• Digital Battlespace

  Thales receives Captas-1 contract from UAE

  2nd March 2017

  Thales will supply its Captas-1 single ceramic ring high-performance sonar to the UAE Navy under a contract announced on 28 February.The Captas-1 is designed to …

• Naval Warfare

  MCA seeking unmanned capability

  7th February 2017

  The UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is exploring the possible use of UAS under the Maritime RPAS Pathfinder project that would see systems complementing …

• Defence Helicopter

  Airbus to retrofit German CH-53 helicopters

  28th February 2017

  Airbus Helicopters has received a contract to retrofit the German armed forces' CH-53 heavy transport helicopters, the company announced on 27 February.This contract covers work …

• Defence Notes

  Taiwan running out of time and men

  28th February 2017

  A new RAND report estimated that Taiwan's intelligence community would have four weeks to prepare for a Chinese invasion. The report, 'Transformation of Taiwan's Reserve …

• Defence Helicopter

  Avalon 2017: NorthStar offers Australia an alternative

  1st March 2017

  NorthStar Aviation is offering the Australian Defence Force (ADF) an alternative solution to meet its requirement for a deployable light attack and reconnaissance helicopter for …

• Military Logistics

  Lockheed Martin, ADSB sign MoU

  28th February 2017

  Lockheed Martin and Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) have signed an agreement to cooperate and provide sustainment services for UAE military maritime assets.The memorandum of …

• Land Warfare

  US Army widens Stryker lethality upgrade

  8th March 2017

  The US Army is working towards providing lethality upgrades to its wider Stryker 8x8 Infantry Combat Vehicle family of vehicles (FoV) to provide much needed …

• Defence Helicopter

  ​Heli-Expo 2017: 6XX specs revealed (video)

  8th March 2017

  MD Helicopters has revealed the target specifications of its new 6XX helicopter, which the company hopes to be able to certify within the next two …

• Defence Notes

  Northrop Grumman signs LOI with PGZ

  22nd February 2017

  Northrop Grumman International Trading has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ) to explore potential areas of industrial cooperation, the company …

• Digital Battlespace

  Avalon 2017: JORN upgrade award imminent

  3rd March 2017

  A decision on the upgrade to Australia's Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) is imminent with the two bidding companies, Lockheed Martin Australia and BAE Systems …

• Defence Notes

  Tokyo defence report annoys China

  25th February 2017

  A new Japanese think tank report on Taiwan's defence and the Chinese military threat has received a thumbs down by Beijing for not respecting the …

• Military Logistics

  Qinetiq acquires Rubikon Group

  28th February 2017

  Qinetiq Australia has acquired Australia-based integrated logistics support provider RubiKon Group, the company announced on 27 February. The acquisition will see the company become a …

• Training

  Another ASDOT contender declares hand

  22nd February 2017

  The UK's Air Support for Defence Operational Training (ASDOT) requirement took another turn this week when Inzpire and Discovery Air Defence Services announced that they …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Stratobus prepares for lift-off

  2nd March 2017

  Thales Alenia Space is on course to fly a full-scale prototype of its Stratobus high-altitude 'drone satellite' by 2020, with a sub-scale demonstrator expected to …

• Defence Helicopter

  Russian Navy receives Mi-8 Arctic helicopter

  22nd February 2017

  The Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet aviation base has taken delivery of a new Mi-8AMTSh-VA helicopter, the Russian Ministry of Defence announced on 20 February.The helicopter …

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 ...