SINGAPORE -- In a high-security Shenzhen laboratory, Chinese scientists have reportedly built a prototype of a machine capable of producing the cutting-edge semiconductor chips that power artificial intelligence, smartphones and weapons central to Western military dominance.

Completed in early 2025 and now undergoing testing, the prototype fills nearly an entire factory floor. It was built by a team of former engineers from Dutch semiconductor giant ASML who reverse-engineered the company's extreme ultraviolet lithography machines or EUVs, according to two people with knowledge of the project.

China's machine is operational and successfully generating extreme ultraviolet light, but has not yet produced working chips, the people said.

The availability of parts from older ASML machines on secondary markets has allowed China to build a domestic prototype, with the government setting a goal of producing working chips on the prototype by 2028, according to the two people.

But those close to the project say a more realistic target is 2030, which is still years earlier than the decade that analysts believed it would take China to match the West on chips.

Source: Reuters
Associated URL: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/how-china-built-its-manhattan-project-rival-west-ai-chips-2025-12-17/

OSLO - Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace has signed a contract with the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA) for the initial deliveries of THOR vehicle radios to the Norwegian Armed Forces.

The contract is valued at around NOK 650 million and includes delivery of THOR VRM (Vehicle Radio Module) units starting in 2027. The agreement also includes measures to increase production capacity, ensuring that future orders of THOR VRM vehicle radios can be delivered more quickly. The radio system is highly flexible and can be upgraded with software-based capabilities that enable direct interoperability with allied forces, ground-to-air communication, drone communication, and satellite-based communication. The THOR radio system will replace the current MRR (Multi-Role Radio) as the Norwegian Armed Forces’ primary robust communications platform.

Source: Kongsberg
Associated URL: https://www.kongsberg.com/kda/

ALBACETE -- Spain has formalized a major rotorcraft acquisition, placing an order for 100 military helicopters with Airbus Helicopters under its National Helicopter Plan. Approved by the government in September and contracted through the DGAM defence procurement agency, the deal includes 50 H145Ms, 31 NH90s, 13 H135s, and six H175Ms, supporting a broad modernization of Spain’s armed forces.

The 45 H145Ms for the Spanish Army make Spain the second-largest customer for the type after Germany. These aircraft will cover training, utility, disaster relief, and light-attack missions using Airbus’s HForce modular weapons system. Spain will also become the launch customer for the military H175M, with six aircraft for the air force to replace legacy Super Puma and Cougar fleets.

The NH90s, all troop transport variants, will be split across the army, air force, and navy, while additional H135s will support advanced training and light utility roles. Deliveries will bolster Airbus’s Albacete site, which will expand with new military customization, training, and digital capability centers.

Source: Flight Global
Associated URL: https://www.flightglobal.com/helicopters/spain-formalises-100-unit-order-with-airbus-helicopters-becomes-h175m-launch-customer/165741.article
Author: Dominic Perry