• Defence Notes

  Two pilots die in Chinese fighter jet crash

  12th March 2019

  A Chinese navy fighter jet crashed during training on the southern island province of Hainan on 12 March 2019, killing two pilots, the defence ministry …

• Digital Battlespace

  Paris Air Show: Thales unveils TrUE AI approach

  20th June 2019

  With technological innovation continuing to influence the defence industry, the growing application of AI has begun to surface. In response, Thales has presented its TrUE …

• Defence Notes

  MBDA encouraged by orders from ‘complex and challenging’ year

  20th March 2019

  Weapons manufacturer MBDA is taking heart from a 2018 orders intake which amounted to €4 billion ($4.6 billion), equivalent to €2.5 billion from domestic markets …

• Land Warfare

  Australia to receive new air defence capability

  27th March 2019

  The Australian government has announced that it will purchase a new short-range air defence capability to protect its forces from modern airborne threats. The new …

• Defence Notes

  Australia, PNG sign Lombrum MoU

  27th March 2019

  The Australian Department of Defence and Papua New Guinea (PNG) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a joint initiative at Lombrum Naval Base …

• Land Warfare

  Australia selects NBC gear

  19th June 2019

  OPEC Systems, an Australian company established in 1992, has signed a contract with Leidos Australia to supply four types of equipment as part of Project …

• Digital Battlespace

  Saab adds GlobalEye to Finland fighter offer

  20th June 2019

  Saab has announced that it will include two GlobalEye Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C;) aircraft as part of its Gripen offer to Finland.GlobalEye is …

• Naval Warfare

  Paris Air Show: Carry on Poseidon (video insight)

  20th June 2019

  Following AAR's recent overhaul completion of the US Navy's first P-8A Poseidon MPA, company officials are to push on with the seven-year ID/IQ contract and …

• Military Logistics

  Rolls-Royce to power Malta's new OPV

  11th March 2019

  Rolls-Royce has received a contract from Cantiere Navale Vittoria for the supply of a marine propulsion package for the Armed Forces of Malta’s new P71 …

• Training

  SRC receives CEAR order

  21st June 2019

  SRC will supply Common Electronic Attack Receiver (CEAR) systems to BAE Systems under a $5.2 million contract announced on 18 June.The company will build and …

• Land Warfare

  Australia pieces together its NASAMS puzzle

  21st June 2019

  Australia’s Department of Defence announced on 20 June the signing of an acquisition contract for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) short-range ground-based air …

• Naval Warfare

  BAE aims to boost RAN Hunter frigate supply chain

  26th June 2019

  BAE Systems is offering A$20 million in contracts to suppliers to support Australia’s Hunter-class Type 26-derived frigate acquisition.  It is opening up opportunities to 150 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  NW-44 engine logs flight hour milestone

  20th June 2019

  Northwest UAV’s NW-44 Heavy Fuel Engine has logged 1500 sorties on combat and commercial small UAS, the company announced on 20 June.The purpose-built commercial off-the-shelf …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Howler reaches IOC with US Army

  20th June 2019

  The Howler counter-UAS system has achieved Initial Operational Capability with the US Army, Raytheon announced on 18 June.Combining the capabilities of Raytheon's Ku band radio …

• Digital Battlespace

  Milipol Asia 2019: Bler unblurs the cyber-intelligence lines

  4th April 2019

  Bler Systems, an Israeli cyber-intelligence company that normally keeps a low profile, was present at the Milipol Asia 2019 exhibition in Singapore. Importantly, it was …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Joint Light Helicopter (HIL) Programme

  Programme Background The French Ministry of the Armed Forces has elected to bring the launch of the French Armed Forces’ HIL programme forward to 2021. ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  NH90 TTH [France]

  Programme Background In 2001, the French government made its first purchase of 34 NH90 Tactical Transport Helicopters, followed by a second order in 2013 for ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - mini

  Micro & Mini Drones (France)

  Programme Background RequirementOn 23 April 2021, an RfP was published by the Direction de la Maintenance Aéronautique (DMAé) to supply around 500 micro and nano drones for the ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | OPV Procurement (1-2) [Montenegro]

  During Euronaval 2024, the French Ministry of Armed Forces and Veterans announced that Montenegro signed a contract for the acquisition of two OPV 60. Both ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | OPV Procurement (1-2) [Montenegro]

  During Euronaval 2024, the French Ministry of Armed Forces and Veterans announced that Montenegro signed a contract for the acquisition of two OPV 60. Both ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A330 MRTT (13-15) [France]

  In June 2020, The French government has pledged to buy new military heavy-lift helicopters and accelerate plans for naval drone, ISTAR and tanker aircraft programmes as ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 300 [France]

  Programme Background Plans to Purchase At Eurosatory 2022, Col. Arnaud Goujon, the French Army's chief of plans, told the media that the French Army was ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  NH90 Special Forces [France]

  Programme Background In French service, advanced H225M Caracals with aerial refuelling capabilities are used by SOF units of the French Air Force (FAF) and French ...

