Asia Pacific

The drone attack on the Russian Navy's main Black Sea port of Sevastopol on 28 October represents a new phase in the modern drone war. According to Russian MOD, the attack involved nine unmanned aerial vehicles and seven unmanned strike boats. The Russians admit damage to one of their vessels and to one of the port barriers.

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.

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.

While large caliber weapons such as the M142 HIMARS and its M31 GMLRS rockets are making the headlines in the Russian-Ukrainian War, smaller, more agile guided rockets have evolved, utilizing the laser-guided light rockets. Initially, these weapons utilized standard launchers, but recent developments from Thales, BAE Systems, and L3Harris have optimized the use of such weapons by helicopters, special operations forces, and unmanned vehicles.

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.

When the orders were received on the 24th of February and units began rolling forward across the border, the operational forces lacked adequate planning and intelligence and did not prepare ammunition and supplies for the battle. They were unaware of the terrain and mobility constraints expected downrange and did not prepare the equipment to deal with those obstacles. Neither they had the foresight of an alternative' plan B' in case that 'decapitation' move failed.

Ukraine is running low on Eastern standard ammunition (152mm, 122mm, rockets). That is why obtaining long-range artillery from the West was the #1 priority for Ukraine. Once Ukraine deploys western 155mm artillery on their front line, obtaining supplies of suitable ammunition from neighboring NATO countries would be easier and more available.

Realizing they were not achieving their goals in the north, the Russian command decided to regroup its forces in the East of Ukraine to seize a land strip along the Azov and the Black Sea, an area that the Ukraine separatists that support Russia could control. The terrain in the eastern part of Ukraine is open, and the ground has dried since the winter enabling military formations to move off roads. Although most of the Ukraine army was deployed in this region, the Russian forces maintained numerical superiority.

The war between Russia and Ukraine tested many new concepts developed in the East and West since the late 20th century. Some of the most modern unmanned systems technologies currently under development are among these. In our analysis, we highlight some of the insights we gained during the first three months of this war

Until now, the war in Ukraine does not reflect the latest technology as analysts would expect. Since 2014 the Ukrainian army has been equipped with many locally produced weapons familiar to the Russians. But in recent months, Ukraine has obtained many western anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons that have surprised the Russians and caused the invading forces many losses. This review summarizes our impressions from the first three weeks of this devastating conflict.

The following satellite images were taken yesterday (19 February 2022). These recent images show a continued build-up of forces in Crimea, despite the Russian MOD announcement of units moving out of the peninsula. The satellite images were taken by ImageSat International (ISI) and show open areas around the township of Novoozerne on the western side of the Crimea peninsula.

A conflict erupting in 2022 is likely to involve the direct intervention of Russian mechanized regiments stationed in Belarus and East Ukraine, which are superior to the Ukraine forces. The outcome would be determined by Ukraine’s ability to endure a prolonged conflict. A strong Ukraine stands with the resolve of its new friends in the West, should assist Kyiv in facing the Russian onslaught.

A week after the second test of a missile with a hypersonic warhead, North Korea conducted another test flight of such a missile. According to the flight map released by the Koreans, the missile was launched into a ballistic trajectory. This was the third reported test of a hypersonic glide vehicle reported by North Korea. South Korea and Japan both detected this launch, saying a missile had been fired from North Korea towards the sea of Japan.

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.