Damian Kemp

The demand for long-range fires continues alongside the drive to increase artillery shell manufacture and the procurement of new artillery weapons.

The HEAT 758 has a tandem warhead consisting of an initial charge which neutralises the explosive reactive armour and the main charge which penetrates the primary armour. It is fired from a standard Carl-Gustaf M4 weapon launcher and has been ordered by an undisclosed customer.

The Bolide 2 missile has a larger warhead than the original version as well as an aluminium nose cone, which replaces a copper version and allows for more explosive content and fragments.

Barracuda multispectral camouflage systems have been developed over decades and are designed to conceal a range of infrared and ultraviolet signals as well as reducing detection by radar.

The war in Ukraine remains a focus of procurement, concepts of operation, tactics and training for NATO countries. The Crystal Arrow Exercise in Latvia, ongoing until 15 May, is a reflection of this.

The deal will provide the British Army with five times the number of guns it currently operates as an interim measure, but it still leaves the force with comparatively fewer weapons than partner forces.

The Crystal Arrow Exercise is being used by NATO as a way to put new equipment such as uncrewed ground and aerial vehicles into the hands of alliance users, particularly Latvian and Baltic forces.

One goal of NATO’s Exercise Crystal Arrow was to identify the potential uses of uncrewed ground vehicles – as seen on the Ukrainian battlefield – and put platforms into the hands of users.

The UK Government has ordered XRC's small Rhino UGV for trials just weeks after placing a contract for ARX Robotics Gereon tracked UGV which will also be manufactured in the UK. The latest move is another step in creating a force of 40% uncrewed systems.

Latvia is one of the countries at the forefront of developing a counter uncrewed aerial system capability, drawing on its own industry to meet a geographical and geo-political circumstance that has seen drone incursions rise.