Work to test elements of the Tempest demonstrator is now under way, including sled testing of the aircraft's ejector seat system. (BAE Systems)  Testing of components and systems intended for the Tempest Future Combat Air System (FCAS) Flying Technology Demonstrator (FTD) is accelerating at BAE Systems' Warton site and at the facilities of partners companies around the UK.  Work on the demonstrator was announced in July 2022 by UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, with a declaration of intent for it to fly “within five years”.  Industry executiv...

Bucha  has been assigned to the river flotilla based on the Dnipro river in Kiev region.  (Ministry of Defence, Ukraine)  Ukraine has commissioned its eighth Gurza-M (Viper-M) missile-armed riverine patrol boat into service.    The new boat, named   Bucha  (P 181), has been assigned to the river flotilla based on the Dnipro river in Kiev region, which was established in 2022.   Bucha  started construction at Kuznia na Rybalskomu (previously Leninska Kuznia) shipyard in Kiev in 2019 and was launched on 3...

A US Air Force F-35A flies over the Toronto waterfront during the 2021 Canadian International Air Show. (US Air Force)  The Canadian Department of National Defence (DND), which is reviewing its six-year-old defence policy, has received more than 1,500 public comments as part of the process, according to a DND spokesperson.    The DND is “taking into account these submissions in crafting” a defence policy update (DPU), the spokesperson told   Janes   on 8 June. The DPU “is currently under way and we look forward to releasing it...

The RNoN Ula-class submarine, HNoMS  Utsira  (foreground), and Fridtjof Nansen-class frigate HNoMS  Otto Sverdrup  operate together during NATO's ‘Dynamic Mongoose' anti-submarine warfare exercise in the North Atlantic in 2020. Under the defence chief's recommendations, Norway could expand both its submarine and surface fleets.  (NATO Maritime Command Flickr feed)  Norway's Chief of Defence General Eirik Kristoffersen has called for an increase in the Royal Norwegian Navy's (RNoN's) submarine and fri...

A screen capture of a video footage showing the merchant vessel, M/V   Gaja  , transiting northbound through the Bosphorus Strait from Saint-Nazaire, in western France, loaded with two FPB 98 MKI patrol boats, on 23 May.  (Yoruk Isik)  French shipbuilder OCEA has despatched the first two of 20 FPB 98 MKI patrol boats on order for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.  Video imagery captured by a Turkish independent ship spotter showed the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged merchant cargo ship, M/V Gaja, transiting n...

A Chinese SAC J-16 fighter flies in front of a USAF RC-135V Rivet Joint aircraft over the South China Sea on 26 May 2023. This is a screen-grab from a video of the incident. (US Department of Defense)  The United States has said that a Chinese Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) J-16 fighter aircraft conducted an unsafe manoeuvre near a US Air Force (USAF) Boeing RC-135V Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft on 26 May.  US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) said in a statement on 30 May that the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) J-16 “performe...

The US Capitol building in Washington, DC. (Janes/Marc Selinger)  The US Professional Services Council (PSC) is urging its member companies to prepare for the possibility that the US government could delay payments to contractors if it fails to resolve its debt limit crisis.  Contractors should stockpile cash and consult with their credit providers to ensure they can continue operations if the government suspends payments, David Berteau, PSC president and CEO, told reporters on 25 May.  The government is expected to run out of money in early...

HMS   Vanguard  is expected to return to operations later in 2023 following the completion of its post-refit trial period.  (Crown Copyright)    The UK Royal Navy's (RN's) nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), HMS   Vanguard  (S28), has finally departed Babcock International's Devonport Royal Dockyard facility in Plymouth following the completion of a much-delayed deep maintenance and refuelling programme.     An RN spokesperson confirmed to   Janes   that   V...

Lockheed Martin builds GPS III satellites for the US Space Force. (Lockheed Martin)  Lockheed Martin's Space business area plans to consolidate its five lines of business into three as part of a reorganisation, according to a 4 May announcement.  The new National Security Space business line will bring together the classified and defence programmes of the Military Space, Mission Solutions, and Special Programs units. No changes will occur in the Strategic and Missile Defense Systems business line, which works on strategic deterrence, missile...

USCGC  John Scheuerman  (WPC 1146) transits the Strait of Hormuz with an L3Harris Arabian Fox Mast-13 unmanned surface vessel on 19 April.  (USCG)  A US Navy (USN) unmanned surface vessel (USV) has transited the Strait of Hormuz for the first time, marking another milestone in the service's efforts to integrate unmanned systems and artificial intelligence (AI) into maritime operations in the Middle East.  The USV, an Arabian Fox Mast-13 vessel operated by the US Fifth Fleet's Task Force 59, completed the transit o...

