PhantomBlu prototype. ( Blu Wireless)  PhantomBlu from Blu Wireless is the first mobile V-band self-forming and self-healing mesh network radio, utilising millimeter-wave (mmWave) technology to provide multi-gigabit per second network throughput with lowest probability of detection.  A V-band radio operating in 57–71GHz frequency band, PhantomBlu successfully completed live trials aboard moving platforms with a speed of 300 km/h, Macy Summers, president and CEO of Blu Wireless Inc, told Janes.  The system trials were undertaken by various mil...

The Royal Australian Navy Hobart-class destroyer, HMAS   Sydney  , firing a Harpoon missile during Exercise ‘Pacific Vanguard 2022'. Lockheed Martin has recently upgraded this class to enable integration of the Aegis Baseline 9 combat management system.  (Commonwealth of Australia)  Lockheed Martin has upgraded the design architecture of the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN's) Hobart-class destroyers to enable integration of the Aegis Baseline 9 Combat Management System (CMS) into these vessels.  The upgrades were de...

The Bundeswehr aims to operate a multi-orbit satcom space architecture comprising its future MEO constellation and GEO spacecraft as well as through utilising LEO services from its partners. Pictured is one of the current GEO COMSATBw spacecraft. (EADS Astrium)  The German Bundeswehr aims to develop its own medium Earth orbit (MEO) constellation consisting of up to 24 satellites, Janes learnt at SAE's 2023 Global MilSatCom conference held between 6 and 9 November in London.  Speaking at the conference, Major General Michael Färber, director o...

The UK is procuring the GM200 multimode radar under a government-to-government deal with the Netherlands. (Thales Nederland)  The UK has elected to pursue a government-to-government deal with the Netherlands for the procurement of a new Deep Find radar as part of a wider recapitalisation of the British Army's weapons locating capability under Project Serpens, Janes has learnt.  The move, which will see the UK join other NATO members in buying the Thales Nederland Ground Master 200 (GM200) multimission radar, is intended to accelerate delivery...

The Polish Land Forces will field SitaWare Frontline (pictured) and Headquarters. (Systematic)  Systematic's SitaWare Frontline command-and-control (C2) software will be installed in all of the Polish Land Forces' Abrams main battle tanks (MBTs), and the service will also receive the company's SitaWare Headquarters system, Janes has learnt.  The 18th Mechanised Division's M1A1 and M1A2 System Enhancement Program version 3 (SEPv3) Abrams MBTs and various support vehicles will be equipped with the mounted battle management system (BMS) – SitaW...

SitaWare Headquarters – seen here in use with Germany's Bundeswehr – is in widespread service. The British Army has acquired 1,400 new licences for the software. (Bundeswehr/Marco Dorow)  The British Army is expanding its use of Systematic's SitaWare Headquarters command-and-control (C2) software, the company announced on 1 November.  In total 1,400 new licences for SitaWare Headquarters have been acquired for use across the army.  A company spokesperson was unable to disclose the value of the contract.    The British Army had not resp...

Denmark is now the third country in Europe after Norway and the Netherlands to acquire the Thales Ground Master 200 Multi Mission Compact radar. (Thales)  Denmark will acquire five new Thales Ground Master 200 Multi Mission Compact (GM200 MM/C) radars under a government-to-government deal with the Netherlands.  According to the Danish Ministry of Defence's Materiel and Procurement Agency (FMI) on 31 October, the new mobile radars are for the Royal Danish Air Force and will bolster the country's air-surveillance capabilities especially when d...

Artist's impression of the Pohjanmaa-class corvettes. (RMC)  Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) has announced the start of production of the first Pohjanmaa-class multi-purpose corvette on order for the Finnish Navy.  A steel-cutting ceremony was staged at RMC's shipyard in Rauma, Finland, on 30 October.  Under its Squadron 2020 fleet renewal programme, the Finnish Navy is procuring four Pohjanmaa-class corvettes from RMC under a EUR647.6 million (USD707.4 million) design and construction contract awarded in 2019, with the build to be carried o...

MBDA Deutschland is developing the MILOS-P laser for infantry and for installation on an unmanned ground vehicle. (MBDA)  MBDA Deutschland is developing the Modular Integrated Laser Optic System (MILOS) for the German Army, the company's head of laser solutions, Doris Laarmann, told international journalists including Janes visiting her company on 27 October.  The system was tested during a campaign at the Bundeswehr's Wehrtechnische Dienststelle für Waffen und Munition (WTD) 91 weapon and ammunition technical centre in Meppen in 2022 against...

A SpaceX Falcon 9 loaded with a Tranche 0 payload variant for the Space Development Agency's Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) sits on the launch pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. (Space Development Agency)  The US Department of Defense (DoD) has closed the second of two prototype development contracts for the next phase of the Space Development Agency's (SDA's) Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) development, bringing the total cost of both contracts to USD1.3 billion, according to a 30 October age...

