• Air Warfare

  US Air Force receives first upgraded F-16 for South Korean air defence mission

  12th April 2023

  The US Air Force in South Korea has received the first F-16 fighter jet upgraded with an AN/APG-83 radar and other avionics improvements.

• Air Warfare

  Romanian F-16s to receive ‘Identification Friend or Foe’ crypto devices

  3rd July 2023

  Romania's newly acquired F-16 fighter jets will receive cryptographic devices that will enhance their secure communication and data-transferring capabilities.

• Training

  Sweden green-lights Gripen training for Ukraine, no jets offered

  26th May 2023

  Sweden and Ukraine still need to agree on formal details before training on the Swedish combat aircraft can begin, but Stockholm said the planned move does not mean Gripens will be given to Ukraine.

• Training

  Landmarc Support Services secures £560 million contract to manage UK training estate

  15th May 2023

  The UK's Defence Infrastructure Organisation has awarded Landmarc Support Services a £560 million contract to provide facilities and rural estate management across the UK Defence Training Estate.

• Training

  IT2EC 2023: Culture hampering adoption of virtual reality pilot trainers

  26th April 2023

  Portable mixed reality devices aim to augment expensive dome-based full mission simulators in military training but face lobbying and cultural resistance.

• Digital Battlespace

  US Army selects SoarTech autonomous UAS for xTechSearch 7 Competition

  18th April 2023

  SoarTech's is putting forward its Centralized Control of Commercial Drones (C3D) platform, an autonomous system that helps with the logistics and control of small UAS.

• Air Warfare

  Australia seeks sovereignly manufactured general-purpose UAS

  4th August 2023

  With Australia's military banning the use of commercially available UAS, the ADF is looking for sovereignly designed replacements for general-purpose use.

• Training

  Training begins in earnest for Indian C295 transport aircraft crews

  15th May 2023

  Airbus has already begun training the first batch of flight crews for the Indian Air Force's C295 fleet and will also supply a CAE simulator under the contract.

• Training

  BMT secures contract to provide specialised training for Royal Navy aircraft carrier personnel

  16th May 2023

  BMT will deploy an advanced five-bridge immersive training simulator to help train the UK's aircraft carrier crew for complex manoeuvres and other tasks.

• Air Warfare

  Supplying F-16 jets to Ukraine won't win the war, but adds new causes of concern for Russia

  1st June 2023

  While the question of which Western fighter jet will be ultimately sent to Ukraine now seems settled, how much effect will the F-16's presence have on the conflict?

• Land Warfare

  DARPA RACER robotic vehicle programme approaches its second phase

  14th April 2023

  The agency is currently reviewing the results of the last RACER robotic vehicle autonomy experiment and will select partners for phase 2 in the coming weeks.

• Land Warfare

  RTX wins $117.5 million US Army deal for 3Gen FLIR B-Kit sensors

  7th July 2023

  RTX will produce B-Kit sensors for the US Army under a LRIP contract for installation on main battle tanks and other combat vehicles as well as potentially uncrewed platforms.

• Naval Warfare

  Vard pitches Vigilance OPV design to replace Canada’s Kingston class

  31st May 2023

  Vard Marine has launched an OPV designed and tailored to meet the future needs of the Royal Canadian Navy at the CANSEC 2023 event.

• Training

  US Army to use customised QinetiQ Banshee Jet 80+ target for training

  18th May 2023

  QinetiQ's MQM-185B target, based on the Banshee Jet 80+, aims to provide the US Army with hyper-realistic training capabilities.

• Training

  US Navy to transform at-sea Super Hornet and Growler training

  11th May 2023

  The US Navy is introducing a new live, virtual, and constructive (LVC) training system to enhance the F/A-18 and EA-18G training capability while reducing costs and increasing readiness during at-sea training.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Elbit Systems UAVs [Israel]

  Background Various Contracts On 3 December 2024, the Israeli Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced it had purchased "advanced drones and autonomous systems" from Elbit Systems in various ...

• Maritime patrol

  Long Range Patrol Aircraft [The Philippines]

  Programme Background On 10 July 2023, Elbit Systems announced that it had secured a contract for two long-range patrol aircraft. Although the customer was not ...

• Trainer

  M-346 [Greece]

  Programme Background In April 2021, Elbit Systems was awarded a $1.65 billion contract to set up Hellenic Air Force International Flight Training Centre. The deal includes ...

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

  Hermes 900 (Uganda)

  Programme Background In September 2018, The East African reported that Uganda had received 24 Hermes 900 platforms from Elbit Systems. Evidence of the platform being ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2 [Kenya]

  Programme Background Training On 23 August 2024, Baykar posted on social media that trainees from Kenya had completed their Bayraktar TB2 training at the Baykar Flight ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) Project [UK]

  Programme Background Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) Project The British Army launched the RAS project to provide the "direction required to exploit emerging technologies to ...

