• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Airbus to operate German Heron 1 UAS

  25th July 2016

  Airbus Defence and Space will operate Germany’s Heron 1 UAS in support of the German Army’s mission in Mali, the company announced on 21 July. …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Navy swing loads MH-60R Seahawk

  22nd July 2016

  The US Navy has swing loaded an MH-60R Seahawk with both AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) in an …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Farnborough 2016: NATO AGS operators get hands on

  6th July 2016

  Recent NATO trials to test its Joint ISR concept used live data feeds from five information collection platforms from four countries. Exercise Unified Vision 2016 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Farnborough 2016: FCAS to define mission profile

  12th July 2016

  As the expected two-year Feasibility Phase of the joint UK-France FCAS programme draws to a close, 2017 will see further progress made by BAE Systems …

• Digital Battlespace

  Seongju recommended for THAAD deployment

  25th July 2016

  Seongju has been recommended by the South Korea-US joint working group as the best site for the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) deployment in the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Ravens swoop on Ukraine

  28th July 2016

  Ukraine has received a batch of RQ-11B Raven UAS as part of a non-lethal equipment package funded by the US. Reports indicate that 24 systems, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Final Chinooks reach Australia

  28th June 2016

  A final three CH-47F Chinook helicopters touched down on Australian soil on 24 June. The aircraft came straight from Boeing’s production line, and were handed …

• Defence Notes

  Airbus Defence and Space, Roketsan sign MoU

  18th July 2016

  Plans are underway to integrate a range of weapon systems on the C295W surveillance and transport aircraft as part of a new Memorandum of Understanding …

• Defence Helicopter

  Longbow to upgrade Apache radar

  18th July 2016

  Longbow has been awarded an $89.8 million contract by the US Army to upgrade the Apache helicopter’s Longbow Fire Control Radar (FCR), Lockheed Martin announced on …

• Training

  Dutch Army extends VBS3 enterprise licence

  30th June 2016

  The Netherlands Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) has agreed a multi-year extension of its VBS3 enterprise licence with Bohemia Interactive Simulations (BISim). As well as the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UK ScanEagles to be refurbed, redeployed

  27th July 2016

  Some of the ScanEagle systems operated in recent years for the UK Royal Navy (RN) will be refurbished by manufacturer Insitu and made available to …

• Defence Helicopter

  Flightcell releases Iridium PTT for DZMx

  20th July 2016

  Flightcell International’s Flightcell DZMx aviation communications system has been integrated with Iridium push-to-talk (PTT) functionality, the company announced on 18 July. The Iridium PTT uses …

• Defence Notes

  US approves SM-2 Block IIIB sale to Japan

  21st July 2016

  The US State Department has made a determination approving a potential foreign military sale of Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) Block IIIB missiles, equipment, and support to …

• Defence Notes

  Farnborough 2016: Aircraft on static display (video)

  13th July 2016

  Shephard took a tour around the static displays at Farnborough International Airshow 2016 to give you a sneak peek at what you can discover at …

• Digital Battlespace

  Warp speed for Beidou constellation

  28th July 2016

  Last month China’s State Council released a white paper outlining its national Beidou (which translates as Compass) satellite positioning, navigation and timing system. But it has …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Fighter - multirole

  JAS 39E/F Gripen (Brazil)

  In 2016, Gripen’s Project and Development Center was opened in Sao Paulo to allow Sweedish and Brazillian engineers to work together in the Gripen development ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Data links

  Data links | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  C-130H Replacement [Sweden]

  Programme Background Requirements Sweden has five C-130H aircraft (designated Tp-84) and one KC-130H. Two C-130Es bought in the 1960s have retired, but the six H ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-390 (Brazil)

  Programme Background Requirement The aircraft deliveries were scheduled to start by the end of 2016 and continue over a period of ten years. However,  the first ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Army Aviation Project [Brazil]

  Programme Background Brazilian Investment As reported by Shephard, in August 2023, the Brazilian government disclosed its plans to invest BRL 52.8 billion ($10.6 billion) in new military ...

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

  Hermes 900 [Brazil]

  Programme Background First Batch (2014) In 2014, Elbit reported supplying the Hermes 900 to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB). The drone is called the RQ-900 in ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Polar Support Vessel [Brazil]

  Programme Background Requirements In June 2020, the Brazilian Navy released a Request for Proposal (RfP) to procure a new Antarctic vessel to be manufactured in Brazil. The ...

