CAVS rolls on as Denmark orders 129 vehicles
Denmark signed the Technical Arrangement for the multinational Common Armoured Vehicle System (CAVS) in April this year. The order means the country will receive its first vehicle this year.
A US Army soldier operates Spike Firefly during AEWE 2022. (Photo: Rafael)
The US Army has evaluated the Spike Firefly loitering munition during a live exercise, Israeli manufacturer Rafael Advanced Defense Systems revealed on 9 May.
Rafael and its US subsidiary RSGS demonstrated the system during the recent Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment (AEWE 2022).
During a two-day assessment, seven infantry squads were qualified in the operation of Spike Firefly by using inert rounds and an embedded trainer that simulated the operation as part of the Firefly control unit.
The squads also participated in force-on-force exercises within an urban area deploying Firefly munitions in different tactical scenarios to support infantry squad manoeuvres.
This portable VTOL miniature tactical loitering munition is part of the Spike family of precision-guided EO missile systems and is designed for precision strikes in close combat in any environment.
Spike Firefly includes an advanced multispectral seeker with an uncooled IR sensor, a high-definition CMOS day sensor as well as a proximity sensor allowing the system to detect, identify, track and engage on very agile targets.
The loitering munition also features an encrypted data link and a lethal blast fragmentation warhead.
Denmark signed the Technical Arrangement for the multinational Common Armoured Vehicle System (CAVS) in April this year. The order means the country will receive its first vehicle this year.
The Soldier-Kit system consists of detector, jammer, tablet and wideband antenna and is being evaluated as part of Project Flytrap 3.0 counter uncrewed aerial system (CUAS) exercise.
Arquus displayed the Drailer uncrewed ground vehicle (UGV) integrating the Akeron LP long-range missile at the Techterre technology demonstrator event ahead of trials in September.
The Czech Republic ordered 52 CAmion Equipé d’un Système d’ARtillerie (CAESAR) self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) in 2021 and added another 10 a year later. A cancellation of the programme would impact both the army’s capabilities and local industry which is involved in the manufacture.
Demand for ammunition continues to increase with manufacturing capability growing to match. Sweden have turned to the two supply lines of Rheinmetall and Nammo as part of a Nordic effort to meet demand. The Polish Government has also announced a US$700 million investment to boost manufacture of munitions.
Several US Army vehicle programmes were axed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s plans to transform the US Army, as outlined in the Letter to the Force: Army Transformation Initiative document. However, the new generation Abrams M1E3 main battle tank (MBT) was singled out for survival. But what will it look like?