30 Sep 22. France Tests AVATAR – Mini Drone Armed with HK416 AR. The French Directorate General of Armaments [Direction générale de l’armement or DGA] has begun testing the AVATAR mini-drone armed with the HK416 assault rifle. AVATAR is a project led by DGA Land Techniques and is being developed for the needs of the French Ministry of Defense. In the future, such a device will be useful to French commandos in battles in urban conditions or special operations. There is still no official information on what stage the tests are, but from the statements of some French officers, it is clear that they are in the initial phase. As of now, the French have successfully attached the assault rifle to the drone. The desire of the French Ministry of Defense is that in the future AVATAR will hit targets at a distance of 100-150 meters. According to a head of the DGA, live ammunition tests will begin at the end of this year and the beginning of next year. This is not the first attempt by the French to “breakthrough” in the field of armed drones with military equipment. Years ago, for example, DJI’s best-selling Chinese drone Matrix 600 was tested in a similar configuration. However, the French specialists were unable to achieve the desired result. DGA sources that despite the tests, AVATAR still has difficulties with the stability of the rifle on the drone. There is another problem that will have to be solved – the recoil of the rifle during shooting. However, AVATAR is designed to carry more than 6 kg of additional cargo, which is the limit in the civilian Chinese DJI Matrix 600. This will give additional operational possibilities to the French. (Source: UAS VISION/DGA Twitter; Bulgarian Military)
29 Sep 22. UVision’s Order Backlog Increases Significantly. Recently-signed deals include the supply of the Hero-120 Loitering Munition (LM) to a Latin American country, and the supply of the Hero-30 LM to a NATO country, along with follow-on orders from the US market.
AUSA, Washington DC, 10-12 October, Hall ABC Stand 4105
UVision Air Ltd. – a global leader in aerial loitering munition systems of all sizes, for a variety of missions – has announced a significant increase in order volumes, including several contracts in both Europe and the Americas.
The Hero-120 Loitering Munition System is a mid-range (+40KM) tank-killer system that meets the complex requirements of the modern battlefield, such as those seen in the course of recent combat events in Europe. The Hero-120 carries out pinpoint strikes against anti-armor, anti-material and anti-personnel targets, including tanks, vehicles, and other soft targets in populated urban areas. The system’s high-precision capabilities are enabled thanks to its unique aerodynamic structure.
Along with very intuitive and easy operation, the system ensures destruction of targets and Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) with minimal collateral damage to non-participating civilians, while its wide range of multi-purpose warheads enables the operational user to effectively engage all targets.
“In the past 12 months, UVision has announced a number of contracts, among them for the US SOCOM, the US Marine Corps, a NATO country and now for a Latin American country,” says Major General (Ret.) Avi Mizrachi, CEO of UVision. “This is another milestone in strengthening the company’s global presence, demonstrating the confidence of defense forces in our systems. In order to support this growing demand and to meet delivery schedules, we have embarked on a process to increase production, including bringing forward the grand opening of the first UVision production facility in Virginia, USA.”
UVision will present the Hero-120 at the AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition taking place in Washington DC from 10-12 October 2022, along with its additional systems from the HERO family.
Hero-30 Loitering Munition System – a simple-to-operate system incorporating a high level of precision attack and abort capabilities, enabling infantry and special forces to initiate operations, as well as to respond to any enemy target or threat that arises, and eliminate it with extreme accuracy. The Hero-30’s advanced capabilities include striking targets with high tracking precision and lock-on, a last-second mission-abort, and re-engagement for a second attack attempt or change of target. Its versatile installment configurations (man packed, vehicle mounted or stationary) make it ideally suited to a diverse range of operational scenarios.
Hero-400 Loitering Munition System – a long-range, high-precision loitering munition system with a low acoustic, visual and thermal signature that can locate, track and strike static and
moving targets with high accuracy, and minimal collateral damage. With a combination of precision-strike capabilities, extended endurance of up to two hours, and a multi-purpose warhead ? including concrete piercing, high explosive, fragmentation and others – the Hero-400 enables the engagement of different types of targets with exceptional accuracy, and long-range and versatile missions. Due to its exceptional maneuverability, the Hero-400 provides an advanced mid-air abort capability that enables automatic re-entry into loitering mode, re-engagement, or return to the recovery area using a parachute.