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

  Hermes 900 [Undisclosed European Country]

  Background Various Contracts On 18 November 2024, Elbit Systems announced it had awarded various contacts with a combined $335 million to an undisclosed European country. ...

• Military helicopters - attack, Military helicopters - multirole

  Mi-35M Replacement [Brazil]

  Programme Background The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) High Command sprung a surprise on 10 February 2022 when it issued a document stating that its fleet ...

• Light attack

  M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Programme Background Requirement Brazil operates several A-1 (AMX) light attack aircraft, which were produced by Embraer in partnership with Leonardo in the 1980s. Similarly, the ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  VBC Cav-MSR [Brazil]

  Programme Background Purpose The Brazilian Army's mechanised cavalry regiments are believed to operate approximately 400 EE-9 Cascavel 6x6 fire support vehicles manufactured by the now-defunct ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air-to-surface missiles

  MAR-1

  The MAR-1 is a Brazilian air-to-surface anti-radiation missile (ARM) developed by Mectron in collaboration with the Aerospace Technology and Science Department (DCTA) of the Brazilian ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  EMB-312 Tucano

  The EMB-312 Tucano (Brazilian designation T-27) is a trainer and light attack aircraft developed by Embraer to meet the training requirements of the Brazilian Air ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  TPTS

  Tactical Procedures Training Simulators (TPTS), operating with SWARM software, can be used to provide most core training elements to pilots or offload training tasks from ...

• Air-to-air missiles

  Python-4

  The Python-4 is fitted with an 11kg high-explosive warhead and IR homing system as well as a double-base solid propellant rocket. The missile can fly at ...

• Trainer, Transport

  EMB-121 Xingu

  The EMB-121 Xingu is a twin-turboprop light transport and advanced multi-engine trainer aircraft developed by Embraer based on the EMB-110 Bandeirante. Its maiden flight was ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M

  The medium-weight, 11t-class H225M (formerly known as the EC725) is the latest military Super Puma/Cougar family member.  Technical features include a modular design of mechanical ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-390/C-390 Millennium

  The KC-390 is a high-wing, twin-turbofan, T-tail design intended to meet the needs of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) for a tanker/transport aircraft. Developed and ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  H125M

  The H125M (formerly the AS550 B3e Fennec) is a military version of the civil H125. The helicopter has a reduced radar signature due to the use ...

• Land: battle management systems

  Arkhe Mission & Combat

  Launched in 2017, Atech's Arkhe Mission & Combat solutions offer a variety of solutions enabling operator to conduct missions from planning to execution and debriefing. It ...

• Fighter - air superiority

  F-5E/F Tiger II

  The F-5E (single-seat)/F (twin-seat) Tiger II is an air superiority fighter developed by Northrop Grumman based on the original F-5 Freedom Fighter. Production of the ...

• Air: Electronic Attack - Jamming, Air: Electronic Attack - Pod

  Sky Shield

  The Sky Shield RF pod  jammer can perform simultaneous jamming against multiple, diverse threats and can equip both small and large platforms. Simultaneous jamming is ...

• EO/IR systems, Land: unattended sensor/surveillance systems, Sea: ship surveillance and fire control systems

  SHAPO

  SHAPO is a multi-sensor, gyro-stabilised observation payload. It is intended for UAVs, helicopters, light aircraft, patrol boats, aerostats, airships, armoured vehicles and masts. Sensors include a ...

• Guided munitions

  SMKB (Smart-MK-Bomb)

  The Smart-MK-Bomb, or the SMKB, is a precision guidance kit developed by Mectron and designed to turn Mk 82 and Mk 83 bombs into guided munitions.

• Land: air defence radar

  Saber M60

  The Saber M60 is a low-altitude air-defence radar developed by the Brazilian Army's CTEx (Army Technology Centre) in collaboration with Bradar, part of Embraer Defence ...

• EO/IR systems

  Skyward

  The SkyWard system is an advanced Infrared Search and Track (IRST) solution developed for next-generation airborne platforms, including 5th-generation fighter aircraft.  Designed with modularity in ...