• Defence Helicopter

  Tata, Bell Helicopter to Make in India

  18th July 2016

  Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) has signed an agreement with Bell Helicopter to collaborate in support of India’s aviation and defence modernisation initiatives, Tata announced on …

• Defence Notes

  Farnborough 2016: Wrap up with Tony Skinner (video)

  15th July 2016

  Editor-in-chief Tony Skinner looks back on an eventful week at Farnborough International Airshow 2016, including news that the UK will commit billions of pounds to …

• Defence Notes

  Farnborough 2016: Industry continues to fleece UK MoD

  15th July 2016

  UK defence companies that continue to charge the Ministry of Defence (MoD) unnecessarily for goods or services will be ‘named and shamed’ in a January …

• Training

  Farnborough 2016: Rockwell Collins advances LVC training

  4th July 2016

  As live, virtual constructive (LVC) simulation becomes more of a training reality, Rockwell Collins demonstrated its capabilities through an LVC exercise on 28 June in Toulose. …

• Land Warfare

  Canada’s TAPV in initial acceptance

  26th July 2016

  The first batch of Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicles (TAPV) for the Canadian Army are on track to be delivered next month, with the Department of …

• Defence Helicopter

  Overhauled Chinook delivered to Iranian Air Force

  26th July 2016

  The Iranian Air Force’s (IRIAF) 11 Squadron received a freshly-overhauled CH-47C from the Iranian Helicopter Support and Renewal Company (IHSRC) on 19 July.  With the …

• Naval Warfare

  Taiwan rejects South China Sea ruling

  25th July 2016

  Taiwan expressed disappointment over the ruling handed down on 12 July by the Permanent Court of Arbitration concerning territorial disputes in the South China Sea. …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Navy swing loads MH-60R Seahawk

  22nd July 2016

  The US Navy has swing loaded an MH-60R Seahawk with both AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) in an …

• Military Logistics

  MCR to support NATO’s ACT, ACO

  22nd July 2016

  MCR Global has received an $8.1 million contract from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to provide programme management and technical support services to Supreme …

• Defence Helicopter

  UK’s HMS Ocean trains in ASW exercise

  22nd July 2016

  The Royal Navy’s anti-submarine warfare capabilities have been put through their paces during Exercise Deep Blue II in the Mediterranean in July. HMS Ocean took …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Facebook reaches unmanned milestone

  22nd July 2016

  Social media giant Facebook has completed the first full-scale test flight of its high-altitude UAV, Aquila, the company announced on 21 July. The test flight …

• Defence Helicopter

  Flightcell releases Iridium PTT for DZMx

  20th July 2016

  Flightcell International’s Flightcell DZMx aviation communications system has been integrated with Iridium push-to-talk (PTT) functionality, the company announced on 18 July. The Iridium PTT uses …

• Military Logistics

  NZ orders tanker from HHI

  18th July 2016

  The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) will receive a new fleet tanker from Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), according to a Ministry of Defence announcement on …

• Military Logistics

  Turkey to provide regional CN235 support

  15th July 2016

  Turkey’s CN235 fleet will be supported in-country following the authorization of the Turkish Air Force’s 2nd Air Supply and Maintenance Centre (2nd ASMC) in Kayseri …

• Defence Helicopter

  Mahindra to build AS565 MBe Panther parts

  14th July 2016

  Airbus Helicopters is positioning itself to target India’s Naval Utility Helicopter programme with the selection of Mahindra Aerostructures to manufacture airframe parts for the AS565 …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A330 MRTT (1-9) [NATO]

  Programme Background Following operations in Libya and extensive analyses by the European Defence Agency (EDA), it was agreed at the NATO Summit in 2012 that ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A330 MRTT Follow-On (NATO)

  Following operations in Libya and extensive analyses by the European Defence Agency (EDA), it was agreed at the NATO Summit in 2012 that the EDA ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawks [Norway]

  Programme Background NH90 NFH cancellation  The Norwegian government announced the termination of the NH90 NFH helicopter contract for 14 NH90s with NHIndustries in June 2022. Seahawk Acquisition ...

• Tanks

  New MBT [Romania]

  Programme Background Requirement The Romanian Army's MBT fleet is composed of T-55 variants that are due to be retired in the mid-2020s. Although Romania's TR-85 ...

• Tanks

  M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 [Romania]

  Programme Background Requirement The Romanian Army's MBT fleet is composed of T-55 variants that are due to be retired in the mid-2020s. Although Romania's TR-85 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) - (Greece)

  Programme Background EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) was announced in early 2022 and the project contract was awarded ...