HERO Training and Simulation System – realistic virtual training for the HERO series of loitering munitions. With three configurations – classroom, portable and embedded in the operational control unit – UVision presents a comprehensive solution for HERO operators, enabling a higher level of training flexibility. The classroom configuration provides a robust simulation solution with a rich and versatile scenario generator for multiple trainees. The portable and embedded field simulator configurations give HERO operators continuous hands-on training, at various levels, during deployments, maintaining the highest level of operational proficiency and readiness – anytime, anywhere.
About UVision Air Ltd.
UVision designs and manufactures combat-proven smart loitering munition systems, providing military organizations around the globe with precise and effective operational attack capabilities. Its innovative, cost-effective systems are based on cutting-edge technology and 30 years of extensive field experience by military professionals, engineers, and the company’s own management team.
UVision’s loitering munitions are designed with unique flight qualities for precision- attack munitions, integrating advanced airborne guidance and sophisticated navigation algorithms, integrated with C4I stations – thereby meeting the requirements of today’s modern battlefield for combat in complex and dynamic environments. ISO certified UVision is fully committed to providing turnkey solutions to its extensive network of partners and customers around the world, with high-quality service and swift support.
29 Sep 22. Hawkeye 105mm Howitzer with Direct Fire Capability. The Hawkeye 105mm Weapon System is a lightweight, modular, high-performance howitzer designed to be integrated with many types of combat transportation. By utilizing emerging technologies, it will set the standard for light artillery in the areas of firepower, tactical mobility, strategic deployability and command and control.
The Hawkeye will be a superior alternative to existing weapon systems such as the 106mm Recoilless Rifle, 120mm Mortar, and other 105mm artillery systems due to its low cost precision strike capability.The Hawkeye has incorporated a groundbreaking modular design.
Due to its lightweight and low recoil forces it can be mounted to many types of military vehicles including wheeled, tracked, rail, watercraft, aircraft and towed systems. This means that a performance based 105mm artillery system can be deployed to the land, sea, and air in ways that were never before possible.
Additionally, the Hawkeye has been designed to accommodate a full spectrum of barrel lengths if range is a primary requirement.
The Hawkeye’s modular, compact, and lightweight characteristics are attributed to the incorporation of soft recoil technology in its design. Soft recoil technology provides reduced carriage loads allowing carriage structures to be up to 50% lighter than conventional recoil systems. It provides an ergonomic advantage by keeping the breech rear of the carriage structure in all elevations and traversing conditions allowing for easy loading and firing of standard NATO 105mm Cartridges.
Automated digital fire control and semi-fixed 105mm cartridges allow rapid emplacement and minimal time to first round fire. Additionally, the Hawkeye Weapon System offers a 360 degree field of fire while mounted on very light weight tactical vehicles. The Hawkeye’s battle logistics requirements are much less demanding when compared to conventional 105mm artillery. This is due to the simplicity of the system’s design that reduces crew size and decreases maintenance times.
The Hawkeye is a game changing weapon system. Never before has a 105mm howitzer been able to offer the kind of firepower and mobility that the Hawkeye does while remaining lightweight and modular. Incorporate the Hawkeye into your order of battle and unlock your force’s true potential. (Source: LinkedIN)
28 Sep 22. No takers for surplus UK MoD CT40 canons. Sources at DVD said that the MoD had been hawking round its 400+ surplus Ct40 canons purchased fore the Warrior WCSP Requirement. The source stated that without a warranty it was cheaper and safer to source direct from the manufacturer CTAI in France. This poses a question. Why is the MoD not keeping the canons as spares for the Ajax and possibly Boxer Programmes? Does this signify the death rattle of CT40 for the UK?
28 Sep 22. Sherq Engineering setting its sights on turrets. A Pretoria based engineering firm is designing and producing custom built turrets for customers as far afield as Azerbaijan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE as well as numerous African countries.
Sherq, which is based in Pretoria but has decentralised manufacturing operations with its partners across the world, has been in operation for the last seven years. It has designed turrets that are uniquely South African in IP, but totally platform and weapons systems agnostic.
“We pride ourselves on working very closely with our customers,” explained technical director Rolf Dieterich, “we have developed unique features on our turrets that we can customise to their specifications or put into production immediately if they are standard.”
Three of the turrets were on display at Africa Aerospace and Defence 2022 last week. The KS1 is the basic gunner protection turret capable of being scaled up in size and ballistic protection to mount anything from a 5.56 mm weapon all the way to the much heavier .50 calibre machine gun or Russian KPVT 14.5 x 114 mm.
