British SPEAR 3 Missile Delayed To 2030
The in-development MBDA SPEAR 3 (Selective Precision Effects at Range) missile has been delayed from a planned entry to service in 2027 to 2030, according to the U.K. government. This air-to-surface missile was announced in 2009, and though originally planned to enter service by 2025, the weapon seems poised to reach service no earlier than two years from that initial date. The 220-lb (100-kg) missile measures 6 ft 5 in (2.0 m) with a diameter of 6 in (0.18 m). A single Pratt & Whitney TJ-150 turbojet engine will be equipped and once completed, it is expected to have a range of 87 mi (140 km). Some variants will be capable of being configured for electronic warfare or as a higher-payload glide weapon. The SPEAR 3 is planned for integration with British F-35s and will also be exported to Italy.
ANZAC Class Sustainment Tender Anticipated
Australia’s ANZAC class are a series of eight frigates based on the MEKO 200 design from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS). The frigates were procured jointly with New Zealand, which received two separate units. The ships displace 3,600 tons fully loaded and measure 385 ft (117.5 m) long. An eight-cell Sea Sparrow Mk 41 vertical launch point defense missile system (PDMS) is fitted abaft the stacks in all ships. A second Mk 41 launcher can be fitted directly behind the first in both the New Zealand and Australian ships. A third Mk 41 system, capable of only firing Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSM), can be fitted forward of the bridge in the Australian ships. The ANZAC class can reach a top speed of 28 knots. The maximum range is 900 nm (1,667 km) at 27 knots or 6,000 nm (11,112 km) at 18 knots on one diesel engine. Despite entering service between 1996 and 2006, all but the lead vessel of the class, ANZAC, remain in service. The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is even soliciting bids for sustainment work, with an upcoming award expected for the Anzac Class Design Support Contract covering maintenance and performance enhancement for the frigates.
An-12 Cub Among Aircraft Destroyed in Ukrainian Drone Attack
The An-12 Cub is an ex-Soviet cargo plane used for cargo delivery, paratroop deployment and sometimes electronic countermeasures and signals intelligence collection. The Cub lacks an integral cargo-loading ramp, instead using a three-panel door in the raked section of the fuselage that consists of two longitudinally hinged halves forward and a rear-hinged section aft; all three sections open upward to clear the opening for cargo loading or airdrops. Cargo includes small fighting vehicles such as tracked ASU-85 self-propelled guns, 2S9 assault guns, BMD armored personnel carriers, wheeled trucks and other light vehicles; general cargo; and infantry or paratroopers. A 5,070-lb (2,300-kg) capacity cargo gantry is fitted in the cabin. When the rear cargo doors are open in flight, the entire complement of 60 paratroopers may be dropped in less than a minute. The aircraft’s chin radome holds a Toadstool I-band radar. The Cub is often equipped with a twin 23-mm cannon at the tail. On June 1, 2025, Ukrainian special forces conducted an extensive drone attack on Russian airbases across the country. The attacks, involving 113 drones deployed via sheds on civilian trucks at airbases in locations including Belaya, Ivanovo, Ukrainka, Olenya and Dyagilevo, targeted primarily Russian bomber aircraft. During these attacks, an An-12 Cub cargo plane was believed to have been destroyed along with two Tu-22M3 and three Tu-95MS Bear bomber aircraft.
Check Out What Else is New
Updates this month include the Australian ANZAC-class frigate, Russian An-12 Cub transport aircraft and the British Fast Interceptor Craft (FIC).
Special Reports:
South Korea’s Canadian Submarine Gambit
Tom Freebairn
Earlier this month, news broke that a trio of South Korean companies had teamed to make an ambitious offer to the Canadian armed forces. The deal: CAN20 to 24 billion (US$14 to 17 billion) worth of submarines and an additional CAN1 billion (US$720 million) in armored vehicles and artillery systems. Hyundai Heavy Industries, partnering with rival firms Hanwha Ocean and Hanwha Aerospace, reportedly made the proposal in early March, though details are only now becoming clear. The pitches come at an opportune time, as Canada faces a pressing need for military modernization and relations with its traditional arms supplier, the United States, fray, as President Trump continues his fiery rhetoric and confrontational posturing. As newly-elected Prime Minister Mark Carney proclaims, “the old relationship with the United States based on… tight security and military cooperation is over”, South Korea scents the opportunity for a blockbuster arms deal and a major inroad into North America.
The primary component of the deal is the provision of 12 KSS-III (DOSAN AHN CHANG-HO class) diesel-electric submarines to fulfill Canada’s need for a replacement for its aging VICTORIA class. Since last summer, Canada has been seeking up to 12 replacement submarines as part of the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP). With the first of the VICTORIA class expected to leave service in the mid-2030s, the race is on to replace the capability.
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