MISSILE, ARTILLERY, HYPERSONICS, BALLISTICS AND SOLDIER SYSTEMS UPDATE

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23 Feb 24. Rheinmetall supplying Skyranger air defence system on Pandur wheeled armoured vehicle.

As part of its ongoing military build-up, Austria has awarded the Düsseldorf-based tech group Rheinmetall a significant air defence project. Worth a figure in the mid-three-digit m-euro range, the contract encompasses the cutting-edge Skyranger air defence system. Delivery commences in 2026.

Under the project, Rheinmetall is serving as a subcontractor of GDELS, the vehicle maker tasked with upgrading Austria’s fleet of Pandur wheeled armoured vehicles, part of the Austrian Army’s push to improve its operational mobility. The Skyranger is a versatile turret solution that can be mounted on a variety of suitable vehicle platforms, including the 6×6 GDELS Pandur EVO.

Part of Austria’s Pandur fleet

– 36 vehicles – will be equipped with the Skyranger turret, giving them a mobile air defence capability. Skyranger combines state-of-the-art sensors with a high-performance 30mm automatic cannon and guided missiles, in this case the Mistral.

Coming in the wake of a Skyranger development contract from Hungary in December 2023, this first series production order marks a major market breakthrough for the innovative new system.

The Skyranger 30’s breakthrough in Austria sets the stage for further advances in Europe. Orders from Germany and Denmark are expected soon, and – following successful conclusion of the development contract – from Hungary as well.

In the words of Armin Papperger, chairman of the executive board of Rheinmetall AG, “We greatly appreciate the trust of our friends and partners in Austria. Developed in Switzerland by Rheinmetall, this system will make a decisive contribution to improving air defence capabilities, first in Austria but soon in other countries, too.”

The procurement of thirty-six Skyranger 30 air defence systems mounted on the 6×6 GDELS Pandur EVO places Austria at the forefront of mobile ground-based air defence in Europe. Following an extraordinary, comprehensive, internationally acclaimed situation analysis, the Austrian Army made the complete renewal of its air defence capabilities a top priority. Decided on in December 2023, the modernization and upgrade of Austria’s existing stationary 35mm systems to Skyguard Next Generation (NG) status was the first step. Now, following the decision to introduce the Skyranger 30, the capability gap in mobile air defence will soon be bridged as well.

“This order underscores once again Rheinmetall’s technological lead in short-range air defence”, declares Oliver Dürr, CEO of Rheinmetall Air Defence.

With the almost simultaneous introduction of a rapidly deployable 35mm solution, the Austrian military is now pointing the way in contemporary air defence. Progressive networking and integration of existing and higher-echelon systems will result in decisive strategic advantages.

Working in close cooperation with Austria’s exceptionally competent decisionmakers, Rheinmetall specialists designed a special lightweight version of the Skyranger 30 that can be readily integrated into the GDELS Pandur. The Skyranger 30 effectively counters current and emerging aerial threats to ground forces, enabling them to focus on their prime tasks.

A meticulously thought-out combination of different effectors, maximum mobility, a large elevation range and state-of-the-art sensors enable autonomous and networked operations alike.

The new contract highlights Rheinmetall’s role in reequipping the armed forces of Europe to contend with new threats, including stationary and mobile air defence solutions from Rheinmetall Air Defence, headed by Oliver Dürr.

22 Feb 24. Delivery of first operational A-Darters scheduled for December. Slow progress is being recorded with the long-delayed A-Darter air-to-air missile being manufactured by Denel Dynamics for the SA Air Force (SAAF), with delivery of trainer and operational missiles scheduled for later this year.

Armscor, in a briefing to the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans (PCDMV) on 21 February, stated that an industrialisation/production contract with Denel has been amended, allowing for work to continue.

This will allow Denel to deliver “trainer missiles” from June this year and deliver the first four operational missiles during December. Delivery of the “final contracted operational missiles” according to the Armscor presentation, will happen “during January 2028”.

Armscor in March 2015 placed a production contract with Denel. The contract called for the delivery of all operational missiles by October 2017. The Armscor presentation to the PCDMV has it “execution of the contract for industrialisation and production had stalled for in excess of four years” (primarily due to reasons of liquidity and subsequent resignation of key personnel at Denel Dynamics).

Last year, Armscor investigated alternative options to resuscitate the programme, and presented various options to the Air Force Command Council in July. A final proposal was presented to the Council in September 2023, which was accepted, allowing the programme to be ‘unlocked.’

“Denel is currently executing the programme with deliverables as agreed with the SAAF”, Armscor reported.

Last year, Armscor told the PCDMV that due to funding and skills constraints at Denel Dynamics it had developed a plan to have other local defence companies work with Denel to industrialise and manufacture the missile.

