• Military Logistics

  Australia wins F-35 regional warehouse assignment

  22nd August 2017

  BAE Systems Australia has been selected to manage the Asia-Pacific Regional Warehouse of F-35 Lightning IIprogramme, the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) announced on 19 …

• Naval Warfare

  Australia approves minehunter programme

  15th August 2017

  The Australian government has granted first pass approval for plans to extend the service life of the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN’s) Huon class minehunter vessels, …

• Naval Warfare

  BAE Systems submits Australian frigate bid

  14th August 2017

  BAE Systems has submitted its bid to the Australian government to meet the Royal Australian Navy’s Future Frigate requirement, the company announced on 10 August.The …

• Land Warfare

  PAC-3 MSE test from remote launcher

  26th September 2017

  Lockheed Martin’s PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) interceptor has successfully intercepted a tactical ballistic missile target in the first-ever MSE test from a remote launcher. …

• Defence Helicopter

  CPI to manufacture Black Hawk windows

  25th September 2017

  CPI Aerostructures has signed a five-year contract worth up to $8.2 million with Sikorsky to supply gunner window assemblies for the UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter, …

• Special Operations

  North Korean SOF show of force fails to impress

  2nd September 2017

  The latest public ‘show of force’ from the Korean People’s Army (KPA) SOF has provided a further glimpse into their capabilities as tensions continue to …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MQ-9B SkyGuardian achieves new milestone

  23rd August 2017

  General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ MQ-9B SkyGuardian UAS has completed an FAA-approved flight from Laguna Airfield at Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona, through national airspace to the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment delivers M1/M2/M5-compatible UAS

  22nd September 2017

  AeroVironment has integrated new M1/M2/M5 radio frequencies into its family of small UAS, enabling users to securely conform to the Department of Defense’s (DoD's) new …

• Special Operations

  Special warfare applications for Wave Glider

  20th September 2017

  Naval customers and Liquid Robotics are considering a variety of ‘special warfare applications’ for the next-generation Wave Glider unmanned surface vessel (USV), company officials have …

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2017: Bucking good Bronco on display

  15th September 2017

  ST Kinetics has unveiled a new configuration for its next-generation Bronco 3 all-terrain tracked carrier at this year’s DSEI. The company is using the exhibition …

• Special Operations

  SOCOM identifies future SOF C4 needs

  7th September 2017

  The Science and Technology Directorate at United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has identified technology areas of interest associated with C4. USSOCOM Science and Technology …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MSPO 2017: Watching brief for Thales in Polish UAS programme

  7th September 2017

  Patience is the name of the game for Thales as it awaits a final decision by Poland’s government for the provision of the Watchkeeper X …

• Naval Warfare

  DSEI 2017: New shipbuilding strategy to avoid past mistakes

  6th September 2017

  The UK’s National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSbS), announced on 6 September, is aiming to overcome mistakes made in previous naval programmes and reverse the reductions in …

• Defence Helicopter

  Indian Army lodges Dhruv order

  6th September 2017

  Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is in receipt of an order for 41 further Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH), primarily for the Indian Army, according to …

• Defence Notes

  MSPO 2017: Israeli companies seek Polish growth

  5th September 2017

  Poland’s ambitious plans to spend billions of dollars modernising its armed forces has unsurprisingly garnered attention from some of the industry’s leading defence contractors, not …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Light attack, Trainer

  PC-21 (Project Air 5428) [Australia]

  The new PTS, including aircraft, flight training simulators and learning environments is being acquired from a single capability contractor, Team 21, which consists of Lockheed ...

• Transport, Transport/tanker aircraft

  Project Air 7404 [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement Australia is thinking ahead to an enlarged transport fleet to replace the current C-130Js. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was the second ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A (Project Air 6000 Phase 2A/B) [Australia]

  Programme Background The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) took delivery of 18 F-35A aircraft as of March 2020 and the remaining aircraft are expected to ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton (5-6) [Australia]

  Background Four Contracted Units In the summer of 2020, Northrop Grumman announced that the Australian Government provided $333 million for three MQ-4C Tritons and associated GCS. ...

• Medium Range Missile Defence Systems: 20-90km range

  Medium Range Air Defence [Australia]

  Background Faced with a growing threat from China and a vast land and sea territory to protect, Australia is seeking to establish a medium-range ground-based ...

• Patrol boats

  Evolved Cape Class (13-14) [Australia]

  Programme Background Austal was awarded a contract to build six 'Evolved'Cape-class patrol boats for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) on 1 May 2020 (see separate ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) [Australia]

  Background Older Efforts On 23 April 2021, the US State Department's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) approval announcement revealed that Australia had requested to buy up ...

