• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2014: University to utilise NG SandShark

  13th May 2014

  The University of Dakota will use the Northrop Grumman SandShark to train the next generation of unmanned pilots, the two organisations announced at AUVSI on …

• Naval Warfare

  Russia plans to invest billions in Black Sea Fleet

  13th May 2014

  The Russian government plans to invest up to 86.7 billion roubles ($2.8 billion) by 2020 in the development of the national Black Sea Fleet, it …

• Land Warfare

  ATK awarded M2010 rifle ammunition contract

  13th May 2014

  ATK will produce and deliver ammunition for the US Army’s M2010 Sniper rifle under a new five-year Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract from the US …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Study for UAS flight in Australian airspace underway

  13th May 2014

  Northrop Grumman is working with Australia’s Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University to study airworthiness requirements for the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) …

• Digital Battlespace

  Sea Giraffe

  13th May 2014

  Saab has introduced five new additions to its Giraffe surface radar family, including AESA technology for sea and land applications, the company has revealed. Launched …

• Land Warfare

  General Dynamics wins Stryker conversion work

  12th May 2014

  General Dynamics Land Systems will convert 93 flat-bottom Stryker infantry combat vehicles to a newer, more survivable double-V hull (DVH) design for the US Army …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2014: IAI UAVs top million hour mark

  11th May 2014

  IAI’s UAS portfolio has accumulated over one million operational flight hours worldwide, the company announced on 8 May. ‘Heron has accumulated over 200,000 operational flight …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2014: Strong growth expected for unmanned systems market

  9th May 2014

  The outlook for the unmanned systems market remains positive although production is expected to fall following a decade of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, a …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2014: Cargo UGV project set to continue

  9th May 2014

  The US Office of Naval Research (ONR) has awarded a contract to Oshkosh Defense for the continuation of a Cargo UGV project. Under the contract, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2014: Second FAA test site goes operational

  9th May 2014

  The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced that the second of six test sites, designed to assist the integration of unmanned systems into the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2014: L-3 launches APEX UAS

  9th May 2014

  L-3 Unmanned Systems will unveil the US DoD’s latest compact multi-sensor unmanned system, the Airborne Pursuit and Exploitation (APEX) UAS, at the AUVSI Unmanned Systems …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Saab enhances Skeldar UAV's ISR capabilities

  9th May 2014

  Saab has integrated its Skeldar unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with the Multi-Sensor Intelligence Cell (MSIC), enhancing the system’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. The …

• Defence Helicopter

  Quad A: Lockheed Martin looks to leverage F-35 work

  8th May 2014

  Lockheed Martin brought its F-35 simulator to the Quad A exhibition in Nashville to help promote the mission system work it is doing as part …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sikorsky wins VXX presidential helicopter contract

  8th May 2014

  US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) has awarded Sikorsky an initial contract to build six new Marine One presidential helicopters, valued at $1.2 billion.  The …

• Defence Notes

  GKN Aerospace advances global plans

  8th May 2014

  GKN Aerospace is looking to capitalize on a buoyant civil aerospace industry and expand its global footprint with a specific focus on Mexico and India, …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Puma 3 AE (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Military Aid - $300 Million On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine to "bolster Urkaine's capacity ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1165 Special Ops HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HHMWV, or Humvee, has been in US service since 1983. The M1165A1B3 is a special operations variant of the platform.  In 2015, the US ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 300 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Presidential Drawdown (16 March 2022 & 13 April 2022) On 16 March 2022, President Biden announced $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine through ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A Joint Strike Fighter - USAF

  Background The programme’s early competitive phase included three different airframe designs. Boeing submitted one design, Lockheed Martin submitted another, and McDonnell Douglas submitted a third ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank [US]

  Programme Background As IAI stated in a 19 January 2023 press release, it had been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract by the Irregular Warfare Technical Support ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A [US Navy]

  Background Previous Purchases The BQM-177A was designed for the USN and has been in service with the USN for many years. Indeed, in August 2022, Shephard reported ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 600 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background $300 Million USAI (1 April 2022) On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine following ...

