• Defence Notes

  Tokyo defence report annoys China

  25th February 2017

  A new Japanese think tank report on Taiwan's defence and the Chinese military threat has received a thumbs down by Beijing for not respecting the …

• Digital Battlespace

  Aero India 2017: Rafael scores big in airborne SDRs

  17th February 2017

  Rafael is getting ready to supply its BNET-AR, part of the Israeli company's software-defined radio family, to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in serious quantities.Speaking …

• Land Warfare

  Aero India 2017: Thales to Make in India

  15th February 2017

  A memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Thales and Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) will explore opportunities for the transfer of technology of the Starstreak missile …

• Land Warfare

  Australian air defence proposals emerge

  10th February 2017

  Australia is seeking to further improve its mobile Short Range Air Defence capability. Sources have told Shephard that this could develop into a request for …

• Land Warfare

  South Korea boosts rocket and missile inventory

  7th February 2017

  Due to the threat from its northern neighbour, South Korea is implementing plans to deploy greater quantities of Hyunmoo missiles, as well as a new …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  SRC announces counter-UAS contract

  3rd February 2017

  SRC will provide the US Army with an integrated counter-UAS (C-UAS) system under a $65 million contract announced on 2 February. According to the company, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Avalon 2017: Heron TP wants fair Australian competition

  2nd March 2017

  With the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) eyeing a future armed MALE UAV platform to join its fleet, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) wants the right …

• Training

  Meggitt details ISMT progress

  24th February 2017

  Meggitt Training Systems has completed the final inspection and physical configuration audit of the US Marine Corps' (USMC's) Small Arms Trainer, the company announced on …

• Land Warfare

  IDEX 2017: GD bids for UAE 4x4

  23rd February 2017

  The UAE Presidential Guard is in the early stages of looking for a new 4x4 for their three units and General Dynamics' OTS division is …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  IDEX 2017: Tracking the AUDS system (video)

  22nd February 2017

  The AUDS system is one of a range of technologies developed in recent years to counter the threat posed by rogue operators of UAS and …

• Digital Battlespace

  AFCEA West: Harris unveils next-gen Falcon radio

  21st February 2017

  Harris has extended its family of tactical radio systems today with the unveiling of its next-generation Falcon III RF-300H Manpack solution.Presented for the first time …

• Special Operations

  US SOF looks at GPS 'out of the box'

  20th February 2017

  The US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) is exploring concepts for alternative Global Positioning System (GPS) solutions, with representatives announcing an upcoming government/industry collaborative event.The 'out …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  IDEX 2017: Chinese UGV mimics US system

  19th February 2017

  If the two unmanned ground vehicles pictured above seem similar, then you would not be wrong. In fact, they seem to have been separated at …

• Land Warfare

  Belgian Army re-organises

  13th February 2017

  Changes to the structure of the Belgian Army mean an increase in the strength of its Medium Brigade under the military's Strategic Vision 2020-2030.The addition …

• Land Warfare

  More European interest for K9 artillery

  8th February 2017

  The small Baltic state of Estonia has become the latest European country to express interest in the K9 'Thunder' self-propelled howitzer, indicating growing popularity for …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-1 Gray Eagle [US Army]

  Background Required Quantity Although the US Army first envisioned a requirement for 132 MQ-1C Gray Eagles, the US Army's Army Acquisition Objective (AAO) was increased ...

• Main battle tanks

  NGCV: DLP

  Programme Background Requirement The DLP is one of five vehicle families being developed for the US Army's NGCV programme. Expanded to include five programmes in ...

