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06 Nov 25. GCAP fighter jet designers push to keep weapons, drone options open. The new sixth-generation GCAP fighter should be able to carry a wide variety of armaments and work with any number of different “Loyal Wingman” drones, a leading official on the UK-Japanese-Italy program has said. British defense ministry official Group Captain Bill Sanders said the under-development platform needed to have a weapons bay ready to accept any armament used by the partners, by NATO and by the United States.
“Think about the lessons learned in Ukraine. As you go into a conflict you rapidly exhaust your stocks and you start to put pressure on the supply chain. What you want in that situation is the maximum ability to be able to dig into the other stockpiles and supply chains that are available,” he told Defense News on the sidelines of the International Fighter conference in Rome.
“Having a platform that can carry any NATO weapon, any U.S. weapon, any of the three nations’ weapons immediately gives the commanders in the theater flexibility,” added Sanders, who leads the UK’s Future Combat Air System (FCAS) Requirements and Concepting team which includes the GCAP program.
Sanders said another reason for weapons bay flexibility was the need to start carrying high-cost armaments at the start of a conflict to overcome enemy defenses – before needing to scale down to “dumb,” unguided bombs as those defenses became weaker.
“If we keep on using the most expensive weapons (throughout the conflict) the cost per kill, the cost per engagement is not sustainable. What we want to be able to do is start to pull apart the threads of the defensive system we are going against. We want to be in a situation where we can start to drop down the cost point of the weapons we are using,” he said.
With a flexible weapons bay, Sanders said “I can get the right weapon for the cost-per-kill ratio.”
Just as the GCAP needs to be able to use all weapons, it must be able to work with all drones known as Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), Sanders said.
“You have to be in a situation where, just like the weapons, the GCAP can work with what it finds. It’s no mean feat,” he said.
Analyst Douglas Barrie said building a fighter able to work with different CCAs was logical.
“I would expect the UK, Japan and Italy all have CCAs they ‘own’ which are sovereign capabilities they will use with GCAP. Whether they eventually coalesce around a shared platform is an interesting question but at the moment they seem to be going independently because it gives you more choice, more flexibility,” said Barrie, a senior fellow for military aerospace at the IISS think tank.
The dawn of the era of Collaborative Combat Aircraft was a recurring theme at this year’s International Fighter Conference.
Turkish officials discussed how they might match a CCA with the 20 Eurofighters Turkey agreed to purchase last month.
Jorge Tamarit-Degenhardt, CEO of the Eurofighter, said he was concerned that adapting the fighter to work with numerous CCAs picked by different customers could prove costly.
“Can we develop CCA integration in different configurations in different countries? We cannot do everything at the same time. We don’t have infinite resources,” he said. (Source: Defense News)
06 Nov 25. Germany moves to field a miniature anti-drone missile. is set to develop and deploy a miniature missile designed to combat drones inexpensively, with lawmakers approving a funding proposal on Nov. 5. Dubbed SADM, the Small Anti-Drone Missile will be fitted onto Rheinmetall-made Skyranger 30 anti-aircraft vehicles. It is meant to complement the primary weapon, the onboard cannon. The new missile will be produced by MBDA, which has called the weapon DefendAir. In an email to Defense News, Rheinmetall said the requisite launcher to integrate SADM into Skyranger is already included in the turret. It will be able to hold nine to twelve missiles, depending on the configuration of launch tubes. The missile will extend the Skyranger’s effective engagement range from 2 to about 6 kilometers, according to previous reporting. The new weapons will feature specialized seeker capabilities and a warhead designed to counter drones weighing at most 150 kilograms, known as class 1 UAS. The Bundeswehr, Germany’s armed forces, stated that with the introduction of these missiles, the Skyranger system would become “fully capable of defending against small and micro drones.” In a press release, the military said that this was a reflection of lessons learned in Ukraine, where the use of tiny and small drones presents a “significant threat to the population, soldiers, weapons systems and infrastructure.” Together with the cannon, the missiles will allow a single Skyranger to destroy up to thirty drones in one engagement, the military said on Nov. 6. It will be the first time the German military’s arsenal has an armored air defense system designed to counter drones. The decision to go with SADM over competing options, including the Stinger missile, was made by the government in May. This week’s approval by the German Bundestag, the country’s parliament, is a legal hurdle that any military procurement project worth at least €25m ($28.8m) must clear. The development and procurement of the new missile is reported to cost €490 million, or $565 million, according to military news website Hartpunkt.de. According to the Bundeswehr, SADM will be added to a list of systems qualified under the European Sky Shield Initiative, which the previous German government launched as a pan-European initiative to address the continent’s lack of air defense capabilities. The group currently counts 24 members, stretching from the Article Circle to the Middle East, who have agreed to coordinate air defense capabilities, including procurement, to strengthen their collective aerial defenses. Germany and other European governments have been scrambling to close this critical gap, flagged as a priority in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine starting in February 2022. Alongside Skyranger, Germany has invested in other air defense systems, including the long-range, Israeli-made Arrow 3 interceptor. (Source: Defense News)