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

  UAV Tactical Level [Norway]

  Programme Background Request for Information (RfI) In September 2022, the Norwegian Defence Material Agency (NDMA) launched a request for information in preparation for a possible ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) - (Italy)

  Programme Background EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) was announced in early 2022 and the project contract was awarded ...

• Maritime patrol

  MAWS/PATMAR [France]

  Programme Background In 2017, Germany and France announced that they would be working towards developing an MPA to replace their current fleets in service. The ...

• Tanks

  Leopard 2A8 [Netherlands]

  Programme Background Bidders and Suppliers The Leopard 2A8, the latest in the Leopard family, was selected by the Royal Dutch Army as per announcements in ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2 [Kuwait]

  Background Contract Award On 18 January 2023, Baykar announced signing a $370 million export contract with Kuwait for the Bayraktar TB2. According to the announcement, ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton - Germany (Cancelled)

  Programme Background Germany requested to buy four MQ-4C Triton HALE UAVs from Northrop Grumman. On 5 April 2018, the US State Department announced that it ...

• Corvettes

  European Patrol Corvette (EPC) [France]

  Programme Background Requirements The European Patrol Corvette (EPC) is one of the new PESCO (Permanent Structured Cooperation on Defence and Security) projects. PESCO was established ...

• AEW&C

  Alliance Future Surveillance and Control (1-6) [NATO]

  Programme Background NATO’s E-3A AWACS fleet is set to retire in 2035, after 50 years of service. To plan for the required follow-on capability, NATO's ...

• Corvettes

  European Patrol Corvette (EPC) [Italy]

  Programme Background Requirements The 2021-2023 Documento Programmatico Pluriennale (DPP) - a multi-year defence planning document from the Italian MoD - includes a plan to acquire eight "Patrol Ships", ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Land: air defence radar

  APIS

  APIS is a passive high-resolution primary radar system developed by Indra. It is the first passive system in the world capable of offering images using ...

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  AE50R

  The AE50R is an aviation gasoline single rotary engine with an output of 40.4kW. The engine is certified according to European Aviation Safety Agency Part ...

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

  LOTUS

  The LOTUS, Low Observable Tactical Unnamed System, is a tactical UAV especially designed for border patrol ISR operations.  The development of the project is funded by ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  Mistral 3

  The Mistral 3 is the latest member of the Mistral family of very short-range surface-to-air missiles. It entered service in 2018 and has been chosen ...

• Helicopter engines

  Arriel 2H

  Safran Helicopter Engines received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) engine type certification for its Arriel 2H engine, installed in the Avicopter AC312E, in April 2018. ...

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

  AR5

  First announced in October 2012, the AR5 is a MALE UAS designed for SAR, surveillance and maritime patrol missions. The AR5 can be flown manually or commanded ...

• Trainer

  Gabriel-TP

  Gabriel-TP is a low-wing, two-seat tandem trainer aircraft aimed at both military and civilian customers. It is certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in ...

• Air: NVGs

  PNL-3M Orlik

  PNL-3M are high-performance, lightweight, passive stereoscopic NVGs for helicopter crew members. Certification by European Aviation Safety Agency also enables civilian use. The device can be ...

• Loitering munitions

  Akeron RCH 170

  Unveiled in April 2025, the Akeron RCH 170 is a fixed-wing loitering munition from MBDA. Similar in design to the Switchblade 300, the catapult launched system ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  Standard 3

  Jointly developed by ATR and Thales, The Standard 3 avionics suite has been specifically designed for ATR-600 aircraft. It offers the pilot user-friendly interface, along ...

• Loitering munitions

  Akeron RCX 50

  Unveiled in April 2025, the Akeron RCX 50 is a rotary-wing loitering munition from MBDA.  According to reports, the RCX 50 is designed to support ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  DroneGun

  DroneGun enables controlled management of an adversarial UAS, causing no damage to the UAV or surrounding area. It either forces the drone to perform a ...

• Military - USVs

  NOMARS

  The No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) is a US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) effort to develop a first-of-its-kind large uncrewed surface vessel.

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  Trident 100TD2

  The Trident 100TD2 is a compression-ignition engine that is capable of operating on various types of heavy fuel. It is claimed to offer up to ...

• Space: radar systems

  ESA Sentinel-1

  Sentinel-1 is a planned constellation of four satellites with two already in orbit and two on order. They carry a payload of a C-band SAR ...