• Naval Warfare

  SAS 2017: US Navy outlines fleet priorities

  4th April 2017

  Against ongoing uncertainties surrounding the next US defence budget, the US Navy (USN) has provided some 'ship math' on the current fleet size and priorities …

• Digital Battlespace

  Estonia, Spain join EU SatCom Market

  3rd March 2017

  Spain and Estonia have joined the European Defence Agency's (EDA's) EU SatCom Market project, becoming the 21st and 22nd members to join the initiative, the …

• Land Warfare

  Enhanced Tamir extends intercept range

  7th March 2017

  Testing on the Iron Dome air defence missile system has taken place using a new variant of the Tamir interceptor missile for the first time.An …

• Land Warfare

  India approves K9 artillery buy

  7th April 2017

  India approved an approximately $650 million procurement of 100 tracked self-propelled howitzers (SPH) of 155mm 52-calibre, with an option for 50 more, on 29 March.Larsen …

• Defence Helicopter

  Rotorcraft Asia: Brunei offers Black Hawk support

  10th April 2017

  The Brunei Multi-Purpose Training Centre (MPTC) now incorporates its S-70i Black Hawk ground school and simulator training, according to Canadian simulation and training company CAE, …

• Defence Notes

  LAAD 2017: Gripen incoming

  6th April 2017

  The first flight of the Brazilian Air Force's new Gripen E fighter will take place in the second quarter of 2017.Mikael Franzen, DG of Gripen …

• Military Logistics

  Antonov AN-132D takes flight

  3rd April 2017

  The Antonov AN-132D transport aircraft has completed its first flight, Ukroboronprom announced on 31 March. The AN-132D has been developed using components from Honeywell, Pratt …

• Special Operations

  New command transforms European SOF

  2nd March 2017

  On 16 February, three NATO members signed an agreement which could have significant implications for the command and control (C2) structures of the international special …

• Defence Notes

  FC/ASW concept phase programme launched

  29th March 2017

  The French DGA and UK Ministry of Defence have launched the joint concept phase of the Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon (FC/ASW) programme with MBDA, with an …

• Defence Helicopter

  Elbit receives HDTS order

  3rd April 2017

  Elbit Systems of America will provide the Helmet Display and Tracker System (HDTS) for the US Navy's MH-60S Seahawk helicopter under a $50 million contract …

• Defence Helicopter

  LAAD 2017: Leonardo looks to further South American footprint

  6th April 2017

  Leonardo Helicopters noted that although the market remains slow in South America, the company is confident in its sales growth, pointing to the sale of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  General Atomics pushes Guardian to Japan

  29th March 2017

  During a presentation at the Japan Drone 2017 exhibition on 23 March, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) disclosed that it is proposing the Guardian …

• Digital Battlespace

  Industry looks to refresh Sentinel systems

  3rd April 2017

  With the Royal Air Force's Sentinel R1 aircraft now planned to be in service for at least another four years, industry is in talks with …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Brazil approves Cacador UAV

  29th March 2017

  Following a flight test campaign, Avionics Services' Caçador UAV has received approval from the Brazilian Ministry of Defence as a strategic defence product, the company …

• Land Warfare

  LAAD 2017: Brazil FMS upgrades roll on

  6th April 2017

  Mistaken reports of the arrival of the first upgraded M109A5+ self-propelled howitzer to the Brazilian Army have been rebuffed by manufacturer BAE Systems.The company has …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A330 MRTT (1-9) [NATO]

  Programme Background Following operations in Libya and extensive analyses by the European Defence Agency (EDA), it was agreed at the NATO Summit in 2012 that ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A330 MRTT Follow-On (NATO)

  Following operations in Libya and extensive analyses by the European Defence Agency (EDA), it was agreed at the NATO Summit in 2012 that the EDA ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawks [Norway]

  Programme Background NH90 NFH cancellation  The Norwegian government announced the termination of the NH90 NFH helicopter contract for 14 NH90s with NHIndustries in June 2022. Seahawk Acquisition ...

• Tanks

  New MBT [Romania]

  Programme Background Requirement The Romanian Army's MBT fleet is composed of T-55 variants that are due to be retired in the mid-2020s. Although Romania's TR-85 ...

• Tanks

  M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 [Romania]

  Programme Background Requirement The Romanian Army's MBT fleet is composed of T-55 variants that are due to be retired in the mid-2020s. Although Romania's TR-85 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) - (Greece)

  Programme Background EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) was announced in early 2022 and the project contract was awarded ...