06 Nov 25. Indo Pacific 2025: Australia conducts maritime trials of OWL-B loitering munition. Australia is conducting trials of the One Way Loitering (OWL)-B precision munition from the flight deck of MV Sycamore , a seagoing training vessel used by the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to train its helicopter pilots. If successfully certified, the trials could pave the way for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) to deploy the loitering munition system from onboard its vessels. It will also mark the first known instance of the system being certified for launch from onboard a navy-operated vessel. Speaking to Janes at the Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition 2025 in Sydney, held from 4 to 6 November, Marcus Colman, CEO of Perth-based aeronautical engineering company Innovaero, described the trials from Sycamore as being part of a larger effort to establish a sovereign capability for loitering munitions in Australia. These trials fall under the ambit of an Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA)-funded programme to certify and introduce into service a locally designed munition capable of precision strikes, Colman added. The OWL-B is an Innovaero-developed, long-endurance, electric-powered loitering munition designed to deliver precision effects at extended ranges, and it is part of the company’s series of OWL loitering munitions. It has a wingspan of 1.85 m and a maximum range of about 100 km, assuming a 20 kt headwind in the journey towards its target. Upon reaching the objective, the OWL-B can continue to loiter for about 30 minutes before kinetically striking the intended target with a built-in high-explosive warhead carried in the airframe’s payload bay. (Source: Janes)
06 Nov 25. Indo Pacific 2025: C2 Robotics unveils loitering munition-armed variant of Speartooth LUUV. Melbourne-based C2 Robotics has unveiled a variant of its Speartooth large unmanned underwater vehicle (LUUV) that can be configured to launch loitering munitions. This capability was showcased at the Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition 2025 in Sydney, where the company for the first time displayed a variant of the LUUV equipped with a payload bay with hatches and a retractable launcher designed to deploy the munitions. To illustrate this capability, the launcher was seen with a proprietary loitering munition that loosely resembles C2 Robotics’ Optically Guided Remote Effect (OGRE) quadcopter-based payload delivery system. However, instead of the compound wing structure, the unnamed loitering munition had each of its four rotors mounted on swing wings, presumably to reduce its overall footprint in the payload bay. Like the OGRE, this loitering munition featured optical guidance based on terrain data and thus is capable of reaching its target without the need for GPS or radio datalinks, Tom Loveard, co-founder and chief technology officer of C2 Robotics, said in response to a question from Janes at Indo Pacific 2025. Loveard added that the company has developed a pod-launchable variant of the loitering munition, which can also be incorporated onboard the Speartooth LUUV. The Speartooth LUUV is a large-displacement autonomous underwater platform developed to meet a requirement for persistent, multimission capability in contested maritime environments. It was first unveiled by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) at Indo Pacific 2022. There are two early variants of the LUUV, one of which has an overall length of 8 m and the other one 4 m. (Source: Janes)
06 Nov 25. IWI (Israel Weapon Industries), an SK Group company and a global leader in small arms manufacturing, has introduced a new line of suppressors engineered to fit the full range of 5.56x45mm and 7.62x51mm weapon platforms, from rifles to machine guns. The suppressors have already been delivered and are in use by its clients. Produced on a vertically integrated production line using advanced Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) 3D-metal printing. The new line of suppressors features complex internal geometries and an internal bypass channel, delivering high sound attenuation, a streamlined design that significantly reduces back-pressure, even during rapid or full-auto operation – all while preserving accuracy. Engineered to the same quality and performance specifications that IWI is known for globally, they are made from aerospace-grade Inconel that withstands temperatures beyond 982°C (1,800°F), resists erosion and cracking over thousands of rounds, and pairs with our proven Quick Detach Flash Hider that utilizes the legendary UZILockä for fast and secure mounting across all platforms. Regardless of platform, our new line of suppressors is designed to perform in the harshest conditions.