• AGMV 1.1

  Programme Background The US Army has been seeking a lightweight, air-droppable, high mobility vehicle since as early as 2014, when it initiated its Ultra Light ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Heavy Lift VTOL (HVTOL) [US Army]

  Background USMC First, Army Second In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial Resupply ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  AMPV [USA]

  Programme Background Platform Development The US Army initiated the AMPV programme to acquire a replacement for several variants of the M113 tracked APC, which has ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 2) [US Army]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was intended to ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV Oshkosh Contract [US Army]

  Programme Background As of January 2021, the US DoD had signed 15 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 1) [USA]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker (Sergeant Stout) [USA]

  Programme Background As part of the Army Transformation Initiative the US DoD is fundamentally reorganising the structure of the US Army. As part of this all Infantry ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow On

  Programme Background In March 2019, Airbus stated that it expected orders from the US Army for between 12 and 15 UH-72A helicopters. In March 2020, ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System (LMAMS) [US Army]

  Background First Contract In June 2011, the US awarded AeroVironment a $4.9 million series-production contract for the loitering munition, satisfying the US Army's Lethal Miniature ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) [Tranche 1] / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) (USA)

  Programme Background The Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) Programme The RPUAS programme will provide the Battalion and below-ground manoeuvre elements within the US Army with an ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Switchblade 300 (USA)

  Programme Background AeroVironment has been providing the Switchblade 300 loitering munition to the US Army under the long-standing Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile Systems (LMAMS) programme ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Group 4/5 UAV [US Army]

  Background Request for Information (RFI) On 5 June 2024, the American DoD published an RfI with an original response date of 19 July 2024. The ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  US Army Maneuver Support Vessel Light (MSVL)

  Programme BackgroundThe Maneuver Support Vessel (Light) or MSV(L) contract was awarded by the US Army to Vigor in 2017 and are being built to replace ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  US Army AVCATT PDSS

  L3Harris Technologies is the prime contractor for the US Army’s Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer (AVCATT) Post Deployment Software Support (PDSS) programme. L3Harris Technologies is ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  US Army Flight School XXI OFT/RCTD

  L3Harris Technologies is a major subcontractor to CSC on the US Army’s Flight School XXI (FSXXI) programme. L3Harris Technologies has built or is under contract ...

• Maritime patrol

  US-2

  The ShinMaywa US-2 is an amphibious short take-off and landing aircraft used primarily by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) for SAR. 

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  OH-58 Kiowa

  The single-engine OH-58 Kiowa, derived from the Bell 206, entered US Army service in 1969 as a light observation helicopter. More than 2,200 were built for ...

• Towed guns

  M198

  The US Army developed the M198 155mm towed howitzer from 1969 to replace the M114 155mm howitzer. From 1978, 1,600 weapons were built by Rock ...

• Towed mortars

  M120/M120A1

  The M120/M120A1 120 mm Towed Mortar System is a US-built version of the Soltam K6 mortar that was accepted into US Army service in 1990.

• Light tanks

  M10 Booker

  The US Army awarded General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) a contract worth US$1.14 billion to supply 96 light tanks under the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) ...

• JPT

  Designed for military applications, the Joint Platform Tablet (JPT) features a rugged design, including a military-grade aluminium case, dual-core processor, 128GB removable hard drive and ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72A/B Lakota

  In 2006, the US Army selected a version of the medium-sized, twin-engine H145, designated the UH-72A Lakota,  to meet its requirement for a new Light ...

• Armoured engineer vehicles

  M1150 ABV

  The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) project, launched by the USMC in 2002, is a joint programme to meet the requirements of both the US ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  RQ-7 Shadow 200

  The Shadow 200, designated RQ-7B by the US Army, is flown by the army brigade combat teams and combat aviation brigades along with the UAV ...

• REBS

  The Rapidly Emplaced Bridge System (REBS) is a 13m dry-gap bridge. It was designed by GDELS to meet a US Army requirement to provide a ...

• DSB

  WFEL was selected in 1996 to develop the M18 Dry Support Bridge (DSB) for the US Army. The company designed, manufactured and integrated the DSB ...

• Land: Electronic Attack - Jamming

  AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III

  Sierra Nevada’s AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III is the standard Counter Improvised Explosive Device (CIED) manpack system in service with the US Army and US Marine Corps (USMC). ...

• Individual grenade launchers

  M320 GLM

  The M320 Grenade Launcher Module (GLM) is a further development of the HK AG36 (see separate entry) to meet a US Army requirement. The M320 ...