UK shipbuilder Babcock is engaged in a dispute resolution process (DRP) with the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) over who should pay for unforeseen cost increases regarding the Type 31 frigate programme.  In a fiscal year (FY) 2023 pre-results stateme...

USCGC   John Scheuerman  (WPC 1146) transits the Strait of Hormuz with an L3Harris Arabian Fox Mast-13 unmanned surface vessel on 19 April.   (USCG)  A US Navy (USN) unmanned surface vessel (USV) has transited the Strait of Hormuz for the first time, marking another milestone in the service's efforts to integrate unmanned systems and artificial intelligence (AI) into maritime operations in the Middle East.  The USV, an Arabian Fox Mast-13 vessel operated by the US Fifth Fleet's Task Force 59, completed the transi...

The UK Royal Navy's eighth Type 23 frigate HMS   Montrose   is formally decommissioned from service during a ceremony held at HM Naval Base, Portsmouth, on 17 April 2023.  (Royal Navy)  The UK Royal Navy's (RN's) eighth Type 23 Duke-class frigate, HMS Montrose (F 236), has officially retired after 29 years of active service.  The ship was formally decommissioned during a ceremony held at HM Naval Base, Portsmouth, on 17 April.  Montrose was laid down in November 1989, launched on 31 July 1992, and commissioned int...

Japan's new OSA scheme will provide funding for allied countries to procure defence equipment such as radars, transport aircraft, and surveillance ships. Pictured above is Japan's third Hibiki-class ocean surveillance ship on its commissioning in March 2021. (Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force)  Japan has said it will launch a new credit facility to support defence exports. The Official Security Assistance (OSA) scheme – the first of its kind in Japan – will be aligned with the country's national security interests, the Ministry of Foreign...

HNLMS  De Zeven Provinciën  pictured in the Atlantic in May 2021 during Exercise ‘At-Sea Demo/Formidable Shield 21'. ASD/FS-21 served as a ‘graduation exercise' for the new MBMD capability.  (US Navy)  Some two decades after entering service, the Royal Netherlands Navy's (RNLN's) four De Zeven Provinciën-class air defence and command frigates (luchtverdedigings en commandofregatten: LCF) are receiving a package of improvements intended to sustain and enhance their operational capability into the 2030s.    Alo...

US Naval Forces Central Command transferred three Cyclone-class coastal patrol ships to the Egyptian Navy during a formal ceremony in Alexandria, Egypt, on 21 March. (US Navy)  The Egyptian Navy has taken delivery of three Cyclone-class coastal patrol ships from the United States.  The three boats, ex-USS Hurricane (PC 3), ex-USS Sirocco (PC 6), and ex-USS Thunderbolt (PC 12), were transferred from US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) to the Egyptian Navy during a formal ceremony held in Alexandria, Egypt, on 21 March.  As part of the tr...

HNLMS  Schiedam,   one of six remaining Alkmaar (Tripartite)-class minehunters in RNLN service.  (Michael Nitz – Naval Press Service)  The Ukrainian Navy's mine countermeasures (MCM) capabilities are set to receive another boost with the donation of Dutch Alkmaar (Tripartite)-class minehunters.  While visiting southern Ukraine during the third week of March, Dutch Minister of Defence Kajsa Ollongren confirmed plans to donate two Alkmaar-class minehunters as part of a military aid package that also included drone...

MHI will deliver at least one unit of its new laser system (pictured), developed to counter hostile UAVs, to the Japanese MoD in December. (Janes/Oishee Majumdar)  Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has developed a new laser system to counter unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and a manportable version of its cyber-security solution named Intersept.  Both the systems were displayed by MHI at the DSEI Japan 2023 show being held in Chiba from 15 to 17 March.  Company officials told Janes at the show that the laser system can destroy hostile UAVs w...

The US and Japan co-produce the Standard Missile-3 Block IIA ballistic missile interceptor. (US Missile Defense Agency)  William LaPlante, US undersecretary of defence for acquisition and sustainment, said on 14 March that he would like to see the US and its allies co-produce more weapon systems to speed up the availability of high-demand equipment.  Noting that US-based Raytheon Technologies and Japanese industry co-produce the Standard Missile-3 Block IIA ballistic missile interceptor, LaPlante said a similar arrangement could be establishe...

A US Space Force radome receives data from satellites at Kaena Point Space Force Station, Hawaii, on 14 September 2022. (US Space Force)  The US Space Force (USSF) is poised to award several contracts to commercial satellite communications (satcom) companies, who will provide proliferated low Earth orbit (LEO) satcom capabilities to US armed forces and allies, the head of the service's commercial satcom office said.  Officials from the USSF's Commercial Satellite Communications Office (CSCO) are in the midst of wrapping up the source selectio...