The US Navy lost amphibious assault ship  Bonhomme Richard  to fire damage.  (US Navy)  US Navy (USN) leaders are touting the investments being planned for the country's naval amphibious fleet and associated resources, even as government analysts are questioning the costs of some of these acquisitions and the navy is studying requirements and maintenance issues associated with amphibious forces.  Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the chief of naval operations (CNO), confirmed that the USN and the US Marine Corps (USMC) wil...

The Indian Army and the DRDO conducted warhead flight trials of the MPATGM weapon system at the Pokhran field firing range in Rajasthan on 13 April 2024. The MPATGM can strike the armoured vehicles at a maximum range of 2.5 km. (Indian Ministry of Defence)  India's state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Army have test-fired a manportable anti-tank guided missile (MPATGM) weapon system at the Pokhran field firing range in Rajasthan, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a press release on 14 Apri...

Australia ordered over 100 sWaTrg Inf heavy weapon carrier infantry vehicles from Rheinmetall on 10 April. (Rheinmetall)  The Australian government signed a production agreement with Rheinmetall Defence Australia on 10 April for over 100 Boxer Schwerer Waffenträger Infanterie (sWaTrg Inf) heavy weapon carrier infantry vehicles to export to Germany. The company said in a press release announcing the contract later the same day that it would be Australia's largest foreign military export to Germany.  The vehicles are being procured under a gove...

NATO has selected SitaWare HQ as its primary C2 software for land operations. Pictured is a screenshot visualising SitaWare HQ's geographic information system. (Systematic)  Systematic's SitaWare Headquarters (HQ) software has been selected by NATO as its primary command-and-control (C2) solution for land operations.  The software, selected as part of a EUR28.21 million (USD30.47 million) contract, aims to provide the Future Land Command and Control (FLC2) system (Demeter), supporting NATO land forces at strategic and operational levels.  The...

A marine programs a counter-unmanned aircraft system on a Light Marine Air Defense Integrated System (LMADIS) during a predeployment training exercise at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California. (US Marine Corps)  The Ultra Light Tactical Vehicle (ULTV) programme – a US Marine Corps (USMC) replacement for the ageing Utility Task Vehicle (UTV) – will now include a variant with more exportable power, according to Janes analysis of budget documents.  The fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget request is the first time the ULTV-...

The Babcock Immersive Training Experience (BITE), unveiled at IT²EC 2024, was configured to imitate a bunker control room, equipped with communication devices and video feeds, including from UAVs and social media. (Janes/Olivia Savage)  Babcock unveiled a new modular, immersive training system at the International Training Technology Exhibition & Conference (IT²EC) 2024 held from 9 to 11 April in London.  Known as the Babcock Immersive Training Experience (BITE), the system is designed to provide trainees with a realistic training environment...

Saab has been contracted to upgrade the army's live training capability. Pictured are troops practising their debussing drills from a Saab DFWES-equipped Warrior infantry combat vehicle in Alberta. (Janes)  The British Army has signed a GBP60 million (USD75.7 million) three-year support contract with Saab to improve its live training capability.  The contract – Instrumented Live Training (ILT-D) – is replacing the existing Direct Fire Weapon Effects Simulator (DFWES) contract with Saab and will involve modernising its live training capabiliti...

CESI is joining Leonardo's Team Aurelian to bid for the British Army's CTTP programme. Pictured are chief technology officer for CESI Stu Armstrong (left) and CTTP campaign director at Leonardo UK John Wells. (Leonardo UK)  US-company Cole Engineering Services Inc (CESI) is joining Leonardo's Team Aurelian for the upcoming British Army's Collective Training Transformation Programme (CTTP) contract.  Announced by Leonardo at the International Training Technology Exhibition & Conference (IT²EC) 2024 held from 9 to 11 April in London, the new pa...

A 5.56×45 mm XT112 assault rifle prototype showcased at TADTE 2023. The rifle has a firing range of 600 m. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  The Republic of China Army (RoCA) will procure nearly 25,000 new 5.56×45 mm assault rifles called XT112 to replace in-service T65 and T91 assault rifles, a RoCA officer told Janes on 8 April.  The new rifles will be inducted into the RoCA by the end of 2025, the officer said.  The XT112 is developed by the 205th Arsenal of Taiwan Ministry of National Defense's (MND's) Armaments Bureau.  Lieutenant Colonel Yi-wei Li f...

Lithuania is providing its M577 command vehicle (pictured) to Ukraine under a military support deal. (Janes/Patrick Allen)  Lithuania has supplied an undisclosed number of M577 armoured command vehicles to the Ukrainian army.  The vehicles, provided under a military support deal, arrived in Ukraine on 5 April, according to the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence (MND) on 6 April.    An MND spokesperson was unable to specify to   Janes   the number of units supplied for security reasons.   M577 is the command-and-control...

