• Naval Warfare

  DCNS push the Gowind

  14th March 2017

  The recent opening of a representative office in Bogata, Colombia, by French shipbuilders DCNS again highlights the value it places on the global export market.Having …

• Defence Helicopter

  Quad A 2017: Plans advance for Chinook Block II

  19th April 2017

  The first of more than 1,200 Chinooks produced for more than 19 operators around the world was delivered to the US Army on 16 August …

• Defence Helicopter

  Quad A 2017: AH-64E becomes army’s guardian

  19th April 2017

  The US Army is well on its way in fielding new-build versions of the latest iterations of its AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.In April 2016, Boeing …

• Digital Battlespace

  Raytheon to continue AN/TPY-2 GaN work

  10th April 2017

  Raytheon will continue work to add gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor technology to the AN/TPY-2 radar under a $10 million contract modification announced on 6 April.The …

• Digital Battlespace

  AEHF-6 satellite to feature 3-D printed part

  7th April 2017

  Lockheed Martin will integrate a 3-D printed part on the US Air Force's (USAF's) sixth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF 6) satellite, the company announced …

• Defence Helicopter

  LAAD 2017: Show highlights (video)

  7th April 2017

  The Shephard Media team talk through highlights of this week's show and discuss the region's economic problems that have implicated the progress of current and …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  SAS 2017: USCG envisions UAS blend

  6th April 2017

  The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has made no secret of its interest in small unmanned aircraft systems (SUAS) for shipboard operations aboard its new …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  SAS 2017: Navy identifies Triton basing plans

  5th April 2017

  US Navy representatives have outlined the organisational and aircraft basing plans for the MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft system, which supports the navy's Integrated Maritime Patrol …

• Defence Helicopter

  LAAD 2017: Airbus overcoming market woes (video)

  5th April 2017

  Mesrob Karalekian, VP for Latin America at Airbus Helicopters, speaks with Shephard about the company's optimism in relation to recent economic woes within the region.Furthermore, …

• Training

  Rockwell, Leonardo DRS selected for TCTS Inc-II

  3rd April 2017

  Rockwell Collins and Leonardo DRS have been selected by the US Navy to supply an encrypted, next-generation tactical training system for its Tactical Combat Training …

• Military Logistics

  UK's F-35 preparation ramps up

  3rd April 2017

  Lockheed Martin will deliver initial training, engineering, maintenance and logistics support for the UK's F-35 Lightning II fleet under an £80 million contract announced on …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Camcopter in MUM-T development

  3rd April 2017

  Schiebel is looking to develop the Camcopter S-100 UAS' manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) capabilities with the integration of a new datalink, the company announced on 20 …

• Special Operations

  SOFINS: New marine assault suit makes a splash

  31st March 2017

  The US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has awarded Mustang Survival a $7 million contract for its Maritime Assault Suit System (MASS) programme, service officials have …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Saudi factory to churn out Chinese UCAVs

  29th March 2017

  When Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud visited China in mid-March, one of the many deals that he signed was to set up a factory …

• Training

  VSTEP, Damen partner for RBDF simulators

  27th March 2017

  Damen has partnered with VSTEP to deliver a NAUTIS Full Mission Bridge Simulator with Alphatron Marine equipment to the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF), VSTEP …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Data links

  Data links | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-390 [Brazil]

  Programme Background Requirement The aircraft deliveries were scheduled to start by the end of 2016 and continue over a period of ten years. However,  the first ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  C-130H Replacement [Sweden]

  Programme Background Requirements Sweden has five C-130H aircraft (designated Tp-84) and one KC-130H. Two C-130Es bought in the 1960s have retired, but the six H ...

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

  Hermes 900 [Chile]

  Methodology Unit cost In 2024, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) acquired one Hermes 900 for 50 million reais ($9.14 million), giving each drone an estimated ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  H145M [Brazil]

  Background  Brazilian leadership announced in February 2022 that the Sabre Mil Mi-35M Hind-E attack helicopters were being retired from active service. This decision came as a ...

• Fighter - multirole

  JAS 39E/F Gripen [Brazil]

  Background In 2016, Gripen’s Project and Development Center was opened in Sao Paulo to allow Sweedish and Brazillian engineers to work together in the Gripen ...

