Caracal has signed an agreement with Ketech Asia for the production of the CAR 816 assault rifles, pictured above, in Malaysia. The CAR 816 is chambered for the 5.56×45 mm cartridge. (Edge)

The United Arab Emirates small-arms manufacturer Edge Group's Caracal subsidiary has signed an agreement with Ketech Asia for the production and resale of the CAR 816 assault rifles in Malaysia.

The agreement was signed on 24 May at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) Exhibition 2023, held in Langkawi, Malaysia, from 23 to 27 May.

Under the agreement, Caracal will transfer the technology to Ketech Asia to assemble CAR 816s in Ketech's Pahang facility, Edge said. “Ketech Asia will become an official reseller of the CAR 816s with the aim of increasing sales across Southeast Asia.”

The two companies will “review the potential of co-developing new firearms” and the agreement will also enable Edge to explore other opportunities in Malaysia for Caracal small arms, Edge added.

According to Janes Weapons: Infantry, the CAR 816 assault rifle is chambered for the 5.56×45 mm cartridge. The CAR 816 is based on the ArmaLite AR‐15 design.

Virgin Orbit's Boeing 747-400 carrier aircraft releases its LauncherOne rocket during a 2019 test. (Virgin Orbit)

Financially troubled Virgin Orbit plans to sell its assets to four winning bidders and cease operations, the US-based small satellite launch provider announced on 23 May.

Among the auction winners is Stratolaunch, which has agreed to pay USD17 million for Virgin Orbit's carrier aircraft, a modified Boeing 747-400 nicknamed ‘Cosmic Girl', according to a court filing. While Virgin Orbit has used Cosmic Girl to fire the LauncherOne rocket, which is designed to place satellites into orbit, Stratolaunch said in a statement that it intends to use the plane to test hypersonic payloads instead. “We can provide further comments” after the transaction closes, the buyer added.

Another successful bidder is space company Rocket Lab, which will obtain Virgin Orbit's 144,000 sq ft (13,378 m ² ) headquarters and rocket factory in Long Beach, California, for USD16.1 million. Rocket Lab said in a statement that it will use the leased facility to accelerate production of its new, larger Neutron launch vehicle, which is intended to complement its existing Electron small satellite launcher.

The Sancar USV on display at LIMA 2023. (Janes/Nishant Kumar)

The Turkish Navy is set to receive at least two unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) by the end of this year, according to Turkish defence companies exhibiting at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) Exhibition 2023, held in Langkawi, Malaysia, from 23 to 27 May.

On display at LIMA was the Sancar USV developed by Havelsan in partnership with Turkish shipbuilder Yonca-Onuk. Under a contract awarded in early 2022, the two companies will deliver one Sancar USV to the Turkish Navy in November 2023, Havelsan's research and development (R&D) and platform integration director Deniz Remzi Dumlu confirmed to Janes at the LIMA show.

Sancar has an overall length of 12.7 m and a displacement of 9 tonnes. It has a maximum speed of 40 kt and a cruising range of 400 n mile. The Sancar USV will be used by the Turkish Navy for mine countermeasures (MCM) and will be capable of deploying a towed array sonar (TAS) for mine detection and small unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) for mine classification.