• Defence Notes

  Analysis: Cutting the PLA to the corps

  8th September 2016

  The People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the armed forces of China’s communist party, is undergoing a series of radical reformations. The slashing of 300,000 personnel by …

• Land Warfare

  MSPO 2016: MEADS back in running for Wisla

  8th September 2016

  The door has seemingly swung wide open for MEADS International as the Polish government makes it clear it is prepared to play hard ball to …

• Defence Helicopter

  MSPO 2016: Caracal renegotiation lingers on

  7th September 2016

  Airbus Helicopters believes it is near the end of a ‘long and challenging’ renegotiation with the Polish government that will see the H225M Caracal assembled …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Wasp AE sets sights on Australia

  7th September 2016

  AeroVironment will offer its Wasp AE UAS to the Australian Army and Special Forces, the company announced on 6 September. The company has named a …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Insitu orders Orbital propulsion systems

  6th September 2016

  Australia's Orbital will supply additional propulsion systems for the Insitu ScanEagle UAS under a USD$9.7 million order announced on 5 September. This is the second batch …

• Land Warfare

  Land Forces 2016: Hawkei slithers toward service

  6th September 2016

  A Thales Hawkei fitted with a Kongsberg Protector remote-controlled weapon station (RWS) appeared at Land Forces 2016, perhaps a signal that is a weapon option …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  C-Worker 5 USV in hydrographic survey

  6th September 2016

  The C-Worker 5 unmanned surface vehicle (USV) has carried out a hydrographic survey in the Bering Sea, off Alaska, ASV Global announced on 30 August. …

• Defence Helicopter

  Auditors savagely criticise Australian Tigers

  2nd September 2016

  Australia’s Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) fleet has come under severe criticism in a report issued by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) on 1 …

• Naval Warfare

  Raytheon mine-hunting sonar enhanced

  1st September 2016

  Raytheon and the US Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) – Division Newport are undertaking work to enhance the company’s AN/AQS-20A mine-hunting sonar, the company announced …

• Naval Warfare

  Clyde moving to River drumbeat

  31st August 2016

  The fitting out of HMS Forth, the first of the new batch of River-class OPVs for the Royal Navy, is expected to be completed by …

• Digital Battlespace

  USAF turning DCGS into open architecture

  30th August 2016

  An unspecified battle management team has partnered with the US Air Force Research Laboratory and Air Combat Command to shift from the closed architecture of …

• Land Warfare

  MSPO 2016: Plenty worth fighting for

  30th August 2016

  Poland’s land programmes have been moving on in fits and starts. The Rosomak 8x8 APC programme is the main flagship armoured vehicle programme but others …

• Defence Helicopter

  MSPO 2016: Russia advances helicopter modernisation

  30th August 2016

  Russia continues to breathe new life into its various helicopter programmes, with several projects reaching key milestones recently. At the end of July, the latest …

• Defence Helicopter

  MSPO 2016: Helicopter opportunities abound

  30th August 2016

  As the defence industry roadshow rolls into glitzy Kielce, Poland for the 24th outing of the MSPO exhibition, Western companies will be closely eyeing several …

• Land Warfare

  Philippines chooses Turkish NVGs

  26th August 2016

  The Philippine Army is set to procure equipment from Aselsan of Turkey to meet a long-standing requirement for helmet-mounted/weapon-mounted monocular night vision devices, weapon-mounted infrared …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Transport

  A-400M [United Arab Emirates]

  Programme Background At IDEX 2025, two Airbus representatives shared insights into a possible offer from the United Arab Emirates for the A-400M aircraft. The A-400M ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | A-400M [United Arab Emirates]

  At IDEX 2025, two representatives from Airbus discussed the details behind a potential bid from the United Arab Emirates for the A-400M aircraft. The A-400M ...

• Data links

  Data links | A-400M [United Arab Emirates]

  At IDEX 2025, two representatives from Airbus discussed the details behind a potential bid from the United Arab Emirates for the A-400M aircraft. The A-400M ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | A-400M [United Arab Emirates]

  At IDEX 2025, two representatives from Airbus discussed the details behind a potential bid from the United Arab Emirates for the A-400M aircraft. The A-400M ...

• Frigates, OPVs

  PPAs Procurement (1-2) [Indonesia]

  Programme Background Timeline In October 2023, Italian Junior Defence Minister Matteo Perego di Cremnago told Defense News that Italy is in discussions with Indonesia to ...

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

  MQ-9B [UAE]

  Programme Background Requirement The programme is required to meet current and future threats faced by the UAE by providing ISR, target acquisition, locating submarines and counter-land and ...

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

  Seeker 400 - Second Batch (UAE)

  Programme Background The UAE has a long history of transactions with Denel Dynamics. The country has been purchasing various Seeker systems from as far back ...