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

  Watchkeeper X [Romania]

  Programme Background 2021 In mid-2021, the Romanian manufacturer Aerostar signed a collaboration with U-TacS to produce the Watchkeeper X in Romania potentially. U-TacS is a ...

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

  Hermes 900 [Thailand]

  Programme Background Requirement The Naval Acquisition Management Office (NAMO) of the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) announced its intention to acquire one MALE UAV system comprising three ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Matrice 300 (Ukraine)

  Programme Background On 11 December 2021, Ukrainian media reported that the Administration of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine had acquired  60 Matrice 300 rotary-wing ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  Kondor Naval Helicopters (Poland)

  Programme Background In 2018, the Polish MoD announced its requirement to purchase up to eight naval helicopters to replace in-service SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopters. Polish ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  IAR-99 Replacement (Romania)

  On 29 August 2017, Leonardo announced that the IAR-99 trainer technology demonstrator (TD) will be fitted with company's Vixen 500E AESA radar. The Vixen 500E AESA ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530F -Kenya

  Crew transition training took place at the MD Helicopters headquarters in Mesa, Arizona, with field service support, armament, and gunnery training scheduled to occur at ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  F-5E/F Adversary Trainer US Navy

  The F-5N is a single seat, dual engine supersonic land based fighter. It is designed to a service life of 9000 flight hours. The aircraft ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Land 400 Phase 2 - Boxer CRV [Australia]

  Programme Background History The Land 400 Phase 2 programme will procure a replacement for the ASLAV, a derivative of the General Dynamics Land Systems Light Armoured Vehicle ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  AW101-Norway

  AgustaWestland is also providing initial support and training services, including spares at each of the operating bases and aircrew training. It will then provide performance ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air combat Training Centers

  Training centres and networked simulation devices for collective training in a realistic operational context at various levels (squadron, distant, joint, coalition) – Rafale Simulation Center, ...

• Air: UAV simulators

  UAV Simulators

  Elbit Systems has developed simulation systems to train personnel in UAV operation, from generic UAV training for initial screening procedures up to full mission, high-fidelity ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  Air Combat Training

  Boeing has experience in delivering training for fixed-wing air combat platforms including F-15C/E, F-16, F/A-18E/F, EA-18G, F-22 and MV/CV-22.

• Air: Displays

  F-16 Center Pedestal Display

  Produced by Elbit Systems of America, the F-16 Center Pedestal Display (CPD) provides a high-resolution colour display that replaces several legacy instruments on F-16 aircraft. 

• Air: air combat simulators

  USAF F-16 Training System

  L3Harris Technologies is supporting approximately 180 F-16 pilot and maintenance trainers as part of the USAF’s F-16 Training System. Programme contract options extend through 2019. ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  SkyBreaker

  Elbit Systems' SkyBreaker is an airborne Mission Training Centre that enables networked training between various trainees and platforms, including a range of air force platforms. ...

• Land: C2 simulators

  BGSC

  The Battle Group Simulation Center (BGSC) is a commander’s open training tool for doctrine and tactics. BGSC uses AI-based, adaptive-behaviour CGF. Applications include: conventional and ...

• Air: mission management systems

  Naval Command Center

  The Elbit Systems Naval Command Center (NCC) provides the infrastructure, systems and functionality required to achieve maritime domain awareness in conjunction with applicable means, evaluating ...

• Land: air defence simulators

  Live Training System for Air Defence

  Elbit Systems' Live Training System for Air Defence is integrated on various short- and medium-range air defence systems. The Live Training System provides networked and ...

• Air: fixed-wing flight simulators

  VMTS

  Elbit Systems' Virtual Mission Training System (VMTS) provides realistic training at a reduced cost in a fighter-like environment, claims the company. Using a data link, ...

• Air: fixed-wing flight simulators

  F-35 Training System

  BAE Systems is involved in F-35 Lightning II Training System design and sustainment, working with prime contractor Lockheed Martin. BAE Systems leads the instructional systems ...

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  Instrumented Ground Combat Training Systems

  Cubic supplies combat training systems for CTCs, homestations and forward-deployed environments. The systems are designed to support missions including force-on-force, urban operations, joint, combined arms ...

• Major networking projects

  DAP

  Israel’s Digital Army Program (DAP) offers interoperability of tri-service (air, land, sea) platforms and sensors for force-wide collaboration. The system is implemented in the IDF ...

• Air: fixed-wing flight simulators

  Tzofit Training Centre

  In June 2009, Elbit inaugurated the Beechcraft King Air B200 Tzofit Training Centre for IDF pilots. Elbit Systems serves as the project’s prime contractor, while ...

• 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 ...