Houthi’s New Naval Weapons Extend Their Reach 200 nm into the Gulf of Aden
The Iranians and Houthis have gradually extended the range of their weapons from tens to a few hundred nautical miles. Rather than employing these weapons on board ships to extend range, they can now reach beyond 200 nm, using the new ballistic anti-ship missiles, practically blocking the movements of naval vessels well beyond Yemen's coastal waters.
Thai Navy to Operate Hermes-900 on Maritime Surveillance and SaR Missions
Elbit Systems has received a contract valued at $120 million to supply Hermes 900 Maritime Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and training capabilities to the Royal Thai Navy. The contract will be performed over three years.
MSPO 2022 – Land Systems Update
The MSPO 2022 defense expo in Kielce, Poland, provided a view into the significant modernization and transformation the Polish Army is going through. Positioned at the eastern edge of NATO, Poland, and the Baltic states could be facing the brunt of a Russian onslaught if hostilities would spill beyond Ukraine. That's why the country is beefing up its military, modernizing its armed forces, and replenishing hardware handed over to Ukraine with new equipment.
Defense Brief Podcast: Israel’s Carmel Project Enters 2nd Phase
Israel's Project Carmel has entered the second phase of development last week, with the selection of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) as the lead industry to develop, integrate and demonstrate the next-generation combat vehicle and its advanced autonomy capabilities.
Elbit Systems of America to Provide Displays and Datalinks for Boeing Red Hawk (T-X)
Elbit Systems of America confirmed it will supply Boeing a number of products – including cockpit displays, datalinks, and embedded training capabilities for the T-7A RedHawk (T-X) advanced pilot training aircraft Boeing is developing for the United States Air Force. In the initial phase, Boeing was selected to deliver 351 trainers, over 10 years, from 2024 to 2034.
Israel Tested an Airborne High Power Laser Weapon System
Israel’s Ministry of Defense (IMOD) has recently completed a series of tests in which an airborne, high-power laser weapon system (HPL-WS) prototype intercepted multiple aerial targets in quick succession. The objective HPL-WS will be able to augment Counter Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar (C-RAM) capabilities such as the Iron Dome. By destroying enemy rockets at a much lower cost per kill.
Rafael Positions Sea Breaker as a Multi-Domain, Counter A2AD Cruise Missile
Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. unveiled today the Sea Breaker, a 5th generation long-range, autonomous, precision-guided missile system, enabling significant attack performance against a variety of high-value maritime and land targets. Rafael foresees Sea Breaker as a multi-domain weapon system capable of delivering lethal effects as an anti-ship, land-attack, coastal defense, and surface-to-surface cruise missile.
New Ballistic Missiles Displayed at the Houthi Military Parade
New ballistic, cruise and loitering missiles were shown by the Houthis in the recent military parade in Sanaa, Yemen. Among the new missiles were several types of precision-guided ballistic missiles, capable of attack at ranges from 300 to 1,400 km, carrying warheads weighing up to half a ton. All missiles are believed to be Iranian designed, they were likely delivered to Yemen as pre-assembled or knocked down kits.
Israel’s Iron Beam Lasers to Augment Iron Dome in the Lower Tier
Israel's 'Iron Beam' high-power laser air and missile defense system is moving forward, following today's IMOD decision to add hundreds of millions NIS to fund the full-scale development. More investment will be allocated for production and fielding. of the high-power laser system designed to intercept rockets, mortars, and UAVs. According to Rafael's CEO, Maj. Gen. (Res.) Yoav Har-Even, “the ‘Iron Beam’ system, is the most powerful laser system of its kind in the world."
Israel has an Urgent Need for Aerial Tankers
Israel requests Washington for urgent delivery of two KC-46A aerial tankers, to bolster its capability of operations at long ranges. While the IAF already has several aerial tankers based on the Boeing 707, they are too old and inefficient to support a full-scale operational campaign of the size and complexity the IAF requires. This episode discusses the options Israel has to support this capability
Rheinmetall Adds a Fire Support Vehicle to the Lynx KF-41 Family
Rheinmetall has unveiled a new member of the company’s Lynx combat vehicle family. Described as the mechanized fire support variant of the Lynx KF41 IFV, the Lynx 120, comprises a turret concept that mounts the proven 120mm smoothbore cannon with the Lynx KF 41 chassis.
Skylock Debuts the Sky Interceptor – Counter-Drone Rocket at UMEX
Israel’s C-UAS expert Skylock has unveiled at the UMEX exhibition in Dubai this week a new rocket-shaped hard-kill drone inhibitor countermeasure called Sky Interceptor, that can disable hostile drones at a range of 1,100 m’. A booster-extended range version can reach up to 3 km.
A New Chinese Loitering Weapon Appears in Thailand
Today, Chinese aerospace company ALIT unveiled a new type of loitering weapon at the Thailand Defense and Security 2022 exhibition. The canister-launched version on show in Bangkok has a larger and heavier warhead. The ALIT display at D&S2022 outlines two versions of the weapon. The FH901 has a takeoff weight of 9 kg and carries a warhead of 3.5 kg.
SOCOM Places a First Order for Switchblade 600 Loitering Missiles
AeroVironment announced today the receipt of a contract for its new Switchblade 600 loitering missile. The order was received from the Special Operations Command. The allocates $26 million for the delivery of weapons and their integration of the new weapon on specialized maritime platforms operated by US Special Operations Forces. Completion is expected by the end of 2022.
