Rheinmetall officially opened its new factory in Zalaegerszeg, western Hungary, on 18 August 2023, which is producing the Lynx IFV for the HDF. (Rheinmetall)    Hungary will arm its Lynx infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) with Hero loitering munitions,   Janes  learnt at Defence iQ's International Armoured Vehicles (IAV) 2024 conference being held in London from 22 to 25 January. This is in addition to other ammunition for the vehicles and the 163 Lynx IFVs being produced in Hungary.   Hungary ordered Hero loitering munitio...

Brazil is evaluating two Centauro II armoured vehicles (shown at Eurosatory 2018). (Janes/Patrick Allen)  Defence iQ's International Armoured Vehicles (IAV) 2024 conference being held in London from 22 to 25 January received an update on Brazil's plans to upgrade its armoured forces.  The first part of the modernisation plan consists of two parts, the first involving the upgrade of Brazil's Leopard 1A5 tanks and installing a 30 mm turret on its M113 armoured personnel carriers (APCs), and the second part the acquisition of a new tracked armou...

The tracked RCV ordered by the UAE Armed Forces is likely to be Milrem's Type-X. (Janes/Sonny Butterworth)  The United Arab Emirates' (UAE's) Edge Group announced on 24 January during the Unmanned Systems Exhibition and Conference (UMEX) 2024 show held in Abu Dhabi that the UAE Ministry of Defence had placed an order for unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) made by its Milrem Robotics subsidiary.  Edge said in a statement that the contract covers 20 tracked robotic combat vehicles (RCVs) that it did not identify and 40 THeMIS UGVs. It added that t...

One possible additional UK Boxer variant is the MCCO, the concept demonstrator for which fitted with a launcher for eight Brimstone missiles was displayed at DVD 2022. (Janes/Christopher Petrov)    The UK plans additional variants of the Boxer armoured vehicle,  Janes  learnt at Defence iQ's International Armoured Vehicles (IAV) 2024 conference being held in London from 22 to 25 January.   The first priority is to order Boxer Repair and Recovery Vehicle, Armoured Mortar Vehicle, and Armoured Vehicle Launched Bridge variants...

The Land Warfare School in Skövde is one of the various centres receiving the new Leopard 2A5 MBT simulators. (Swedish Armed Forces)  The Swedish Armed Forces is procuring new Stridsvagn 122 (Leopard 2A5) tank simulators from KNDS to improve crew training.    KNDS – a joint venture between Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Nexter – will be supplying the new simulators, replacing all current turret trainers as well as the “full mission simulator” at the Land Warfare School, a spokesperson from the Defence Material Administration told...

Trials of the Challenger 3 MBT, featuring Epsom armour, the Trophy-MV APS, a fully digitised turret, and a 120 mm smoothbore gun, will begin in the coming weeks. (RBSL)  The first prototype of the Challenger 3 main battle tank (MBT) will begin trials in the coming weeks, Janes learnt on the first day of Defence iQ's International Armoured Vehicles (IAV) 2024 conference being held in London from 22 to 25 January.  The MBT will feature Epsom armour and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems' Trophy-MV (Medium Vehicle) armour protection system (APS), a...

The crew training facility, BTA 122, is one of various centres receiving new Leopard 2A5 MBT simulators, replacing existing systems such as the one pictured. (Swedish Armed Forces)  The Swedish Armed Forces is procuring new Stridsvagn 122 (Leopard 2A5) tank simulators from KNDS to improve crew training.  KNDS – a joint venture between Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Nexter – will be supplying the new simulators, replacing the trainers at the BTA 122 and TBTA crew training facilities, according to an announcement by the Swedish Armed Forces on...

One possible additional UK Boxer variant is the MCCO, the concept demonstrator for which fitted with a launcher for eight Brimstone missiles was displayed at DVD 2022. (Janes/Christopher Petrov)  The UK plans additional variants of the Boxer armoured vehicle, Janes learnt at the International Armoured Vehicles (IAV) 2024 conference being held in London from 22 to 25 January.  The first priority is to order Boxer Repair and Recovery Vehicle, Armoured Mortar Vehicle, and Armoured Vehicle Launched Bridge variants in 2024, with initial operating...

Rheinmetall's HX3 10×10 SPH conducted trials in Bovington in 2023 under the UK's MFP programme. (Rheinmetall)  Rheinmetall's HX3 10×10 truck equipped with an automatic remote-controlled artillery turret conducted trials for the UK's Mobile Fires Pl...

The FMV has ordered two MSHORAD systems with RBS 70 NG missiles mounted on the roof of the Bv410 and two EldE 98s with four IRIS-T missiles on the back of the ATV (pictured). (Försvarsmakten/Jessica Krantz)  The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) ordered mobile short-range air defence (MSHORAD) systems from Saab during the fourth quarter of 2023, the agency and company announced on 17 January.  Saab valued the contract at SEK300 million (over USD28 million) and said the contract period ranged from 2024 to 2026, while the FMV expect...

