• Defence Helicopter

  First USAF Ospreys arrive in UK

  30th June 2013

  The first US Air Force Special Operations Command CV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft to be permanently based in the UK have arrived at RAF Mildenhall, England. …

• Military Logistics

  Israel’s first C-130J Super Hercules inches closer

  28th June 2013

  The Israeli Air Force (IAF) has moved a step closer to operating its first C-130J Super Hercules airlifter following a ceremony to mark Lockheed Martin’s …

• Naval Warfare

  BAE Systems announces US Navy Mk 41 VLS contract

  28th June 2013

  BAE Systems will advance the development of the US Navy’s Mk 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) under a new $91.4 million contract announced on 27 …

• Digital Battlespace

  Chemring to develop EW solution for Australian market

  27th June 2013

  Chemring Australia will develop an Australian-designed, manufactured and supported Electronic Attack solution under a new grant awarded by the Australian government. The $3.07 million Priority …

• Military Logistics

  Boeing starts up KC-46A tanker aircraft production

  27th June 2013

  Boeing has begun production of the KC-46A aerial refuelling tanker for the US Air Force, with the first wing spar loaded at the company’s facilities …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Aeryon UAVs complete public safety trials

  27th June 2013

  Aeryon Labs has announced that its Scout and SkyRanger small unmanned aerial vehicles (SUAS) have recently taken part in trials conducted by the US Department …

• Defence Helicopter

  Lockheed Martin to support US Army helicopters

  26th June 2013

  Lockheed Martin will provide field and sustainment-level maintenance for US Army helicopters under a new contract awarded by the US Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal. …

• Defence Helicopter

  First Italian Army ICH-47F Chinook takes flight

  26th June 2013

  The first ICH-47F Chinook built for the Italian Army has successfully accomplished its maiden flight in Vergiate, Italy. AgustaWestland said the 24 June flight saw …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Rockwell Collins technologies used in RQ-21A tests

  25th June 2013

  When the US Navy’s RQ-21A Integrator Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (STUAS) completed its first flight tests at sea recently, technologies provided by Rockwell Collins …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Sense and avoid sensor for UAVs makes progress

  25th June 2013

  Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has conducted the second airborne demonstration of its prototype radar Airborne Sense and Avoid (ABSAA) sensor for UAVs. The company reported …

• Defence Helicopter

  Thailand seeks UH-72A Lakota helicopters

  25th June 2013

  The government of Thailand has expressed interest in acquiring the UH-72A Lakota helicopter from the US government at an estimated cost of $77 million. The …

• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop Grumman to work on GPS solution for USAF

  24th June 2013

  Northrop Grumman will continue work to improve geo-registration accuracy for positioning and pointing applications for the US Air Force under a phase two inertial navigation …

• Defence Notes

  UK cements second place in global defence exports

  21st June 2013

  UK defence and security exports have increased by £3.5bn to £11bn between 2011 and 2012, making it the second largest exporter behind the US. According …

• Land Warfare

  Cubic to provide I-TESS II training system to USMC

  21st June 2013

  Cubic Defense Applications will supply an advanced Instrumented-Tactical Engagement Simulation System (I-TESS) II to the US Marine Corps (USMC) under an additional delivery order announced …

• Digital Battlespace

  Paris Air Show 2013: FAB-T alternative passes CDR

  21st June 2013

  Raytheon has confirmed that it has completed its CDR as part of its Family of Beyond-Line-of-Sight Terminals (FAB-T) Alternative contract with the US Air Force, …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Puma 3 AE (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Military Aid - $300 Million On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine to "bolster Urkaine's capacity ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1165 Special Ops HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HHMWV, or Humvee, has been in US service since 1983. The M1165A1B3 is a special operations variant of the platform.  In 2015, the US ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 300 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Presidential Drawdown (16 March 2022 & 13 April 2022) On 16 March 2022, President Biden announced $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine through ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A Joint Strike Fighter - USAF

  According to the US FY2021 budget document, Turkey's removal from the JSF program and transition to the alternate supply chain sources may challenge to achieve ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank [US]

  Programme Background As IAI stated in a 19 January 2023 press release, it had been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract by the Irregular Warfare Technical Support ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A [US Navy]

  Background Previous Purchases The BQM-177A was designed for the USN and has been in service with the USN for many years. Indeed, in August 2022, Shephard reported ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 600 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background $300 Million USAI (1 April 2022) On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine following ...

