Ferrari & Rahr, BrDef
Even if President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy find a way out of the debt limit debacle, AEI’s John Ferrari and Charles Rahr argue a compromise could…
Author: Michael
One of four Reaper UAVs so far delivered to the Netherlands. These will be modified to carry weapons, while a further six Reapers to be delivered in 2026 will have that capability already. (Dutch MoD)
The Netherlands is to arm its General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc MQ-9A Reaper medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), having originally acquired them as unarmed intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) assets only.
The Czech Republic signed a contract in August 2022 for three Heron 1 MALE UAVs. (Israel Aerospace Industries)
The Czech Republic has scrapped its decision to acquire medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in favour of smaller systems.
According to an Army of the Czech Republic (ACR) announcement on 22 May, the force will acquire 200 small UAVs rather than three MALE systems following assessments of Russia’s electronic warfare (EW) capabilities and the deployment of these platforms in Ukraine.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the subsequent political fallout that has altered Europe’s security landscape, Bulgaria is set to for a substantial increase in its defence budget over the next 5 years, according to a recent report from GlobalData, ‘Bulgaria Defense Market 2023-2028‘.
Bulgaria’s military expenditure for the period of 2019-2023 has decreased with a negative compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of -9.2%, dropping to $7.1bn (Lv12.9bn) over the period.
The Swedish Defence Material Administration (FMV) has procured eight sea-mobile artillery platforms with stabilising grenade launchers from Swedeship Marine AB.
Upon delivery, the Swedish Armed Forces will bring together indirect fire with good precision during operations at sea.
The contract includes training systems and spare parts. Delivery of training systems takes place in 2026-2027 and delivery of artillery platforms is planned for 2027-2028.
The sea-mobile component will enable quick regrouping to another location and provide new fire support in a combat situation.
The Guardian 30 unmanned turret displayed on the International Golden Group stand at IDEX in February 2023. (Janes/Sonny Butterworth)
Spain’s Escribano Mechanical and Engineering (EM&E) announced on 22 May that it has signed a contract to deliver its Guardian 30 remotely operated weapon stations (ROWSs) to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Armed Forces.
Indra will deliver three Lanza-N 3D radars to the Indian Navy in collaboration with its Indian partner company, TASL. The first of these radars has been delivered and is being installed on an Indian Navy destroyer. TASL is expected to build 20 more Lanza-N radars in India based on technology transfers from Indra. (Indra)
Spanish company Indra has begun delivery of the naval version of its Lanza 3D surveillance radar to the Indian Navy, in collaboration with its Indian partner company, Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL).
Indra unveiled the progress of the most significant cyber defence project in Europe during the International Defence and Security Fair (FEINDEF), held in Madrid between 17 to 19 of May.
The Madrid-based company leads the European Cyber Situational Awareness Platform (ECSAP). The company showcased its progress at a FEINDEF workshop. Experts and representatives from entities such as Nato and the European Defence Agency attended.
Indra sought to identify opportunities for future co-operation in the nascent domain of cybersecurity.
Estonia and Latvia are jointly procuring the IRIS-T air-defence system. (Diehl)
Estonia and Latvia are jointly procuring the IRIS-T air-defence system, the two Baltic states’ defence ministers announced in Riga on 21 May. Latvian Defence Minister Ināra Mūrniece and her Estonian counterpart, Hanno Pevkur, said the joint purchase would create a new ‘Livonian shield’ protecting their countries’ airspace.
Elbit Systems UK has been awarded a contract from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to provide a series of ground-based surveillance radar (GBSR) systems, manufactured and developed in the UK and Europe, to the British Armed Forces to support front line threat detection.
According to a 23 May release Elbit Systems UK will deliver 90 GBSR systems throughout 2023 and 2024, with a follow-on option of an additional 40 systems. The portable GBSR system uses digital signal processing to detect, track, and classify targets moving on or close to the ground.