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12 Dec 24. Kongsberg tests Australian-made NSM launcher. Kongsberg Defence Australia has test-fired for the first time a Naval Strike Missile (NSM) blast test vehicle (BTV) from an Australian-built NSM launcher. The company said on 11 December that the test was performed in line with its commitment to deliver NSMs to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) under the Project Sea 1300 Phase 1 (Navy Guided Weapons) programme. The test was undertaken at the government’s Proof and Experimental Establishment at Port Wakefield in South Australia. The BTV comprises an NSM booster rocket motor and a dummy missile and is used to test the full launcher functionality in a live-firing event. Kongsberg said the firing comprised the “final element” of the first-of-type testing of an Australian-built NSM launcher, which was assembled from locally sourced components at Kongsberg’s new production and maintenance facility at Mawson Lakes, South Australia. The launcher canister was produced by Aerobond Defence, an Adelaide-based composite and sheet metal manufacturing company, and the BTV’s frame and rail were manufactured by Marand Precision Engineering in Melbourne. Launcher components were built by Australian Precision Technologies in Melbourne and QPE Advanced Machining in Adelaide. Kongsberg Defence Australia’s managing director John Fry said the BTV test-firing was a “key milestone in the delivery of the NSM capability to the Royal Australian Navy”. He added, “It now allows Kongsberg Defence Australia to commence full-rate production of Australian-made NSM launchers for the NSM programme.” (Source: Janes)
11 Dec 24. RTX’s Raytheon High-Energy Laser Weapon System fired by British Army for first time. Raytheon UK, part of RTX’s Raytheon business, announced that its High-Energy Laser Weapon System (HELWS) completed a successful live-firing with the British Army directed against moving aerial targets. The trial, conducted at a military range in Wales, is the latest stage of the Ministry of Defence’s Land Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) demonstrator programme and saw British soldiers operating Raytheon’s HELWS by successfully tracking and neutralising moving aerial targets.
“Our High-Energy Laser Weapon System has been used in operations globally, and now the British Army is experimenting with this game-changing capability”, said James Gray, chief executive and managing director of Raytheon UK. “The success of this test is the result of the skill, dedication, and vision of our scientists and engineers who have collaborated with the British Army to help fulfil its commitment to staying at the forefront of technological innovation.”
The experiment marks the first time the British Army has tested a high-energy laser weapon mounted on an armoured vehicle, while also having soldiers trained on the weapon’s targeting and tracking technologies.
Raytheon’s HELWS was the first laser weapon integrated and fired from a land vehicle in the UK, as part of a joint programme between Raytheon UK and Team Hersa (the joint LDEW enterprise between Defence and Science Laboratory and Defence Equipment and Support).
The system operates by directing an intense beam of energy toward its target, using advanced sensors and tracking systems to maintain lock-on and accuracy in real time. It has proved effective in real-world conditions, validating its potential as a game-changing technology in modern warfare.
“This milestone demonstrates the power of collaboration between Dstl, DE&S industry partners, and the British Army”, said Matt Cork, Head of Team Hersa. “By integrating advanced directed energy technologies onto armoured platforms, we’re not only proving the feasibility of these game-changing systems but also accelerating their path to operational readiness. It’s an exciting step forward in redefining the future of defence capability.”
10 Dec 24. French, Turkish naval companies tinker with torpedo interceptors. French and Turkish naval companies are keeping close tabs on industry efforts to create a kinetic torpedo interceptor, readying their own technological approaches to take to market if navies overcome their apprehension towards the futuristic concept.
For decades, navies across the world have experimented with a wide range of countermeasures to distract, confuse, and strike incoming torpedoes, notoriously cunning threats to warships. But results, so far, are mixed.
Now, a growing consensus among industry experts suggests that the ability to physically intercept enemy torpedoes is something like the holy grail in a cat-and-mouse game that favors the attacker.