The Saniya C-UAS fitted on the turret roof cage of a Russian 1st Army Corps T-80BVM tank. (Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation)  A new counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) known as Saniya, developed by Russian company 3MX, has been equipped on one of Russia's T-80BVM tanks.  The system was seen onboard a Russian 1st Army Corps T-80BVM tank operating near Pervomayskoye, Ukraine in a video posted by the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation on Telegram on 14 January.  Tests of the C-UAS were scheduled to be completed by the...

US marines with Marine Corps Systems Command fire a Stinger Missile from the Marine Air Defense Integrated System at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona on 13 December 2023. (US Marine Corps )  Marines recently got their hands on a Marine Air-Defense Integrated System (MADIS) for the first live fire of an initial rate production model, US Marine Corps (USMC) officials announced on 11 January.  As one of the marine's central air-defence capabilities, MADIS is being developed to take on the threat of advanced unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other...

LATACC is primarily being funded by the European Defence Fund and includes a range of companies specialising in key technology areas such as cloud software, communications, sensors, robotics, artificial intelligence, and system resilience in challenging environments. (Thales)  A project to enhance and accelerate collaborative combat for European land forces has been launched following the signing of a grant agreement between Thales and the European Commission, the company announced on 17 January.  Called the Land Tactical Collaborative Combat...

The DRDO showcased a scale model of the Zorawar light tank at Defexpo 2022 held in October 2022 in Gandhinagar. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)    India's state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has “successfully” developed a fully functional prototype of the Zorawar light tank, Vipin Kumar Kaushik, director of the DRDO's Directorate of Public Interface, told   Janes  on 16 January.   “The prototype of the light tank will now undergo development trials within the DRDO, and user trials with the Indian Army will b...

Serbia is procuring equipment including 81 Miloš II 4×4 multi-purpose armoured combat vehicles (pictured during a live-firing demonstration at the Nikinci testing range on 18 July 2023). (Serbian MoD)  Serbia will spend nearly EUR740 million (USD810. million) in 2024 on new military equipment, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced on 13 January during a visit to Serbia's Military Security Agency.  He said, “We currently have EUR186 million of free funds in the bank account of [state-owned intermediary for export/import of defence equip...

The Swedish Armed Forces plan to contribute army units to NATO's forward presence in Latvia no earlier than 2025, with the first rotation consisting of professional soldiers and officers, mainly from the Skåne Regiment's 71st Battalion, which is equipped with the AMV (pictured). (Swedish Armed Forces/Tim Gustavsson)  The Swedish Armed Forces announced on their website on 9 January that they plan to contribute army units to NATO's forward presence in Latvia. The announcement came a day after Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told the annu...

A WMA301 fire-support vehicle displayed during an inspection of new equipment by the president of Burkina Faso on 12 January 2024. (Présidence du Faso)  Burkina Faso is the latest African military to procure 105 mm WMA301 fire-support vehicles made by Chinese company Norinco, it was revealed on 12 January when President Captain Ibrahim Traoré attended a ceremony to mark the delivery of a consignment of new military equipment.  A video released by the president's office showed Traoré inspecting six WMA301s with a command vehicle, along with ei...

A screengrab from the 501st Separate Marine Battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (Grifon 501) destroying a Russian armoured vehicle with a UAV, possibly an MBT or TOS-1 MLRS, because of the large explosion. (501st Separate Marine Battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine)  Russia is said to have lost approximately 90% of its military equipment in Krynky, Kherson, likely because of a shortage of Russian electronic warfare (EW) systems in the area, according to a UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) intelligence update on 12 January.  The equipment...

The Italian Army operating SitaWare HQ, known internally by the army as Imperio, during military exercise ‘Cursor 2023'. (Italian Army)    The Italian Army has opted for Systematic's SitaWare Headquarters (HQ) command-and-control (C2) software for its higher echelons of command,   Janes   has learnt.     SitaWare HQ, known internally in the Italian Army as Imperio, will be rolled out from the regimental to army corps level, simplifying the operations process, improving interoperability between allied forces, and establ...

Kosovo has requested 246 FGM-148F Javelin missiles and related equipment from the US. (Javelin Joint Venture)  The US State Department notified the US Congress on 11 January of a possible Foreign Military Sales of Javelin anti-tank missiles to Kosovo for an estimated cost of USD75 million, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced in a press release later the same day.  Kosovo has requested 246 FGM-148F Javelin missiles, including six fly-to-buy missiles; 24 Javelin Lightweight Command Launch Units (LWCLUs); Javelin LWCLU ba...