• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2013: Puma AE completes maiden solar flight

  16th August 2013

  AeroVironment’s Puma AE has completed a nine hour flight using solar power, tripling the UAV’s existing endurance, company officials have stated. Solar panels, manufactured by …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2013: USN reveals UCLASS development path

  16th August 2013

  The programme manager for the US Navy’s Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) programme has announced that a draft RfP will be launched …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2013: SMSS pushing for PoR status

  16th August 2013

  Lockheed Martin is preparing to undergo a series of tests for the US Army using its Squad Mission Support System (SMSS) in an effort to …

• Digital Battlespace

  First two EMD EMARSS aircraft arrive for testing

  16th August 2013

  The Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (EMARSS) aircraft being built by Boeing under an Engineering, Manufacturing and Development contract with the US Army …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2013: US test sites to go operational this year

  16th August 2013

  The Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Transportation has confirmed that six UAV test sites for flight testing will be established by the end …

• Land Warfare

  US Army orders Lightweight Advanced Combat Helmet

  16th August 2013

  ArmorSource will supply the Lightweight, Advanced Combat Helmet (LW ACH) to the US Army under a new two-year, $92,681,250 fixed price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This is …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2013: DHS prepares to adopt DFSS technology

  16th August 2013

  BAE Systems will test its Digital Fused Sensor System (DFSS) on-board an Air Robot quadrotor for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in September, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2013: Battle for LMAMS contract heats up

  15th August 2013

  Companies preparing their bids for the US Army’s upcoming Lethal Miniature Aerial Munitions System (LMAMS) programme, used the AUVSI Unmanned Systems exhibition this week to …

• Defence Helicopter

  SAS to support Brazilian UH-60 repair services

  15th August 2013

  Sikorsky Aerospace Services (SAS) will support the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter fleet of the Brazilian Air Force under a direct commercial repair agreement announced on …

• Land Warfare

  Lockheed Martin, AM General deliver JLTV development vehicles

  15th August 2013

  Lockheed Martin and AM General have each completed delivery of 22 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs) ordered for the US Army and Marine Corps under …

• Military Logistics

  Marshall to support Indonesian C-130H transfer

  15th August 2013

  Marshall Aerospace Australia will provide engineering support services to the programme that will see the Indonesian Ministry of Defence take ownership of four of the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2013: MQ-8 tidies up APKWS integration

  15th August 2013

  The US Navy’s MQ-8 Fire Scout is on the verge of concluding a weapons test programme with BAE Systems’ Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS), …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Fire Scout UAV reaches 5,000 flight hours in Afghanistan

  14th August 2013

  The MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned helicopter has surpassed 5,000 flight hours in support of operations in Afghanistan since its first deployment in 2011. Prime contractor …

• Land Warfare

  Lockheed Martin awarded PAC-3 Missile contract

  14th August 2013

  Lockheed Martin will provide hardware and services associated with the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment programme under a $308 million contract modification received from …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2013: Unmanned M-ATV up next for Oshkosh

  14th August 2013

  Oshkosh has revealed plans to integrate its TerraMax autonomous technology into its MRAP- ATV (M-ATV) platform in response to US Army and USMC requirements. The …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

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

• 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 - 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 ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  ACV-30 PRTV [USA]

  Background The Armoured Combat Vehicle (ACV) programme is intended to provide a replacement for the USMC's fleet of Amphibious Assault Vehicle 7 (AAV7) tracked vehicles. ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  XQ-58A Valkyrie [USMC]

  Programme Background Contract Award On 30 December 2022, the US DoD announced that it had awarded Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems a $15.52 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to ...

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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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

  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 - 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 ...

• Directed energy weapons

  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 ...

• Data links, Land: Radio and SATCOM, UAS: communication systems

  QNT-200

  The Collins QNT-200 is a dual-channel software-defined radio (SDR) designed for size, weight and power-constrained platforms. Using IP-based mesh networks, it offers high-bandwidth mobile networking ...