“In the future, due to the development of torpedo systems and how smart they have become, sometimes deceiving or jamming it will not be enough – at that time you must have additional capabilities, which can include a hard-kill measure,” Ahmet Akyol, president of Turkey’s Aselsan said during a panel discussion at Euronaval trade show in Paris last month.
Both Aselsan and Naval Group independently confirmed to Defense News that they are each conducting research and developmental work to build hard-kill torpedo countermeasures, which presents its own set of complexities.
Underwater targeting is much harder than in the air, due to the laws of physics, and while torpedoes move slower than cruise missiles, they are still challenging to detect.
Antoine Kauffman, marketing manager for underwater systems at Naval Group, said it is in part the unique challenges found in the deep-sea environment that help explain “why many systems [anti-torpedo torpedoes] are not yet sufficiently mature to be integrated into militaries.”
Although several kinetic torpedo interceptors have already been developed, much of their lethal capability has yet to be tested, and their reliability remains largely uncertain.
One existing system is the Torbuster manufactured by Israel’s Rafael, which employs generic or tailored acoustic signals to lure an incoming torpedo near a decoy which explodes at close range, a mechanism that does not convince Kauffman.
“We do not believe in it at all because it is based on ‘seduction’ where you need to be able to attract the torpedo less than 20 meters of the countermeasure and never will it go that close – the torpedo will understand well before,” he told Defense News ahead of the Euronaval conference.
The Indian Navy is the only known international customer to have purchased Torbuster following Rafael’s announcement in May that it was partnering with local company Bharat Dynamics Limited to equip Indian ships with the technology.
Kauffman predicted that the maturity of concepts and designs of hard-kill torpedo technology will be more or less around 2030.
This timeline concurs with the one set out by the European Defense Agency regarding an anti-torpedo torpedo (ATT) demonstrator project, which builds on previous work done by Germany’s Atlas Elektronik and the Dutch TNO research organization.
“The objective is to reach a production-ready design by 2028 – it has [already] been proven that the system can successfully detect the attacking torpedo and subsequently activate the anti-torpedo torpedo, indicating that the desired effect can be achieved,” Jürgen Scraback, head of the EDA’s maritime domain unit said.
The official added that negotiations are currently underway for more European Union member states to join the project. (Source: Defense News)
10 Dec 24. MDA conducts first-ever ballistic missile intercept test from Guam. The Missile Defense Agency intercepted an incoming ballistic missile threat target in a test from Guam, according to a Tuesday agency announcement. The test is the “first ballistic missile defense event executed from Guam,” the statement notes. As the Pentagon works to build an integrated air and missile defense architecture on Guam, this is the first test of a portion of the future capability designed to protect the key strategic island from emerging and evolving threats.
“Within the context of homeland defense, a top priority for the Department of Defense, Guam is also a strategic location for sustaining and maintaining United States military presence, deterring adversaries, responding to crises, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” the statement says.
In the test, an Aegis Guam System with an AN/TPY-6 radar and Vertical Launching System fired a Standard Missile-3 Block IIA interceptor, which then took out an air-launched Medium Range Ballistic Missile target flying off the coast of Andersen Air Force Base, according to the statement.
The AN/TPY-6 radar, a new MDA system designed specifically for the Guam architecture and delivered there earlier this year, tracked the target from shortly after launch to the intercept, the statement says.
The new radar uses technology from MDA’s Long-Range Discrimination Radar positioned in Alaska at Clear Space Force Station, which will have its own test next year ahead of declaring operational capability.
“This is a tremendous group effort and provides a glimpse of how organizations within the Department of Defense have come together to defend our homeland Guam now and in the future,” Lt. Gen. Heath Collins, MDA director, said in the statement. “Collectively, we will use this to build upon and validate joint tracking architecture and integrated air and missile defense capabilities for Guam.”
The test data will feed into continued concept development, requirements validation and modeling for the future Guam Defense System, or GDS, the statement adds.
GDS will be built using a variety of components from the services. The U.S. Army was assigned in 2023 to lead the acquisition and execution plan for the Guam architecture, and the service’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office lead – a three-star general – was appointed to stand up a joint team for seeing it through.
