defence-blog.com

also see https://nextgendefense.com/beta-technologies-military-logistics-vtol/

Star SAFIRE is a family of gimbal-mounted camera turrets, meaning the system houses its sensors inside a stabilized, rotating ball mounted beneath an aircraft’s fuselage, letting the camera stay locked on a target and produce a steady image even while the helicopter or fixed-wing aircraft carrying it maneuvers or vibrates. Each turret combines thermal imaging, which detects heat rather than visible light and lets operators spot people or vehicles through darkness, smoke, or light fog, alongside high-definition color cameras and, on some variants, a laser rangefinder or designator used to precisely measure distance to a target or mark it for a guided weapon.

That claim of superiority over foreign systems sits awkwardly alongside a body of independent reporting, including prior coverage from The Defence Blog itself, documenting serious and specific technical problems with exactly the capability Izvestia’s sources are now promoting.

A user posting under the handle nobita0114 published photographs on X showing a Japan Ground Self-Defense Force UH-2 utility helicopter in flight fitted with two bulbous, dome-shaped antennas mounted on top of its cabin roof, a configuration that had not previously been documented flying in public. The paired dome shape is the kind of detail that would immediately catch a defense analyst’s eye, since signals intelligence platforms, aircraft built to detect and locate the source of an enemy radio or radar transmission, commonly rely on two or more separated antennas working together to triangulate exactly where a signal originated, a direction-finding technique used across numerous dedicated SIGINT aircraft flown by multiple air forces worldwide.

Definitely a system to watch but it looks fragile as hell and expensive.

“We demonstrated that the same laser used to beam power remotely can immediately transition to counter a drone threat, giving Marines and soldiers greater flexibility without changing their operational footprint,” Grede said.

The Inferno RTC is built around a patented rotating turret design that mounts multiple munition barrels at fixed elevation angles on a spherical frame, continuously sweeping a complete 360-degree hemisphere as the turret rotates. When onboard passive sensors detect and classify a threat, the system’s onboard AI selects the optimal barrel and fires, with no slew-to-target delay because a barrel is already in approximately the correct position for any threat vector at any moment. Picket describes the result as a 40-meter (131-foot) assured-kill zone covering the full sphere around the system with what it calls zero aiming latency. Those claims have not yet been independently validated and should be treated as the company’s stated performance targets pending Phase II evaluation results.

Two of the U.S. defense industry’s most closely watched companies announced they are joining forces to compete for one of the Army’s most significant ground combat modernization programs, pairing a combat-proven Israeli-American cannon system with Silicon Valley’s most prominent defense technology firm.

Too bad they don’t have any AH-64s to work closely with them….

What Kürşat 3.0 represents at this stage is a seven-year development effort by a Turkish researcher producing a spray-applicable radar absorbing material with a headline attenuation figure that, if it survives independent scrutiny across relevant frequency bands and real-world application conditions, addresses a genuine and growing operational need.

The system carries 250 rounds of ready ammunition and covers a vertical engagement sector from minus 10 to plus 60 degrees, allowing it to engage targets from low-angle approaches through near-vertical descent profiles. The horizontal traverse covers plus or minus 150 degrees from the centerline, meaning the system has a wide but not fully 360-degree coverage arc from a fixed mounting position. For perimeter defense of a static installation, that geometry requires either careful positioning to cover the most likely threat axes or multiple systems deployed to provide overlapping coverage.

RENK America’s HMPT transmission is currently fielded across the entire U.S. Army medium tracked vehicle fleet, according to the company, a claim that, if accurate, means the same drive-by-wire upgrade pathway is theoretically applicable to the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzer, and M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System. The Bradley is the Army’s primary infantry fighting vehicle, with thousands in service. The M109 Paladin is the Army’s standard self-propelled 155mm artillery system. The M270 MLRS fires guided and unguided rockets and missiles including the Army Tactical Missile System at ranges exceeding 300 kilometers. Enabling autonomous operation on any of those platforms through a transmission-level kit that requires no vehicle redesign represents a force multiplication opportunity that goes far beyond a single platform upgrade.

A Virginia-based counter-UAS training company has launched a program focused on the phase of a drone incident that most training programs ignore entirely: what to do after the drone is already on the ground.

A Ukrainian company has expanded its FENEK acoustic detection system to identify Shahed-type drones at ranges up to three kilometers and cruise missiles at up to five kilometers, according to Militarniy.

The missions the M1 demonstrator is built to support are operationally significant. Hard-kill counter-UAS — physically destroying enemy drones rather than jamming them — is one of the most pressing tactical problems facing ground forces across every theater where drones have proliferated. Reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition extend the sensor reach of a formation without requiring a Marine to move into an exposed position. The vehicle is also envisioned as a loitering munition launch platform — putting precision fires into the fight from a ground vehicle without requiring a manned aircraft or fixed launcher. The multi-tube launcher array visible on the demonstrator’s flat deck underscores that the fires mission is not theoretical. That combination of counter-drone, reconnaissance, and strike capability in a single unmanned wheeled platform is a meaningful tactical package.

Well would you look at that, suddenly a Bell 505 goes from being an obsolete helicopter to being a cutting edge unmanned military cargo uav.

VICTS stands for Variable Inclination Continuous Transverse Stub, a steerable mechanical phased array antenna that ThinKom developed and patented for the satellite communications market. Where most phased arrays steer their beam electronically — shifting the signal’s phase across an array of fixed elements — VICTS steers mechanically, which allows it to handle significantly higher peak power without the thermal and efficiency penalties that electronically scanned arrays suffer at extreme power levels.

Three distinct platforms form the operational core of MASU’s capability set. The Ghost Shark, built by Anduril Australia in Sydney, is an extra-large autonomous underwater vehicle designed for long-duration submerged missions across vast oceanic distances. Unlike conventionally crewed submarines, it uses a flooded hull design that eliminates the need for a pressurized crew compartment, with waterproof zones protecting propulsion, navigation, and payload systems. In September 2025, Australia committed to acquiring dozens of Ghost Shark XL-AUVs under a A$1.7 billion program, with vehicles entering service from early 2026. The first operational Ghost Shark was delivered to the Royal Australian Navy in January 2026, following the start of low-rate production at Anduril’s Sydney manufacturing facility.