What's New

Mexico sent its advanced frigate the REFORMADOR-class vessel BENITO JUAREZ to participate in the U.S.-led Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024 naval exercises which run from late June to Aug. 1. The frigate is one of the most advanced warships in Latin America, and the most powerful surface combatant in the Mexican fleet. Designed for long-range patrol the 2,833-ton ship is fitted with a combined diesel or electric (CODOE) propulsion system and can reach a speed of 27 knots, with a maximum range of 5,000 nm (9,260 km). The ship is fitted for AGM-84 Harpoon Block II missiles as well as RIM-116C and RIM-162 missiles, along with a 57-mm Sak 57 Mk 3 Bofors main gun and two 25-mm Mk 38 guns. Though initially planned as the lead ship of a class of eight, the BENITO JUAREZ, delivered in 2020, seems poised to be the sole ship of the class following budget cuts and shifting priorities in government.

The Georgian Defense Forces received 46 Vuran 4x4 armored personnel carriers produced by BMC. This delivery was in accordance with an agreement signed in 2022 with ASFAT, a company affiliated with the Turkish Ministry of Defense.

The Vuran is based on a monocoque-type design with a body shell built up from armor plates, rather than attaching them to a frame. The V-shaped hull is of all-welded steel armor construction that provides the occupants with protection against 5.56 × 45 mm small arms fire, although also available is protection against 7.62 × 51 mm armor-piercing small arms fire.

The roof of the vehicle can be fitted with a remotely operated weapon station armed with a machine gun up to 12.7mm caliber.

Other armament options include a 107 mm Multiple Rocket Launcher on the Vuran CNRA and a 120 mm mortar on the Vuran Armored Vehicle Mortar.

The US State Department approved a $360 million sale of loitering munitions to Taiwan. This sale includes 291 Altius 600M-V aerial systems and related equipment, estimated at $300 million. This was the first mention of the -600M-V variant. Each Altius 600M-V system consists of a loitering munition with an extensible warhead and an electro-optical/infrared camera.

The Altius (Area-I Air-Launched, Tube-Integrated, Unmanned System) is a versatile family of drones designed for deployment by air, ground, or maritime forces. These modular drones can be configured for a range of missions including intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, targeting (ISR&T), communications relay, cyber warfare, or kinetic strikes.

The baseline Altius 600 drone weighs up to 27 pounds, has a maximum range of 276 miles (around 440 kilometers), and can stay airborne for at least four hours.

The Altius 600M and 700M variants are specialized loitering munitions, utilizing a common software baseline and open system architecture to integrate various payloads and mission software suites.