Missile Defense & Weapons

In February, South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration said it restarted the selection process for the Korean Next Generation Destroyer program.

Japan’s Synspective says it secured a contract to support the country’s project to access SAR satellite data that Tokyo is acquiring through a PFI.

The U.S. Navy on Feb. 19 announced it had cleared the GBU-53/B Stormbreaker Small Diameter Bomb Increment II for initial operational capability.

U.S. Navy officials started shopping on Feb. 19 for an air-launched, long-range, anti-radiation missile that can be acquired in the hundreds every year.

The DOD is stepping up investment in North American germanium producers to strengthen supply chains strained by China’s critical mineral export restrictions.

European missile-maker MBDA has secured a backlog of orders now valued at around €44 billion ($52 billion), joint venture partner BAE Systems disclosed Feb. 18.

BAE Systems' sales growth generated in Europe is poised to accelerate after with the business there now surpassing the British defense company’s sizable Saudi Arabian activities.

Aging aircraft, potential new fighter buys and a long-discussed service merger leave the Royal Saudi Air Force at a strategic inflection point.

Speed and range are becoming more central to Europe’s weapons plans.

The U.S. Air Force is now planning for its first missile pad test launch of its next intercontinental ballistic missile next year.

An air-launched missile-carrying UAS developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems for DARPA’s LongShot project has been designed the X-68A.

BAE Systems will transform the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) II with dual-mode seekers to make the 2.75-in.-dia. guided rocket more effective at shooting down volleys of large numbers of one-way attack munitions.

Editors are joined by analyst Sash Tusa to discuss the fallout of the Munich Security Conference and Saudi Arabia's World Defense Show.

Saudi Arabia will acquire four Leonardo C-27J airlifters for maritime patrol, giving the kingdom a fixed-wing maritime patrol capability for the first time.

The head of the European Space Agency has framed Europe’s need to pursue lunar missions in unusually security-focused terms for the civilian organization.

The procurement of Safran Hammer bomb kits for Ukraine follows on from a broader strategic partnership between Norway and France that was agreed to last summer.

Safran says it has acquired French resilient PNT specialist Syntony as part of a broader move among to deal with the scourge of GPS jamming and spoofing.

Joint venture Quantum Frontline Industries says it has delivered the first Linza 3.0 drones made in Germany to the Ukrainian armed forces.

Rocket Lab will launch a hypersonic test mission for the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) no earlier than late February, the company announced Feb. 12.

Several European countries have signed an agreement to jointly develop long-range loitering munitions, the German defense ministry said.

British defense startup Rotron Aerospace is being bought by U.S. autonomous systems maker Ondas.

Israel says it has completed a series of flight tests of Rafael’s David’s Sling air defense system to validate performance enhancements.

Italy’s ELT Group is planning to explore the potential for electromagnetic spectrum analysis and cyber intelligence gathering from orbit through an agreement with Italian space logistics company D-Orbit.

The U.S. tanker fleet aircraft needs a new kind of air-to-air interceptor that can shoot down incoming missiles, an Air Force official says.

Countries in the Middle East and North Africa have invested heavily in small arms, munitions and complex weapons over the past three years, with Aviation Week data making it the largest market segment after military aircraft.