A CIR Fuchs Kampfwert-Steigerung Radio Multiband (KWS RMB) radar reconnaissance vehicle during electronic warfare exercise ‘Vigilant Owl' held in Lithuania at the end of 2023. (Bundeswehr/Stefan Uj)  German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius announced in a press conference on 4 April that he had approved the restructuring of the Bundeswehr in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. The restructuring aims to make the Bundeswehr combat ready and optimise it for defending Germany and its NATO allies.  The restructu...

The Mission Master SP UGV (pictured above) features a bay that can be equipped with a variety of payloads such as remote weapon stations and masts equipped with sensors, and it is fitted with localisation and navigation sensors for remote and autonomous control. (Rheinmetall)  German automotive and arms manufacturer Rheinmetall has signed a “multimillion-dollar” contract with the Japan Ministry of Defense (MoD) to supply three Mission Master SP wheeled unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) to the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) for testing,...

The Bundeswehr ordered 123 Boxer sWaTrg Inf HWC infantry vehicles from Rheinmetall on 21 March. (Rheinmetall)  The Bundeswehr is procuring its first specialised versions of the Boxer, placing orders with Rheinmetall for Skyranger 30 air-defence systems mounted on Boxers in February and heavy weapon carriers (HWCs) in March.  It ordered 123 Schwerer Waffenträger Infanterie (sWaTrg Inf) HWC infantry vehicles from Rheinmetall on 21 March, the German company announced in a press release the same day.  On 20 March the Bundestag, Germany's parliame...

A still from a video released on 3 April 2024 shows a Norinco VN22 being demonstrated for the Iraqi minister of interior. (Defence Industry Commission of Iraq (DICI))  Iraq's state-owned defence industry has said it has begun producing Norinco VN22 6×6 armoured vehicles.  The Defence Industry Commission of Iraq (DICI) posted a video on its Facebook page on 1 April in which engineer Mustafa Ati Hassan, the president of the Military Industrialization Authority, stood next to a VN22 to announce the start of production of a 6×6 vehicle he did not...

Negev NG7 fitted with the Arbel system. (Janes/Amael Kotlarski)  Janes  has learnt that a new small-arms system that promises to improve the accuracy of shooters' follow-on shots by a factor of two to three times was first deployed by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) personnel in Gaza in October 2023.   The system, known as Arbel, was developed by Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) over the last nine years and has been assessed by a number of international armed forces.  Arbel consists of an electromechanical trigger unit, a detection unit, a...

An Australian Army M113AS4 armoured logistics vehicle, fitted with optionally crewed combat vehicle technology and a remote weapon station, fires from a support-by-fire position during a human-machine team exercise at Puckapunyal Military Area. (Commonwealth of Australia)  The Australian Army's Robotic and Autonomous Systems Implementation and Coordination Office (RICO) and Electro Optic Systems (EOS) have conducted a remote firing exercise from an uncrewed M113 armoured personnel carrier (APC) at Puckapunyal Military Area in Victoria, EOS sa...

LMUK's Skykeeper Command is designed for main HQs in semi-static locations or in an ISO-container configuration. (Lockheed Martin UK)  Lockheed Martin UK (LMUK) has finished upgrading the British Army's Land Environment Air Picture Provision (LEAPP) capability and is developing future iterations of its SkyKeeper command-and-control (C2) software,   Janes   learnt at a media briefing on 26 March.   LEAPP is a truck-mounted system integrated with the Saab Giraffe Agile Multi-Beam (G-AMB) 3D surveillance radar that provides early air-de...

The GM400α radar from Thales is replacing the MPR (pictured) in Nieuw Milligen while the new Herwijnen radar station is fitted with the long-range SMART-L Multi-Mission/Fixed system. (Netherlands Ministry of Defence )  The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) has retired its 52-year-old Medium Power Radar (MPR) based in Nieuw Milligen, the Netherlands Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 2 April.  The MPR in Nieuw Milligen has been in service since 1971, supporting the RNLAF Nieuw Milligen air operations control station (AOCS) with air surve...

A still from a DICI video shows a Norinco VN22 at the Al-Rabie factory. (Defence Industry Commission of Iraq)  Iraq's state-owned defence industry has said it has begun producing Norinco VN22 6×6 armoured vehicles.  The Defence Industry Commission of Iraq (DICI) posted a video on its Facebook page on 1 April in which engineer Mustafa Ati Hassan, the president of the Military Industrialization Authority, stood next to a VN22 to announce the start of production of a 6×6 vehicle he did not name at the Al-Rabie factory, which is in southeast Bagh...

SkyWiper Omni (pictured), developed by NT Service, is an omnidirectional jammer being procured by the Lithuanian MND, which has a 500 m domed range. (Janes/Olivia Savage)  Lithuania-based NT Service has been contracted to deliver counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UASs) to the Lithuanian military to meet an urgent requirement to combat ‘drones'.  The contract, valued at EUR8.03 million (USD8.72 million) and spanning 36 months, involves the provision of anti-drone dome systems and individual suppressors, according to a contract notice publis...