• Digital Battlespace

  KC-10 Extender programme milestone

  27th August 2015

  The US Air Force (USAF) received the 150th KC-10 Extender aerial refuelling tanker aircraft from a Northrop Grumman maintenance depot, the company announced on 26 …

• Defence Helicopter

  Industry in chase for UH-1N replacement

  19th August 2015

  Industry is gearing up to convince the US Air Force (USAF) that a new aircraft is the best replacement for its UH-1N Iroquois, with both …

• Military Logistics

  Testing incident causes more KC-46A delays

  18th August 2015

  Boeing has once again been forced to delay the maiden flight of the first fully-equipped KC-46A aerial refuelling tanker, company officials have confirmed to Shephard. …

• Digital Battlespace

  USAF extends Cubic's AFRL contract

  18th August 2015

  The US Air Force (USAF) has extended Cubic Global Defense's (CGD) contract to support the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) human-centred intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance …

• Training

  Camber for USAF simulation

  14th August 2015

  Camber has been awarded a five-year contract worth $135 million by the US government to provide modelling and simulation and Live, Virtual, and Constructive (LVC) …

• Defence Helicopter

  USAF does a u-turn on Huey replacement

  12th August 2015

  The US Air Force (USAF) has made a major u-turn with its plans to replace its UH-1N Iroquois after announcing it will be holding an …

• Military Logistics

  Thales provides D-ILS to USAF

  11th August 2015

  The US Air Force (USAF) has awarded a contract to Thales to provide its Deployable Instrument Landing Systems (D-ILS), the company announced on 10 August. …

• Digital Battlespace

  USAF E-3 gets new IFF

  30th July 2015

  The upgrade of the first US Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft with a new interrogation system is complete, as part of the AWACS modernisation …

• Defence Helicopter

  Canada to strengthen SAR system

  27th July 2015

  The Canadian government has announced a series of measures to strengthen its Search and Rescue (SAR) system, including an investment in a satellite system to …

• Military Logistics

  KC-46A primed for first flight

  24th July 2015

  Despite rising costs and technical glitches besetting the early stages of the programme, the KC-46A tanker is still expected to achieve its first flight this …

• Digital Battlespace

  USAF orders APEx Predator Systems

  14th July 2015

  The US Air Force (USAF) Battlefield Airmen Special Projects Office (SPO) has ordered the commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) APEx Predator System from Black Diamond Advanced Technology …

• Digital Battlespace

  GPS III satellite competition heats up

  6th July 2015

  The big fight between prime contractors for the US Air Force’s follow-on GPS III satellite contract is taking shape. Thermal vacuum testing is due to …

• Military Logistics

  USAF flight path system contracted

  1st July 2015

  MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) has signed an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract to support the US Air Force (USAF) with a flight path safety system, …

• Digital Battlespace

  SRA to compete for NETCENTS 2 orders

  26th June 2015

  SRA International has been awarded two contracts by the United States Air Force (USAF) under the Network Centric Solutions 2 (NETCENTS 2) multiple award vehicle, …

• Defence Notes

  USAF gets 1,000th CMBRE

  15th June 2015

  Orbital ATK delivered the 1,000th Common Munitions BIT Reprogramming Equipment (CMBRE) to the US Air Force (USAF), it announced on 10 June. The CMBRE is …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-9A Reaper [USAF]

  Background First order Following a development that began in 1998, in October 2002, the USAF ordered the first four MQ-9s of the production series. In ...

• Military UAS - mini

  RQ-20B Puma [USAF]

  Background Requirement According to Trace Stevenson, the AeroVironment (AV) Vice President and product line general manager, the USAF Security Forces required a small UAV to ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV (USAF) (Batch 1) [USA]

  Baclground As of November 2020, the US DoD had signed 14 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all branches ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) (Increment 1) [USAF]

  Background Requirements The programme’s requirements are based on the USAF’s belief that mass is necessary to compete effectively against an adversary in symmetrical warfare. However, ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  HH-60W - Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH)

  Background In 2010, the USAF announced the replacement of the HH-60G with a new Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH), and in 2012, the request for proposals ...

• AEW&C

  E-7A Wedgetail (1-2) [USA]

  Programme Background Shephard notes that this entry covers the two rapid-prototype E-7 aircraft, whose contract was signed in August 2024. A second programme entry covers the ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-Y tanker aircraft [USA]

  Programme Background The USAF is replacing its fleet of 396 KC-135 Stratotanker refuelling aircraft, built in the 1950s and 60s, and 59 KC-10 Extenders, which entered service ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-15EX (2025-2026) [USA]

  Methodology Units required Based off the FY2027 USAF budget request, between FY2025 and FY2026, the U.S. Air Force received funding for 40 F-15EX platforms. Congress ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-46A (USA)

  Programme Background The first five Low Rate Initial Production lots were contracted for a total of 67 aircraft for $10.94 billion. The initial contract signed ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-46A Add-On [USA]

  Background In July 2025, the former Chief of Staff for the US Air Force (USAF) Gen David Allvin confirmed that the USAF has authorised the procurement of ...