• Loitering munitions

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Background Presidential Drawdown (21 April 2022) Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, on 21 April 2022, President Biden announced an $800 million ...

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

  Puma LE [Kosovo]

  Background Contract Award On 21 January 2022, the US Department of Defence (DoD) announced that AeroVironment had been awarded an $11.01 million firm-fixed contract for Puma ...

• Loitering munitions

  ALTIUS-600M (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background On 24 February 2023, the US DoD announced that the Biden Administration had released an additional aid package under the Ukraine Security Assistance ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1152A1B2/M1165A1B3 HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HMMWV has been in US service since the 1980s. Despite the introduction of newer platforms, the US DoD continues to utilise the platform ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawk (India)

  Programme Background On 25 February 2020, a letter of acceptance for 24 MH-60Rs, worth approximately $2.12 billion, was signed by India and the US in Delhi. ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS): Switchblade [US]

  Background DoD Contract On 27 August 2024, the US DoD announced that AeroVironment had been awarded a ceiling $990 million hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to provide “an ...

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

  Puma 2 AE [Estonia]

  Programme Background The US DoD announced that it had awarded AeroVironment an $8.868 million firm-fixed-price contract to supply an undisclosed number of RQ-20B Puma AE ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-46A (3-6) [Japan]

  On 30 October 2020, the US DoD announced that it awarded a $342 million contract to Boeing for two Japanese KC-46A tanker aircraft. Work will be performed ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Pistols

  M9

  M9 is the US DoD designation for the military-specification 9mm Beretta 92FS, selected in 1985 to replace the 45cal M1911A1 in US service. Sales to ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  Igla/SA-18

  The 9K38 Igla (US DoD designation SA-18, NATO reporting name Grouse ) IR-homing MANPADS was developed by KBM and entered service in 1983 to meet the requirements ...

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

  ScanEagle 3

  Insitu unveiled the ScanEagle 3 at the Xponential exhibition in Denver in May 2018. The platform has twice the payload capacity of its ScanEagle predecessor ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank

  Point Blank Weapon System is a hand-launched electro-optical VTOL-capable loitering munition developed by Isreal Aerospace Industries (IAI). IAI has been awarded a contract by the US ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  BAT-850

  Pathfinder's BAT-850 VSAT is a carbon fibre, tri-band terminal with auto-acquisition capability. Suitable for flyaway (case-based) and vehicle-mounted applications, it is in service with the ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  URC-300

  The URC-300 is a software-defined radio designed for line-of-sight, ground-to-air communications in particular. Introduced in 2020, it adheres to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards as well ...

• Air: aerial targets, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A/i

  The BQM-177A subsonic aerial target (SSAT) was designed for the USN, and the BQM-177i is the export variant. The BQM-177 provides realistic threat emulation for ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Banshee Tactical Radio

  Developed by Fenix Group, the Banshee Tactical Radio (BTR) is a communications system that uses 4G/LTE connectivity to provide secure mesh networking capability on the ...

• Crew-served grenade launchers

  Striker 40/MK47

  General Dynamics is systems integrator for the Striker 40 (MK47 AGL in US service). The complete system comprises the weapon, AN/PWG-1 Lightweight Video Sight and ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  AN/ARC-231 Skyfire

  The AN/ARC-231 Skyfire is an airborne VHF/UHF/LOS and DAMA SATCOM system. This system supports US DoD requirements for airborne, multi-band, multi-mission, secure anti-jam voice, data ...

• Air-to-air missiles

  9M39 Igla-V

  The 9M39 Igla-V (‘needle’) is a Russian IR homing SAM adapted for helicopter use. It is an air-launched version of the Igla MANPADS, which the ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Global Observer

  The AeroVironment Global Observer HALE UAV was a developmental HALE UAV designed for various civil, commercial and government applications.  Development of the platform began in 2007 ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  CLWS

  Developed by Boeing, Compact Laser Weapon System (CLWS or CLaWS) is a medium-range, low-power laser C-UAS system. According to the reports, the CLWS prototype has ...

• Weapon sights for day use

  CompM4/M4s

  The US DoD has bought over one million Aimpoint sights since 1997. The US Army is now fielding the CompM4s as the latest version of ...

• Heavy machine guns

  M2HB

  US Ordnance is one of two US M2HB heavy machine gun manufacturers which has received multi-year contracts to supply weapons to the US DoD. The ...