USN Secretary Carlos Del Toro touted the EW capabilities of the EA-18G Growlers. (US Navy)  Recent global conflicts highlight the increasing use of electronic warfare (EW) in military operations, US Navy (USN) Secretary Carlos Del Toro said on 12 December during a keynote speech at the Association of Old Crows' (AOC's) 60th Annual International Symposium & Convention at National Harbor, Maryland.  “For the US and our NATO allies, the conflict in Ukraine reinforces the emphasis we place on developing and maintaining a ready, interoperable comb...

The army's new DPET electronic surveillance system consists of four stations, which are transported by Tatra T-815 8×8 vehicles. (Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic/Warrant Officer Jan Králíček)  The Army of the Czech Republic (ACR) has received the first of two new deployable passive electronic surveillance systems following an official handover ceremony to the 532nd Electronic Warfare Battalion on 13 December.  The system, known as the Deployable Passive Electronic Support Measures Tracker (DPET), is replacing the in-service Vera-S/...

AOEW (the pod forward of the door) under test at the NAS Patuxent River anechoic facility. (Terri Thomas)  The US Navy (USN), supported by Lockheed Martin, has completed initial government testing of a new helicopter-borne electronic attack (EA) capability developed under the Advanced Off-board Electronic Warfare (AOEW) programme.  The final integration event, performed at an anechoic chamber facility at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Maryland, “tested the capabilities of the system and operability on the MH-60R helicopter platform”,...

A new, flexible silicon-on-polymer chip developed by the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and American Semiconductor has a memory capability 7,000 times higher than the current slate of flexible, integrated circuits on the market. (US Air Force)  The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is teaming with Raytheon to develop new diamond-based substrates for gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors in a bid to push high-powered radar and radio frequency (RF) communication applications down to the tactical level.  A wide-bandgap se...

Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix said the UN is focused on making better use of digital technology. He is pictured at the UN's recent Peacekeeping Ministerial meeting in Accra, Ghana. (UN Peacekeeping)  Technological developments in areas such as data exploitation, digitisation, and artificial intelligence (AI) were a major theme at the recent United Nations (UN) Peacekeeping Ministerial in Accra, Ghana, with the international organisation seeking to adapt to an evolving military landscape.  The ministerial saw...

Thales has secured a contract to provide a GM400α long-range air-surveillance radar (pictured) to the Royal Malaysian Air Force. (Thales)  Thales has secured a contract from the Malaysian Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) to provide a long-range air-surveillance radar to the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF).    A spokesperson for Thales told   Janes   on 12 December that the company will provide its Ground Master 400 Alpha (GM400α) radar to the RMAF.   The radar will be installed in the coastal town of Bintulu, located in the ce...

The upgraded Hamina-class missile boats have been comprehensively equipped for their size and are capable of monitoring and countering air, surface, and underwater threats. (Finnish Navy)    The Finnish Navy's Hamina-class fast attack craft (FAC) mid-life upgrade (MLU) and modernisation programme has officially concluded and all four vessels have been returned to    active duty.   A ceremony to mark the milestone was held at the Finnish Navy's base in Turku on 12 December, the service announced the same day.  The Hamina-cla...

The army's newly converted Foxhound Command Variant is undergoing basic tests before the remainder of the selected Foxhound vehicles (up to 50) are converted into a command platform by manufacturer GDLS. (Crown Copyright)  The British Army's newly converted Foxhound Command Variant is undergoing basic field tests with the 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team, according to the army on 12 December.  The tests are being undertaken by the brigade to provide direct user feedback on the vehicle's new capabilities, thereby enabling the UK Minist...

MVRsimulation (MVR) has developed a mixed reality (MR) sand table for training and mission rehearsal and showcased it at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) 2023 in Orlando in November.  The sand table enables users to collaborate interactively in a shared MR setting, viewing the virtual world on a three-dimensional (3D) visualised “table” in MVR's Virtual Reality Scene Generator (VRSG) environment, Garth Smith, president and co-founder of MVR, told  Janes  .   Each user is equipped with a Varj...

The components of Lockheed Martin's SIMRES geo-pairing system include a player unit, a helmet sensor, and a weapon sensor mounted on the barrel of an Airsoft weapon that was being used for demonstration purposes. (Giles Ebbutt)  In response to the US Army's search for an alternative to its existing laser-based line-of-sight (LOS) tactical engagement simulation system (TESS), Lockheed Martin has developed a geo-pairing system that reflects the true ballistics and effect of terrain and demonstrated this during the Interservice/Industry Training...