MDA’s role now is focused primarily on developing the means to tie all the systems together that will be part of the GDS architecture.
The agency is establishing a combined command center on the island that will host all of the “major command and control systems in the missile defense business,” Collins said in an interview with Defense News this summer. Component include the Army’s Integrated Battle Command System, the Navy’s Aegis weapon system and the Aegis ground system being built for Guam, the Air Force’s C2 system and the agency’s Command Control Battle Management and Communications system, known as C2BMC.
The architecture also relies on a variety of systems still in development, mostly within the Army. The Navy will provide technology and capability from its Aegis weapon system. The land service plans to bring currently fielded capability like the Patriot system and its IBCS that connects any sensor and shooter together on the battlefield, as well as Mid-Range Capability missile launchers, which were first fielded at the end of last year.
The Army will also incorporate Patriot’s radar replacement, the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor, and its Indirect Fire Protection Capability launchers currently in prototype testing and evaluation.
While the test represents a step forward, over the next year or so, the island “will look like it pretty much looks today,” Collins told Defense News. “Our first construction money to start building on the island is ‘25 so we will, by the end of ‘25, we will have begun some military construction on some of the sites.” (Source: Defense News)
09 Dec 24. South Korea commissions its first next-generation Aegis destroyer. South Korea’s navy formally received the first of a new class of guided-missile destroyer equipped with the Aegis combat system late last month. Such vessels, equipped to counter ballistic missiles, are deemed vital to help Seoul neutralize threats from the North. Built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, the new 8,200-ton vessel is christened ROKS Jeongjo the Great. It belongs to the KDX-III Batch II class that will eventually comprise three vessels, these being the largest surface combatants Korea has ever built.
Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) had contracted the warship’s construction in October 2019, and it was duly launched on July 28, 2022.
The navy explained, “We evaluate that the Jeongjo the Great – which is equipped with the ability to intercept ballistic missiles and strike enemy leadership and key strategic targets – will demonstrate a strong deterrent against North Korea to repel enemy provocations in the event of an emergency.”
Further, DAPA said this vessel “is expected to play a key role in the sea-based maneuvering ‘Three-Axis system’ by possessing the ability to detect and track ballistic missiles as well as intercept them.”
This “Three-Axis system” refers to three connected defense initiatives aimed at negating Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile threat.
DAPA said the new destroyer’s “combat capabilities have dramatically improved” compared to the preceding 7,600-ton KDX-III Batch I class, three of which were commissioned from 2008-2012.
The 170m-long (558 foot) vessel is stealthier and is heavily armed with anti-ship missiles, surface-to-surface missiles plus air defense missiles that include the SM-3 and SM-6. Other weapons include a 5-inch naval gun and close-in weapon system, plus it is well equipped for anti-submarine warfare.
Commodore Shin Hyun-seung, head of DAPA’s Shipbuilding Division, confirmed: “Jeongjo the Great is equipped with the latest Aegis combat system, an integrated sonar system developed domestically, and a Korean vertical launching system, so it can respond to various threats such as ballistic missiles, and is expected to play a strong role as a guardian of our national security.”
In fact, it is the first warship to adopt the Korean Vertical Launching System II. According to the Ministry of National Defense, the destroyer also features improved habitability with larger crew compartment spaces and even a wireless network allowing crew members to instantly communicate with each other using smart devices.
The second destroyer of the class is scheduled to launch next year, while HD Hyundai Heavy Industries commenced construction of the third ship on Oct. 17. These two vessels should be delivered in 2026 and 2027 respectively, according to the shipbuilder. ROKS Jeongjo the Great will undergo around a year of operational training before officially deploying in late 2025. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
10 Dec 24. A new era for Australian naval firepower: Successful Tomahawk launch for RAN. Australia has joined an exclusive club following the successful firing of a Tomahawk cruise missile by HMAS Brisbane, a major milestone for the future firepower of the Royal Australian Navy. The successful test firing makes Australia one of only three nations alongside the United States and the United Kingdom to acquire, and now fire, the Tomahawk cruise missiles. HMAS Brisbane, a Hobart Class destroyer, has successfully fired a Tomahawk missile during a test and evaluation activity conducted off the west coast of the United States.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles celebrated this capability milestone, saying, “The successful test firing of the Tomahawk missile demonstrates the strength of our alliance and defence cooperation with the United States, in support of a peaceful, stable and prosperous region.”
