Four Su-25 ground attack aircraft operated by the Armenian Air Force will be upgraded to the Su-25SM3 standard, as it seeks to evolve its capabilities after the recent clashes with Azerbaijan.
Sources at the Armenian MoD indicated to Shephard that the upgrade, agreed in late August with United Aircraft Corporation during the Army 2020 defence equipment show, will eventually extend to the entire Armenian Su-25 fleet.
The upgrade package for Armenia comes after Israeli-Georgian Su-25KM and Ukrainian Su-25M1 modernisation, starting in the early 2000s and 2011 respectively. Increased interest in Su-25 upgrades reflects the fact that onboard electronics on the
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The report comes as heads of industry bodies warn that the delayed defence spending plan has left smaller and medium sized businesses in stasis, unable to plan or seek out further investment.
Norway first scoped the requirement in 2022, and included it in a defence strategy document in 2023. The announcement of a new framework agreement appears to have breathed fresh life into the effort.
The effective use of the Shahed-136 in the Iran war has highlighted the need for countries to acquire a domestically produced, low-cost, long-range loitering munition, with the US, Turkey and European nations all at various stages of developing a similar capability.
The disagreement between French-German industry continues as both governments work to keep the programme alive and on track to develop and deliver a sixth-generation fighter jet.
The USAF is seeking on-the-move systems, subsystems or technologies capable of defending airbases and fixed and semi-fixed sites against small drone attacks.
Norway’s funding boost will help the country reach 3.5% of GDP on defence spending by 2035, with autonomous systems part of the long list of priorities alongside frigate acquisition and development of a new Finnmark Brigade.
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