The A-Darter was developed jointly with Brazil under Project Assegai, with Denel Dynamics to deliver eight practice missiles, 21 trainer missiles, and 41 operational missiles to the SAAF. Continued delays mean the A-Darter is already seeing some obsolescence in certain areas.

While it waits on the A-Darter, the South African Air Force continues to use the interim IRIS-T missile, which was acquired from Germany in 2009. The Air Force does not have a beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile.

(Source: https://www.defenceweb.co.za/)

21 Feb 24. US Army to test missile defense command system with THAAD weapon. The U.S. Army plans to test this month whether its key command-and-control system can operate its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System, according to the service’s lead on air and missile defense modernization.

The Army originally developed the Integrated Battle Command System as the brains of a future air and missile defense system, intending to link it with a new 360-degree radar and potentially new launchers in order to replace the aging Patriot air- defense system component by component.

“When we look at our prioritization of capabilities that we want to integrate on the IBCS, THAAD is right there currently listed as a priority. I won’t get into where in the priority list, but it is absolutely there,” Col. William Parker told Defense News in a recent interview.

As part of the Army’s effort to connect a web of sensors and shooters on the battlefield, it spent more than a decade developing IBCS to work with radars like the Sentinel A4, Patriot, Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor and the Indirect Fires Protection Capability. The latter, which is still under development, is expected to be capable of defeating rockets, artillery, mortars, cruise missiles and drones.

IBCS experienced years of delays related to its increasing mission sets and technical problems in an initial 2016 limited-user test. The Army spent years ironing out software issues through follow-on user tests. The service held an initial operational test and evaluation in 2022 and declared it fully operationally capable in the spring of 2023.

The Army will hold a full operational test and evaluation for IBCS in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 and plans to field the capability to the first unit around the middle of fiscal 2025, Parker said.

Now that IBCS has cleared a variety of hurdles, Parker’s outfit — the Air and Missile Defense Cross-Functional Team, which is part of Army Futures Command — is working to integrate the command-and-control technology with a number of other systems, including THAAD.

The cross-functional team is scheduled to experiment with that integration at Project Convergence, which kicks off Feb. 23 and will run through mid-March. Project Convergence is a campaign of learning where the joint force experiments with capabilities it envisions needing against high-end threats and advanced adversaries.

The key effort is centered around joint integration of sensors and shooters, and the Army will push data through IBCS over to THAAD’s command and control in order to see how much bandwidth it can handle, Parker said.

“You have a whole lot of sensors on the battlefield, and the more ability that we have to take advantage of those for providing data, for providing situational awareness, whatever the case may be, is just going to help our commanders on the ground,” Parker said.

While IBCS is now a program of record and will mostly live under the purview of Program Executive Office Missiles and Space, the cross-functional team is continuing to work on “agile development” of the technology. The team is continuously looking at what software upgrades to the system are possible to incorporate in order to expand capabilities and then pushing those upgrades into IBCS. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)

21 Feb 24. Red Sea ballistic missile attacks trigger Asian interest in defences. The use of anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs) in the Red Sea has spurred interest in Asia about the systems used to shoot them down, experts and industry officials say – although China, with its huge ASBM arsenal, presents a tougher challenge.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) media releases from Nov. 27 – the world’s first documented use of an ASBM in combat – to Feb. 20 mention a total of 48 ASBMs and 12 interceptions in the Red Sea. Those releases noted that many ASBMs fired by the Iran-aligned Yemeni Houthis posed no danger and were not engaged.

On the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow this week, a senior executive at a U.S. defence contractor said the air defence activity in the Red Sea and in Ukraine had caught the attention of potential customers in Asia.

“What we’re seeing is demand increase for integrated air and missile defence here,” said the executive, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter. He said that included sensors to detect targets, the weapons to shoot them down and the command-and-control systems tying it all together.

Robert Hewson of Sweden’s Saab (SAABb.ST), opens new tab said at the air show that customers in Asia were now more interested in not just countering ballistic missiles, but also small, “low-end” aerial threats such as drones that have been launched in concert with larger attacks in the Red Sea.

“It turns out we can do this ballistic missile stuff,” Hewson said. “It costs a lot of money and shoots big expensive missiles, but it looks like it all works. What we’re not really able to do reliably is handle swarms of small threats that are coming at us … at the same time.”

CENTCOM said it did not have a complete tally of ASBMs fired, interceptions and interception attempts for public release. A U.S. defence official said whenever ASBMs were in range of a Navy ship, they were engaged.

U.S. Navy destroyers are equipped with the Aegis air defence system, with components from Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), opens new tab, among others, which is designed to shoot down aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles.