With an extended range of up to 2,500 kilometres, the Tomahawk is a world-class capability, which allows maritime platforms to perform long-range precision strike against land targets. Acquiring this capability significantly enhances the ADF’s ability to deter against any potential threat and keep Australians safe.
“By enhancing our own Defence capabilities, and by working with partners, we change the calculus for any potential aggressor so that no state will ever conclude the benefits of conflict outweigh the risks,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
This Tomahawk firing follows the firings of the Naval Strike Missile and Standard Missile 6 earlier this year and is a practical demonstration of the speed at which the Albanese government is delivering on its commitment to enhance the lethality of Navy’s surface combatant fleet.
Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery Pat Conroy echoed the sentiments of the Deputy Prime Minister, saying, “The Tomahawk is the jewel in the crown and a step change in our firepower, deterrence and ability to strike land-based targets at ranges never before available to the Royal Australian Navy.”
Australia will acquire more than 200 Tomahawk missiles, which will be deployed in its Hobart Class destroyers and future Navy platforms, including Virginia Class submarines and, subject to feasibility studies, the Hunter Class frigates.
“The acquisition of Tomahawks, along with Naval Strike Missile and Standard Missile 6, is a game changer for our ADF and comes years ahead of what was previously planned,” Minister Conroy said.
The government has committed $1.3bn to acquire the Tomahawk capability and bringing it into service several years faster than originally planned.
Designed and produced by Raytheon, the Tomahawk cruise missile has evolved since its initial iterations, with the most recent version called the Block IV Tactical Tomahawk or TACTOM incorporating a data link that allows it to switch targets while in flight and allowing it to loiter for hours and change course instantly on command. As part of the continued development and enhanced lethality of the Tomahawk, in 2020 the US Navy began recertifying and modernising the Block IV missile, extending its service life by 15 years, and resulting in the new Tomahawk Block V series. (Source: Defence Connect)
09 Dec 24. Japan outlines progress made on improved Type 12 missile. Japan’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) has released more details on the progress it has made in a programme to enhance the country’s Type 12 surface-to-ship guided missile. In its statement issued on 6 December, the MoD disclosed that a total of five test firings of the improved weapon were carried out between 4 October and 1 November 2024 at the Aeronautical Equipment Research Institute on Nii-jima Island. Three tests of the weapon were carried out on 4, 14, and 17 October, and the missiles fired on these dates were ground-based variants, said the MoD. Subsequently, two further tests were carried out on 28 October and 1 November, and these firings involved ship-launched versions of the missile, the MoD added. No further details on these tests were provided in the MoD statement. Developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), the Type 12 surface-to-ship missile has been developed from the country’s Type 88 anti-ship missile. The newer weapon was first fielded by Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) coastal battalions in 2014. It features an overall length of 5 m, has a diameter of 350 mm, and weighs 700 kg. It is armed with a 225 kg high-explosive warhead and utilises an inertial navigation system (INS) and active radar seeker to home onto its targets. In JGSDF service, the weapon is carried and launched in a road-ready, six-cell configuration on a Mitsubishi 8×8 transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) vehicle. (Source: Janes)
09 Dec 24. The United States Army’s Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) developed by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) demonstrated its ability to connect with any sensor or effector by successfully integrating with the emerging U.S. Army Indirect Fire Protection Capability (IFPC) system, a ground-based weapon system designed to protect assets such as command centers and airfields. During the flight tests held at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, the IBCS system:
- Detected, identified and tracked two surrogate unmanned aerial vehicle targets and a surrogate cruise missile
- Engaged and defeated the maneuvering surrogate targets with the IFPC system
Kenn Todorov, vice president and general manager, global battle management and readiness, Northrop Grumman: “With IBCS’ innovative, game-changing technology, the U.S. Army can test emerging systems like IFPC that will help modernize air and missile defense. IBCS’ ready-now capabilities connect any sensor and any effector across the battlespace, allowing the most effective weapon to take out the threat.”