• Hybrid effector systems

  US Air Force Air Base Defence Missile Defence [US]

  Background The US Air Force's (USAF) Air Base Air Defence Missile Defence (ABAD MD) programme is part of the Air Force Physical Security System and sits ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  MH-139 (UH-1N Huey Replacement)

  Background  Competing bids In competition with the Boeing/Leonardo bid was Sikorsky with a HH-60U offer, and Sierra Nevada with an upgrading offer of UH-60As to ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV (USAF) (Batch 2) [USA]

  Background According to the FY2021 USAF budget request documents, the USAF procured 103 JLTVs in FY2019, 146 in FY2020 and 142 in FY2021. In 2023, ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  Next-Generation Air-Refueling System (NGAS) [USA]

  Background The U.S. Air Force originally planned the KC-Y programme as a follow-on acquisition of an estimated 179 tankers to bridge the gap between the delayed ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  C-37A [USA]

  Programme Background The USAF was using C-20B transport aircraft, variant of civilian Gulfstream III, to provide worldwide airlift for DoD and government officials. With the ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - HALE

  EX-3 Revenant

  The EX-3 Revenant is a developmental fixed-wing aircraft being developed by Exosonic. It is a Mach 1.2 supersonic UAV designed to be a 5th-generation representative, modular, autonomous ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Next Generation Survivor Radio

  The Next Generation Survivor Radio (NGSR) is a software-defined radio being developed by General Dynamics Mission Systems. It is expected to enter into service after June 2026.

• Air: aerial targets

  QF-16 FSAT

  The QF-16 Full Scale Aerial Target (FSAT) is an optionally piloted supersonic aerial target developed to replace the QF-4 in USAF service. Retired F-16 fighters are ...

• Major networking projects

  C2 ConstellationNet

  According to David Tillotson, director of C4ISR architecture AF/XI, in a report to Congress: 'The ConstellationNet is the communications network – air, space and terrestrial ...

• Air: transport/tanker simulators

  USAF KC-135 ATS

  The KC-135 Aircrew Training System (ATS) programme delivers initial qualification, requalification, continuation and upgrades training for USAF KC-135 aircrews, including pilots, co-pilots and boom operators. ...

• Major networking projects

  DCGS 10.2 Upgrade

  Raytheon’s Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) Block 10.2 upgrade allows intelligence data to be posted to the network for immediate use by analysts and warfighters, ...

• Military UAS - mini

  SPX

  The SPX drone is a fixed-wing UAV manufactured by RapidFlight. It features a modular payload bay and is fitted with RapidFlight’s Common Avionics 2.0 modular interface. ...

• Combat Search and Rescue

  HC-130P/N

  HC-130P/N is a SAR aircraft developed as extended-range version of C-130 Hercules transport airframe to execute all weather personnel recovery operations from austere airfields and ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-10 Extender

  The KC-10 Extender is a tanker/transport aircraft developed for the USAF by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). It was derived from the company’s three-engine ...

• EW test systems

  JTE

  The Joint Threat Emitter (JTE) is a multi-threat, high-fidelity simulator with realistic ERP levels, which simulates single- and double-digit surface-to-air and anti-aircraft artillery radar systems. ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  R-HUD

  The Replacement Heads-Up Display (R-HUD) is a Primary Flight Reference system designed to replace legacy HUD units on C-17 aircraft. Manufactured by Elbit Systems of ...

• Air: mission management systems

  Flat Panel Control Indicator

  BAE Systems Flat Panel Control Indicator (FPCI) is designed to replace legacy Navigation Control Indicators in F-15C/D aircraft. It features a new AMLCD display and ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Wasp III

  Produced from 2007 until 2012, the Wasp III was a hand-launched UAV produced by AeroVironment. The platform was powered by rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and featured two camera ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  RQ-4 Global Hawk

  The Global Hawk is a HALE UAV manufactured by Northrop Grumman. Primarily designed to carry ISTAR payloads, the platform has accumulated more than 200,000 flight hours ...

• Bomber

  B-2 Spirit

  The B-2 Spirit is a multirole stealth bomber manufactured by Northrop Grumman for the USAF. The Spirit is a flying wing aircraft, meaning that it ...