Aegis uses RTX (RTX.N), opens new tab subsidiary Raytheon’s SM-2, SM-3 and SM-6 missiles to intercept threats. A Raytheon spokesperson declined to comment on whether the company had seen increased interest in missile defence systems since the Houthi attacks began. A Lockheed Martin spokesperson provided public information about increased production of certain systems.

A spokesperson for European defence conglomerate MBDA noted at the air show that the British government had awarded it a 400 m pound ($505 m) contract in January to upgrade its Sea Viper air defence system to handle ballistic missiles.

A missile defence program director with direct knowledge of the Aegis system said a key takeaway from that conflict was missile defence ships must have “deep magazines”, carrying enough interceptors to allow multiple shots at each threat.

U.S. Navy Admiral Mark Melson, commander of Logistics Group Western Pacific, said at the air show the military was studying what lessons from the missile engagements could be applied in Asia and elsewhere.

“In a very competitive shipping environment, where we potentially have a scenario where weapons are getting used as a high rate, clearly, we want to understand what that sustainment challenge looks like,” he said, speaking about keeping U.S. warships’ missile defences supplied.

The Houthis have said all their missiles are domestically produced. Experts, the U.S. military and the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency say Iran has at least provided assistance, if not weapons themselves.

In either case, the ASBMs and targeting on display in the Red Sea are rudimentary compared with what China could bring to bear, said Ankit Panda of the Carnegie Foundation for International Peace.

“The overall system complexity of Chinese ASBMs, including the range to which they aspire, outclasses the missiles we’ve seen used by the Houthis,” he said. “I think both Beijing and Washington would do well to not overinterpret lessons about the viability and limitations of ASBMs from the last few months’ experience in the Red Sea.”

($1 = 0.7920 pounds) (Source: Google/Reuters)

21 Feb 24. R2S has broken ground on its new manufacturing facility in East Camden, Arkansas. The facility will produce the Tamir missile for the Iron Dome Weapon System and its variant, the SkyHunter® missile to be used by U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. allies. R2S is a joint venture between Raytheon and Rafael Advanced Defense System. Raytheon is an RTX (NYSE: RTX) business. This facility represents an investment of $63m for R2S and will create up to 60 new jobs in the region. The R2S facility will build on RTX’s existing production capacity at the Highland Industrial Park.

Company representatives joined Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and state officials to announce the project in October 2023.

“It’s an honor to join R2S for today’s groundbreaking, just as it was an honor to announce this project in October and meet with company representatives last summer at the Paris Air Show,” said Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders. “This investment will be a boon for the local economy: $63m and 60 new jobs. More than that, our world is a whole lot less secure than it used to be, and this facility makes our country safer. Thank you to all who made this announcement possible, and thank you to the team in Camden for helping our state stand out.”

“Today, we mark a significant milestone in the Iron Dome program – one of the most important and advanced air defense systems in the world. The establishment of the new facility is the result of strong cooperation between Rafael and Raytheon, who joined forces about 18 years ago,” said Pini Yungman, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Air & Missile Defense Division, Rafael. “We have built and maintained fruitful collaboration based on the shared vision of both companies, committed to the highest level of technological innovation. The United States is a true partner; and local production, which we have aspired to for many years, will strengthen the partnership while safeguarding the interests of all sides. I am confident that we are ready for further cooperation in the future aimed at ensuring the security of the citizens of Israel and America.”

“R2S is pleased to announce today that it’s almost doubling the capital investment for the project here in Camden, Arkansas from $33 m to $63 m, and it may create up to 60 new jobs. This increase represents the commitment by both partners to support this critical project for the USMC and to our allies around the world that depend on a reliable air defense system,” said Annabel Flores, deputy president of Land & Air Defense Systems, Raytheon.

21 Feb 24. Nigeria’s DICON resumes ammunition production as it continues expansion. The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) has resumed the production of ammunition and delivered four m rounds to the Nigerian Army last month as it embarks on an ambitious expansion drive.

DICON Director-General, Major General Aniedi Edet, last week said 7.62 mm rounds were currently being manufactured, and weapons are being assembled for the Nigerian Army, Nigerian newspaper Vanguard reported.

In November 2023, President Bola Tinubu signed the new DICON bill (The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria Act, 2023), which repealed the previous iteration of the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria Act and empowered DICON to operate, maintain, and control subsidiaries and ordnance factories to manufacture, store, and dispose of ordnance and ancillary stores and material.

“This will enable us to incorporate so many defence-related industries in Nigeria which have the potential and capability to meet the country’s defence needs,” Edet said. “This simply means that DICON needs to build a robust partnership with relevant government agencies and organisations to achieve its mandate.”

The new act also established the Defence Industry Technology, Research, and Development Institute (DITRDI) to “create a scientific and research-based technological foundation for Nigeria’s defence industry through the leveraging of combined, multi-disciplinary research from multiple military research institutes for application that leads to commercialization and the development of new military technology and capacity in Nigeria.”