Details on IBCS:
IBCS is a revolutionary mission command fire control system that unifies current and future systems regardless of source, service or domain. Through its network-enabled, modular, open and scalable architecture, IBCS gives warfighters capabilities not previously available by fusing sensor data for a single actionable picture of the full battlespace. This ready-now capability gives warfighters more time to make decisions on how best to defeat threats and is a foundational element for enabling joint and coalition multi-domain operations.
IBCS is in production, currently fielded in Poland, and planned for deployment in Defense of Guam as part of the U.S. Army program of record for integrated air and missile defense modernization. IBCS has demonstrated its ability to integrate with a wide range of sensors and shooters, including Patriot, Sentinel, F-35, Common Anti-Air Modular Missile, Giraffe, Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) and other sovereign capabilities.
Northrop Grumman is a leading global aerospace and defense technology company. Our pioneering solutions equip our customers with the capabilities they need to connect and protect the world, and push the boundaries of human exploration across the universe. Driven by a shared purpose to solve our customers’ toughest problems, our employees define possible every day.
06 Dec 24. Kratos XQ-58A Demos Collaborative EW and Kill Chain Closure under USMC Control in Large Force Exercise.
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: KTOS), a Technology Company in the Defense, National Security and Global Markets and an industry-leading provider of high-performance, jet-powered unmanned aerial systems, today announced the successful performance of a recent series of flight tests of the United States Marine Corps’ XQ-58A Valkyrie, manufactured by Kratos. These flights and exercises were conducted jointly earlier this year by Kratos, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Autonodyne, the United States Marine Corps (USMC), the United States Navy, and the United States Air Force (USAF).
The test was conducted as a part of Emerald Flag 2024—a multiservice and multi-domain training exercise. During this milestone event, the USMC demonstrated cooperative kill chain closure between crewed and uncrewed strike platforms, specifically Kratos’ XQ-58A Valkyrie, for the first time in a large-force exercise.
The USMC kill chain closure demonstration, hosted in a joint force environment, showcased collaborative electronic warfare (EW) operations in addition to newly added tactical data link capabilities. These tests mark the first time the Department of Defense (DoD) controlled an XQ-58 using expeditionary methods. Initial results indicate the system met threshold requirements for autonomously exchanging relevant tactical information. These capabilities significantly enhance the Marine Air-Ground Task Force’s ability to conduct integrated and joint operations, contributing to the USMC’s mission to deter conflict and, when necessary, defeat enemies in complex and evolving scenarios.
These flights were conducted in partnership with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) AIRWorks, and industry partners. Flight test support was provided by the 40th Flight Test Squadron, the 46th Test Squadron, the 96th Test Wing, and the Marine Operational Test & Evaluation Squadron 1 (VMX-1).
The latest event was witnessed by the USMC Deputy Commandant of Aviation, Lt. Gen. Bradford Gering, as well as officers and civilians from the Marine Corps Cunningham Group, Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Expeditionary and Maritime Aviation-Advanced Development Team (XMA-ADT), and the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD).
As the USMC advances towards the operational fielding of a new uncrewed system, Kratos is at the vanguard of technological advancement to ensure the Marines have the best tactical asset to complement their fleet of F-35B aircraft.
Flying alongside four USMC F-35B aircraft from the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 214 (VMFA-214) and two USAF F-15E/EX aircraft from the 40th Flight Test Squadron, the USMC XQ-58A operated under vehicle-level autonomy to perform maneuvers in a simulated threat environment. The Valkyrie’s on-board sensors identified and geolocated relevant threats, and simultaneously passed targeting data to collaborating air and ground platforms over tactical networks.