• 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, ...

• OPVs

  Arafura Class (Project SEA 1180) (1-6) [Australia]

  Programme Background Australia's new class of Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV), the Arafura-class, will replace the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) fleet of Armidale and Cape-class patrol ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-28 Ghost Bat [Australia]

  Background Goal As stated by the Head of Air Force Capability, Air Vice-Marshal Robert Denney, in March 2022, the Ghost Bat will be an "operational system ...

• Loitering munitions

  Mission Talon Strike [Australia]

  Background Request for Tender (RFT) On 19 May 2025, the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA), an agency aimed at streamlining defence invocation for the Australian Defence ...

• Military UAS - small

  VTOL UAV [New Zealand]

  Background Defence Capability Plan (DCP) In April 2025, the New Zealand government published the DCP, a document that is essentially a blueprint for what procurements ...

• Trainer

  Hawk 127 Replacement (Future Lead-In Fighter Training System- Project Air 6002 PH1) [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirements The RAAF is seeking a future solution that provides a ‘relevant, adaptable, affordable and safe LIFTS out to 2050’ for training pilots ...

• Military UAS - small

  DEF129 (Tactical UAS) [Australia]

  Programme Background Programme Announcement The Australian Army announced the Project Land 129 Phase 3 programme in 2017. This announcement led to the release of an industry ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Harpii Szpon (Loyal Wingman) [Poland]

  Background Market Evaluation On 6 November 2023, speaking at the IQPC International Fighter Conference (IFC) 2023 in Madrid, Major General Cezary Wiśniewski, the Deputy General Commander of the ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: Integrated Defensive Systems

  Air-5416 Project Echidna

  Air-5416 Project Echidna was an initiative launched in 2001 by BAE Systems for the Australian DoD. Its goal was to overhaul the self protection systems ...

• Trainer

  King Air trainer

  Textron / Beechcraft King Air trainers are a family twin-engine aircraft based on King Air 90, 100, 200 and 350 utility aircraft. The King Air ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  Australian Defence Force MRH90 Training

  As prime contractor for the ADF's MRH90 training programme, CAE has provided two MRH90 full-flight mission simulators (FFMS), training facilities and engineering and support services. ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  RAAF Hawk Mk 127 FMS

  Under subcontract to BAE Systems, CAE is designing and manufacturing three Hawk Mk 127 full-mission simulators (FMS) for the Royal Australian Air Force that will ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Wanderer

  The Wanderer is a low-altitude, low-cost, long-endurance UAV produced in-house by the Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF) Jericho Disruptive Innovation Group and the Australian Government's Defense Science ...

• Light attack

  Hawk 200

  The Hawk 200 is a single-seat light attack iteration of the Hawk 100 (see separate entry) and Advanced Jet Trainer or AJT (see separate entry). ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-28A Ghost Bat

  The MQ-28A Ghost Bat is a loyal wingman-type, Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), MALE fixed-wing drone being developed by Boeing Defence Australia. Its development began in ...

• Military - USVs

  Bluebottle

  Bluebottle is a persistent, autonomous, uncrewed surface vessel from Ocius Technology in service with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF). In ...

• Air: UAV simulators

  Predator Mission Trainer (PMT)

  The CAE Predator Mission Trainer (PMT) is an integrated platform that combines the features of CAE's UAS mission trainer with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' Predator-specific ...

• Maritime patrol

  Challenger 604

  Bombardier Challenger CL-604 MPAs are in service with the Royal Danish Air Force and the Korea Coast Guard. The first of three Danish aircraft entered ...

• Military UAS - micro

  Phantom 4 (Series)

  Designed for aerial photograph applications by DJI, the Phantom 4 series of UAVs includes the Phantom 4 Pro, Phantom 4 Pro V2.0, Phantom 4 Advanced ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  Hawkei

  Thales Australia developed the 4x4 Hawkei for the Australian Army's Land 121 Phase 4 Protected Mobility Vehicle – Light (PMV-L) project.  The prototype was unveiled in ...

• Air: COMINT and ELINT systems

  AN/ALR-2001

  BAE Systems’ AN/ALR-2001 Electronic Support Measure (ESM) is thought to be based on Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) Elta Systems division’s EL/M-8382 ESM. The AN/ALR-2001 is ...

• Air-to-surface missiles

  AGM-88E AARGM

  The AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) is a supersonic, medium-range, air-launched tactical missile compatible with US and allied strike aircraft. Designed to upgrade the AGM-88 ...

• Military UAS - mini

  M Solar-X

  First revealed in August 2020, in February 2024, at its symposium, the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) showcased the M Solar-X. This solar-powered fixed-wing drone was ...