The act provides a comprehensive regulatory framework for the regulation of the manufacturing, distribution, storage, and disposal of defence articles in Nigeria, according to Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity.

Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, Nigerian Minister of Defence, said the DICON Act will stimulate investments in the sector.

He was speaking during a November tour of the facilities of Equipment and Protective Applications International Limited (EPAIL), which manufactures bullet-resistant vests, ballistic helmets, guard booths (armoured) and assembles light armoured vehicles.

“The DICON Act that has just been signed into law certainly will help to develop more companies as EPAIL,” he said, adding another local company, Ajaokuta Steel, will contribute to more local defence production.

In September 2023, Nigeria approved a $1 bn partnership agreement with the Indian government to help DICON attain 40% self-sufficiency in local manufacturing and production of defence equipment in three years.

Meanwhile, US-based North Eastern Aeronautical Company (NEANY) is looking at partnering with DICON on defence equipment production.

Nigerian Minister of State for Defence, Dr Muhammed Bello Matawalle, said that DICON would explore new innovations and technologies with NEANY in fighting terrorism and other forms of criminality in Nigeria.

Matawalle said the discussions in December, while on a visit to the US, looked at the possibility of establishing assembly lines for the production of advanced military equipment to help in the fight against insecurity in Nigeria.

During his visit, Matawalle visited NEANY’s facilities and inspected a rapid deployment mobile radar system, unmanned surface vessel, drone ground control station, and compact biometric search-scan system, among others.

“The comprehensive tour of NEANY’s facilities, has provided me with insights into cutting-edge military and intelligence hardware capabilities and high-tech equipment of the US,” Matawalle said.

“This tour marks a pivotal step in fostering collaboration and integrating cutting-edge military technologies to strengthen Nigeria’s defence capabilities. We are committed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision of modernizing our armed forces to effectively address evolving security threats.”

The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria was established in 1964. It operates an Ordnance Factory in Kaduna, where it makes small arms and ammunition, including assault rifles, machine guns and sub-machine guns (in 2018 it secured an agreement with Poland’s PGZ to manufacture Beryl assault rifles locally). Its Special Vehicle Plant is carrying out the refurbishment and upgrade of armoured vehicles, and has manufactured locally developed Ezugwu mine-resistant, ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles for the Nigerian Army. (Source: https://www.defenceweb.co.za/)

21 Feb 24. HYDEF users narrow requirements for hypersonic interceptor.

OCCAR’s meeting studied Diehl Defence’s missile capabilities as the consortium narrowed down its requirements for the future hypersonic air defence system. Four of the five participating nations in the Hypersonic Defence (HYDEF) programme – namely Belgium, Germany, Poland and Spain (excluding Norway) – came to Nuremburg, Germany for their second, two-day core stakeholder’s workshop on the 13 and 14 February, 2024.

Launched in 2021, the HYDEF project calls for an endo-atmospheric (within Earth’s atmosphere) interceptor to eliminate hypersonic threats.

Led by the Spanish missile supplier, SMS, the consortium includes 14 companies from seven different European countries, including the Czech Republic and Sweden, specialised in air defence applications.

The first core stakeholder’s meeting commenced at the end of November 2023 in Madrid, where all five states participated in sessions aimed at fostering communication and understanding of one another’s requirements.

Under the attentive eye of Europe’s programme management body, the Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation (OCCAR), the countries narrowed down their national requirements for the future hypersonic air defence system as part of the conceptual design phase.

It was agreed that the next core stakeholder workshop will take place in June 2024 within the ongoing continuous alignment process between the stakeholders and the HYDEF consortium.

Over the next three years the HYDEF consortium will work on the first phase of the programme, the concept study, for which the main objective is to assess the feasibility.

This first phase will be divided into two main activities, leading to MDR (pre-feasibility) and PRR (feasibility or Phase A), plus a parallel activity on the early maturation of critical technologies and designs.

According to GlobalData, the impetus to acquire a hypersonic interceptor stems from the reality that the US, Russia, and China are all testing hypersonic technology, “generating fears of escalating global competition for weaponry that has the potential to render current defences inadequate.”

Likewise, another part of the gathering saw the attendees explore the capabilities of the IRIS-T air defence system in a factory tour held by the original, German equipment manufacturer, Diehl Defence.

Currently, Diehl’s IRIS-T surface-launched, medium-range (SLM) system has seen a growing number of adopters in the past year, the most recent customer was Slovenia at the end of January 2024. Others include Germany, Estonia and Latvia – with systems donated to Ukraine – throughout 2023.

