A Royal Australian Air Force KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport refuels a KF-16U Fighting Falcon aircraft of the Republic of Korea Air Force during Exercise ‘Vigilant Storm 23'. (Republic of Korea Air Force)  Weeks after signing a formal arrangement to co-operate on air-to-air refuelling, Australia and South Korea have conducted the first aerial refuel exercise involving military aircraft from both countries.  The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) said on 15 November that a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Airbus KC-30A Multi Role Tanke...

THeMIS UGVs pictured alongside French Army soldiers of the Vulcan robotics testing unit at a demonstration of iMUGS autonomy capabilities, Camp Satory, in October 2022. (iMUGS)    Companies working on the Integrated Modular Unmanned Ground System (iMUGS) – the European Union's (EU's) project for a common unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) – have commenced the integration of swarming technology into Milrem's THeMIS medium UGV,   Janes  has learnt.   Experts from three organisations within the iMUGS consortium – dotOcean, the Roy...

Japan has confirmed plans to integrate SM-6 air-defence missiles onto its two JMSDF Maya-class destroyers. Pictured above is the second of these two vessels, JS  Haguro  , which was commissioned in March 2021.  (Japanese MoD)    The Japanese Ministry of Defense (MoD) has disclosed to  Janes  plans to integrate Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) air-defence missiles onto Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Maya-class destroyers from 2026.   The plans were revealed nearly two weeks after the US Defen...

Ukrainian unmanned surface vessels (USVs) targeted naval units from Russia's Black Sea Fleet at Russia's naval base in Sevastopol during a ‘kamikaze' attack on 29 October.  According to video footage circulating widely on social media, a Project 11...

An SM-6 Block I missile arcs skywards following launch from a US Navy DDG-51 guided-missile destroyer. Japan plans to integrate the missile-defence system onto its Atago-class destroyers. (US Navy)  The US Department of State has approved a request by Japan to procure Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) air-defence missiles for an estimated USD450 million, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has announced.  It said on 20 October that the proposed Foreign Military Sales (FMS), which requires approval from the Congress, includes 32 SM-6 Blo...

Australia's Minister for Defence Richard Marles (left) and New Zealand's Minister of Defence Peeni Henare (right) agreed to enhance biltaeral defence co-operation during recent talks in Geelong, Victoria. (Commonwealth of Australia)  The publication of the first part of New Zealand's new defence review has been pushed back to March 2023 – a delay of almost six months.  Under the Terms of Reference for the review, announced in July, a ‘defence policy and strategy statement' was scheduled to be released in October. The statement is the first of...

NATO defence ministers meeting in Brussels on 12–13 October decided to increase the allies' stockpiles of munitions and equipment and to use the NATO defence planning process to provide the defence industry with the long-term demand required to boost production. (NATO)  Both NATO and the European Union (EU) are scrambling to foster joint procurement, stimulate accelerated defence-industrial production, and promote shared warehousing among their national militaries to replace depleted stocks sent to Ukraine and bolster Europe's own territorial...

South Korean F-15Ks and USAF F-16 jets fly in response to North Korea's IRBM launch on 4 October 2022. The F-15s subsequently bombed an uninhabited South Korean island 50 km west of the mainland. This appears to have partly prompted a larger bombing exercise by North Korea on an undisclosed islet on 8 October. (South Korean Ministry of National Defense)  North Korea has conducted an unprecedented series of live-fire drills using warplanes. This includes what Pyongyang describes as one of its largest air combat exercises.  In a statement on 10...

South Korean F-15Ks and USAF F-16 jets fly in response to North Korea's IRBM launch on 4 October 2022. The F-15s subsequently bombed an uninhabited South Korean island 50 km west of the mainland. This appears to have partly prompted a larger bombing exercise by North Korea on an undisclosed islet on 8 October. (South Korean Ministry of National Defense)  North Korea has conducted an unprecedented series of live-fire drills using warplanes. This includes what Pyongyang describes as one of its largest air combat exercises.  In a statement on 10...

The Luftwaffe deployed a small contingent of Eurofighters to Japan between 28 and 30 September for joint drills. The deployment reflects Japan's role as an important partner for Germany in the region. (Bundeswehr/Christian Timmig)  The German Air Force (Luftwaffe) has concluded its deployment of Eurofighters and support aircraft in the Indo-Pacific region. The deployment, titled ‘Rapid Pacific 2022’, potentially sets the stage for future flights into the region by the Luftwaffe.  A Luftwaffe spokesperson told Janes that the detachment returne...

