• Digital Battlespace

  Harris to upgrade US MRAP radios

  6th May 2016

  Harris Corporation has been awarded a $12 million order to upgrade the tactical radios used by the US Air Force (USAF) for multiband communications in …

• Military Logistics

  Austal receives EPF 12 long-lead contract

  6th May 2016

  Austal has been awarded an $18.5 million contract by the US Navy to procure long-lead materials for the 12th Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport vessel (EPF …

• Military Logistics

  Babcock to manage defence vehicles

  6th May 2016

  Babcock has been awarded a £47 million contract to manage the hired and leased vehicles of the British Ministry of Defence (MoD), the ministry announce …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2016: Endeavor Robotics to continue with current UGV lineup

  5th May 2016

  Attending Xponential for the first time since the formation of Endeavor Robotics, company officials say they will concentrate on marketing their existing lineup of UGVs …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2016: Sikorsky eyes K-MAX technology

  5th May 2016

  Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky are set to leverage each other’s autonomous technologies following their merger last year, potentially creating a powerhouse in the industry for …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2016: New business angles with VTOL UAS

  5th May 2016

  Textron Systems say that their Aerosonde Hybrid UAS would need to continue development before any thought was given to customer sales, although as it stands …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2016: UGV development rolling forward

  5th May 2016

  Several years ago when the threat to soldiers in theatres was the improvised explosive device (IED), industry responded with solutions such as robotic trucks that …

• Land Warfare

  ArmorSource to deliver USMC helmets

  5th May 2016

  ArmorSource has been awarded an order by the US Marine Corps (USMC) to deliver 10,000 Lightweight Helmets, the company announced on 3 May. The helmets …

• Digital Battlespace

  NIE 16.2: Command Post Computing grows

  5th May 2016

  The Command Post Computing Environment (CP CE) is being used for the first time by the US Army at the Brigade Combat Team level. An …

• Military Logistics

  KC-135s support KC-46A testing missions

  5th May 2016

  The US Air Force (USAF) KC-135 Stratotanker is supporting testing and evaluation missions of the new Boeing KC-46 Pegasus military aerial refuelling and transport aircraft. A KC-135 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2016: Legacy Black Hawks to go unmanned

  5th May 2016

  Sikorsky is on track to roll out the first UH-60A Black Hawk prototype fitted with optionally-piloted capabilities later this year, company officials have confirmed. It …

• Digital Battlespace

  NIE 16.2: US Army keeps cyber focus

  5th May 2016

  Cyber defence is one of the main priorities during the latest US Army Network Integration Evaluation iteration 16.2. Trials, which started on 2 May, are …

• Digital Battlespace

  Harris buys CPI Trifold antennas

  5th May 2016

  Harris has purchased 12 4.6m Trifold antennas from Communications & Power Industries (CPI) for use in a US Department of Defense programme. The order, worth …

• Land Warfare

  Rheinmetall books Puma ammo orders

  5th May 2016

  Rheinmetall has booked a series of orders worth over $13.85 million for ammunition for the Puma infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) of the German armed forces, …

• Naval Warfare

  Austal seals Pacific contract

  5th May 2016

  Austal has signed an AU$280 million (US$210 million) contract with Australia’s Department of Defence (DoD) to build and maintain 19 patrol boats for South Pacific …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Land 400 Phase 3 (Logistics, Ammunition Carrier and Mortar Carrier Variants) [Australia]

  Programme Background The Australian DoD released the initial RfI for the Land 400 Phase 3 programme in November 2015. Following consultations with local industry, the ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Land 400 Phase 3 (Amphibious Vehicles) [Australia]

  Programme Background The Australian DoD released the initial RfI for the Land 400 Phase 3 programme in November 2015. Following consultations with local industry, the ...

• Main battle tanks

  M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams [Poland]

  Background Requirement Since the early 2010s, Poland has wanted to upgrade its Soviet-era tank fleet due to modernisation requirements, the need to increase interoperability with NATO ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - micro

  Drone40 (Ukraine Aid) [Australia]

  Programme Background In August 2022, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), a think tank, held a podcast with Ukraine's ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, in which ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  Littoral Manoeuvre Vessel - Medium (Project Land 8710 Phase 1A) [Australia]

  Background Requirements Australia has set out requirements for a fleet of up to 18 Littoral Manoeuvre Vessels - Medium (LMV-M) with the release of a ...

• 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 ...

• Main battle tanks

  Viatura Blindada de Combate-Carro de Combate (VBC-CC) [Brazil]

  Programme Background Several key technical requirements have been outlined by the Brazilian MoD. Among the most important are that the platform should weigh less than ...