Then there is the KS2 one-man turret, which can handle 5.56 mm all the way to the 30 x 133 mm cannon as used on the Apache attack helicopter or mount the Russian 14.5 x 114 mm, while maintaining 200 rounds per minute in controlled fire.
The KS3 is a low profile turret with a very high rate of fire, carrying 500 rounds for the main weapon and 1 000 rounds for the co-axial machine gun, while the KS4 is a low profile, fully electric, stabilised high tech turret that is a rival for the current turret being produced for the SANDF’s long overdue Project Hoefyster IFV fleet replenishment project.
“We have learnt a lot in the development of these turrets that goes much further the engineering of them,” Dieterich told defenceWeb. “We have developed unique building blocks which have allowed us in many cases to actually improve the weapons systems that are mounted in them, adding features to them that they were not designed with and extending their life of service because our firing platforms are much smoother and gentler.”
Some of Sherq’s building blocks include improving muzzle breaks and buffering to allow for the KS3 and the advanced KS4 turret to be fully stabilised, meaning that the accuracy of the main weapon and its rate of fire is unaffected by the behaviour of the vehicle, which in turn does not need to slow down or come to a complete stop for effective accurate fire to be laid down.
The turrets are electric with manual back-ups should the electric circuity become disabled in combat situations. They can also be fitted with a wide range of options should the customer desire them, from the entire range of external sensors from thermal cameras to laser pointers and blue force trackers to automatic grenade launchers.
Sherq’s hallmark innovation and agility was necessitated by the nature of the market, said Dieterich. Most defence procurement deals are government to government negotiations, but increasingly there is a need not to be behlden to a single supplier in an ever changing and increasingly contested geo-political situation.
“Our business model throughout has been to foster a close working relationship with the customer. We support them to empower themselves to take charge of the product. We want to partner with them for years to come, not just chase on a once off deal.”
Just as the turrets can be fitted to carry western or eastern European systems and fitted to either kind of hull, so too is the pricing highly adjustable – and the level of localisation.
“We can make the turrets anywhere in the world, we comply with whatever level of localisation they want and we can either design a custom solution for them or go straight into production the very next day if it is something we designed.
“To make sure the client is absolutely certain of what they want, we give them the turret and the weapon system to test themselves and then we start modifying from there.”
The KS4 is a case in point, as there three different versions in Azerbaijan, Italy, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. (Source: https://www.defenceweb.co.za/)
28 Sep 22. Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) announced today that it has surpassed the production and delivery of more than 100,000 Precision Guidance Kits (PGK) for 155mm artillery projectiles. A U.S. Army program, PGK replaces standard fuzing for conventional projectiles currently in inventory, transforming them into GPS-guided, precision weapons.
“PGK’s precision provides a critical capability to artillery units, enabling forces to rapidly achieve mission success by reducing the number of rounds required to defeat targets,” said Dave Fine, vice president for armament systems, Northrop Grumman. “Throughout our 100,000 deliveries, we’ve maintained superior performance, surpassing the Army’s objectives for both accuracy and reliability.”
Recently, the company incorporated user feedback to add a built-in, selectable, safety feature that prevents detonation if the PGK predicts the projectile will exceed the selected miss distance while in flight. The company is also nearing completion of the necessary qualification events to implement GPS M-Code, which will allow PGK to defend against existing and emerging threats to GPS, such as jamming.
Once implemented, PGK will be one of the largest production programs within the U.S. Department of Defense to integrate this crucial capability that allows authorized users to acquire two signals from GPS satellites to achieve superior positioning accuracy.
Northrop Grumman continues to advance PGK technology to meet the Army’s future needs. These investments include creating PGK compatibility for the Army’s latest developments in extended range cannon artillery systems and projectiles as well as the ability to operate in GPS-degraded conditions.
28 Sep 22. Lockheed Martin to produce more early operational capability PrSMs. The $158m production contract seeks to expedite the Army’s missile fielding process. Lockheed Martin has secured the second early operational capability (EOC) production contract to deliver additional Precision Strike Missiles (PrSMs) to the US Army.
The $158m contract seeks to expedite the Army’s missile fielding process. At present, Lockheed Martin is focused on developing PrSMs to meet the requirements of the Army’s initial production and engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) contracts, awarded in September last year. The company is also working on producing additional rounds for system qualification tests, which are scheduled to be held in 2023.
The decision on the full-rate production of the qualified system is expected to be finalised in 2025.