The launcher unit is based on a MAN 8×8 truck with eight missile container launchers mounted at the rear. The arrangement of the missile container launchers consist of two banks of four missiles. (Source: army-technology.com)

21 Feb 24. Australian Army to introduce loitering munition this year. The Australian Army will introduce an unspecified type of uncrewed loitering munition into service “this calendar year,” said Assistant Minister for Defence Matt Thistlethwaite during ADM’s 21st annual congress in Canberra on Wednesday 21 February.

Thistlethwaite said that the ongoing perception that Defence “isn’t interested” in armed drones and uncrewed systems “couldn’t be further” from the truth. Across the Australian Defence Force (ADF), he said, “more than” 750 systems are in service with many-more undergoing trials and experimentation.

The decision to acquire loitering munitions for the Australian Army, Thistlethwaite said, had been informed by extensive trials and experimentation, including with AUKUS partners.

These trials, he added, are ongoing with the broader ADF examining a variety of systems ranging from small, attritable, and production-ready tactical uncrewed systems to expensive, long-range and armed examples optimised for operations in Australia’s region.

Thistlethwaite said that the decision to procure loitering munitions had been informed in particular by a trial conducted by the Army late last year, which focused extensively on how the Army can employ loitering munitions.

These trials aren’t just focused on tactics and operational concepts though.

A persistent challenge which is being addressed through trials and experimentation, Thistlethwaite said, is the need to ensure that prospective armed uncrewed systems comply with Australia’s obligations under international humanitarian law, as well as other domestic legal obligations, before they can be deployed operationally.

At the moment, he said, this means that individual legal reviews are required before an uncrewed armed system can be operationalised and achieve Final Operational Capability (FOC) with the ADF.

While this is necessary, it does delay how quickly armed uncrewed systems can be introduced into service and deployed operationally, Thistlethwaite acknowledged.

While Thistlethwaite didn’t disclose the model or configuration of loitering munitions being acquired, Australia has previously supplied 300 Australian-manufactured and developed DefendTex D40 loitering munitions to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Development of the drone was partially funded by the Australian Department of Defence through a series of grants.

(Source: Google/https://www.australiandefence.com.au/)

20 Feb 24. Seeking local production, Israel to buy new assault rifles. Israel plans to buy “tens of thousands” of assault rifles from local businesses as part of a “requirement to renew and strengthen the [Israel Defense Forces’] stockpile of weapons,” the Defense Ministry announced this week. The push to ensure independent production of weapons comes as the Biden administration says the U.S. is working on a deal aimed at securing at least a six-week halt to hostilities and releasing all hostages.

A spokesman for the ministry said the call for local weapons does not represent a policy change. The ministry noted “the procurement of American weapons will also continue.”

But retired Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi, chairman and founder of the Israel Defense And Security Forum, which works to promote Israel’s weapons production, has a different view.

“The defense leadership already understands that the State of Israel cannot afford to depend on others in terms of armaments,” Avivi said. “Besides what Israel has experienced since Oct. 7, the Russia-Ukraine war also strengthens this thesis.”

He noted Ukraine, which has relied on foreign aid, has been in a challenging position.

“Israel is paying the price for neglecting its own production capacity,” Avivi explained. “Now it has a desire to bridge over the gaps.”

“It starts with a tender for assault rifles, and will continue to shells and missiles,” he added.

Two domestic companies — Israel Weapon Industries in central Israel and Emtan from the northern part — manufacture assault rifles from the AR-15 family and may compete. Neither could immediately be reached for comment.

The new procurement is intended to replace rifles worn out in the war against Hamas. The chosen would join the current inventory, which includes, among others, the M16 and Tavor rifles. (Source: Defense News)

20 Feb 24. China unveils export version of attack helicopter. China this week unveiled the export version of the signature attack helicopter by the People’s Liberation Army at the Singapore Airshow here.

Though China has participated in the biennial airshow in previous years, this marks the first time Chinese state-owned companies displayed a military aircraft in an airshow outside the country.

China unveiled the Z-10ME at Airshow China 2021; some analysts have since compared it to Boeing’s AH-64 Apache.

The PLA has used the helicopter for military exercises near Taiwan and India. More than 200 Z-10s and its numerous variations are in active service with the PLA, according to the Military Balance 2023 report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank.

The attack helicopter was developed by Changhe Aircraft Industries and brought to the airshow by state-owned China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corp. and the Aviation Industry Corporation of China.

At this year’s Singapore Airshow, the company displayed the export version, known as the Changhe Z-10-ME-02, alongside rocket launchers, GR5 guided rockets and air-to-air missiles CM-502KG and TY-90. Chinese delegates have not granted interviews or scheduled any media briefings about the helicopter.

The helicopter can carry 23mm high-explosive incendiary ammunition and a 280kg drop tank. The aircraft is equipped with a mast-mounted radar, a missile approach warning system, and directional infrared countermeasure systems against heat-seeking (IR) missiles, according to Flight Daily News, the airshow’s magazine.

