• Defence Helicopter

  Heli-Expo 2016: Capability gap looming

  29th February 2016

  The Pentagon is facing a capability gap before new vertical lift technologies enter service, a leading rotorcraft analyst has argued. The US military continues to …

• Defence Helicopter

  Heli-Expo 2016: Black Hawks set loose on civil market

  29th February 2016

  The presence of three civil configured UH-60 Black Hawks has added an extra dimension to this year's Heli-Expo, as companies prepare to start selling the …

• Training

  Polish M-346 delivery nears

  29th February 2016

  Finmeccanica has commenced the final assembly phase for the first two Aermacchi M-346 military twin-engine trainer aircraft that are to be delivered to the Polish …

• Defence Helicopter

  Italian HH-101A Caesar enters service

  29th February 2016

  The Italian Air Force has commenced operational service of its first HH-101A Caesar helicopter, Finmeccanica announced on 25 February. A total of four HH-101A helicopters …

• Naval Warfare

  HMAS Ballarat completes upgrade

  26th February 2016

  HMAS Ballarat, an Anzac-class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), has successfully completed its anti-ship missile defence upgrade, the navy announced in 24 February. …

• Defence Notes

  Australia goes on spending spree

  26th February 2016

  Australia plans to spend some US$140.5 billion over the next decade ‘to fund investment in support of the future force,’ and bring the defence budget …

• Defence Notes

  Netherlands takes delivery of JDEAL

  26th February 2016

  The Netherlands has taken delivery of the new Joint Deployable Exploitation and Analysis Laboratory (JDEAL) in Soesterberg, it was announced on 24 February. The lab - …

• Naval Warfare

  More P-8 options, OPV construction for Australia

  26th February 2016

  The Australian Defence White Paper has called for an additional tranche of three P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), bringing the potential total number of …

• Training

  MetaVR 3D visualisation for USAF

  25th February 2016

  MetaVR will supply its Virtual Reality Scene Generator (VRSG) for the US Air Force’s Joint Terminal Control Training and Rehearsal System (JTC TRS), the company …

• Digital Battlespace

  Finland upgrades wireless comms

  25th February 2016

  Bittium has been awarded a $3.1 million contract by the Finnish defence forces for the development of a new software package (waveform) for the Bittium …

• Defence Helicopter

  Heli-Expo 2016: Sikorsky partners with Taqnia Aeronautics

  25th February 2016

  Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky has entered into an agreement with Taqnia Aeronautics to explore opportunities to manufacture helicopters in Saudi Arabia, Lockheed Martin announced on …

• Naval Warfare

  Thales gets UK Type 23 contract

  25th February 2016

  Thales has been awarded a £19 million contract to perform the mid-life update to the external communications voice distribution and management of the British Royal …

• Military Logistics

  Jacobs to manage Project LAND 155

  25th February 2016

  Jacobs Engineering Group has been chosen as the managing contractor by the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) for Project LAND 155, it announced on 23 …

• Digital Battlespace

  Romania to get Lockheed Martin radars

  24th February 2016

  Lockheed Martin has been awarded a contract to provide two TPS-77 radars to Romania, it announced on 22 February. Lockheed Martin plans to add its …

• Defence Notes

  Singapore Airshow: Indonesia's aerospace industry showcased (video)

  23rd February 2016

  In advance of Indo Aerospace 2016 in November, I Gusti Putu Suryawirawan, director general of Indonesia's Ministry of Industry, briefs Shephard on the country's ambitions …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Black Hornet 3 (Ukraine Aid) [UK & Norway]

  Programme Background Russo-Ukraine War Since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, UAVs have proved vital to the country's defence. Consequently, as in this programme, the ...

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

  FPV Drones (Ukraine Aid) [Netherlands]

  Programme Background Statement of Intent On 14 June 2024, the Deputy Minister for Strategic Industries Serhiy Boyev, Minister of Defence of Ukraine Rustem Umerov and the Minister ...

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

  ISR Drones (Second Batch) (Ukraine Aid) [Netherlands]

  Programme Background First Batch On 20 March 2024, Kajsa Ollongren, Minister of Defence of the Netherlands, announced that, following a 19 March Ukraine Defense Contact ...

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

  Latvian Drones (2025) (Ukraine Aid) [Latvia]

  Ukrainian Defence Contact Group (UDCG) In January 2024, the Ukrainian Defence Contact Group (UDCG), a multi-nation organisation that coordinates military aid for Ukraine, established a ...

• Tanks

  Leopard 2A8 [Germany]

  Programme Background Germany has operated the domestically produced Krauss-Maffei Wegmann Leopard 2 since its inception in the 1970s. Spanning now eight versions, the Leopard 2A8 is the ...