The PrSM is an advanced version of the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles. The low-risk, long-range, surface-to-surface missile enables the Army to neutralise and destroy targets through indirect fire. (Source: army-technology.com)
27 Sep 22. UK Royal Navy’s HMS Kent ship completes test firing exercises. HMS Kent also launched its lightweight Sting Ray torpedo as part of the exercises. The UK Royal Navy’s (RN) Duke-class Type 23 frigate HMS Kent has successfully demonstrated its naval combat capabilities and weapon systems. The frigate returned to the sea this month after undergoing some maintenance and upgrades over recent weeks. The latest evaluations were aimed to prepare HMS Kent for its future deployments, including the Joint Warrior military exercise in Scotland next month.
As part of the test, the ship test-fired most of its weapon systems, as well as launched its lightweight Sting Ray torpedo.
Sting Ray is primarily launched from a Merlin Mk2 helicopter directly into the sea for keeping the underwater threats away from the frigate’s striking distance range.
Apart from Merlin, the torpedo can also be launched from a ship’s horizontal launchers, which use high pressure to push the torpedo out of the tube.
Under this test, the RN used a training variant concrete instead of a 100lb explosive charge to hit the target. The concrete was recovered after completing the test.
The Duke-class frigate also test-fired its 4.5in naval gun system to gauge the muzzle velocity of the shells after they left the barrel.
In addition, the ship tested its Sonar 2087 towed array and fired a machine gun on the ship, as well as on the Pacific 24 rigid inflatable boat.
The RN’s Culdrose-based 814 Naval Air Squadron was also integrated with Merlin’s crew to carry out other crucial training such as emergency landing, winching and a simulated crash on Kent’s deck.
HMS Kent weapons engineer officer lieutenant commander Will Jones said: “Following on from intense engineering periods, it is essential to fully test weapons and sensors, particularly ahead of deployment.
“It’s also important that ships’ embarked flights have the chance to properly integrate with the ship’s company.”
In July this year, HMS Kent completed a short complex overhaul to prepare it for future deployments. (Source: naval-technology.com)
26 Sep 22. DASA seeks innovations to help develop the first generation of Directed Energy Weapons. This new Innovation Focus Area aims to find novel ideas that will shine a light on the future of Directed Energy Weapons across Land, Sea and Air domains
- DASA has launched an Innovation Focus Area called, Making Science Fiction a Reality: Future Directed Energy Weapons
- Funding provided by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl)
- £500k in overall funding available for proposals which present ideas to contribute to the first generation of deployed Directed Energy Weapons
The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is pleased to launch an Innovation Focus Area (IFA) called Making Science Fiction a Reality: Future Directed Energy Weapons. This IFA is seeking innovations that will help contribute to the development of the first generation of deployed Directed Energy Weapons across Land, Sea and Air domains.
This IFA is run on behalf of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl).
Funding
£500k in overall funding is available for this IFA, with £50k-£200k expected to fund each proposal.
Do you have an innovation which could help develop the first generation of Directed Energy Weapons? Read the full IFA and submit your proposal.
Developing the first generation of Directed Energy Weapons.
Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) are systems capable of discrete target selection that emit laser or Radio Frequency (RF) energy as the primary means to cause disruptive, damaging or destructive effects on equipment or facilities.
The vision of the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) is to make Directed Energy Weapons a realistic choice for our armed forces, which can contribute to a decisive edge and sustain strategic advantage.
This IFA seeks proposals that enhance the performance and/or reduce the size, mass and volume of the system and subsystem areas associated with laser and RF Directed Energy Weapons. For example, innovations that improve:
- laser and RF Source technology
- system automation
- advanced power and cooling technologies that can be ultimately integrated onto military platforms
- beam control
- target detection
- battle Damage indication
- test and evaluation
For more on the competition scope, read the full IFA document.
Submit a proposal
Do you have a solution or novel approach that may help Dstl and DE&S understand the next steps to develop and introduce Directed Energy Weapons into service across Land, Sea and Air domains?
Read the full competition document to learn more and submit a proposal: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defence-and-security-accelerator-dasa-open-call-for-innovation/open-call-innovation-focus-areas#IFA035 (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
16 Sep 22. Update – ADEX 2022: Latest member of QFAB series adds laser guidance. The Azerbaijan Ministry of Defence Industry unveiled the latest member of its QFAB (also known as GFAB) series of general-purpose bombs at the ADEX 2022 exhibition in Baku on 6 September.
According to ministry officials, the new bomb – designated QFAB-250 LG – was developed in collaboration with Turkey’s Aselsan.