• Loitering munitions

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Background Presidential Drawdown (21 April 2022) Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, on 21 April 2022, President Biden announced an $800 million ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Puma LE [Kosovo]

  Background Contract Award On 21 January 2022, the US Department of Defence (DoD) announced that AeroVironment had been awarded an $11.01 million firm-fixed contract for Puma ...

• Loitering munitions

  ALTIUS-600M (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background On 24 February 2023, the US DoD announced that the Biden Administration had released an additional aid package under the Ukraine Security Assistance ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1152A1B2/M1165A1B3 HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HMMWV has been in US service since the 1980s. Despite the introduction of newer platforms, the US DoD continues to utilise the platform ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawk (India)

  Programme Background On 25 February 2020, a letter of acceptance for 24 MH-60Rs, worth approximately $2.12 billion, was signed by India and the US in Delhi. ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS): Switchblade [US]

  Background DoD Contract On 27 August 2024, the US DoD announced that AeroVironment had been awarded a ceiling $990 million hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to provide “an ...

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

  Puma 2 AE [Estonia]

  Programme Background The US DoD announced that it had awarded AeroVironment an $8.868 million firm-fixed-price contract to supply an undisclosed number of RQ-20B Puma AE ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-46A (3-6) [Japan]

  On 30 October 2020, the US DoD announced that it awarded a $342 million contract to Boeing for two Japanese KC-46A tanker aircraft. Work will be performed ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Pistols

  M9

  M9 is the US DoD designation for the military-specification 9mm Beretta 92FS, selected in 1985 to replace the 45cal M1911A1 in US service. Sales to ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  Igla/SA-18

  The 9K38 Igla (US DoD designation SA-18, NATO reporting name Grouse ) IR-homing MANPADS was developed by KBM and entered service in 1983 to meet the requirements ...

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

  ScanEagle 3

  Insitu unveiled the ScanEagle 3 at the Xponential exhibition in Denver in May 2018. The platform has twice the payload capacity of its ScanEagle predecessor ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank

  Point Blank Weapon System is a hand-launched electro-optical VTOL-capable loitering munition developed by Isreal Aerospace Industries (IAI). IAI has been awarded a contract by the US ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  BAT-850

  Pathfinder's BAT-850 VSAT is a carbon fibre, tri-band terminal with auto-acquisition capability. Suitable for flyaway (case-based) and vehicle-mounted applications, it is in service with the ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  URC-300

  The URC-300 is a software-defined radio designed for line-of-sight, ground-to-air communications in particular. Introduced in 2020, it adheres to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards as well ...

• Air: aerial targets, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A/i

  The BQM-177A subsonic aerial target (SSAT) was designed for the USN, and the BQM-177i is the export variant. The BQM-177 provides realistic threat emulation for ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Banshee Tactical Radio

  Developed by Fenix Group, the Banshee Tactical Radio (BTR) is a communications system that uses 4G/LTE connectivity to provide secure mesh networking capability on the ...

• Crew-served grenade launchers

  Striker 40/MK47

  General Dynamics is systems integrator for the Striker 40 (MK47 AGL in US service). The complete system comprises the weapon, AN/PWG-1 Lightweight Video Sight and ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  AN/ARC-231 Skyfire

  The AN/ARC-231 Skyfire is an airborne VHF/UHF/LOS and DAMA SATCOM system. This system supports US DoD requirements for airborne, multi-band, multi-mission, secure anti-jam voice, data ...

• Air-to-air missiles

  9M39 Igla-V

  The 9M39 Igla-V (‘needle’) is a Russian IR homing SAM adapted for helicopter use. It is an air-launched version of the Igla MANPADS, which the ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Global Observer

  The AeroVironment Global Observer HALE UAV was a developmental HALE UAV designed for various civil, commercial and government applications.  Development of the platform began in 2007 ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  CLWS

  Developed by Boeing, Compact Laser Weapon System (CLWS or CLaWS) is a medium-range, low-power laser C-UAS system. According to the reports, the CLWS prototype has ...

• Weapon sights for day use

  CompM4/M4s

  The US DoD has bought over one million Aimpoint sights since 1997. The US Army is now fielding the CompM4s as the latest version of ...

• Heavy machine guns

  M2HB

  US Ordnance is one of two US M2HB heavy machine gun manufacturers which has received multi-year contracts to supply weapons to the US DoD. The ...