Dstl alongside the Royal Navy and British Army conducted a beach landing exercise with a multitude of vessels including the Madfox unmanned surface vessel, to shape AI development. (Crown Copyright)  The UK held a large beach landing exercise in Hampshire to shape the development of artificial intelligence (AI) for the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the authority announced on 31 October.  Held over five days, the maritime exercise involved 130 personnel, 13 vessels, multiple unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), a light aircraft, and more than 50 cameras...

Frequentis C4i has secured a contract to provide its VOICE C2 system to Lockheed Martin to support the Joint Air Battle Management System that will be delivered under the second tranche of Project Air 6500 Phase 1. (Lockheed Martin Australia)  Melbourne-based C4i, a part of Austrian communications and information systems company Frequentis, has secured a contract to provide its internet protocol communications system to Lockheed Martin for the Australian Defence Force's (ADF's) Project Air 6500.  Frequentis C4i will provide its Voice Over Int...

This schematic shows components of the proposed Defense of Guam (DoG) programme to neutralise incoming ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missile threats. (Janes)  The United States has embarked on a plan to protect its assets and those of its allies in the Indo-Pacific amid escalating regional security threats. Central to this plan is securing the base of the US 7th Fleet in Guam by providing a multilayered air-defence shield against threats ranging from ballistic missiles to hypersonic glide weapons and cruise missiles.  As part of the US de...

Healy  is one of only two US icebreakers working in polar regions.  (Janes/Michael Fabey)  The US Coast Guard (USCG) released its Arctic Strategic Outlook Implementation Plan on 26 October to make the necessary acquisitions and force improvements to accommodate national requirements detailed in the 2022 National Strategy for the Arctic Region (NSAR).  The plan includes new USCG icebreakers, aviation assets, communication upgrades, and other platforms, systems, or programmes meant to improve the force's operations in the Arctic....

Dedrone displays the new version of the DedroneDefender jammer rifle at the Association of the United States Army's annual conference. (Alejandro Sanchez)  More than 200 Dedrone FieldKits, a simplified version of DedroneTactical counter-unmanned aerial system (cUAS), are deployed in Ukraine, an executive told Janes on 25 October.  The kits are a basic version of the DedroneTractical, which include a radio frequency (RF) sensor, a ruggedised laptop, a mast, two batteries, and the ability to connect to a satellite network “for continuous in-th...

Armenia has ordered three GM200 tactical, medium-range air-defence radars from Thales. (Thales)  Armenia is acquiring three tactical, medium-range air-defence radars from Thales and night-vision binoculars from Safran in a bid to strengthen its capabilities and territorial integrity.  The deal, announced on 23 October and signed between Armenian Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan and his French counterpart, Sébastien Lecornu, involves the supply of Thales Ground Master 200 (GM200) tactical air-defence radars.    The French Armed Forces w...

DroneShield has integrated the RPS-82 4D AESA radar into its DroneSentry counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) suite (pictured). (DroneShield)  Australian company DroneShield has integrated the RPS-82 4D active electronically scanned array (AESA) pulse-Doppler radar developed by Israel-based DRS RADA Technologies into its DroneSentry counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) suite.  The RPS-82 will provide DroneSentry operators with an enhanced range for detection, classification, and tracking of hostile unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Dro...

Elbit Systems Sweden will oversee the roll-out of LSS Mark for the Swedish Army. In 2022 the latest configuration of the tactical C2 system, LSS Mark 2.0, was installed in the Skaraborg Regiment's CV90 armoured combat vehicles and Mercedes-Benz G-Class vehicles for testing. (Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV))  Elbit Systems Sweden has been selected as the integration partner for the Swedish Army's digitalisation programme LSS Mark, the company announced on 25 October.  LSS Mark is a new tactical command-and-control (C2) system bei...

Under a recently announced agreement, Australian company Sentient will provide its Visual Detection and Ranging system for Shield AI's V-BAT unmanned aerial vehicle (pictured) to enhance the surveillance capabilities of the platform. (Shield AI)  Australia's Sentient Vision Systems has signed an agreement with US-based Shield AI to provide its wide-area motion imagery (WAMI) system for the latter's V-BAT unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).  Under the agreement, Sentient will supply its Visual Detection and Ranging (ViDAR) system, which will work a...

Duta Technology showcases its Wolf-II handheld drone jammer at ADEX 2023 in Seoul. (Janes/Amit Kalra)  South Korean company Duta Technology displayed its Wolf-II handheld counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) at the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2023, which ended on 22 October.    Speaking to   Janes  , Junsu Choi, managing director of Duta Technology, said the Wolf-II is the second generation of the Wolf handheld C-UAS and provides a soft-kill solution by disrupting command-and-control (C2) link...