“This new line of suppressors reflects IWI’s broader commitment to advancing battlefield survivability and operational performance through innovation,” said SK Group’s Vice Chairman Ronen Hamudot. “By leveraging cutting-edge manufacturing and materials science, we’re equipping forces with scalable solutions that meet today’s operational demands – from counter-terror operations to large-scale conflict. They accelerate our push to equip front-line units with integrated, next-generation capabilities.”
IWI (Israel Weapon Industries), part of the SK Group, is the main supplier to the Israeli Army and Israeli Police, with combat-proven products used by military, law enforcement and special forces in over 60 countries across diverse operational environments. Renowned for developing the iconic UZI, IWI continues to set benchmarks in firearm innovation and reliability, developing advanced systems like the ARAD, the NEGEV light machine gun, and the TAVOR. For more information, visit: https://iwi.net.
04 Nov 25. Codan opens new MDS-20 countermine detector line. The MDS-20 is capable of detecting low-metal landmines and improvised IED components. South Australia’s Defence and Space Industries Assistant Minister Michael Brown has opened the production line for the MDS-20 Dual-Sensor Countermine Detector at Codan’s Mawson Lakes headquarters. Minister Brown said: “Codan is a great example of South Australian innovation and its global impact, all made possible through local engineering, local high-tech experts, right here in Mawson Lakes. This production line will save lives, not only those of the defence personnel using the MDS-20 detector, but also of Minelab’s international defence and humanitarian customers using this homegrown capability to protect their own communities.” (Source: army-technology.com)
06 Nov 25. PT-USV: Leidos, Kongsberg partner on enhancing Sea Archer strike capability. In an updated blast from the past, Leidos Australia and Kongsberg Defence Australia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance the lethality of the Sea Archer platform. This modern twist on the fast, hard-hitting patrol boats of World War II, Leidos Australia and Kongsberg Defence Australia have joined forces to explore pairing Kongsberg’s Naval Strike Missile (NSM) with Leidos’ cutting-edge uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), Sea Archer and its larger sibling, Longbow. The two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to investigate how integrating the NSM, a stealthy, sea-skimming, precision-guided missile with a range of more than 300 kilometres—could transform Australia’s maritime strike options. Drawing inspiration from the agile PT boats that once prowled the Pacific, these autonomous vessels promise high speed, long reach, and serious firepower, without putting crews in harm’s way. Built in Australia, Sea Archer is a 40-knot, 1,500-nautical-mile range USV designed for modular missions including strike, electronic warfare, resupply and ISR. It can carry more than 900 kilograms of payload, powered by advanced autonomy and AI-driven battle management systems developed by Leidos. The larger Longbow variant ups the ante, boasting four 300-horsepower OXE marine diesel engines, a payload capacity of 3,000 kilograms and an extended range beyond 2,750 nautical miles. Still at the proof-of-concept stage, Leidos and Kongsberg plan to trial integrated missile payloads in both the US and Australia in 2026, demonstrating how these crewless craft could deliver rapid, flexible, and sovereign maritime strike capability.