• Main battle tanks

  Leopard 2A4 [Czech Republic]

  Background  The Czech Republic currently operates a small fleet of T-72s, which, while undergoing upgrades and life extension programmes, are increasingly obsolete. In October 2022, ...

• Submarines: nuclear/attack

  Second Hand SSNs [Australia]

  Programme background Timeline In September 2021, it was announced in a trilateral announcement between Australia, the US and the UK that Australia, in a shock ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Chios class LST replacement [Greece]

  Background Requirements The Hellenic Navy’s Chios-class tank landing ship platforms have been in service for almost 30 years. Shephard estimates they will start reaching their out-of-service date (OSD) ...

• Self-propelled rocket launchers

  HIMARS (Batch 2) [Australia]

  Programme background Prior to selecting HIMARS in January 2023, Australia did not operate an MLRS system. However, the effectiveness of Ukrainian HIMARS convinced the Australian government ...

• Medium UGVs

  Mission Master (RPV Sprial 2) [UK]

  Background First announced in April 2017 and referred to in early MOD documents as the ‘last mile resupply’ initiative, the British Army is reportedly evaluating ...

• Military - USVs

  Bluebottle USV (16-55) [Australia]

  Programme Background Timeline The RAN purchased a number of the 6.8m-long Bluebottles, including five under an A$4.9 million ($3.3 million) contract signed in November 2022. ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Project Land 400 Phase 3 [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement: 2015 RfI The Land 400 Phase 3 programme will procure a new tracked IFV to replace the Australian Army's legacy fleet of ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Project Air 7003 [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement The Royal Australian Air Force has been without a UAS capability since the Heron was withdrawn in mid-2017. According to Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  Carl-Gustaf M3

  The Carl-Gustaf M3 is the third generation of the 84mm shoulder-fired recoilless antitank gun, first fielded by the Swedish Army in 1946. Since then, it ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  120mm KE DM63 / DM53 A1 Tank Ammunition

  The 120mm kinetic energy tank ammunition is manufactured by Rheinmetall. There are several variations of the ammunition, including the DM63, which can be fired from ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  120MM HEAT-TP F1A

  Franco-German KNDS-Nexter produce the 120mm High-Explosive Anti-Tank Training-Purpose F1A (HEAT-TP F1A) round to enable reduced-cost training for Main Battle Tank crews. 

• Main battle tanks

  M1/M1A1 Abrams

  The 105mm-armed M1 Abrams tracked MBT was introduced into US Army service in 1980 as a replacement for the 105mm-armed M60 MBT. In April 1991, ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  120mm PELE Tank Ammunition

  The 120mm Penetrator with Enhanced Lateral Effect (PELE) tank ammunition is an inert round produced by Rheinmetall. It is suitable for use against semi-hard targets ...

• Light mortars

  60mm Mortar Ammunition

  US-based LD Systems' 60mm Mortar ammunition fulfils the NATO standard for lightweight mortar ammunition.

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  120mm L55A1

  The 120mm L55A1 is a smoothbore high-pressure gun based on the L55 tank gun. The L55A1 has been qualified and in service since 2019. It ...

• Naval: RF/IR/acoustic decoys

  Nulka

  The Nulka is an active anti-ship missile decoy originally conceived in Australia, and developed under a joint Australian-US programme. BAE Systems Australia is prime contractor, while ...

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  120mm L55 Tank Gun

  The 120mm L55 is a smoothbore tank gun produced by Rheinmetall. It is designed for use on the Leopard main battle tank, to which it ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  M1147 Advanced Multi-Purpose (AMP)

  The M1147 Advanced Multi-Purpose (AMP) is a 120mm tank round developed by Northrop Grumman Defence Systems. Various customers, including Bahrain, Israel, and the US, use the tank ...

• Main battle tanks

  M1A2 SEPv3

  The M1A2 System Enhancement Package 3 (M1A2 SEPv3, also known as M1A2C) is the latest production-standard variant of the Abrams MBT. Designed primarily to address ...

• Land: RWS

  R400 Slinger

  The R400 Slinger is a counter-uncrewed aerial system (C-UAS) remote weapon system (RWS) being developed in Australia. The development is a response to growing international ...

• Unguided Medium Calibre Ammunition

  Next Generation Combat Vehicle Ammunition

  The Next Generation Combat Vehicle Ammunition (NGVA) is a family of ammunition being developed by the US Army's Armaments Center and manufactured by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems ...

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  CVTESS

  Saab's Combat Vehicle Tactical Engagement Simulation System (CVTESS) is a laser-based simulator which supports every version of the Abrams Main Battle Tank and the Bradley ...

• Submarines: nuclear/attack

  SSN AUKUS

  The SSN-AUKUS will be the submarine design resulting from the AUKUS trilateral pact between Australia, the US and the UK. Expected to incorporate technology from ...