• Military Logistics

  First French A330 MRTT flies

  13th September 2017

  Airbus Defence and Space has successfully completed the maiden flight of the first A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) for France, the company announced on 7 …

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2017: BAE connects to the tactical edge

  13th September 2017

  The BAE Systems Tactical Hotspot Concept Demonstrator tactical ground vehicle, designed to support strike brigades during expeditionary operations, will begin an 18-month evaluation programme with …

• Military Logistics

  Tobyhanna highlights missile test logistics support

  26th August 2017

  Representatives for Tobyhanna Army Depot have highlighted the support provided by the site to a recent missile intercept test conducted by the US Missile Defense …

• Military Logistics

  US Navy launches Hershel Woody Williams ship

  25th August 2017

  The US Navy has launched Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) Hershel Woody Williams at the General Dynamics NASSCO (GD-NASSCO) shipyard, it was announced on 22 August. …

• Military Logistics

  Thales wins Canadian Navy support contract

  18th August 2017

  The Canadian government announced an in-service support contract for the Royal Canadian Navy’s Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) and Joint Support Ships (JSS) has …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Qinetiq to lead MAPLE phase four

  18th August 2017

  Qinetiq will lead phase four of the Maritime Autonomous Platform Exploitation (MAPLE) project for the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) under a £4.5million contract …

• Defence Notes

  BAE to establish defence hub in Victoria

  2nd August 2017

  BAE Systems Australia will establish a new hub at Fishermans Bend in Victoria, combining its Victorian maritime, aerospace and land businesses into a single facility, …

• Digital Battlespace

  US DoD certifies ViaSat's VRG-1000

  12th September 2017

  ViaSat has received certification from the US Department of Defense (DoD) AIMS Program Office for its Radio Frequency Generator 1000 (VRG-1000), the company announced on …

• Defence Helicopter

  H145M flies with HForce

  12th September 2017

  Airbus Helicopters’ H145M has performed its first flight with a complete HForce weapon system, the company announced on 8 September.HForce is a modular weapon system …

• Defence Helicopter

  DSEI 2017: European military helicopter review (video)

  8th September 2017

  Across Europe militaries have received a wide range of helicopters to bolster their fleets for different missions this year. Shephard  takes a closer look at orders …

• Land Warfare

  DARPA’s MFP to counter small UAS

  24th August 2017

  DARPA has awarded Phase 1 agreements for its Mobile Force Protection (MFP) programme to three teams led by Dynetics, Saab and SRC, the agency announced on …

• Digital Battlespace

  US forces select RADA's MHR

  21st August 2017

  RADA Electronic Industries has received an order worth more than $8 million to supply Multi-Mission Hemispheric Radars (MHR) to the US armed forces, the company …

• Land Warfare

  LAND 400 Phase 2 testing complete

  15th August 2017

  Blast testing has been completed on the two contenders vying for Australia's LAND 400 Phase 2 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle (CRV) programme, the Australian Department of Defence …

• Digital Battlespace

  DSEI 2017: New COMINT for Watchkeeper

  13th September 2017

  Qinetiq’s AS3 COMINT system is ready to be utilised on the Watchkeeper UAV and development of the system for use on other UAVs is continuing, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Lockheed’s AOEW system passes PDR

  7th September 2017

  Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Off-Board Electronic Warfare (AOEW) system has successfully passed its preliminary design review (PDR), the company announced on 5 September. The company’s AOEW …

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 ...