Fire Support

The collapse of the first phase has led to a fires-heavy campaign. The Russians have used most weapon types in their arsenal, from volleys of long-range rockets, missiles, cruise missiles, and aerial bombing. The rockets, artillery, and missile barrages were devastating, particularly against infrastructures and urban areas. However, due to their distinctive signature and predictable rearming procedures, artillery formations often fell prey to superior intelligence and surveillance provided by the West.

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.

During the recent 'Guardian of the Walls' operations in Gaza, Israel's Defense Forces (IDF) employed swarms of unmanned systems to strike inside the enemy area to seek and destroy hidden targets. This was the combat debut of a new capability developed by the IDF that demonstrated the great value of manned-unmanned operations at the tactical edge.

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.

General Dynamics Land Systems–UK today unveiled a new variant of AJAX Family of Vehicles (FoV) based on the ARES troop-carrying reconnaissance vehicle. In the Overwatch role, Brimstone is the differentiator for high intensity, peer-on-peer warfighting under all weather conditions, excellent reach, high loadout, and salvo capability.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) announced today the signing of three significant contracts valued at over US$100 million, for the supply of Loitering Munitions (LM) systems to several countries in Asia. Orders for HAROP loitering weapons for land-based and naval platforms and for ROTEM miniature 'suicide drones' reflect a growing interest in the LM category.

A NATO customer has awarded Rheinmetall an order for modern artillery ammunition. The Group’s South African subsidiary, Rheinmetall Denel Munition (Pty) Ltd. (RDM), will supply several thousand conventional and extended-range artillery shells of the Assegai family (Base Bleed and V-LAP) as well as M92 Assegai tactical modular charges. Delivery commenced in December 2020 and is to be complete by May 2021. The order is worth around €25 million.

Nexter Munitions successfully fired the KATANA smart artillery ammunition and tested its flight control capability during a test campaign in Sweden. During the test, the electronic and electromechanical systems were exposed to extreme physical conditions of the 155mm gun firing, demonstrating the system's endurance to realistic firing conditions.

Modern software-defined radios offering virtually unlimited bandwidth enable the warfighter to determine position, navigation, and timing without the support of GPS, opens unprecedented opportunities for joint fires, employing RAFAEL's 'FIRE WEAVER' battle command capabilities as seen here at a battalion-level exercise held last year. Connecting the dismounted teams with all sensors and effectors assigned to the operation, FIRE WEAVER can immediately address every target and call for fire assigning the most suitable and available weapon, within the availability, operational parameters, rules of engagement, and legal restrictions. With this capability FIRE WEAVER supports the dismounted squad, far beyond the organic weapons that members carry with them.

Aerovironment announced today expanding its loitering weapon family, as it introduced the Switchblade 600 – the largest weapon in the family announced to date. The new weapon employs the tube-launched, collapsible wing, electric propulsion architecture as Switchblade 300, and its Blackwing variant. With longer range, extended mission endurance, and multi-purpose warhead Switchblade 600 expand the warfighter’s capability engaging larger, hardened targets at greater distances.

The Russian defense establishment's perception of the place of artillery - in general, and rocket Artillery - in particular, has undergone a significant advancement over the past decade, placing these systems at a central place on the ground battlefield. This emphasis was evident at the recent Victory Parade in Moscow and at the Army Forum 2020 defense expo taking place in Kubinka this week.

The Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS and Finland's Patria Oyj have formed a teaming agreement to provide turreted mortar solutions for future U.S. Army mortar programs. Under this agreement the team will promote the turreted mortar and produce the 120mm Patria Nemo, turreted, remote-controlled mortar system in the US.

Patria and the U.S. Army have entered into an agreement for a feasibility study of incorporating a turreted, breech-loaded 120 mm mortar weapon system in U.S. mortar carriers. The evaluation will assess the integration of carrier weapon platforms and fire control systems and the use of current U.S. 120 mm mortar ammunition in a breech-loaded system.

Lockheed Martin successfully tested today the long-range missile designed for the Army's Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) program. The program now enters a 14-month technology maturation risk reduction phase that will lead to the delivery of 30 missiles by late 2023 under an urgent material release.