Previous iterations of the Changhe Z-10 have carried air-to-surface and larger air-to-air missiles such as the AIM-9 Sidewinder.

Aside from China, the aircraft is being used by the Pakistan military. In 2022, Pakistan Army spokesperson Maj. Gen. Babar Iftikhar announced government plans to procure Z-10ME attack helicopters to replace a previously signed deal for T129 attack helicopters from Turkey.

While the government has not disclosed the number of helicopters ordered and the price, the Pakistan military reportedly received initial batches of the Z-10ME last year. (Source: Defense News)

20 Feb 24. Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) successfully completed tests of several crucial elements of the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), marking significant progress for the program in its engineering, manufacturing and development phase.

Forward and aft sections of a Sentinel ICBM missile were evaluated through a rigorous test campaign at the company’s Strategic Missile Test and Production Complex in Promontory, Utah. The tests lower risk for the program with important data about the missile’s inflight structural dynamics. Data from the tests help engineering teams mature models, lower risk and ensure flight success.

The shroud fly-off and missile modal tests were part of the company’s engineering, manufacturing, and development (EMD), or design, contract for Sentinel. Northrop Grumman is closely partnered with the Air Force as the EMD phase progresses and key milestones are achieved.

Expert:

Sarah Willoughby, vice president and program manager, Sentinel, Northrop Grumman: “Working with the Air Force and our team of suppliers, we put key elements of the missile’s hardware to the test to mature our design and lower risk. The shroud fly-off test proved our modeling predictions are solid, while the missile stack test demonstrated inflight missile performance, helping validate assumptions and fine-tune models. These successes give us confidence as we continue progressing on the path to deliver a safe, secure and reliable capability to the nation.”

Details on Program:

The Sentinel program is a modernization of the nation’s ground-based leg of the strategic triad and is planned to be viable through 2075.

Northrop Grumman leads a nationwide team for Sentinel’s EMD contract. The team is responsible for designing the most technologically advanced portion of America’s ground-based strategic deterrent and is closely partnered with the Air Force to continue to mature the design while reducing risk as key EMD milestones are achieved.

Other advancements previously performed under EMD include stage-two and stage-one solid rocket motor static fire tests and hypersonic wind tunnel testing.

20 Feb 24. Diehl and KAI reconfirm plan to integrate IRIS-T missile on KF-21, FA-50 fighters. A previous deal to explore integration opportunities of the IRIS-T air-to-air missile on ROKAF fighters was signed in 2021.

Diehl Defence and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to “intensify” integration efforts of the IRIS-T missile onto the FA-50/T-50 and KF-21 Block II aircraft.

Detailing the MoU in a 19 February, 2024, release, Diehl Defence stated that the agreement would help in integration efforts of the IRIS-T missile onto the aircraft, following on from a previously signed commitment in 2021. In addition, the MoU covers the collaboration of working groups on marketing efforts for KAI aircraft equipped with Diehl Defence missiles.

The agreement also provides for both companies to investigate the potential to “modify or further develop” Diehl Defence’s missile systems for Korea’s own aircraft programmes. The deal was signed off ahead of the Singapore Airshow, a landmark defence trade event in the Asia-Pacific region.

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Diehl Defence and KAI have worked together for a number of years, beginning in 2017 with the start of the integration of IRIS-T into the KF-21 Block I fighter.

Test firings of the IRIS-T were reportedly carried out by KF-21 aircraft in 2023.

Platforms and technology underpinning missile deal

The IRIS-T guided air-to-air missile was developed as aircraft armament for air-to-air missions within a European cooperation programme, and was selected for use by Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden, before being acquired by militaries further afield.

The system has also been adapted for use in a ground-based air defence role, while testing by Norway in 2016 explored its ability to operate in a naval surface strike mode.

Diehl Defence is prime contractor in the IRIS-T programme and has produced the missile since 2005 with industrial partners from six European countries.

The FA-50 is a light combat aircraft manufactured by KAI for the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) and is a variant of the T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic advanced jet trainer. Development of the FA-50 combat aircraft began in October 1997, before concluding in January 2006.

Meanwhile, the KA-21 Block 2 fighter is a potential 4.5+/5th generation fighter under development by KAI, with work on the programme beginning in 2021. Working under the platform name ‘Boromae’, the ROKAF is expected to have up to 120 KF-21 fighters delivered by 2032.

In February 2023 the South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration announced the completion of the maiden flight test of the fourth prototype KF-21 Boramae fighter. (Source: airforce-technology.com)

20 Feb 24. Singapore Airshow 2024: ST Engineering debuts Next Generation Singapore Assault Rifle. ST Engineering has unveiled the latest iteration to its Singapore Assault Rifle – 21st Century (SAR 21).