During the exercise, the XQ-58A was also flown by a USMC aviator, and control was passed between air and ground control methods which can command multiple Valkyries simultaneously. This demonstration of the XQ-58A’s ability to support crewed-uncrewed teaming and Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO) marks a significant milestone in the Marine Air-Ground Task Force Unmanned Aerial System Expeditionary (MUX) Tactical Aircraft (TACAIR) development.
Steve Fendley, President of Kratos Unmanned Systems Division, said, “We’re proud to be leading the industry effort to demonstrate and deliver this critical collaborative uncrewed aircraft capability. The mission capability demonstrated during the latest exercise – enabling Marine Corps pilots to lead a strike package of multiple Valkyries seamlessly transferring C2 between crewed aircraft and expeditionary ground control stations, to autonomously accomplish the mission while reducing risk exposure – will be a force multiplier. Our integrated, autonomous collaborative platform, jet-powered aircraft systems truly validate the DoD’s goal of achieving effective, survivable, affordable mass.”
Flying since 2019, the Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie is a high-performance, runway-flexible tactical unmanned aerial vehicle capable of long-range flights at high-subsonic speeds. The Valkyrie can serve as a loyal wingman, conduct single unmanned aircraft system operations, or operate in swarms. Combining affordability, survivability, long-range, high-subsonic speeds, maneuverability, and ability to carry flexible mission kit configurations and mix of lethal weapons from its internal weapons bay and wing stations, the XQ-58A provides unmatched operational flexibility at an affordable price for multiple DoD customers. (Source: ASD Network)
06 Dec 24. US artillery roadshow to finish up before end of year. Artillery fires have sounded around the world as part of the US Army’s ‘roadshow’ to find a modular tactical cannon solution throughout November. Performance demonstrations are set to be completed by the end of December, Brigadier General Rory Crooks, director of Long Range Precision Fires Cross-Functional Team (CFT), told reporters on 3 December. Out of five vendors, Hanwha and BAE Systems have both completed live-fire demonstrations of their mobile artillery solutions – Hanwha’s K9 self-propelled howitzer in South Korea and BAE’s Archer in Sweden. The remaining three are in various stages of completion, multiple defence industry sources told Janes. In November a demonstration of the Archer artillery system included a basic scenario of shoot, move, and resupply, BAE System’s director of business development Jim Miller told Janes on 3 December. BAE has begun discussions on how to “Americanise” Archer, which could include changes to the system such as replacing the Swedish fire controls with US ones. Analysis is ongoing for how it might add a production line to an existing facility such as the one in Eglin, Oklahoma. The range in Sweden was not large enough to allow BAE to shoot at its maximum range, though it was demonstrated on the 52 calibre gun for the army in 2023, Miller noted. Elbit Systems of America, General Dynamics Land Systems, and Rheinmetall are yet to complete a demonstration, multiple defence sources confirmed to Janes . General Dynamics was scheduled to complete a live fire of its Piranha wheeled vehicle with a Remote Controlled Howitzer (RCH) 155 platform in the next two weeks. (Source: Janes)
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About Galvion:
Galvion designs, develops, and delivers mission critical head, face, and torso protective solutions as well as intelligent power and data management systems for the world’s most demanding military and tactical teams. Founded in 2002 as Revision Military, a foundational belief in calculated investment and capability expansion led to a strategic refocus, resulting in the divestiture of the protective eyewear business, along with the Revision name, in 2019. Rebranded as Galvion, the company’s products and technology continue to evolve beyond purely passive protection, focusing instead on active systems that enhance performance and survivability, with an eye to the ever-changing demands of the modern battlefield. Through advanced design, keen end-user insight and intelligent integration, Galvion engineers uniquely customized solutions that go beyond what was once thought possible.
Privately owned with ISO 9001:2015 certified facilities in Vermont, Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the US, Montreal in Canada and Bristol in the UK, Galvion’s team of 400+ employees work proactively to solve the problems left unsolved by others.
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