British Army showcases Anti-tank missile Drone

(London) At the 2023 Defence & Security Equipment International show currently taking place in London, many new weapon systems designed from feedback from the ongoing war inside the Ukraine have shown their face for the first time, one such weapon system is the Hydra 400  which is a pioneering new generation of heavy lift drone using hybrid propulsion technology. Compact and portable, the drone can be transported in the back of a Hilux or similar and assembled ready for flight in six minutes. The drone is powered by single spool jet turbines, producing 500N (50kg) thrust providing a maximum lift of 400kg and can be armed with up to 3 Brimstone anti-tank missiles , the British army hopes to have a working prototype carrying out trials by the end of the year and hopefully the weapons system will be taken on strength in 5 years time.

US: Evaluates new 12” miniature strike munition for drone

(Washington) News has come out that the US Military has started evaluating a small 12 inch, 6 pound strike munition for use by UAVs.  

Fitted with Lazer and GPS guidance which affords it the ability to change direction (And Target) such a small munition affords the US military with a cost effective weapon which will allow them to support Units out on the ground with top cover quicker than waiting for artillery fire missions, with the added bonus that due to the sheer small size, collateral damage will also be much smaller.

Interestingly when Orbital ATK first revealed the Hatchet in 2018, the US military couldn’t see a home for the mini weapon , but it appears the war in the Ukraine, where mini USVs have really shone, has changed the mind of the US top brass.

IS idiot in charge of Missiles, taken out by US UAV strike.

(Iraq) The bearded thug in charge of Islamic states Rocket forces Jasim Khadijah, a former Iraqi officer who was not considered a high-value target, was killed in an UAV strike last night after his name kept coming up as the person behind a missile strike on a US position inside Iraq which killed US Marine Staff Sergeant Louis Cardin. But that changed after he got lucky and unfortunately for him, he then got unlucky. I'm sure that those 68 virgins are looking forward to service him when he arrives, I wonder if he knows they are all blokes, of course he does:

Iraq deploys Chinese UAVs

(Baghdad) The Iraqi military has released video of the first combat mission of its CH-4B Rainbow UAV – the design which was heavily copied from the US MQ-1 Reaper developed by General Atomics, entered service with the PLA Air Force in 2013 – as purchased from China. The UAV (of which there are two versions) has been developed by China’s Aerospace Long-March International Trade Company (ALIT). The CH-4A is designed for reconnaissance (3,500 - 5,000 km range), with the CH-4B as the attack variant with its main armament being the AR-1/HJ-10 anti-tank missile – the Chinese equivalent to the American-made Hellfire missile.

Chinese UAVs are now finding homes across the world, with Iraq following in the steps of Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE.

Israel redesigns Iron Dome to tackle UAVs

(TEL AVIV) As we have seen these past few years, Israel’s deployment and subsequent use of the Iron Dome anti-missile system has been an outstanding success. As of 3 years ago, Iron Dome was knocking down 70% of all military ordinance heading its way from Gaza. Those stats have only got better since then as the system has matured.

Well, it appears that Israel’s friends across the border have decided to build themselves a mini air force and have started using UAVs in which to watch the IDF. As with UAVs from the north (Hezb-allah), Israel has used F-16s in which to knock these quite small flying machines out of the sky, which, truth be told, isn’t practical. So, Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Ltd, the maker of the Iron Dome, have carried out tests in which to show that the system is just as good knocking UAVs out of the sky as is incoming missile fire. Expect a complaint from the UN.

US Department of Defence reveals latest air strike targets in the Levant

(US) The US DoD revealed yesterday the details behind their air strikes against ISIS for the past 24 hours. They are:

Airstrikes in Syria

Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted six airstrikes in Syria:

-- Near Raqqah, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit, destroying an ISIL crane.

-- Near Hasakah, an airstrike had inconclusive results.

-- Near Kobani, four airstrikes struck two ISIL tactical units, destroying eight ISIL boats, three ISIL vehicles, two ISIL bunkers, an ISIL fighting position and an ISIL mortar system.

Airstrikes in Iraq

Attack, bomber and fighter aircraft conducted 17 airstrikes in Iraq, approved by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense:

-- Near Beiji, two airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and land features denying ISIL a tactical advantage, destroying an ISIL vehicle.

-- Near Habbaniyah, two airstrikes struck an ISIL logistics compound and an ISIL staging area.

-- Near Haditha, an airstrike struck an ISIL large tactical unit.

-- Near Makhmur, two airstrikes struck two ISIL tactical units, destroying an ISIL building and an ISIL heavy machine gun.

-- Near Mosul, two airstrikes struck two ISIL tactical units, destroying an ISIL building and an ISIL vehicle.

-- Near Sinjar, three airstrikes struck three ISIL tactical units and three ISIL heavy machine guns, destroying four ISIL buildings.

-- Near Tal Afar, five airstrikes struck four ISIL tactical units and three ISIL bunkers, and also struck land features to deny ISIL a tactical advantage. Two ISIL mortar firing positions, an ISIL heavy machine gun and an ISIL vehicle were destroyed.

Pakistan inducts armed UAV

(Karachi)  After years of trying to acquire armed UAVs from the West, Pakistan has unveiled the Burraq, its very own home grown armed UAV.

Homegrown? For some very strange reason, the Burraq looks very similar to the Chinese armed UAV, the CASC CH-3, which conveniently uses the exact same control system as its Chinese clone. (Check the video at the top with the link under 'Chinese armed'.)

Which also looks very similar to this armed UAV which crashed inside Nigeria the other month.