The air force's new C3 vehicles are based on a military variant of the Volkswagen Crafter, also in service with the Portuguese and Bangladesh army in an ambulance role. (Abicon AB)  The Swedish Air Force has received new command, control, and communications (C3) vehicles to bolster its tactical mobility.  The vehicles are based on a military variant of the Volkswagen Crafter and are meeting an urgent requirement for light, robust, and highly modular C3 platforms, according to an announcement by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV...

Aegis Ashore is a four-storey deckhouse and launch tower, which will provide a static home in Romania and Poland for the SPY-1D(V) radar, SM-3 missiles, and other systems taken from the US Navy's BMD ships. (Missile Defense Agency)  The US Navy (USN) is scheduled to officially accept the Aegis Ashore site in Poland by mid-December, according to Rear Admiral Douglas Williams, the acting director of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA).  “The navy will formally accept Aegis Ashore Poland into their inventory on December 15,” Rear Adm Williams told...

The Airsoft surrogate Glock pistol that Thales Training and Simulation has integrated into its Gladiator laser-based TESS. There are no additional attachments to the basic form factor. (Giles Ebbutt)  Thales Training and Simulation unveiled new capabilities for its live and indoor training systems at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) 2023 in Orlando.  The main addition to the company's Gladiator tactical engagement simulation system (TESS) is a laser-capable surrogate pistol, enabling those who...

Rohde & Schwarz has officially been named as the chosen vendor for the Bundeswehr's multibillion-euro digital radio programme. The company has already delivered units to the Bundeswehr, which are based on the SVFuA dual-channel, multiband radio (pictured in the vehicular variant). (Rohde & Schwarz)  Rohde & Schwarz (R&S) has officially been named as the chosen vendor for the German Bundeswehr's major Combat Net Radio (CNR) programme, the company announced on 7 December.  In December 2022 the Bundeswehr signed a multibillion-euro contract with...

EW officers monitor a simulated test in the Central Control Facility (CCF) at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. The CCF is used to oversee EW mission data flight-testing. Portions of their missions are likely to expand under the new Air Force Cyber Command. (US Air Force)    Members of the trilateral security co-operative between Australia, the UK, and the US (AUKUS) have agreed to kick off    collaborative development of advanced combat technologies, with an eye towards commonality and interoperability, beginning with electroni...

Saab has integrated a UAV capability into its instrumentation systems. Pictured is the UAV with Saab's integrated computer card, laser detector from a dismounted harness, and laser small arms transmitter displayed at I/ITSEC 2023. (Giles Ebbutt)  Saab has developed additional capabilities for its live tactical engagement simulation system (TESS) and is eyeing new opportunities both in Europe and elsewhere, company representatives said during a briefing at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) 2023 i...

The new Collins Aerospace Arcus image generator displayed at I/ITSEC 2023. (Giles Ebbutt)  Collins Aerospace, an RTX business, has developed a new image generator (IG) called Arcus and launched it in November at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) 2023 in Orlando.    Lance Moss, product programme manager, synthetic environments for Collins, told   Janes  that Arcus combines the capabilities of Epic Games' Unreal Engine with Collins proprietary rendering and processing tools to prov...

MASA's SWORD constructive simulation displayed at I/ITSEC 2023, with a general situation picture at the top, a range of KPI choices (bottom left), and the new web-based analytics dashboard (bottom right) showing crew states in different formats. (Giles Ebbutt)  French firm MASA has continued to refine its widely used SWORD constructive simulation system and outlined the latest developments at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) 2023 in Orlando.  Enrico Raue, MASA business development director, tol...

The components of the CAE-led partnership SVT solution demonstrated at I/ITSEC 23. The modified weapon (top) and the virtual range with instructions displayed on a screen (bottom). (Giles Ebbutt)  The CAE-led partnership developing the Soldier Virtual Trainer (SVT) demonstrated its solution at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) 2023 in Orlando.  The SVT is an immersive trainer using virtual, mixed, and augmented reality that will provide individual training in three areas: weapons skills develop...

US Army 125th Intelligence and Electronic Warfare (IEW) Battalion, Electronic Warfare team, trained 25th Infantry Division soldiers on the V-MAX jamming backpack during the ‘Super Garuda Shield 23' exercise in September. (US Army)  As the US Army works toward revamping its force by 2030, it hopes to capitalise on new technologies such as warfare on the electromagnetic spectrum and tackle the complexities of training soldiers to operate in the unseen world.  The army wants to expand training on weapons that jam, suppress, and dominate the ele...