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

  Hermes 900 [Colombia]

  Methodology Unit cost In 2024, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) acquired one Hermes 900 for 50 million reais ($9.14 million), giving each drone an estimated gross ...

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

  Hermes 900 (5) [Brazil]

  Background First three batches (2014-2024) Across three purchases, Defence Insight estimates that Brazil has acquired five Hermes 900 UAVs. In 2014, Elbit reported supplying one ...

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

  Hermes 900 (1-4) [Brazil]

  Background First batch (2014) In 2014, Elbit reported supplying one Hermes 900 UAV to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB). The drone is called the RQ-900 in Brazilian ...

• Maritime patrol

  C295 add-on [Brazil]

  Programme Background  In 2014 Brazil signed a contracted for two additional C-295 SAR platforms with the option to acquire one additional platform. In 2018, reports ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Polar Support Vessel [Brazil]

  Programme Background Requirements In June 2020, the Brazilian Navy released a Request for Proposal (RfP) to procure a new Antarctic vessel to be manufactured in Brazil. The ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air-to-surface missiles

  MAR-1

  The MAR-1 is a Brazilian air-to-surface anti-radiation missile (ARM) developed by Mectron in collaboration with the Aerospace Technology and Science Department (DCTA) of the Brazilian ...

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

  Harpia

  Described as the UAV with the most onboard technology in Latin America, Harpia is a multifunctional fixed-wing Brazilian drone developed by Advanced Technologies Security & Defence.  The Uruguayan ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  EMB-312 Tucano

  The EMB-312 Tucano (Brazilian designation T-27) is a trainer and light attack aircraft developed by Embraer to meet the training requirements of the Brazilian Air ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  TPTS

  Tactical Procedures Training Simulators (TPTS), operating with SWARM software, can be used to provide most core training elements to pilots or offload training tasks from ...

• Guided munitions

  SMKB (Smart-MK-Bomb)

  The Smart-MK-Bomb, or the SMKB, is a precision guidance kit developed by Mectron and designed to turn Mk 82 and Mk 83 bombs into guided munitions.

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

  Albatroz Vortex

  The Albatroz Vortex from Stella Tecnologia is a development of the company's Albatroz UAV.  The key differentiator is that the Vortex is fitted with an ATJR ...

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

  Condor

  The Condor, or Atobá XR, is an in-development MALE-class UAV from Stella Technologia.  The development of the multi-role is tied to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), which has ...

• Trainer, Transport

  EMB-121 Xingu

  The EMB-121 Xingu is a twin-turboprop light transport and advanced multi-engine trainer aircraft developed by Embraer based on the EMB-110 Bandeirante. Its maiden flight was ...

• Land: battle management systems

  Arkhe Mission & Combat

  Launched in 2017, Atech's Arkhe Mission & Combat solutions offer a variety of solutions enabling operator to conduct missions from planning to execution and debriefing. It ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-390/C-390 Millennium

  The KC-390 is a high-wing, twin-turbofan, T-tail design intended to meet the needs of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) for a tanker/transport aircraft. Developed and ...

• Fighter - air superiority

  F-5E/F Tiger II

  The F-5E (single-seat)/F (twin-seat) Tiger II is an air superiority fighter developed by Northrop Grumman based on the original F-5 Freedom Fighter. Production of the ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M

  The medium-weight, 11t-class H225M (formerly known as the EC725) is the latest military Super Puma/Cougar family member.  Technical features include a modular design of mechanical ...

• EO/IR systems

  Skyward

  The SkyWard system is an advanced Infrared Search and Track (IRST) solution developed for next-generation airborne platforms, including 5th-generation fighter aircraft.  Designed with modularity in ...

• Land: air defence radar

  Saber M60

  The Saber M60 is a low-altitude air-defence radar developed by the Brazilian Army's CTEx (Army Technology Centre) in collaboration with Bradar, part of Embraer Defence ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  RBS 70 system

  The RBS 70 was developed in the 1970s to meet the Swedish Army’s requirement for a low-cost, easy-to-use MANPADS which could function in extreme climatic ...