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

  GA-ASI Drone [Ukraine]

  Programme Background MQ-9A Reaper - April 2022 On 13 April 2022, Forbes reported that Ukraine was talking with GA-ASI to acquire the MQ-9A Reaper. Ukrainian officials ...

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

  Vector / Scorpion (Contracted) [Ukraine]

  Programme Background Previous Orders & Donations On 29 March 2022, the US Embassy in Warsaw announced that Quantum Systems had donated an unknown quantity of ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  CV90 [Sweden]

  Programme Background As the domestic manufacturer and original operator of the CV90 IFV, Sweden has had a continuous fleet of CV90s in service since the ...

• 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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  One-Way Attack Drones (Ukraine Aid) [UK]

  Programme Background 2024/2025 Military Aid Package On 12 January 2024, the UK government announced it would provide Ukraine with £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) in military ...

• 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 ...

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

  Latvian Drones (2024) (Ukraine Aid) [Latvia]

  Background Ukrainian Defence Contact Group (UDCG) In January 2024, the Ukrainian Defence Contact Group (UDCG), a multi-nation organisation that coordinates military aid for Ukraine, established a drone ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Drones (Ukraine Aid) [Norway]

  Programme Background September 2024 On 3 September 2024, the Norwegian government announced that "Ukraine will get more drones donated to their frontline, and more air ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Combat Fighter Jet [Ireland]

  Programme Background  In February 2025, the Irish Minister for Defence and Tánaiste Simon Harris highlighted Irelands need to procure a new combat fighter jet to combat ...

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

  SkyRanger R70 (Ukraine Aid) [Canada]

  Programme Background On 19 February 2024, the Canadian Defence Minister, Bill Blair, announced that the country would donate more than 800 SkyRanger R70 UAVs to ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Surface-to-air missiles

  Akash-NG missile

  The Akash-NG (New Generation) missile is an advanced surface-to-air missile system developed by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to enhance the country's air ...

• 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 ...

• Core systems: cameras and IR detectors

  Ophir 26-105mm f/1.6 LWIR continuous zoom

  Ophir's plethora of IR optics includes a wide range of long-range zoom lenses for every application. Ophir's budget range has been extended to include a ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  Kazhan

  The E620 Kazhan is a Ukrainian-made rotary-wing attack drone. It is available in hexacopter and quadcopter configurations and can drop 60mm, 82mm, and 120mm mortar shells. ...

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

  Black Hornet 3

  The Black Hornet 3 is the next generation of the PD-100 Black Hornet, the world's smallest nano-UAS. This new model of the Black Hornet provides ...

• Infrastructure - shelters/accommodation

  Alpha/Omega

  Alpha and Omega are multipurpose frame tents that require minimal maintenance and can be used in extreme climatic conditions. The Omega is more spacious and ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - micro

  Corvo PPDS

  The Corvo Precision Payload Delivery Systems (PPDS) is a micro fixed-wing drone constructed from cardboard. It is a low-cost, single-use drone for delivering supplies and equipment ...

• EO/IR systems

  USG-212

  Described as a plug-and-play turnkey solution, the USG-212 is an EO/IR camera gimbal from Ukrspecsystems. It appears to be out of production. The gimbal has ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 300

  The Switchblade 300 is a man-portable, tube-launched loitering munition manufactured by AeroVironment. The platform is rapidly deployable by one operator from either a self-contained ground launcher ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  CB90

  Combatboat (Stridsbåt) 90 (CB90) is a class of small, rapid attack boats designed for raiding and inshore/nearshore coastal protection operations or deploying up to 20 ...

• Short Range Missile Defence Systems: 0 to 20 km range

  MIM-23 Hawk

  The MIM-23 HAWK (Homing All the Way Killer) is an American medium-range surface-to-air missile system developed by Raytheon in the 1950s to provide mobile air ...

• Air-to-surface missiles

  Storm Shadow/SCALP EG

  The Storm Shadow is an air-launched cruise missile developed by France, Italy and the UK. It is known as the Storm Shadow in the UK ...

• Land: air defence radar, Land: battlefield and ground surveillance radar

  TRML-4D

  The TRML-4D is a multi-functional surveillance and target acquisition radar system developed by Hensoldt. It is the latest C-band (NATO G-band) TRS-4D radar family member, ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  Vampire

  The Vampire is a hexacopter drone developed by the Ukrainian company Skyfall. It can carry and drop various types of ammunition on the enemy. In ...

• EO/IR systems

  NightHawk2-UZ

  The NightHawk2-UZ is a dual EO-IR stabilised camera turret from NextVision designed for long-range observation applications that demand low weight. The 350g sensor's IR camera has a 1280x720p ...