As part of modernization of the French Air and Space Force a contract to upgrade the avionics on French CN-235 tactical transport and logistics aircraft has been awarded to a consortium formed by Sabena technics and Thales. The 27 twin-turboprop aircraft will be upgraded with state-of-the-art avionics to allow integration into general air traffic, significantly…
Yesterday, German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht resigned, and today Chancellor Olaf Scholz appointed Boris Pistorius (62), the long-serving Minister of the Interior of Lower Saxony, as her successor. On Thursday, Pistorius will receive his certificate of appointment from the German President and take his oath of office in the German Bundestag. “I am very pleased…
A new era, changing era or – in German – Zeitenwende is needed in Germany. And it is needed on several levels: strategically and mentally. This was emphasised by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at last year’s Berlin Security Conference (BSC). German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed the dawning of a new era at last year’s Berlin…
Hungary was launch customer for the Lynx infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) developed by Rheinmetall on the basis of Puma expertise. The Hungarian Ministry of Defence ordered a total of 209 Lynx in seven variants in September 2020, delivery of the first IFV from Hungarian production is scheduled to begin this year. The first German-built Lynx…
United Kingdom will probably be the first nation to supply Western-produced main battle tanks to Ukraine. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a telephone conversation. Zelenskyy thanked him afterwards on Twitter: ” Always strong support of the UK is now impenetrable and ready…
Russia’s attack on Ukraine will soon enter its second year. This unprovoked attack has led to a reassessment and a change in security thinking across Europe and the world. It is a war in the middle of Europe in a time when most people thought, that an aera of peace, understanding and respect has started.…
European Defence Agency (EDA) launched a new project to improve technology on automatic targeting on January 13, 2023. The project also includes threat recognition and identification to enhance battlefield effectiveness. “Automatic target/threat recognition, identification and targeting for land systems (ATRIT) can help militaries in detecting, tracking, prioritising and selecting targets, whether off the top of…
Last week, Israeli company Rafael and German company Hensoldt signed a cooperation agreement to enable German Eurofighters for electronic warfare. Rafael announced: “Together, we endeavor to provide the Sky Shield airborne electronic warfare pod as a mature off-the-shelf Escort Jammer (ESJ) developed by Rafael, enhanced with the latest airborne electronic attack technology (KALÆTRON Attack) by…
Last week, Budget Committee of the German Bundestag released the funds for two projects. Accordingly, around 7.5 million euros are available for equipping soldiers with modern headsets, including hearing protection. Budget Committee approved as much as 97.4 million euros for procurement of “intelligent” ammunition for the German self-propelled howitzers 2000 (PzH 2000). For 7.5 million…
Uncertainties surrounding the supply of communications links vital to the survival of Ukrainian armed forces continue. No networked operations without Starlink, the dependence on this civilian provider is too big. At the same time, however, Starlink’s owner, Elon Musk, proved how uncertain this reliability is. After Starlink first enabled Ukraine to have a chance against…