19 Feb 25. Italy SAMP/T system deployed for Nato exercise. The exercise will see air defences of Lithuania and Italy function in a synchronised manner. Italy has deployed its SAMP/T long-range ground-based air defence system in Lithuania as part of the operational execution of the Rotational Nato Air Defence Model in the Baltic region. Lithuania is hosting a joint exercise with Italian Air Defence Battalions, which focuses on training for capability redeployment, integration, unified command and control, and the execution of air operations. The bilateral exercise serves as a practical implementation of a component of the Nato Integrated Air and Missile Defence Model in the Baltic region. It is also aimed to enhance the redeployment capacity and command and control unity while executing air operations. The SAMP/T system, equipped with Aster 30 missiles and the Arabel multirole radar, is designed to maintain effectiveness amidst various types of radical interference and electromagnetic jamming It helps safeguard personnel and vital locations from aerial threats, including cruise missiles and tactical ballistic missiles.
Lithuania Defence Staff chief Remigijus Baltrėnas said: “The Lithuanian and the Italian air defences function in a synchronised manner, exchange data, recognised air picture and execute tasks in the common Nato air defence system. This is one more step in implementing the Rotational Nato Air Defence Model.”
The exercise also incorporates the NASAMS mid-range air defence system. Italian and French fighter aircraft, currently conducting the ANTO Air Policing Mission in the Baltics, and the Lithuanian Armed Forces Air Operations Centre, also participated. Italy, actively engaged in its seventh Nato Air Policing Mission in the Baltic states, continues to contribute to the NATO Multinational Battle Groups and maritime patrols in the Baltic Sea. The recent Nato Summit in Vilnius endorsed the Rotational Nato Air Defence Model, aimed at bolstering the Nato Integrated Missile and Air Defence System and facilitating a smooth transition to air defence tasks. This model will operate concurrently with the Nato Air Policing Mission. It is claimed to set out the framework for Allies to rotate and integrate ground-based air and missile defence systems with additional fighter jets, beginning with Nato’s eastern flank. The Baltic Connection 24 readiness cycle in Lithuania marked the initial step in implementing this model, featuring the Netherlands’ Patriot ground-based long-range air defence system. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
20 Feb 25. UK supports US-led military exercises improving African security and stability. The UK Armed Forces are working with allies to deliver joint exercises with African partners to protect our people, prosperity and shared values. The UK Armed Forces have been one of the biggest contributors to two large-scale military exercises that are reaching their climax this week across the land and sea of East Africa. The United States is leading both exercises and has brought together over 2,000 personnel from the armed forces of 29 countries, including 22 African nations. The UK is responsible for delivering component parts of these multinational training exercises, under United States stewardship. The UK has been one of the biggest contributors to the Exercise Justified Accord ‘Field Training Exercise (FTX)’ which sees B Company 3 RIFLES exercise alongside a company from the US 173rd Airborne Brigade, a company of Kenya Army infantry, a troop of Kenyan Marines, Kenya Airforce fixed wing and rotary wing assets and, one infantry platoon each from Tanzania and Somalia. Exercise Justified Accord is a land multinational exercise being delivered between 10 – 21 February hosted by Djibouti, Kenya and Tanzania. It began with table-top exercises that have laid the foundation for full-scale live activity, which are now underway. The action-packed drills involve coordinating and executing ground attacks, calling in air-support, urban warfare, using drones, and breaching and clearing buildings, as well as medical evacuations. Cutlass Express is being conducted simultaneously, mostly in Mauritius, Seychelles and Tanzania. It is a naval warfare exercise which focuses on boarding various types of vessels at high speed to take command and control. The exercise challenges teams to complete scenarios which become increasingly harder and involve different types of vessels – from boarding small boats and dhows, to gaining control of larger vessels whilst under fire. In another example of the United Kingdom and the United States being long-term partners for long-term stability and security, Exercise Cutlass Express is taking place for the 15th time, whilst Exercise Justified Accord has been conducted in various forms since 1998. Further joint exercises with African partners are planned for 2025. Both exercises will ensure that the different forces involved work together to achieve combat objectives and prepare for real-life scenarios where they may have to collaborate quickly and effectively to counter threats in the region. Falling just after the election of the new African Union Chairperson, the exercises also support the African Union’s security objectives by preparing partners for United Nations and African Union missions in Africa. It serves as another example of the UK’s support for improved security not just in East Africa, but across the whole of Africa. These include the creation of the history-making, first-ever Kenyan marines and joint-training with the special forces of Nigeria and Ghana.
Olly Bryant, Defence Attaché at the British High Commission Nairobi, “said: “The UK is a long-term partner, helping to deliver long-term stability and security across East Africa, and we are proud to be working with our allies on delivering high-capacity and high-quality activity. We are also proud of our security partnerships with our partners across Africa, which protect our people, prosperity and shared interests – we go far when we go together.” (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
18 Feb 25. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. and CAE announced a long-term agreement for the development and production of the next-generation mission trainer for GA-ASI’s MQ-9B SkyGuardian® remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS). The contract with GA-ASI includes a firm order for 11 mission trainers, with the opportunity to deliver up to 50 devices over the next five years. The agreement brings together two industry leaders to enhance the training capabilities for operators of MQ-9B and builds on the long-standing business relationship between GA-ASI and CAE.