Known as the Next Generation SAR (Next Gen SAR), the 5.56 mm weapon was unveiled at the Singapore Airshow2024, which is taking place at the Changi Exhibition Centre from 20 to 25 February.

The Next Gen SAR has been positioned as a weapon that features the advantages of a bullpup rifle in terms of compactness and better suitability for close-quarter battles in urban environments but maintains the flexibility to be fitted with conventional warfare accessories.

Besides a standard configuration, the Next Gen SAR comes in the sharpshooter configuration that is incorporated with a fire-control system that can detect moving targets, and a grenade-launching configuration that is integrated with ST Engineering’s STK40GL side-loading launcher. (Source: Janes)

19 Feb 24. Singapore Airshow 2024: ST Engineering debuts Ultimax 100 Mk 9 light machine gun. Singapore state-affiliated defence company ST Engineering has unveiled the latest variant of its Ultimax 100 5.56 mm gas-operated light machine gun.

The product, known as the Ultimax 100 Mk 9, is on display to the public for the first time at the Singapore Airshow 2024 defence exhibition, taking place at the Changi Exhibition Centre from 20 to 25 February.

A new feature found on the Mk 9 is its dual-feed capability. The weapon can accept 5.56 mm rounds from both NATO Standardization Agreement (STANAG)-compliant 30-round box and 100-round drum magazines, as well as ammunition belts.

“The Ultimax Mk 9 has an accuracy rate that is comparable to standard assault rifles, despite being able to dispense rounds at a higher firing rate,” said an ST Engineering representative who spoke to Janes at the Singapore Airshow 2024.

“In addition to this, the Ultimax Mk 9 has one of the lowest recoils in the market when compared to light machine guns with a similar calibre,” the representative added. (Source: Janes)

15 Feb 24. North Korea claims test firing of new anti-ship missile. North Korea claimed on 15 February that it successfully test-fired a new type of anti-ship missile known as the Padasuri-6 (Sea Eagle-6).

The test firing was conducted on the morning of 14 February and was witnessed by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, state-owned Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) disclosed in a statement the next day.

The weapon flew over the Sea of Japan (East Sea) for about 1,400 seconds before hitting a designated target vessel, read the KCNA statement.

According to further information provided in the statement, Kim expressed an intention to re-organise North Korea’s coastal missile battalions, given the missile test has been deemed a success.

Kim also reportedly stressed the need for Pyongyang to defend its maritime territories above the Northern Limit Line against any “adventurous attempt of the enemy navy”, presumably in reference to the Republic of Korea Navy.

In particular, Kim highlighted waters north of Yeonpyeong Island and Baengnyeong Island as being especially vulnerable to invasion by “enemy vessels” including destroyers, escort ships, and speedboats. (Source: Janes)

19 Feb 24. Leonardo eyes an Italian gun for Rome’s new Leopard 2 tanks. Italy will add its own, domestically manufactured components to German Leopard tanks it is buying, possibly including the gun barrel, a senior official at Italian firm Leonardo has told Defense News.

Italy has signed to buy the tanks to fill a capability gap as the Ukraine conflict raises the profile of land war, and aims to assemble the Leopards at a Leonardo assembly line in La Spezia, Italy.

“Under a Letter of Intent signed in December with KNDS there will be a significant ‘Italianisation’ of the Leopard 2 tank to meet Italy’s requirements and provide an industrial and management role for Italy,” said Leonardo’s co-director general, Lorenzo Mariani.

That means a Leonardo-supplied electro-optical sensor, software-defined radio, the command-and-control system and possibly the gun barrel are under evaluation, he said.

The Letter of Intent is part of the alliance announced in December between Leonardo and KNDS which will oversee Italy’s Leopard order of just over 130 combat version Leopard 2 A8 tanks.

KNDS is a consortium of Germany’s Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and France’s Nexter.

Mariani said he also expected Italy’s Iveco and Germany’s Rheinmetall to be somehow involved in the program.

The deal with KNDS also discusses Italian entry into the European Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) – a future tank plotted by France and Germany – as well as a €5bn ($5.4bn) Italian program, formerly known as AICS, and now redubbed A2CS, to build up to 1,000 infantry fighting vehicles.

The Italian army has drawn up its requirements list, and Mariani said he expected Italy’s procurement office to request an offer for a feasibility study very soon.

“We think it would be correct to give the request to CIO,” he said, referring to Leonardo’s land vehicles consortium with Italian firm Iveco, which is a major supplier of Italian military vehicles.

