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NATO's Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) program is broadening its scope with the inclusion of new locations, notably welcoming Finland into its expanding network. This follows the DIANA board's endorsement of a proposal to set up an accelerator and two testing facilities within Finland, aiming to foster the development of technology and innovation across both civilian and defense industries.

U.S. soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division, typically engaged in field exercises with Abrams tanks, Stryker and Bradley combat vehicles, are now exploring a novel virtual synthetic training environment (STE) indoors, as reported by Michael M. Novogradac from the U.S. Army Operational Test Command.

More than 4,000 U.S. service members, military civilians, and joint and multinational force members have united to explore the future of warfighting communications, operations, and maneuvers. Reporting from the 24th Theater Public Affairs Support Element, Spc. Jackson Gray details the ongoing Project Convergence Capstone 4, spearheaded by the U.S. Army Futures Command, which incorporates a sophisticated communications network to facilitate effective information exchange across various levels of experimentation.

Master Gunners at the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Moore, Georgia, recently participated in a Soldier touchpoint that brings future technology to enhance Soldier training, Nate Snook, Synthetic Training Environment Cross-Functional Team, reports.

A ground-breaking defence research project exploring the application of quantum technologies in defence in the areas of secure communication and navigation has successfully closed. QuantaQuest – Quantum Secure Communication and Navigation for European Defence - a 28-month EU-funded project under the Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR) held its final meeting in December 2023, after delivering on a variety of operational scenarios and developments.

Despite the war in Ukraine, the Russian defense industry continues to develop a new generation of combat vehicles including the Kurganets-25, the latest generation of Russian-made tracked armored IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle). Recently, a video was published on Russian social networks showing amphibious capabilities tests of a new version of the Kurganets-25.

The Russian Ministry of Defense released a video on January 2, 2024, showcasing an incident where a Ukrainian Leopard 2A6 Main Battle Tank (MBT) was targeted by a Russian Lancet Loitering Munition. The footage, while demonstrating the resilience of the Leopard 2A6's armor which prevented its destruction, showed the vulnerability of modern tanks to drone and loitering ammunition attacks in contemporary combat scenarios.

Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks has tested a Unimog implement carrier prototype with a hydrogen combustion engine in real operation. The Unimog is a test vehicle that is used to research the conditions under which hydrogen combustion can be implemented as a supplement to battery-electric and fuel-cell-based drives. On a decommissioned section of the highway between Bayreuth and Bamberg, engineers collected measurement data when mowing the verge, accelerating and refueling at a public gas station. The data will be used for further vehicle development. Employees from Autobahn GmbH accompanied the tests.

The U.S. Army last week announced three Other Transaction Authority agreements awarded to Robotics Research Autonomous Industries, Neya Systems, and Carnegie Robotics respectively, valued at $14.8 million to provide four prototypes from each vendor for the Autonomous Tactical Vehicle System, or ATV-S, program. Rae Higgins, Program Executive Office Combat Support & Combat Service Support, reports. This amount represents the base award. The acquisition plan includes options to procure a total of 41 prototypes built.

Yugoimport–SDPR, officially known as Yugoimport–SDPR J.P., is a Serbian state-owned company specializing in the manufacturing and trading of defense-related equipment. The company's product range is diverse, encompassing armored vehicles, artillery systems, light trainer aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and small-caliber ammunition. Some of its notable products include the Nora B-52 self-propelled howitzer, Lazar and Miloš multi-role armored vehicles, Lasta 95 light trainer aircraft, Pegaz drone, and Premax 39 river patrol boat.