Alaska Patrol (ALPAT) role.  “For decades, the cutter and helicopter team were the core of the ALPAT mission,” said Commander James Kenshalo, a USCG MH-65 Dolphin pilot. “Together they projected force and protection to the most extreme remote regions of our nation's ter...

UK company Spaceflux has been contracted to develop and operate a ground-based SDA sensor as part of Project Nyx Alpha to monitor objects in GEO for UK Space Command. (Spaceflux)  The UK's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is conducting three technology demonstrator programmes to explore the utility of novel space domain awareness (SDA) technologies.  The first programme is exploring the development of a Deep Space Radar (DSR) designed to monitor and protect geostationary orbit (GEO) assets such as the Skynet satellite communic...

One of the first six Rafales to be delivered to Croatia. Deliveries of all 12 aircraft will be complete by mid-2025. (Dassault)  Croatia has inducted into service the Dassault Rafale combat aircraft it recently received from France.  The manufacturer announced the milestone on 25 April, saying the first six of 12 Rafales had been formally received into service by the Croatian Air Force (Hrvatsko ratno zrakoplovstvo i protuzračna obrana: HRZ i PZO).  Having been handed over to the Croatian Ministry of Defence (MoD) at the French Air and Space...

Flyeye is a multiple-optics telescope with a very wide field of view that will be capable of classifying objects in space as small as 15 cm in LEO and 35 cm in MEO. The 6.5 m high and 4 m wide telescope will be used by the Italian Space Agency and military for SSA. (OHB Italia)    The Italian National Armaments Directorate (NAD) is procuring three ground-based sensors to enhance the country's space situational awareness (SSA),   Janes   learnt at the Military Space Situational Awareness    Conference 2024, held in Lo...

An AARGM-ER seen being test fitted into the internal weapons bay of an F-35 combat aircraft. The US has approved the sale of the missile to both the Netherlands and Poland. (Northrop Grumman)  The US government has approved the sale of the Northrop Grumman AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile – Extended Range (AARGM-ER) to the Netherlands and Poland.  Announced by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) on 24 April, the approvals cover 265 of the suppression of enemy air defences/destruction of enemy air defences (SEAD/DEA...

The UAE's fourth Saab GlobalEye was delivered on 18 April. (Ministry of Defence of the United Arab Emirates)  The Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced on 24 April that a reception ceremony for an early warning aircraft had been held at Al-Dhafra Air Base.  It cited Major General Ibrahim Nasser al-Alawi, the commander of the Air Force and Air Defence (AFAD), as saying the aircraft was a “qualitative addition” that will help protect the country's strategic interests.  The MoD released a video showing a Saab Glob...

A Brazilian Air Force UH-60L Black Hawk. The Brazilian Army is set to replace its HM-2 Black Hawk fleet with newer examples. (Leandro Maldonado)  The Brazilian Army is to acquire 12 Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk utility helicopters to replace its eight HM-3 Cougar and four HM-2 Black Hawk helicopters, said Army Commander General Tomás Miguel Miné Ribeiro Paiva during a 17 April presentation to the Brazilian Committee on Foreign Relations and National Defense.  Gen Tomás noted that the fleet is to be purchased through the US Foreign Military Sale...

A Brazilian Air Force Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano light attack/counter-insurgency aircraft. The details of Brazil's fleet upgrade are as yet undisclosed. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)  Embraer Defense and Security is to carry out the mid-life upgrade (MLU) of 68 of the EMB 314 (locally designated A-29) Super Tucano training and light attack aircraft of the Brazilian Air Force, the service's commander Lieutenant Brigadier Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno said on 17 April during a presentation to the Brazilian Committee on Foreign Relations and National Def...