Airbus NEO satellite imagery shows the Project 885M Severodvinsk (Yasen)-class SSGN   Novosibirsk  and Project 955A Dolgorukiy (Borey)-class SSBN   Knyaz Oleg  at the Pacific Fleet's Rybachiy naval base in Kamchatka Krai, Russia, on 28 September 2022.  (©Airbus DS 2022/SkyWatch Space Applications Inc/Tony Roper)  The Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet has received two submarines in one day at the Rybachiy naval base in Kamchatka Krai, Russia.  The Project 885M Severodvinsk (Yasen)-class nuclear-powered guided-mis...

The Pentagon has shared a classified version of the 2022 National Defense Strategy with Congress. (Getty Images)  US President Joe Biden's administration plans to publicly release an unclassified version of its new National Defense Strategy (NDS) “shortly”, a White House official said on 27 September.  The US Department of Defense (DoD) sent a classified version of the 2022 NDS to Congress in March. The DoD's two-page “fact sheet” on the NDS describes China as “our most consequential strategic competitor and the pacing challenge for the depar...

LIG Nex1's low-altitude missile defence system, a model of which is shown above, has a range of 7 km. (Janes/Dae Young Kim)  South Korea's LIG Nex1 has disclosed plans to supply its low-altitude missile defence (LAMD) system to the Republic of Korea (RoK) Armed Forces by the end of the decade.  The company started development of the system earlier this year, and told Janes at the DX Korea 2022 exhibition in Goyang that the LAMD will undergo seven more years of work before it is ready for deployment.  “We have planned two years of engineering...

NATO-Russia relations since 1999. (Janes)  NATO's strategy since the collapse of the Soviet Union was noted for its drift and lack of purpose. Comments by French President Emmanuel Macron in November 2019 that NATO was “brain-dead” highlighted this...

The UK Royal Navy's fifth Astute-class nuclear-powered attack submarine, HMS   Anson  , was commissioned into service at BAE Systems' yard in Barrow-in-Furness, North West England, on 31 August. Australian submariners will join RN crews to train on   Anson  and other Astute-class boats under the AUKUS security partnership.  (Royal Navy)  Australian submariners are set to train onboard the UK Royal Navy's (RN's) newest Astute-class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) under the trilateral AUKUS sec...

The UK is donating six AUVs to Ukraine to help with mine clearance. (UK MoD/Crown Copyright)  The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced plans to donate mine-hunting autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to Ukraine to help the country clear its coastline of Russian mines.  Ahead of delivery, Ukrainian personnel are also being trained to operate the systems, the MoD said.  Since the United Nations brokered a deal with Russia and Ukraine in July to enable commercial ships to safely export foodstuffs from Ukraine through the Black Sea, a sma...

A total of six USAF B-2s have landed in Australia between January and August 2022. The unprecedented deployment of these bombers in Australia between July and August 2022 affirms the growing nature of US-Australia defence and strategic alliance following AUKUS. (Janes)  The first deployment of United States Air Force (USAF) Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit bombers to Australia has ended.  The deployment is very likely to have resulted in significant capability enhancements for the Australian Defence Force (ADF). It also sets the ground for future...

Germany has demonstrated its ability to deploy a detachment of combat and support aircraft in the Indo-Pacific region. The detachment, which includes six Eurofighter Typhoons, four A400Ms, and three A330 MRTTs, will operate in the region until 4 October 2022. (Janes)  The German Air Force (Luftwaffe) has flown a detachment of Eurofighters with supporting aircraft and personnel into the Indo-Pacific region. The aircraft covered a distance of 12,700 km within 24 hours.  According to the German Bundeswehr (armed forces of the Federal Republic of...

A 3D-printed satellite engine mount. (Boeing)  Boeing and Northrop Grumman have signed up to participate in the Biden administration's Additive Manufacturing (AM) Forward initiative, which intends to strengthen US supply chains by increasing the use of 3D-printed parts.  Both companies have agreed to expand opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) suppliers to provide AM parts, according to a 17 August announcement by nonprofit Applied Science & Technology Research Organization of America (ASTRO America), which supports AM Fo...

Taiwan has announced it will award a ‘missile engineering' contract to the United States. This will reportedly include sustainment of the island's Patriot air-defence system. (Lockheed Martin)  Taiwan has awarded the US a contract to sustain missile systems operated by the Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF). The deal – worth TWD2.5 billion (USD84 million) – comes amid Taiwanese efforts to bolster missile production capacity on the island in the face of growing tension with China.  The missile sustainment deal was announced by Taipei's contra...