“CIO would then involve KNDS and probably other producers who have platforms now on the market. Having in mind as a priority a ‘from scratch’ solution, the urgency expressed by the Army merits considering modification and update of products already available on the market like the KNDS tracked Boxer or the Rheinmetall Lynx or the CV90,” he said. “We will evaluate both the hypothesis of a new product or something which takes an existing platform as a base. But in any case it has to guarantee significant national content, in the context of European cooperation.”

Mariani added, “We hope to get the request by the end of February and would have a proposal ready within 2-3 months.”

Mariani told Defense News a second letter of intent contained in the agreement with KNDS envisaged the joint evaluation with KNDS to set up of a “structural alliance.”

“In our intent it could be based on Europe’s only real joint venture, MBDA, in which stakeholders have placed their missile assets but have the ability to manage their ‘national eyes-only’ assets independently, when needed.”

Prior to being appointed co-director at Leonardo last year, reporting to CEO Roberto Cingolani, Mariani was head of MBDA’s Italy operation from 2020 to 2023.

MBDA has been held up as perhaps the best functioning European joint venture to date, and Mariani listed three factors which have made it a success.

“The first is that there were already programs shared by partners before it was set up, like Aster and Storm Shadow. The second is the firms involved really wanted the venture. You need political will but the industrial desire was key. Without that you cannot do it. And thirdly, the venture created a dominant champion, and success breeds success.”

Mariani added: “The MBDA model is applicable to tanks and in principle also to satellites and space services. In the space sector we have three nations, Italy, France, Germany and three big players – Thales, Airbus and Leonardo. There are already joint programs and one major client: the European Space Agency.” (Source: C4ISR & Networks)

19 Feb 24. Indian Air Force test-fires SAMAR air-defence system. The Indian Air Force test-fired its newly inducted Surface to Air Missile for Assured Retaliation (SAMAR) air-defence system during Exercise ‘Vayu Shakti-24′, which took place in the Pokhran range near Jaisalmer on 17 February. According to a press release by the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) on 17 February, the Indian Air Force test-fired SAMAR – along with the Akash surface-to-air missile weapon system – which destroyed “multiple aerial targets”. SAMAR was inducted into the air force in December 2023, when the service first test-fired at Air Force Station Suryalanka, located in the southern coastal region of India. SAMAR is a part of India’s short-range air-defence system, and it can intercept low-flying aerial targets, such as unmanned aerial vehicles, loitering munitions, and attack helicopters, up to a range of 12 km at a maximum speed of Mach 2.5. (Source: Janes)

13 Feb 24. On 06 February 2024, two years behind schedule, Team Leidos on behalf of UK MoD issued the Supply of Combat Footwear Contract Notice. The Supply of Combat Footwear [extracts from]

Short description: Team Leidos are proud to be delivering the logistics commodities and services transformation (LCS(T)) Delivery partner contracts (LCS (T)/0001 dated 16.4.2015) on behalf of the UK Ministry of Defence (the ‘Prime Contract’). Delivery of other parts of the LCS(T) contract are delivered by Leidos Europe Ltd (LEL) and other partners (together ‘Team Leidos’). This requirement is subject to the Public Procurement Regulations and respective advertising action.

The requirement is a complex one and the need to conduct a series of lengthy product testing phases during the tender process means that the overall length of the procurement is estimated to be approximately two and half years, from tender publication to contract award. This includes a full user trial which has been allocated a time period of one year.

This in turn means that prospective bidders will need to make a substantial up-front commitment into the manufacturing of samples required for the trial periods. It has been estimated that this could be within the region of £100,000.00 with, for example, the Full User Trial phase alone likely to require the following samples:

Boots Combat, High Liability – 100 pairs of each solution
Boots Combat, Patrol – 100 pairs of each solution
Boots Desert Combat High Liability – 50 pairs of each solution
Boots Combat Cold Wet Weather – 50 pairs of each solution
Boots Combat Jungle – 50 pairs of each solution

In order not to deter new entrants to the market and in order to allow the prospect of those up-front costs to be recouped during the lifetime of the contract, it is felt, following extensive market engagement, that a longer contract term is needed.

A seven year framework would allow a five year period between contract award and beginning market engagement for the future contract; assuming that all proposed option periods are taken up.

Estimated total value – Value excluding VAT: £70,000,000

Description of the procurement: The Defence Clothing team, which forms part of Leidos Supply Ltd. is considering the potential requirement for the supply of Combat Boots on behalf of the UK MOD, consisting of multiple lots.

Jungle Boots – Lot No 1

Jungle Combat Boots: Primarily used for patrolling and combat use, although the boots may also be used for more general duties within camp and the office space. The main four categories of jungle are captured in Annex A.1a to ITB specification DCPS 6933. Unisex full sizes 3 to 15, 2 width fittings medium and large. (UK sizes).

Options/solutions for outsizes: Size 16 plus (UK sizes).