• Defence Notes

  French Air Force fighter jet missing in mountains

  9th January 2019

  A search was underway for an Air Force Mirage 2000 fighter and its two pilots who went missing Wednesday in a mountainous region of eastern …

• Training

  TECRO requests F-16 training

  22nd April 2019

  The US State Department has made a determination approving a potential foreign military sale for the continuation of a pilot training programme to the Taipei …

• Land Warfare

  Slovenian MoD postpones Boxer procurement programme

  16th January 2019

  The Slovenian MoD is postponing the acquisition of the German-made Boxer 8x8 IFV, intended to form the base vehicle in a medium-sized Middle Battalion Battle …

• Defence Helicopter

  IDEX 2019: Royal Bahraini Air Force battles on all fronts

  11th February 2019

  The Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF) has ‘some serious issues to address right now’, the service’s commander, Maj Gen Hamad bin Abdullah al Khalifah, told …

• Naval Warfare

  Chinese navy shows off new warship in 70th anniversary parade

  23rd April 2019

  China celebrated the 70th anniversary of its navy on 23 April by showing off its growing fleet in a sea parade featuring a brand new …

• Naval Warfare

  While Gotland slips out, A26 efforts ramp up

  18th April 2019

  As the Royal Swedish Navy continues sea trials of the newly upgraded HMS Gotland submarine, Saab, tasked with both that upgrade effort as well as …

• Defence Notes

  Hensoldt to acquire Nexeya activities

  18th April 2019

  Hensoldt is set to acquire Nexeya’s test and integration and services business as well as major parts of its mission management and power conversion businesses. …

• Land Warfare

  Iskander-M for Russian missile units

  4th January 2019

  Missile units of the Russian land forces will be equipped with the Iskander-M short range ballistic missile system in 2019, the Russian Ministry of Defence …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  The future of DARPA's CODE

  19th April 2019

  The USDefense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has seen strong interest frommilitary and industrial operators in its Collaborative Operations in Denied Environment (CODE) autonomy system, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Quad A 2019:​ Bell makes V-280 FLRAA tri-service pitch

  18th April 2019

  Based on its recent Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) RfI submission, Bell is confident the company’s Joint Multi-Role-Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD) the V-280 Valor tiltrotor can …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Textron tests Shadow Block III capabilities

  26th April 2019

  Textron Systems has commenced flight testing of the Shadow Block III UAS, the company announced on 23 April.The company is working with the US Army …

• Digital Battlespace

  Quad A 2019: Hughes detects DoD anti-jamming SATCOM push

  18th April 2019

  Broadband satellite network provider, Hughes expects the US Navy and US Army to concentrate their SATCOM programmes on reviewing and procuring anti-jamming capabilities, as each …

• Naval Warfare

  UK explores potential for large unmanned naval submersible

  18th April 2019

  The UK MoD has launched a two-stage competition to examine the utility of UUVs for the Royal Navy based on an existing platform.  This comes …

• Defence Helicopter

  Finishing touches for Spanish Navy’s AB-212 upgrades

  18th April 2019

  Whilst delivery of the seven modernised AB-212 helicopters for the Spanish Navy is complete, Sener, one of the parties on the upgrade programme, continues in …

• Digital Battlespace

  Lockheed Martin receives AN/BLQ-10 contract

  25th April 2019

  Lockheed Martin has received a $20 million contract for engineering and technical services for the AN/BLQ-10 Electronic Warfare (EW) System Technology Insertion (TI)-20, TI-22 and …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Joint Light Helicopter (HIL) Programme

  Programme Background The French Ministry of the Armed Forces has elected to bring the launch of the French Armed Forces’ HIL programme forward to 2021. ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  NH90 TTH [France]

  Programme Background In 2001, the French government made its first purchase of 34 NH90 Tactical Transport Helicopters, followed by a second order in 2013 for ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - mini

  Micro & Mini Drones (France)

  Programme Background RequirementOn 23 April 2021, an RfP was published by the Direction de la Maintenance Aéronautique (DMAé) to supply around 500 micro and nano drones for the ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | OPV Procurement (1-2) [Montenegro]

  During Euronaval 2024, the French Ministry of Armed Forces and Veterans announced that Montenegro signed a contract for the acquisition of two OPV 60. Both ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | OPV Procurement (1-2) [Montenegro]

  During Euronaval 2024, the French Ministry of Armed Forces and Veterans announced that Montenegro signed a contract for the acquisition of two OPV 60. Both ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A330 MRTT (13-15) [France]

  In June 2020, The French government has pledged to buy new military heavy-lift helicopters and accelerate plans for naval drone, ISTAR and tanker aircraft programmes as ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 300 [France]

  Programme Background Plans to Purchase At Eurosatory 2022, Col. Arnaud Goujon, the French Army's chief of plans, told the media that the French Army was ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  NH90 Special Forces [France]

  Programme Background In French service, advanced H225M Caracals with aerial refuelling capabilities are used by SOF units of the French Air Force (FAF) and French ...