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

  UAV Tactical Level [Norway]

  Programme Background Request for Information (RfI) In September 2022, the Norwegian Defence Material Agency (NDMA) launched a request for information in preparation for a possible ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) - (Italy)

  Programme Background EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) was announced in early 2022 and the project contract was awarded ...

• Maritime patrol

  MAWS/PATMAR [France]

  Programme Background In 2017, Germany and France announced that they would be working towards developing an MPA to replace their current fleets in service. The ...

• Tanks

  Leopard 2A8 [Netherlands]

  Programme Background Bidders and Suppliers The Leopard 2A8, the latest in the Leopard family, was selected by the Royal Dutch Army as per announcements in ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2 [Kuwait]

  Background Contract Award On 18 January 2023, Baykar announced signing a $370 million export contract with Kuwait for the Bayraktar TB2. According to the announcement, ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton - Germany (Cancelled)

  Programme Background Germany requested to buy four MQ-4C Triton HALE UAVs from Northrop Grumman. On 5 April 2018, the US State Department announced that it ...

• Corvettes

  European Patrol Corvette (EPC) [France]

  Programme Background Requirements The European Patrol Corvette (EPC) is one of the new PESCO (Permanent Structured Cooperation on Defence and Security) projects. PESCO was established ...

• AEW&C

  Alliance Future Surveillance and Control (1-6) [NATO]

  Programme Background NATO’s E-3A AWACS fleet is set to retire in 2035, after 50 years of service. To plan for the required follow-on capability, NATO's ...

• Corvettes

  European Patrol Corvette (EPC) [Italy]

  Programme Background Requirements The 2021-2023 Documento Programmatico Pluriennale (DPP) - a multi-year defence planning document from the Italian MoD - includes a plan to acquire eight "Patrol Ships", ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Land: air defence radar

  APIS

  APIS is a passive high-resolution primary radar system developed by Indra. It is the first passive system in the world capable of offering images using ...

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  AE50R

  The AE50R is an aviation gasoline single rotary engine with an output of 40.4kW. The engine is certified according to European Aviation Safety Agency Part ...

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

  LOTUS

  The LOTUS, Low Observable Tactical Unnamed System, is a tactical UAV especially designed for border patrol ISR operations.  The development of the project is funded by ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  Mistral 3

  The Mistral 3 is the latest member of the Mistral family of very short-range surface-to-air missiles. It entered service in 2018 and has been chosen ...

• Helicopter engines

  Arriel 2H

  Safran Helicopter Engines received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) engine type certification for its Arriel 2H engine, installed in the Avicopter AC312E, in April 2018. ...

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

  AR5

  First announced in October 2012, the AR5 is a MALE UAS designed for SAR, surveillance and maritime patrol missions. The AR5 can be flown manually or commanded ...

• Trainer

  Gabriel-TP

  Gabriel-TP is a low-wing, two-seat tandem trainer aircraft aimed at both military and civilian customers. It is certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in ...

• Air: NVGs

  PNL-3M Orlik

  PNL-3M are high-performance, lightweight, passive stereoscopic NVGs for helicopter crew members. Certification by European Aviation Safety Agency also enables civilian use. The device can be ...

• Loitering munitions

  Akeron RCH 170

  Unveiled in April 2025, the Akeron RCH 170 is a fixed-wing loitering munition from MBDA. Similar in design to the Switchblade 300, the catapult launched system ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  Standard 3

  Jointly developed by ATR and Thales, The Standard 3 avionics suite has been specifically designed for ATR-600 aircraft. It offers the pilot user-friendly interface, along ...

• Loitering munitions

  Akeron RCX 50

  Unveiled in April 2025, the Akeron RCX 50 is a rotary-wing loitering munition from MBDA.  According to reports, the RCX 50 is designed to support ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  DroneGun

  DroneGun enables controlled management of an adversarial UAS, causing no damage to the UAV or surrounding area. It either forces the drone to perform a ...

• Military - USVs

  NOMARS

  The No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) is a US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) effort to develop a first-of-its-kind large uncrewed surface vessel.

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  Trident 100TD2

  The Trident 100TD2 is a compression-ignition engine that is capable of operating on various types of heavy fuel. It is claimed to offer up to ...

• Space: radar systems

  ESA Sentinel-1

  Sentinel-1 is a planned constellation of four satellites with two already in orbit and two on order. They carry a payload of a C-band SAR ...