• Training

  UAV pilot training struggles continue

  21st March 2016

  The US Air Force (USAF) is continuing to fall behind with the management of its unmanned aerial system (UAS) pilots and further action is needed, …

• Defence Notes

  3D-printed component on Trident missile

  21st March 2016

  A 3D-printed missile component, a connector backshell, has flown on three of Lockheed Martin's Trident II D5 fleet ballistic missiles during US Navy testing, the …

• Military Logistics

  MT30 turbines ordered for LHD

  21st March 2016

  Rolls-Royce has been selected to provide its MT30 gas turbine for the Italian Navy's new Landing Helicopter Deck (LHD) multi-purpose amphibious vessel, it announced on 17 …

• Defence Notes

  US can use five Philippine bases

  21st March 2016

  The US will be permitted to use five military bases in the Philippines under the auspices of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). The EDCA …

• Land Warfare

  Size matters in Nordic consolidation

  18th March 2016

  In a further move in the ongoing consolidation of the Nordic defence industry, Kongsberg has agreed to purchase 49.9% of vehicle manufacturer Patria from the …

• Land Warfare

  MBDA outlines key countries for FLAADS

  18th March 2016

  MBDA has identified at least four countries that could be potential customers for its land-based future local area air defense system (FLAADS), currently in development …

• Defence Helicopter

  Pegasus to keep Australian Tigers afloat

  18th March 2016

  The Australian Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 10 March it was investing funds to further develop an emergency flotation device for the Tiger Armed …

• Defence Helicopter

  Apache to fire Brimstone this year

  17th March 2016

  The first firing of a Brimstone missile from a Boeing AH-64E Apache is planned for later this year as part of a feasibility study funded …

• Digital Battlespace

  AUSA Global: US Army looks to nanosats

  17th March 2016

  One of the emerging space technologies drawing significant attention from US Army strategic and tactical planners involves the application of miniaturised satellites dubbed ‘nanosats’. Speaking …

• Land Warfare

  US Army taps GE for vehicle electronics

  17th March 2016

  GE Aviation will develop and demonstrate silicon carbide-based power electronics capable of supporting high-voltage ground vehicle electrical power architectures under a $2.1 million contract from …

• Naval Warfare

  Raytheon to offer LRPF solution

  17th March 2016

  Raytheon announced on 16 March that it will offer a new missile design to meet the US Army’s Long-Range Precision Fires (LRPF) requirement. Raytheon will …

• Naval Warfare

  Canada invests in naval weapon systems

  17th March 2016

  The Canadian government has announced funding for new naval remote weapons stations (RWS) from Raytheon Canada for installation on the Royal Canadian Navy's future Queenston-class …

• Land Warfare

  AUSA Global: US Army outlines Stryker lethality upgrade

  17th March 2016

  The US Army has unveiled the design for the new 30mm Stryker Lethality Upgrade, which includes an unmanned remote turret and 30mm cannon. At the …

• Defence Notes

  General Atomics tests railgun projectile

  17th March 2016

  General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) has conducted testing of hypersonic projectiles with prototype components for its Guidance Electronics Unit (GEU) at the US Army Dugway …

• Defence Helicopter

  Finmeccanica painting a new future

  17th March 2016

  Finmeccanica will be rebranding under the name 'Leonardo', it was announced on 16 March, as the company reported a net profit of €527 million for …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  MQ-1 Gray Eagle [US Army]

  Background Required Quantity Although the US Army first envisioned a requirement for 132 MQ-1C Gray Eagles, the US Army's Army Acquisition Objective (AAO) was increased ...

• Main battle tanks

  NGCV: DLP

  Programme Background Requirement The DLP is one of five vehicle families being developed for the US Army's NGCV programme. Expanded to include five programmes in ...

• AGMV 1.1

  Programme Background The US Army has been seeking a lightweight, air-droppable, high mobility vehicle since as early as 2014, when it initiated its Ultra Light ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Heavy Lift VTOL (HVTOL) [US Army]

  Background USMC First, Army Second In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial Resupply ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  AMPV [USA]

  Programme Background Platform Development The US Army initiated the AMPV programme to acquire a replacement for several variants of the M113 tracked APC, which has ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV Oshkosh Contract [US Army]

  Programme Background As of January 2021, the US DoD had signed 15 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all ...