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

  Vector / Scorpion (Ukraine Aid) [Germany]

  Programme Background German Enablement Initiative On 18 April 2024, Quantum-Systems announced that German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck and Ukrainian Minister of Strategic Industry Alexander Kamyshin had opened the ...

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

  Medium Altitude Persistent Surveillance System (MAPSS) [India]

  Background Order In January 2026, ThePrint reported that the Indian Army had placed an order worth Rs 168 crore ($20 million) with NRT for the ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Rabdan 8x8 IFV (UAE)

  In addition to the standard IFV variant, the Rabdan will also be delivered in APC, command and control, ambulance, mortar carrier, repair and recovery configurations. ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Iraq Federal Police 4x4 Patrol Vehicle

  The failure of this Iraqi Federal Police requirement for an additional 300 vehicles to translate into a contract may be related to issues encountered with ...

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

  Vector / Scorpion [Romania]

  Programme Background On 14 May 2024, Quantum Systems secured a contract valued at €18.4 million ($19.7 million) to supply its Vector drone to the Romanian MoD. ...

• Maritime patrol

  Challenger 650 ISR - UAE

  Programme Background In February 2019 at IDEX, the UAE announced that it will procure a new special mission aircraft with an option for the second ...

• Loitering munitions

  RW-24 [Serbia]

  Programme Background During his visit to IDEX 2023, Aleksandar Vučić, Serbia's president, met with UAE ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and announced that his ...

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

  Vector / Scorpion (Selected) [Ukraine]

  Programme Background 500 Systems Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Quantum-Systems has provided many drones to Ukraine. Over 400 units have been provided as aid ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• MPVs - 4x4

  Bars-6

  Bogdan publicly unveiled the 7t Bars-6 (Panther) 4x4 light APC at IDEX 2015, and in July 2016, the company introduced an upgraded version ready for ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Sarsar-2

  Unveiled at IDEX 2015, MIC's Sarsar-2 APC is based on the KIA 1.2t 4x4 chassis, which the Sudanese company is licensed to produce. The company ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Enigma

  Unveiled in 2015, the Enigma is an 8x8 armoured personnel carrier. The vehicle is 8.3m long and 2.8m wide. It has a height of 2.39m ...

• Military vehicle engines

  TCD 2015

  The TCD 2015 is a modern water-cooled four stroke diesel V-engine that is currently integrated on the RG41 armoured vehicle.

• Land: RWS

  AU-220M

  The AU-220M unmanned turret, developed by TsNII Burevestnik, a subsidiary of Uralvagonzavod (UVZ), mounts a dual-feed 57mm automatic cannon and a PKTM 7.62mm coaxial machine ...

• Military - USVs

  B-7

  The B-7 is a USV designed by Al Marakeb that has been in development since 2009. Designed for coastal defence, the B-7 is able to monitor ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Phantom

  The Phantom is a 4x4 APC that was developed in the UAE and publicly unveiled at the IDEX exhibition in 2015. It features a five-door ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  Ajban LRSOV

  The Ajban Long-Range Special Operations Vehicle (LRSOV) is an open-top 4x4 long-range reconnaissance vehicle based on Nimr's Ajban multipurpose vehicle. The LRSOV seats four crew ...

• Deployable/static missile systems

  Oerlikon Laser Gun

  Rheinmetall showcased the applications for its High Energy Laser (HEL) guns for the first time at IDEX 2015 in Abu Dhabi. The Oerlikon Laser Gun ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Fiona

  The Fiona is a 6x6 MRAP armoured vehicle based on the underpinnings of the KrAZ-6322 all-wheel-drive off-road cargo truck. Publicly unveiled for the first time ...

• Pistols

  APX

  Designed specifically for the military market, Beretta unveiled its modular APX pistol at the IDEX 2015 show and offered it for the US Army's Modular ...

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

  Patriot R2

  The new-generation Patriot R2 UAS is used for military and civil/commercial applications and provides reconnaissance support. It was designed in response to fighting that occurred ...

• Naval guns

  Sea deFNder

  The Sea deFNder is a maritime Remote Weapons System (RWS) designed for naval and coast guard forces in surveillance, anti-terrorism,  anti-piracy, or maritime traffic interception ...

• Light tanks

  K21-105 Light Tank

  At IDEX 2013, Doosan and John Cockerill Defense presented the K21-105 Light Tank concept which integrates the Cockerill 105mm-armed XC-8 turret on the Doosan K21 ...

• Loitering munitions

  LS Skysword 101

  The LS-Skysword 101 is a loitering munition from Life Shield. The Saudi Arabian platform is described as a stealth precision-guided weapon with a man-in-the-loop capability.  The platform ...