“This MOU represents a significant step forward in exploring a mission-ready, sovereign maritime strike capability for Australia,” said Paul Chase, Chief Executive of Leidos Australia. “By combining the proven performance of the NSM with the flexibility and endurance of Longbow and Sea Archer, we’re offering Defence a potent, adaptable, and locally supported solution for future operational needs.” If successful, the partnership could mark the rebirth of the PT boat concept, this time, unmanned, AI-driven, and ready to project Australian firepower far beyond the horizon. (Source: Defence Connect)
04 Nov 25. Avibras alleges IP violations by missile maker SIATT. Brazilian rocket and missile specialist Avibras Indústria Aeroespacial has filed a legal notice against domestic missile house SIATT – Engenharia, Indústria e Comércio alleging misuse of its intellectual property (IP), the company said. Avibras is resuming its activities after the change of its controlling shareholder and the approval of its Judicial Reorganisation Plan, the company told Janes on 31 October. In the request for judicial notification filed at the 1st Civil Court of the District of São José dos Campos in São Paulo state on 30 October, Avibras claimed that SIATT has systematically used, without authorisation, the brand, trade name, images, technical catalogues, specifications, and visual identity of Avibras and its products in commercial presentations, proposals to clients, international fairs, and commercial promotion events. Avibras filed the legal notice to safeguard its rights, its technological legacy, and the public interest linked to national sovereignty, the company said. Avibras claimed that SIATT committed several acts of misconduct, including violations of IP law, copyright law, and bidding law, as well as the illicit obtention of the Declaration of Exclusivity IDE 013/25 from the Brazilian Association of Defence and Security Materials (ABIMDE) on 3 April 2025. The declaration certified SIATT as the only company in Brazil with the capacity to modernise the ASTROS II system to launch anti-ship missiles, and to maintain rockets. The legal notice requested ABIMDE to nullify and cancel the declaration. (Source: Janes)
04 Nov 25. Indo Pacific 2025: Japan builds Australia’s Mogami frigates for Naval Strike Missile. Australia’s fleet of Improved Mogami-class frigates are being built to accommodate the Naval Strike Missile (NSM), a representative from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has confirmed. Speaking to Janes at the Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition 2025 in Sydney, the representative said that this will be the major difference between the Improved Mogami-class frigates that are being built for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the ones that are being built for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). Instead of the NSM, the Improved Mogami-class frigates being built for Japan will be equipped with the improved Type 12 missile. Other than the choice of anti-ship missiles, which will be carried amidships, the Australian warships will be equipped with largely the same weapons and sensors as the ones that are being built for the JMSDF, the MHI representative added. These include the Improved Mogami class’ Unified Complex Radio Antenna (UNICORN) main mast and a four-faceted OPY-2 X-band multifunction radar system on the superstructure. Similarly, both the Australian and Japanese variants will also be armed with a 127 mm Mk 45 Mod 4 naval gun in the primary position, an aft-facing SeaRAM air-defence system turret above the helicopter hangar, and a 32-cell Mk 41 vertical launching system (VLS). Australia announced in August that it has selected MHI’s Improved Mogami-class frigate as the preferred platform for the RAN’s general-purpose frigate requirements. These new vessels will replace the RAN’s fleet of ageing Anzac-class frigates that have been in service since the 1990s. (Source: Janes)
03 Nov 25. Norway Acquires More NASAMS Air Defence Technology. The Norwegian government has ordered more NASAMS air defence components from Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (‘KONGSBERG’), which will strengthen the country’s defence capabilities to combat aerial threats. The contract has a value of about NOK 1 bn.
“The government is prioritising strengthening our air defence. This agreement is an important step in ensuring increased response capacity and protection of Norwegian forces and critical infrastructure,” said Minister of Defence Tore O. Sandvik.
“The NASAMS air defence system is strategically important for Norway’s defence capabilities and is vital for safeguarding our national security interests. This delivery will provide Norway with the latest generation of NASAMS, developed to meet current and future threats,” said Eirik Lie, President of Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.
The National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, or NASAMS, was first developed by KONGSBERG and Raytheon of the US for the Norwegian armed forces in the 1990s. Today there are 13 nations in the NASAMS user group.
“With this acquisition, we ensure that the NASAMS departments receive flexible and modern command posts and communication systems that provide faster decision support, higher tempo and increased survivability,” said Director Gro Jære of the Defence Materiel Agency.
