Browsing: Technology & Weapons

On April 10, the Unmanned Systems Forces officially presented a next-generation anti-ship drone system known as the Alligator-9. The unveiling took place during the European Defense Industry conference, and marks a significant step forward in Ukraine’s naval and drone warfare capabilities. The Alligator-9 system integrates multiple classes of unmanned surface vehicles, each designed for specialized operational roles: The Alligator-5 ToD (torpedo drone) – A strike component consisting of 6–10 drones equipped with torpedoes, optimized for direct engagement of enemy vessels; The Alligator-5 EW (electronic warfare) – A supporting element comprising 3–5 drones outfitted with electronic warfare, reconnaissance, navigation, and mine…

Maksym Zaichenko, a serviceman of the 3rd Army Corps (formerly the 3rd Assault Brigade), has published photos on Facebook showing an interesting air defense system that has appeared in public for the first time. The system’s defining feature is its use of R-73 short-range air-to-air missiles, mounted in a twin-launcher configuration on the truck bed of a vehicle that seems to be an armored HMMWV, as indicated by the placement of metal arcs for mirrors and the wiper arrangement. There’s also an electronic warfare system for protection against FPV drone attacks. Apparently, the photograph was taken around summer, suggesting that…

Last year, russians began integrating machine vision into their UAVs as part of their efforts to counter Ukrainian anti-aircraft FPV drones. This technology enables their drones to automatically perform evasive maneuvers. Recently, new information emerged that russia has decided to scale up this approach and is now mass-producing evasion systems for its Zala drones. The key question remains: how effective is this countermeasure, and what percentage of drones will it actually help the russians save? It is worth acknowledging that, unlike previous russian attempts—such as theoretical concepts like detectors or electronic warfare systems, as well as simpler solutions like rear-view…

Although Canada was the first to raise concerns about the dangers of purchasing American weapons and is already reviewing its acquisition of 88 F-35 fighters, the River-class destroyers may cause even more problems due to the policies of the new U.S. administration. While the Canadian F-35 were contracted for 14.2 billion, henceforth U.S. dollars, the destroyers cost $77 billion to construct. The plan was to have 15 missile destroyers built from 2030 to 2050, with the project in general dragging on, with regular scandals, since the mid-2000s. The final design of the ship was presented in the late 2010s. The…

Seeing the current U.S. administration’s policies strain relations with allies, European nations are starting to pay more attention to domestic alternatives to American weapon systems, particularly in aviation and air defense. For example, in the realm of long-range missile systems, the closest European counterpart to the Tomahawk would be the French Scalp Naval, otherwise known as Missile de Croisière Naval (MdCN) or Naval Cruise Missile — a shipborne conventional cruise missile with a range of 1,000 km, derived from the air-launched SCALP-EG. However, its availability for export remains an open question. Comparison of Scalp-EG and Naval Scalp cruise missiles /…

Swedish defense company Saab has developed a new mobile anti-drone air defense system, dubbed Loke. Essentially a limit test of how quickly it can create new weapons, Saab hails this project, implemented in a mere 84 days, as a feat of cooperation between the Swedish Air Force, the Defense Materiel Administration (FMV), and the company itself. From the start, the concept was not about designing a system from scratch but rather assembling an effective solution from existing components, much like a Lego set. Counter-Drone capability in just 84 days The Swedish Air Force (@Forsvarsmakten), FMV, and Saab have evaluated a…

For the first time, the Ukrainian Air Force has shared its experience operating modernized Buk-M1 air defense system, upgraded under the FrankenSAM program. This initiative adapts Soviet-era air defense platforms to fire Western missiles, enhancing Ukraine’s ability to counter aerial threats despite dwindling stockpiles of original Soviet munitions. The modified Buk-M1, unveiled in 2024, is now equipped with the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missiles instead of the original 9M38 units. While the RIM-7 missile has a shorter range, 20 km compared to the 9M38 missile’s 30 km, it remains an effective solution against drones and missiles. More importantly, these missiles are…

After the Defense Forces began to successfully use anti-aircraft FPV drones against Russian reconnaissance drones such as Zala or Orlan, the enemy began to discuss and look for ways to protect their reconnaissance drones, because anti-aircraft FPVs became a very effective solution, thanks to which it was possible to shoot down hundreds of enemy drones. Eventually, the enemy began to invent countermeasures, first at the level of theory, thinking about whether it was possible to effectively defend against anti-aircraft FPV drones with the help of FPV drone detectors or low-power electronic warfare. Russian drone with insignia of the Air Force…

After French President Emmanuel Macron called for offering those who buy the Patriot a new SAMP/T NG, and buyers of the F-35 – Rafale it is important to find an answer to a very important question. And no, we are not talking about technical characteristics, because the fifth-generation fighter is still at a different level compared to even the very advanced 4+. And the capabilities of the new SAMP/T NG should only reach what the Patriot PAC3 has long been able to do, for example, shoot down the Kh-47M2 “Dagger”. And not even about the price, when the new Rafale…

Recently, a video appeared demonstrating the training of the crews of the British FV107 combat vehicle. Attention was drawn to the “main caliber” FV107 Scimitar, which should be equipped with a 30-mm L21A1 RARDEN automatic cannon as standard. However, an FV107 with a 14.5 mm KPVT machine gun “lit up” in the video. And here the question immediately arises: why would such a “downgrade” seem to be? But here everything turned out to be simple. The FV107 is equipped with the L21A1 RARDEN cannon, which has a very low rate of fire of 90 rounds per minute. For comparison, the…