Author: Michael

The Singapore Armed Forces plan to upgrade their training with virtual reality technology and a new digital firing range as part of their 2040 strategy.
The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) will purchase another eight F-35B fighter jets, bringing its fleet of fifth-generation fighters to twelve.
Singapore will receive the eight fighters from US manufacturer Lockheed Martin “by the end of the decade,” Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said in Parliament.
In 2019, Singapore announced the acquisition of four initial F-35Bs, scheduled for delivery in 2026.

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Understand the impact of the Ukraine conflict from a cross-sector perspective with the Global Data Executive Briefing: Ukraine Conflict

Rheinmetall has started delivering new automated reconnaissance systems to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as part of the German government’s efforts to support the war-torn nation.
The company is under a two-digit million-euro contract to supply the new systems, also referred as SurveilSPIRE, to Ukraine.

The new capability is being delivered in close collaboration with Estonian company DefSecIntel.

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On May 11, 2022, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense Twitter account highlighted the results of a deadly artillery assault on a failed Russian pontoon crossing of the Siverskyi Donets river. The tweet generated over 14,000 likes and nearly 2,000 retweets. Another tweet, posted by a Ukrainian soldier that same day, on the same assault, read […]
The post The Ukrainian Army Is Leveraging Online Influencers. Can the U.S. Military? appeared first on War on the Rocks.

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Teledyne FLIR SkyRanger R70 integrated on a Ford F-150 truck, along with the Cameleon V5 Enterprise and the TacFLIR 380-HD surveillance system. (Janes/Akshara Parakala)
Teledyne FLIR showed a counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) concept that integrates its SkyRanger R70 UAS, a TacFLIR 380-HD multisensor surveillance system, and the Cameleon V5 Enterprise intrusion detection software on a Ford F-150 truck at IDEX 2023, which was held in Abu Dhabi from 20 to 24 February.

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The QENF inaugurates its new coastal missile defence system at the Al-Houl Naval Base. (Qatari Ministry of Defence)
The Qatar Emiri Naval Forces’ (QENF’s) new coastal anti-ship missile system was officially inaugurated by Minister of State for Defence Affairs Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah at the new Al-Houl Naval Base, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 23 February.
It provided no further details but released a short video clip showing components for the MBDA Exocet and Marte ER coastal anti-ship missile systems lined up at the base for the event.

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The Colombian Army mounted its Rafael Spike ER missile systems on M966 Humvee trucks. (Roberto Jose García Hernandez )
The Colombian Army in February 2023 showcased its Rafael Spike ER anti-tank missile systems for the first time, having quietly purchased them in 2019 and receiving them a year later.
The army revealed the updated systems during a ceremony in Bogotá on 14 February. Military sources told Janes that the service acquired a small batch of three launch units and more than 15 missiles to reinforce defences against armoured threats.

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The last time an air-to-air missile (AAM) was used was on February 10, when a US Northern Command F-22 Raptor fighter used an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile to shoot down a car-sized object hovering over Alaska.
The same jet-missile combination destroyed the Chinese balloon on February 4. Although some dogfights have taken place in the early days of the war in Ukraine, the use of missiles is unclear.
AAMs began their operational career in the Vietnam War. Moreover, they were deployed extensively in the Arab-Israeli and Iran-Iraq conflicts.

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The entire world is responsible for maintaining the taboo on nuclear weapons, not just the United States. Putin plays the nuclear card again.
Since the early days of the war in Ukraine, the Russian leader has regularly tried to remind his adversaries in the West that he remains in possession of a large nuclear arsenal and that these weapons could be used if Ukraine, the United States, or other countries in the NATO crosses a Russian “red line.

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NFS U212 submarine. (OCCAR)
The Italian Navy’s Type 212 Near Future Submarine (NFS) programme has successfully completed its critical design review (CDR).
In a statement issued on 21 February, the European defence procurement agency Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation (OCCAR) said the CDR had successfully demonstrated that the design is mature and fully compliant to mission performance requirements and can proceed with the manufacturing, system installation, integration, and trial test phase.

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Lockheed Martin’s mobile rocket launcher plant in Camden, Arkansas, is preparing to ramp up production of the HIMARS system after its battlefield success in Ukraine spurred demand from other nations, group executives said Monday.
The High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) is now a widely recognized weapon after footage from the Ukraine war captured by mobile phone cameras showed the launchers in action.

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