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Traditionally, wars are fought over land, sea, and in the air. Future conflicts will no longer exist solely in those domains: the armed forces will encounter conflict in space, cyberspace and simultaneously across all five domains. How will the U.S. Army be ready for multi-domain operations? Test for multi-domain operations — using distributed live, virtual and constructive simulations. Deirdre Cascardo reports.

Russian Company RosElectronics, part of the Russian State Company Rostec Corporation, unveiled a groundbreaking compact transponder designed for drone identification. This new technology represents a significant advancement in drone warfare and surveillance, addressing the challenges of identifying friendly versus enemy drones in combat scenarios.

During the VUKUHLOME 2023, A South African army military exercise on November 22, 2023, the South African company SVI Engineering showcased for the first time its new MAX 3 wheeled armored vehicle in self-propelled mortar carrier at the South African Army Combat Training Centre in Lohatla, Northern Cape. This vehicle is fitted with the Thales Scorpion 81mm mortar system.

In a significant advancement in unmanned aerial technology, China has recently unveiled the XS101, a new loitering munition, as per video footage released by a Chinese TV News Channel. This development marks a crucial step in China's defense capabilities, closely mirroring the American Switchblade 300 drone.

The German Air Force has been conducting tests on the Hensoldt Twinvis passive radar system, which has the remarkable capability to detect stealth aircraft, Laurent Lagneau comments in Opex360. In 2018, Hensoldt claimed that the Twinvis successfully detected two American F-35A stealth fighter-bombers at the ILA Berlin Air Show. However, Lockheed-Martin countered this achievement by explaining that the F-35As were equipped with Lüneberg lenses, making them intentionally detectable for safety reasons in civilian airspace. Nevertheless…

The U.S. Marine Corps recently conducted a test involving a robot dog equipped with a training version of the M72 infantry anti-armor rocket launcher, according to a report by Joseph Therithick in The War Zone. This test highlights the growing interest in arming four-legged unmanned ground systems, not only within the U.S. military but also among foreign forces, particularly in China and Russia.

According to pictures released on social networks, the Israeli army has learned from the experiences of the Ukrainian conflict. The turret roofs of Merkava 4 tanks are now equipped with a "Cope Cage" or "Protective Canopy." This type of armor is designed to offer protection against aerial attacks, such as drones and loitering munitions.

Raytheon has been awarded a contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop an innovative air-breathing propulsion system known as the Gambit program. This program aims to harness the power of a rotating detonation engine (RDE), which promises to revolutionize missile propulsion technology. The implications of this breakthrough are far-reaching, with potential benefits for military operations across multiple branches of the armed forces.

The Russian Defense Ministry is deploying two air divisions in the Kaliningrad region and Crimea. Their formations will be completed in late 2019. All combat aircraft in the territories will be integrated into a single contour.

Air Recognition's Top Stories of 2017

As 2017 came to an end, here is an overview of the top ten defense aerospace stories we published last year, based on the number of readers for each story. As you can see, fighter jets purchase and upgrade programs and future airborne platforms drew a lot of interest among Air Recognition readers.