• Naval Warfare

  HII launches new San Antonio-class vessel

  9th October 2024

  The Harrisburg (LPD 30) will be the 14th vessel in the San Antonio-class.

• Training

  How terrain management capabilities can improve military training

  11th December 2024

  This type of tool provides more realistic training easing the incorporation of new scenarios that accurately represent the threats of the battlefield.

• Land Warfare

  Poland’s Borsuk IFV awaits production contract

  25th June 2024

  Poland showcased its latest Borsuk infantry fighting vehicle at Eurosatory in Paris, highlighting its domestically funded development, advanced weaponry and planned production of 1,400 units to replace Soviet-era models.

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2024: UK MoD awards Hadean a £20 million deal for innovative solutions

  6th December 2024

  Hadean announced the deal and teaming arrangements with BAE Systems and Deloitte at I/ITSEC 2024 where it also displayed its Hadean Platform which is designed to offer scalable, realistic and high-fidelity simulations.

• Training

  Florida firm wins Bell 412 maintenance training contract in El Salvador

  2nd October 2024

  The deal, ECS’s 12th contract under the Enterprise Training Services Contract (ETSC) programme, will run from late-August 2024 to late-August 2025.

• Naval Warfare

  Thales and FEBUS Optics unite to protect critical undersea infrastructure

  8th November 2024

  The marriage of two branches of undersea technical expertise is expected to bring saleable results for both companies.

• Land Warfare

  Otokar inches towards Romania deal in major boost for the company

  8th October 2024

  The possible procurement of vehicles by Romania would build on the existing commercial presence which Otokar has in the country.

• Air Warfare

  US Navy carrier ground control station conducts ‘first live control of a UAV’

  8th November 2024

  The US Navy (USN) used its MD-5 Ground Control Station (GCS) with Lockheed Martin’s MDCX autonomy platform to control a General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) MQ-20 Avenger UAS.

• Land Warfare

  The Italian Army’s ambitious IFV plan

  14th June 2024

  The Italian Army has plans in place to procure up to 679 tracked IFVs to replace 200 Dardo IFVs currently in service with its mechanised units, as well as its M113 fleet.

• Land Warfare

  AUKUS members seek solutions to integrate their ground capabilities

  25th March 2024

  The three countries plan to explore technologies to strengthen their collaboration in various land-related areas including artificial intelligence, autonomy, cyber, EW, hypersonic, quantum computing and logistics.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Maris-Tech confirms customers signing up for Jupiter Drones codec and AI-powered system

  5th December 2024

  Launched at AUSA in October, the company’s multi-stream video codec is attempting to bring a new lease of life to drone technology through its AI accelerator.

• Land Warfare

  Why adaptability must be central to the US Army’s future formations

  10th June 2024

  The approach of placing adaptability at the core of the US Army Futures Command’s strategy has already impacted military training and the service’s development and acquisition programmes.

• Air Warfare

  Dutch $691 million request for Sidewinder missiles approved

  9th September 2024

  The approval for the purchase follows other orders approved or placed in the past year by Romania, Poland, Italy and South Korea.

• Defence Notes

  Brazil’s proposed $23.7 billion defence budget targets GDP-linked military funding

  24th September 2024

  Brazil’s 2025 budget proposals will see a 5.9% increase in defence spending, with funds allocated for key programmes including the procurement of helicopters, armoured vehicles and nuclear-powered submarines, despite looming fiscal challenges.

• Land Warfare

  GM Defense gears up for flag to drop on British Army infantry vehicle requirements

  24th September 2024

  The UK’s Light Mobility Programme (LMP) has been delayed and altered but a timeline has now been outlined and companies have begun jockeying for position.

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 ...

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

  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 ...

• Main battle tanks

  M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams [Poland]

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

• Landing craft and hovercraft

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

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

• 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

  Leopard 2A4 [Czech Republic]

  Programme 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | AUKUS-SSNs (1-5) [Australia]

  In September 2021, it was announced in a trilateral announcement between Australia, the US and the UK that Australia, in a shock move, will not ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | AUKUS-SSNs (1-5) [Australia]

  In September 2021, it was announced in a trilateral announcement between Australia, the US and the UK that Australia, in a shock move, will not ...

• 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 ...

• Medium UGVs

  Mission Master (RPV Sprial 2) [UK]

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

• Submarines: nuclear, attack

  AUKUS-SSNs (1-5) [Australia]

  Programme Background AUKUS Australia announced on 16 September 2021 that the contract with Naval Group signed in 2016 had been cancelled. Although not a surprising ...

• Main battle tanks

  M1A1 Abrams (Ukraine Aid) [Australia]

  Programme Background Since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Australia has been amongst the various Western allies providing Ukraine with military aid. Prior ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, 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 ...

• S-64 Helitanker Fire-fighting Equipment

  Erickson's 10,031l tank for the S-64 helitanker drops water, retardant or foam mix at a rate of around 95l/h. Microprocessor-controlled tank doors offer eight individual ...

• Naval: RF, IR and 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...