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The International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF) 2023 showcased the future of armored vehicle technology, featuring Turkish industry leaders. This article covers many of the innovations on display, from the unveiling of medium-weight tanks Tulpar and Kaplan to anti-drone systems and mobile repair variants. The event also highlighted export successes, including ARMA II 8x8's strong foothold in the UAE and Kazakhstan, underscoring the global impact of these advancements.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has unveiled a large autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) called BLUE WHALE designed for covert intelligence gathering in the sea and coastal waters. The AUV can perform a significant portion of the operations of a manned submarine for several weeks without the need for operators on board. It is equipped with two types of sonars, a radar, EO sensors, and a satellite communications terminal mounted on a telescopic mast.

Hungary will soon operate improved Gripen fighter jets similar to those used by the Swedish Air Force, following the modernization of its leased aircraft to the latest version MS20 Block 2 version. This upgrade brings several improvements in sensors, weapons, and avionics. The Swedish Air Force first introduced this upgrade in 2016.

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.

Syria claimed yesterday that two surface-to-surface missiles launched from Israel struck the military airbase of Al Mezzeh, in a suburb of the capital Damascus, about 56 km from the Golan border. While Israel did not respond to this allegation, the Syrian claim may indicate Israel is maintaining a new precision strike capability, by tactical surface launched rockets, extending its deterrence capability throughout the region – both against adversaries in the close range, as well as the long range.

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."

Rheinmetall Defense has introduced another variant of its Skyranger air defense weapon system, the Skyranger 30 HEL - a mobile, hybrid solution mounting the company's 30mm AHEAD with a laser onboard. As a hybrid solution, the Skyranger 30 HEL is designed to thwart the full range of current and future airborne threats. The interplay of a 30mm automatic cannon, guided missiles, and a high-energy laser (HEL) results in a mix of effectors unique in this combination. The Skyranger HEL was presented in public for the first time at a counter-drone event held last year by the Swiss procurement agency armasuisse in Bure, Switzerland.

A unit of the Russian Guard Tank Army based in the Western Region received the first batch of T-90M tanks in March 2020. The tanks are the latest, most advanced upgraded versions of the T-90 family. The Russian Army expects to receive about 400 tanks, some will be refurbished and the others new built.

IAI has been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract by the Irregular Warfare Technical Support Directorate (IWTSD) of the US Department of Defense (DoD) to rapidly develop and deliver “ROC-X,” a version of the POINT BLANK hybrid-missile system, designed to increase the organic precision strike lethality of small tactical teams. The Point Blank weapon has already been tested in Israel, and IAI plans to deliver the first ROC-X prototypes and training to DoD for Operational Testing and Evaluation in FY-23.

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.

Heven Drones, a fast-growing Israeli drone technology company, has unveiled at ISDEF 2022 an integrated robotic solution combining an aerial multirotor and unmanned ground vehicle for land and air operation. The solution was jointly developed by Heven Drones and Roboteam, an Israeli tactical ground robotic systems provider. The companies began working on the project responding to a specific requirement for defense and homeland security applications raised by a customer. They are now exploring additional use cases for land and air robots to maximize efficiency in other applications.

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.

Israel Integrates "Iron Fist" Active Protection Systems (APS) in the 'Eitan' Armored Personnel Carrier and 'Panda' Armored D9 Bulldozer. A final test series completed the integration process, demonstrating successful interception tests in various challenging scenarios. The video documenting the tests depicts a new version of the APS, employing a smaller radar panel and protected launchers.

The Spanish electronics consortium Indra announced it will lead the CROWN research and development project to develop and equip European fighters and other aircraft with a combined, software-defined radar, communications, and electronic defense enabling future aircraft to dominate the radioelectronic space.