Browsing: Technology & Weapons

The APKWS missile, which at a low price demonstrates high efficiency against Shahed-type drones and can shoot down cruise missiles, is being updated as part of the mysterious FALCO program – Fixed Wing, Air Launched, Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems Ordnance. Its details remained undisclosed for a long time, although it is clear that it is aimed at expanding the ability to destroy UAVs. But in the British BAE Systems, during the Sea Air Space 2025 conference, they slightly dispersed the mystery around the APKWS update and said that they had to make updates to the software of the fire control system…

The sixth-generation fighter project under the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program, led by Germany, France and Spain, received not only another portion of criticism from the French, but also hints that they may go their own way. This position was publicly voiced by Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier during a hearing in the French parliament, which took place on April 9, writes Opex360. And all the arguments that the head of the French aircraft company gave looked very similar to nails in an FCAS coffin. On the part of News Hub, we remind you that since December 16, 2022,…

Ukraine demonstrated the operation of the domestic Tryzub (Trident in Ukrainian) laser system for the first time – footage from the system’s tests was shown during the conference “European Defense Industry: Prospects for Cooperation with the Ukrainian Defense Industry”. The video was presented by the commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Vadym Sukharevsky, who participated in the conference via video link. Footage with the Tryzub laser system can be seen in the video from 1:03:33: This video demonstrated the operation of the Ukrainian Tryzub laser system. This video, which was probably filmed during the…

Ukraine is expanding the production of long-range weapons to strike targets directly on russian territory. At the same time, according to the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (FISU), russia is actively developing its anti-drone defense market. It is reported that between 60 and 80 percent of civilian industrial enterprises are now equipped with various systems designed to counter long-range drone attacks. These measures include physical defenses such as nets and shelters, as well as kinetic systems like anti-aircraft guns, interceptor drones, and even laser-based technologies. According to the FISU, a significant portion of the equipment used to protect russian facilities…

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…