• OPVs

  OPV Procurement (1-2) [Montenegro]

  Programme Background Timeline During Euronaval 2024, the French Ministry of Armed Forces and Veterans announced that Montenegro signed a contract for the acquisition of two ...

• OPVs

  OPV 58 S [Senegal]

  Programme Background Senegal ordered three OPV 58 S patrol vessels on 17 November 2019. A procurement contract was signed between the Ministry of Armed Forces ...

• Loitering munitions

  Colibri [France]

  Background Origins French Ministry of Armed Forces spokesperson Hervé Grandjean stated in a press conference in May 2022 that the Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA) and ...

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

  French MALE UAVs [France]

  Background Requirements The French Ministry of the Armed Forces wishes to develop a French MALE offering comparable to the MQ-9 Reaper, which would, it is hoped, promote ...

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

  UX11 (Ukraine Aid) [France]

  Programme Background First Batch On 6 September 2023, Sébastien Lecornu, the French Minister of Defence, announced Delair was providing Ukraine with more than 150 drones. ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  PLFS [France]

  Programme Background The Sabre, then known as the Sherpa FS, was developed as a response to a 2014 requirement for three types of new vehicles ...

• Loitering munitions

  Larinae [France]

  Background Origins French Ministry of Armed Forces spokesperson Hervé Grandjean stated in a press conference in May 2022 that the Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA) ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Counter-UAS systems

  Boreades

  Boreades is a modular anti-UAV system developed by CS. This suite combines multi-sensors and multi-effectors in order to enable the detection, identification and neutralisation of rogue ...

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

  UAS 100

  The UAS 100 is an autonomous, three-engined platform, modular UAS manufactured by Thales in partnership with Issoire Aviation, Hionos and with the support of the ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Vespa-15

  The Vespa-15 is a first-person view (FPV) rotary-wing UAV manufactured by a Ukrainian company.  In May 2025, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Ukraine announced it ...

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

  Tundra 2

  The Tundra 2 is a rotary-wing UAV from Hexadrone. It is described as a new, modular, plug-and-play, and multi-trade drone. Hexadrone's website states that the French Armed ...

• OPVs

  OPV 60

  The OPV 60 is designed to conduct surveillance missions in coastal and EEZ waters. The ship can be armed with a 40mm naval gun and ...

• EO/IR systems

  Euroflir 350

  The Euroflir 350 is an out-of-production gyro-stabilised optronic system. According to Safran, it is effective at long ranges, can track mobile targets, designate important areas for ...

• Military helicopters - light/training, Military helicopters - multirole, Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  H160M

  Airbus is developing the H160M to meet the requirements of the French military for the Joint Light Helicopter (Hélicoptère Interarmées Léger, or HIL) programme. It ...

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

  Lanner

  Unveiled at Eurosatory 2024, the Lenner is a modified variant of the Pengion C VTOL drone, specifically modified to meet the SDTL (Light Tactical Drone System) program ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  NH90 TTH

  Developed as a multinational programme between France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, the European NH90 was designed to meet NATO requirements for multirole capability from ...

• Land: handheld NV devices

  O-NYX

  The Thales O-NYX is a Ultra-Compact Night Vision Goggle used by the French armed forces. They have an enlarged field of vision to 51° compared ...

• Pistols

  Glock Pistol

  The Glock family of pistols have been in widespread service since the Glock 17 was selected for Austrian military and police service in 1982. The company's ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  Mistral 2

  MISTRAL is a man-portable, fully digital, heat-seeking missile designed to meet the requirements of all branches of the armed forces to defend against air threats. ...

• Air: Defensive Systems - Radar Warning Receivers

  TDS-FA/-TA/-H

  Thales’ TDS family is comprised of Radar Warning Receivers (RWRs) designed to equip a range of fixed-wing aircraft. The product series includes the TDS-FA designed ...

• Loitering munitions

  Toutatis

  The Toutatis is an in-development loitering munition from Thales. According to Thales, the platform is effective against groups of fighters and unarmored and light-armoured vehicles. Unveiled at ...

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

  Sky Keeper

  The Sky Keeper is a rotary-wing UAV from Milton International.  The UAV is capable of carrying a 10kg payload and features a modular gimbal, meaning ...