The QFAB-250 LG is intended to provide enhanced accuracy over the standard QFAB bombs through an applique kit that includes a laser-guidance system and control surfaces. The guidance system is fitted to the nose of the bomb, and control surfaces in the nose and rear.
Information released by the ministry claims a circular error probable of up to 10 m, and the ability to drop the bomb from a maximum altitude of 12,000 m (39,370 ft) and a speed of up to Mach 0.9 (1,100 km/h).
The addition of the guidance kit adds 20 kg to the 250 kg of the standard bomb. The QFAB-250 LG maintains the use of high-explosive fragmentation, and it measures 3,300 mm in length and 325 mm in diameter. (Source: Janes)
13 Sep 22. Lockheed Martin reveals work on new JAGM variants. Lockheed Martin is designing a series of next-generation Joint-Air-to-Ground Missiles (JAGMs), Janes has learnt.
JAGM-MR, a medium-range version of the missile, is in “proof of concept and evaluation” by the company, featuring increased range and sensor options compared with the legacy JAGM, and Lockheed Martin is considering additional variants such as maritime, extended-range, and short-range air defence (potentially for the US Army’s Initial Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense programme), a company spokesperson told Janes .
Since November 2021 Lockheed Martin has completed several test firings for the JAGM-MR solid rocket motor. The development is part of a “planned product improvement” of the in-production JAGM, designed to “proactively meet” customer needs, the spokesperson said. Lockheed Martin plans to perform a tactical test flight later in 2022.
The AGM-179 JAGM features the same warhead and ‘back-end’ of the AGM-114R (Hellfire Romeo), but added multimode seekers to engage on-the-move targets with precision guidance and fire-and-forget capability.
23 Sep 22. DX Korea 2022: SNT Dynamics unveils light-vehicle mortar system. South Korea’s SNT Dynamics has integrated its KM120 120 mm mortar system with a 4×4 light tactical vehicle (LTV) built by Kia Motors for a requirement in the Republic of Korea Army (RoKA).
The company showcased the new LTV mortar capability for the first time at the DX Korea 2022 event being held in Goyang from 21 to 25 September. SNT Dynamics has not yet officially named the product.
“This capability has a crew of just three – a driver, a mortar loader, and a fire-control operator. The RoK Army wants a light and mobile mortar system that can be deployed by helicopter quickly and easily,” said an official from SNT Dynamics.
He said the RoKA has a potential requirement for about 200 mortar vehicles, although the programme has not yet been framed by a tender.
In addition to sales to the RoKA, the company said customers in the Middle East have expressed interest in procuring the system. (Source: Janes)
23 Sep 22. Evotex turrets emerge from the shadows. Although having supplied numerous South African defence companies with design and manufacturing solutions in the weapons systems area for many years, Pretoria-based Evotex is a first-time exhibitor at the Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) 2022 exhibition this week.
On display at Air Force Base (AFB) Waterkloof is the company’s flagship Thebe (‘Spear’) dual-axis gyro-stabilised remote controlled weapon station. According to Gert Rossouw, chief executive, Thebe can be fired from land vehicles or patrol boats on static or mobile platforms.
“The recoil mitigating cradle can be configured to fit a range of weapons, such as 12.7 mm BMG and 14.5 mm KPV, and we have even fitted a 30 mm machine gun,” he explained. “The cradle also features a mounting mechanism to enhance accuracy and to allow for quick change of weapons.”
He said the weapon, with a rate of fire of 600 rounds per minute, can be operated for single or automatic firing, with an auto-tracking system ensuring high hit probabilities. It has an electric trigger and cocking mechanism.
The compact turret weighs 175 kg, which makes well suited for even a fairly light vehicle or boat platform. It traverses through 360°, with elevation from -20° to +55°.
Grenade launcher solution
Also on display is the Vikela, a 40 mm multi-barrel grenade launcher system designated RMB-40. Like the Thebe system, it is a dual-axis remote control weapon. The Vikela system at AAD 2022 is the six-shot variant, with Evotex also offering it in a three-shot variant. The RMB-40 can fire low, medium and high velocity rounds, as well as less lethal grenades and is designed to fire single shots or bursts.
Grenades are chambered into the barrel and can be reloaded in seconds.
Evotex offers an optical payload and sensor pack for its weapon systems configured to client requirements. In the case of the RMB-40, the optical pack operates independently from the turret due to the higher launch angle required for grenades. While the Vikela system can be fired from land vehicles and patrol boats, it is also suitable for mounting on a drone. (Source: https://www.defenceweb.co.za/)