Recognized globally as the reference in synthetic training for RPAS, CAE leverages the latest visualization technology in the development of the next-generation MQ-9B SkyGuardian Mission Trainers. The trainers will employ the CAE Prodigy Image Generator to provide a highly realistic training environment to replicate flight operations. Powered by a state-of-the-art gaming engine, CAE Prodigy elevates training standards through an enhanced immersive training environment, high-fidelity graphics, and physics-based simulation. This cutting-edge technology enhances the realism and effectiveness of the training, ensuring that operators are well-prepared for their missions.
MQ-9B is the world’s most advanced RPAS delivering exceptionally long endurance and range, with auto takeoff and landing under pole-to-pole SATCOM-only control and will be able to operate in unsegregated airspace using the GA-ASI-developed Detect and Avoid system. MQ-9B includes the SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian® models, as well as the new Protector RG Mk1 that is currently being delivered to the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force. The platform is building a global operator list, with procurement contracts signed with Belgium, Canada, Poland, the Japan Coast Guard, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, Taiwan, India, and the U.S. Air Force in support of Special Operations Command. MQ-9B has also supported various U.S. Navy exercises.
“GA-ASI and CAE have worked together to deliver leading-edge training to our customers for more than two decades,” said Jaime Walters, vice president of International Strategic Development at GA-ASI. “Through this partnership, we will continue to enhance operational readiness and effectiveness for MQ-9B operators worldwide, and in particular, we see the new SkyGuardian Mission Trainers supporting our new Canadian customer. CAE’s comprehensive training solutions ensure that personnel are well-prepared to operate these advanced RPAS efficiently and safely.”
GA-ASI’s partnership with CAE is part of its Team SkyGuardian Canada initiative, which is focused on GA-ASI’s collaboration and investment with Canadian businesses following the Government of Canada’s selection of the MQ-9B SkyGuardian.
“This agreement underscores our commitment to advancing the capabilities of RPAS training and ensuring that MQ-9B SkyGuardian operators worldwide have access to the best training tools available,” said Marc-Olivier Sabourin, Division President, CAE Defense & Security, International. “Our knowhow, expertise, and experience put our customers on the cutting edge of training and readiness. Through our long-term relationship with General Atomics, we are proud to be the key partner of choice for training solutions involving remotely piloted aircraft systems.”
CAE is a leading provider of flight training and services and works in partnership with the world’s most advanced OEMs and defense forces to deliver integrated training solutions that ensure operational excellence and mission readiness.
18 Feb 25. Ukrainian soldiers test live-fire drills and close quarter battle skills on Interflex. Ukrainian soldiers have been carrying out live-fire and close quarter battle drills at an undisclosed location on British soil. They are some of the latest volunteers to be put through their paces on Operation Interflex – the British Army’s contribution to the training of Ukrainian recruits. The five-week programme teaches soldiers the essential skills needed to fight and survive on the frontline in Ukraine and is the largest military training programme of its kind on British soil since the Second World War. Recruits are taught weapons handling, battlefield first aid, the law of armed conflict, patrol tactics and rural environment awareness during the course. It allows Ukraine to speed up deployments, rebuild its forces and scale up its resistance against the Russian invaders and their North Korean allies. CQB combat takes place in confined, close-range environments, typically within buildings, urban settings or other areas where there is limited space for movement. The exercise focuses on engaging the enemy at very short distances, often within a few metres, where quick decision-making, agility and precision are crucial. Op Interflex goes beyond the basics, with personnel trained on UK-supplied equipment, teaching medics and a two-week course for Ukrainian military chaplains. Other training exercises include EOD training – explosive ordnance disposal – the detection, identification, rendering safe, and disposal of explosive devices. RAF instructors are also training Ukrainian pilots on their journey to learning to fly F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters. Pilots have received basic flying training, including aircraft handling and navigation, alongside English language training to assist their further instruction on F-16s with other Nato countries. It’s a multinational effort involving Nato allies and partner countries providing training at various sites across the United Kingdom. This includes Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Australia and Romania. Some 51,000 recruits have been trained since summer 2022 (Picture: Nato) The training was set up in the UK after Operation Orbital, the British Army’s long-term training programme in Ukraine, had to be paused when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Op Interflex had been due to come to an end last year but was extended until at least the end of 2025. (Source: forces.net)
15 Feb 25. Advanced new Taiwan jet trainer crashes in setback for programme. One of the Taiwan air force’s new, domestically developed advanced jet trainer aircraft crashed on Saturday after reporting engine failure, though the pilot safely bailed out, the military said.
It was the first major setback for the AT-5 Brave Eagle, made by state-owned Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (2634.TW) with a budget of T$68.6bn ($2.1bn). The first test flight in 2020.
Taiwan’s air force said the aircraft took off from the Chihhang air base in Taitung on the island’s east coast for a weapons training mission and then reported the failure of both its engines. (Source: Reuters)