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

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 2) [US Army]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was intended to ...

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

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 1) [USA]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker (Sergeant Stout) [USA]

  Programme Background As part of the Army Transformation Initiative the US DoD is fundamentally reorganising the structure of the US Army. As part of this all Infantry ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow On

  Programme Background In March 2019, Airbus stated that it expected orders from the US Army for between 12 and 15 UH-72A helicopters. In March 2020, ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System (LMAMS) [US Army]

  Background First Contract In June 2011, the US awarded AeroVironment a $4.9 million series-production contract for the loitering munition, satisfying the US Army's Lethal Miniature ...

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

  Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) [Tranche 1] / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) (USA)

  Programme Background The Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) Programme The RPUAS programme will provide the Battalion and below-ground manoeuvre elements within the US Army with an ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Switchblade 300 (USA)

  Programme Background AeroVironment has been providing the Switchblade 300 loitering munition to the US Army under the long-standing Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile Systems (LMAMS) programme ...

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

  Group 4/5 UAV [US Army]

  Background Request for Information (RFI) On 5 June 2024, the American DoD published an RfI with an original response date of 19 July 2024. The ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  US Army Maneuver Support Vessel Light (MSVL)

  Programme BackgroundThe Maneuver Support Vessel (Light) or MSV(L) contract was awarded by the US Army to Vigor in 2017 and are being built to replace ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  US Army AVCATT PDSS

  L3Harris Technologies is the prime contractor for the US Army’s Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer (AVCATT) Post Deployment Software Support (PDSS) programme. L3Harris Technologies is ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  US Army Flight School XXI OFT/RCTD

  L3Harris Technologies is a major subcontractor to CSC on the US Army’s Flight School XXI (FSXXI) programme. L3Harris Technologies has built or is under contract ...

• Maritime patrol

  US-2

  The ShinMaywa US-2 is an amphibious short take-off and landing aircraft used primarily by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) for SAR. 

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  OH-58 Kiowa

  The single-engine OH-58 Kiowa, derived from the Bell 206, entered US Army service in 1969 as a light observation helicopter. More than 2,200 were built for ...

• Towed guns

  M198

  The US Army developed the M198 155mm towed howitzer from 1969 to replace the M114 155mm howitzer. From 1978, 1,600 weapons were built by Rock ...

• Towed mortars

  M120/M120A1

  The M120/M120A1 120 mm Towed Mortar System is a US-built version of the Soltam K6 mortar that was accepted into US Army service in 1990.

• Light tanks

  M10 Booker

  The US Army awarded General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) a contract worth US$1.14 billion to supply 96 light tanks under the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) ...

• JPT

  Designed for military applications, the Joint Platform Tablet (JPT) features a rugged design, including a military-grade aluminium case, dual-core processor, 128GB removable hard drive and ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72A/B Lakota

  In 2006, the US Army selected a version of the medium-sized, twin-engine H145, designated the UH-72A Lakota,  to meet its requirement for a new Light ...

• Armoured engineer vehicles

  M1150 ABV

  The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) project, launched by the USMC in 2002, is a joint programme to meet the requirements of both the US ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  RQ-7 Shadow 200

  The Shadow 200, designated RQ-7B by the US Army, is flown by the army brigade combat teams and combat aviation brigades along with the UAV ...

• REBS

  The Rapidly Emplaced Bridge System (REBS) is a 13m dry-gap bridge. It was designed by GDELS to meet a US Army requirement to provide a ...

• Land: Electronic Attack - Jamming

  AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III

  Sierra Nevada’s AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III is the standard Counter Improvised Explosive Device (CIED) manpack system in service with the US Army and US Marine Corps (USMC). ...

• DSB

  WFEL was selected in 1996 to develop the M18 Dry Support Bridge (DSB) for the US Army. The company designed, manufactured and integrated the DSB ...

• Individual grenade launchers

  M320 GLM

  The M320 Grenade Launcher Module (GLM) is a further development of the HK AG36 (see separate entry) to meet a US Army requirement. The M320 ...