• OPVs

  OPV Procurement (1-2) [Montenegro]

  Programme Background Timeline During Euronaval 2024, the French Ministry of Armed Forces and Veterans announced that Montenegro signed a contract for the acquisition of two ...

• OPVs

  OPV 58 S [Senegal]

  Programme Background Senegal ordered three OPV 58 S patrol vessels on 17 November 2019. A procurement contract was signed between the Ministry of Armed Forces ...

• Loitering munitions

  Colibri [France]

  Background Origins French Ministry of Armed Forces spokesperson Hervé Grandjean stated in a press conference in May 2022 that the Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA) and ...

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

  French MALE UAVs [France]

  Background Requirements The French Ministry of the Armed Forces wishes to develop a French MALE offering comparable to the MQ-9 Reaper, which would, it is hoped, promote ...

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

  UX11 (Ukraine Aid) [France]

  Programme Background First Batch On 6 September 2023, Sébastien Lecornu, the French Minister of Defence, announced Delair was providing Ukraine with more than 150 drones. ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  PLFS [France]

  Programme Background The Sabre, then known as the Sherpa FS, was developed as a response to a 2014 requirement for three types of new vehicles ...

• Loitering munitions

  Larinae [France]

  Background Origins French Ministry of Armed Forces spokesperson Hervé Grandjean stated in a press conference in May 2022 that the Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA) ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Counter-UAS systems

  Boreades

  Boreades is a modular anti-UAV system developed by CS. This suite combines multi-sensors and multi-effectors in order to enable the detection, identification and neutralisation of rogue ...

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

  UAS 100

  The UAS 100 is an autonomous, three-engined platform, modular UAS manufactured by Thales in partnership with Issoire Aviation, Hionos and with the support of the ...

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

  Vespa-15

  The Vespa-15 is a first-person view (FPV) rotary-wing UAV manufactured by a Ukrainian company.  In May 2025, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Ukraine announced it ...

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

  Tundra 2

  The Tundra 2 is a rotary-wing UAV from Hexadrone. It is described as a new, modular, plug-and-play, and multi-trade drone. Hexadrone's website states that the French Armed ...

• OPVs

  OPV 60

  The OPV 60 is designed to conduct surveillance missions in coastal and EEZ waters. The ship can be armed with a 40mm naval gun and ...

• EO/IR systems

  Euroflir 350

  The Euroflir 350 is an out-of-production gyro-stabilised optronic system. According to Safran, it is effective at long ranges, can track mobile targets, designate important areas for ...

• Military helicopters - light/training, Military helicopters - multirole, Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  H160M

  Airbus is developing the H160M to meet the requirements of the French military for the Joint Light Helicopter (Hélicoptère Interarmées Léger, or HIL) programme. It ...

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

  Lanner

  Unveiled at Eurosatory 2024, the Lenner is a modified variant of the Pengion C VTOL drone, specifically modified to meet the SDTL (Light Tactical Drone System) program ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  NH90 TTH

  Developed as a multinational programme between France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, the European NH90 was designed to meet NATO requirements for multirole capability from ...

• Land: handheld NV devices

  O-NYX

  The Thales O-NYX is a Ultra-Compact Night Vision Goggle used by the French armed forces. They have an enlarged field of vision to 51° compared ...

• Pistols

  Glock Pistol

  The Glock family of pistols have been in widespread service since the Glock 17 was selected for Austrian military and police service in 1982. The company's ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  Mistral 2

  MISTRAL is a man-portable, fully digital, heat-seeking missile designed to meet the requirements of all branches of the armed forces to defend against air threats. ...

• Air: Defensive Systems - Radar Warning Receivers

  TDS-FA/-TA/-H

  Thales’ TDS family is comprised of Radar Warning Receivers (RWRs) designed to equip a range of fixed-wing aircraft. The product series includes the TDS-FA designed ...

• Loitering munitions

  Toutatis

  The Toutatis is an in-development loitering munition from Thales. According to Thales, the platform is effective against groups of fighters and unarmored and light-armoured vehicles. Unveiled at ...

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

  Sky Keeper

  The Sky Keeper is a rotary-wing UAV from Milton International.  The UAV is capable of carrying a 10kg payload and features a modular gimbal, meaning ...