Contract deliveries
With the new contract, the NASAMS batteries will be equipped with new command posts, wheeled communication nodes and radios. Today’s MRR radios will be replaced with KONGSBERG’s THOR Combat Net Radio, with higher capacity and more functions. Increased mobility, better opportunity for dispersion and command posts that allow faster movement are all factors that contribute to increased survivability for the air defence batteries. In addition, the NDMA ordered additional components with long lead times to ensure that additional NASAMS systems can be delivered quickly, in line with the Long-Term Plan for the Defence Sector. (Source: ASD Network)
03 Nov 25. The Evolys: FN shows off new machine gun that’s light in weight, but not in firepower. FN shows off new ultralight machine gun. FN has been showing off the Evolys – a weapon that looks and handles like an assault rifle, but offers the firepower of a belt-fed machine gun. The GPMG – which was also designed by FN – has been a stalwart for the infantry, but it’s expected to go out of service in 2035. The MOD will be going out to tender for its replacement and defining the requirement, but one possible contender is the Evolys. One GPMG is currently allocated to an infantry section – usually Delta fire team – but that weapon was never designed for an assault role.
FN official Stevie Crook, himself a former British Army infanteer, pointed out how the GPMG, despite being well-loved, weighs around 10.9kg and has a 24.8in barrel.
He explained how this made the 7.62mm weapon hard to bear in a CQB or jungle environment.
“You don’t want a weapon that long… that heavy. You know, that’s not good for the guy that’s carrying it,” he added.
The Evolys, which is available in 5.56mm and 7.62mm, is a lot shorter, with a 14″ barrel on the 5.56mm variant and 16″ on the larger calibre, weighing 5.5kg and 6.2kg respectively. While the GPMG is loaded by opening the top cover, Mr Crook emphasised the value the Evolys offers from being loaded from the side. This means the body of the weapon is solid, so an optic attached to the Picatinny rail running along the top will hold zero far better.
“I’d say this is a real gamechanger. It will enhance the capability now to fire at night with an optic with an inline sight, with a thermal,” he said.
And while the iron sights of the GPMG have stood the test of time, the top rail system of the Evolys means a soldier can easily swap to a different optic should the tactical need arise. But as an ultralight machine gun, he sees its main role as not just supporting a section or platoon attack, but taking on an assault role in that attack. Unlike the GPMG, which takes two hands to load a fresh belt of ammo, usually from the prone position, he said the Evolys, with its side-loading and light weight, could be brought back into the fight far more quickly.
“When you’re going through the battlefield, you know, in fire and manoeuvre, then you continue on your mission as part of the section and maintaining momentum in the firefight,” he said.
Whether something like this will eventually be in the hands of personnel is unclear. As always, procurement decisions never happen fast. But when they tell us, we’ll be the first to tell you. (Source: forces.net)
31 Oct 25. Indonesia fires torpedo from autonomous submarine. Indonesia’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) and state-owned shipbuilder PT PAL announced on 30 October that the country has for the first time fired a torpedo from a locally developed autonomous submarine. The milestone was carried out by the submarine, known locally as the Kapal Selam Otonom (KSOT), within the waters of the Indonesian Navy’s base at Surabaya on the same day of the announcement. It was witnessed by Indonesian Minister of Defense Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, alongside Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces General Agus Subiyanto, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Ali, and senior officials from the MoD. They observed the firing from the deck of the Indonesian Navy’s hospital ship KRI dr Soeharso . Neither the MoD nor PT PAL has provided further details on the firing, but images of the event provided indicate that it involved the discharge of a single 324 mm drill round as denoted by the ordnance’s orange livery. One of the images also indicate the presence of a distinct bubble plume and frothy disturbance on the water surface. This suggests that the torpedo was expelled using compressed gas or air and KSOT employed a dry launch method for its torpedo firing. During the firing, the submarine has its retractable optronic mast deployed with an electro-optical sensor, a radio antenna, and what appears to be a multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) antenna. In a statement to mark the milestone, Sjamsoeddin described the KSOT programme as a strategic step towards self-reliance in maritime defence and one that lays the foundation for future indigenously developed underwater systems, including unmanned underwater vehicles and autonomous underwater vehicles. (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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