02 Jul 13. Video footage of the 26 June armed forces day parade in Baku has indicated Azerbaijan recently acquired Soviet/Russian-designed Buk-M1 or M2 (SA-17 ‘Grizzly’) surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems.The video shows nine Buk launchers – a full battalion – of the medium-range SAM system. The Azeri Buk launchers appear to carry the original Buk (SA-11 ‘Gadfly’) radar, but have the newer 9M317 missile from the upgraded Buk-M1 and Buk-M2 systems. One Azeri media outlet referred to the hybrid system as the Buk-MB, which, according to IHS Jane’s data, is a digital upgrade of the basic Buk system conducted by the Agat Research and Development Enterprise: a Minsk-based state research and manufacturing organisation. (Source: Jane’s)
02 Jul 13. India has conducted two successful trials of the indigenous guidance and glide bomb kits it has developed for 100, 250, and 500 kg bombs, and development trials could be completed by the end of 2014. Vijay Kumar Saraswat, the outgoing head of India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has cited the trials as being among the successes of his tenure. The performance of the DRDO has recently been criticised. During a speech delivered at the organisation’s annual awards ceremony in New Delhi on 30 May that also marked the appointment of Avinash Chander as the DRDO’s new director general, India’s defence minister, AK Anthony, publicly challenged the organisation, saying that it must “perform or perish”. (Source: Jane’s)
01 Jul 13. BAE Systems successfully demonstrated a 5-inch 127 mm guided munition at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, impacting within 5 ft (1.5 m) of the intended target approximately 21 miles (36 km) down range. The test on 18 June was the first successful demonstration of a guided 5-inch shell since the US Navy (USN) cancelled the Extended Range Guided Munitions (ERGM) programme in 2008. The shell was a naval version of BAE System’s Multi-Service Standard Guided Projectile (MS-SGP), and was fired from a Mk 45 Mod 4 naval gun tube mounted on an M110 chassis. “This is significant. On [the] very first test we were able to fly this to target,” Darien Kearns, BAE Systems programme manager for munitions, told IHS Jane’s. Although finding a 5-inch round to provide the US Marine Corps with naval surface fire support (NSFS) has long been a priority for the USN, the June test was funded by the US Army, Kearns said. BAE Systems had three projectiles to test, but Kearns noted that “when the first shot was successful, the army asked us to save the other assets because they want to conduct a long-range guided flight out of a howitzer sometime in late 2014/early 2015, which would be the saboted version.” BAE Systems is working with ARDEC to develop sabots and to begin testing them in August or September this year, Kearns said. (Source: Jane’s)
04 Jul 13. Typhoon demonstrates air-to-surface capability with Paveway IV testing. BAE Systems has successfully conducted test-firing of the Paveway IV precision-guided bomb from Eurofighter Typhoon multi-role combat aircraft at an undisclosed location. Carried out in close cooperation with Raytheon UK, the field trials demonstrate further improvement of the aircraft’s air-to-surface attack capability. The testing was conducted as part of Typhoon’s Phase 1 Enhancements (P1Eb) programme, which enables the full capability of the Paveway IV bombs to be utilised on the aircraft for the UK Royal Air Force (RAF). Designed to further consolidate Typhoon’s position as a multi-role fighter aircraft, the P1Eb programme includes integration of a range of new weapons, including Paveway IV, EGBU-16, air-to-surface systems, identification friend or foe (IFF), as well as laser designator pod (LDP) into Tranche 2 aircraft of the partner countries. Pursued with funding of £458m from the UK, Spain, Italy and Germany, the programme is designed to provide the aircraft with seamless air-to-ground integration capability, as well as estab