• 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 …

• Defence Helicopter

  Russian Helicopters to demo Arctic Mi-8AMTSh

  8th September 2016

  Russian Helicopters will demonstrate a full-scale prototype of the Artic variant of its Mi-8AMT-Sh medium twin-turbine helicopter at Army-2016 Expo in Moscow, the company announced …

• Defence Helicopter

  MSPO 2016: Israeli missiles for Polish helos (video)

  8th September 2016

  Helicopter manufacturer PZL Świdnik, teaming with Israeli company Rafael, wants to increase the firepower of Polish Land Forces W-3PL Głuszec gunship with the integration of Spike …

• Digital Battlespace

  Controp introduces Twister

  8th September 2016

  Controp Precision Technologies has introduced a new wide area automatic intruder detection system called Twister at DX Korea 2016.  Twister is a passive IR system …

• 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 …

• Military Logistics

  HMS Gleaner surveys Forth estuary

  7th September 2016

  The Royal Navy's HMS Gleaner is preparing for the maiden voyage of the navy's incoming aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, it was announced on 2 …

• 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 …

• Land Warfare

  MSPO 2016: Poland's Leopard upgrade breaks cover

  7th September 2016

  The first prototype Leopard 2PL main battle tank, an upgrade of the Polish Army’s legacy 2A4 variant, is on display at this year’s MSPO exhibition …

• 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

  MSPO 2016: New Polish UAS on display (video)

  7th September 2016

  While Poland’s future military requirements are still uncertain pending the release of a new defence review, one thing that is almost for certain is the …

• Military Logistics

  Spain's first A400M takes off

  7th September 2016

  The first A400M for the Spanish Air Force has completed its first flight, Airbus Defence and Space announced on 6 September. The flight took place …

• Defence Helicopter

  MSPO 2016: Chile selects S-70i Black Hawk

  7th September 2016

  Chile has become the sixth customer for the Polish-built S-70i Black Hawk, selecting the helicopter for a six aircraft order, manufacturer Sikorsky has revealed. The …

• Digital Battlespace

  BAE Systems announces JORN bid

  7th September 2016

  BAE Systems has put together a team and announced its bid to upgrade Australia’s long-range high frequency (HF) radar network. The $1 billion Jindalee Operational Radar …

• Defence Notes

  USS John Finn completes alpha trials

  6th September 2016

  Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has completed the first round of sea trials for the USS John Finn (DDG 113), an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer …

• Defence Helicopter

  MSPO 2016: Russian Helicopters grows East European business

  6th September 2016

  Despite the unfavourable political environment in recent years, Russian Helicopters is about to start reaping the fruits from its persistent effort to set up a …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Data links

  Data links | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-390 [Brazil]

  Programme Background Requirement The aircraft deliveries were scheduled to start by the end of 2016 and continue over a period of ten years. However,  the first ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Hermes 900 [Chile]

  Methodology Unit cost In 2024, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) acquired one Hermes 900 for 50 million reais ($9.14 million), giving each drone an estimated ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  C-130H Replacement [Sweden]

  Programme Background Requirements Sweden has five C-130H aircraft (designated Tp-84) and one KC-130H. Two C-130Es bought in the 1960s have retired, but the six H ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  H145M [Brazil]

  Background  Brazilian leadership announced in February 2022 that the Sabre Mil Mi-35M Hind-E attack helicopters were being retired from active service. This decision came as a ...

• Fighter - multirole

  JAS 39E/F Gripen [Brazil]

  Background In 2016, Gripen’s Project and Development Center was opened in Sao Paulo to allow Sweedish and Brazillian engineers to work together in the Gripen ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Hermes 900 [Colombia]

  Methodology Unit cost In 2024, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) acquired one Hermes 900 for 50 million reais ($9.14 million), giving each drone an estimated gross ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Hermes 900 (5) [Brazil]

  Background First three batches (2014-2024) Across three purchases, Defence Insight estimates that Brazil has acquired five Hermes 900 UAVs. In 2014, Elbit reported supplying one ...

• Long Range Missile Defence Systems: > 90km range

  Long Range Air Defence [Brazil]

  Background Brazil is in the process of expanding its medium-range air defence capabilities and is known to be interested in acquiring a long-range air defence ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Hermes 900 (1-4) [Brazil]

  Background First batch (2014) In 2014, Elbit reported supplying one Hermes 900 UAV to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB). The drone is called the RQ-900 in Brazilian ...

• Maritime patrol

  C295 add-on [Brazil]

  Programme Background  In 2014 Brazil signed a contracted for two additional C-295 SAR platforms with the option to acquire one additional platform. In 2018, reports ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air-to-surface missiles

  MAR-1

  The MAR-1 is a Brazilian air-to-surface anti-radiation missile (ARM) developed by Mectron in collaboration with the Aerospace Technology and Science Department (DCTA) of the Brazilian ...

• Military UAS - small

  Harpia

  Described as the UAV with the most onboard technology in Latin America, Harpia is a multifunctional fixed-wing Brazilian drone developed by Advanced Technologies Security & Defence.  The Uruguayan ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  EMB-312 Tucano

  The EMB-312 Tucano (Brazilian designation T-27) is a trainer and light attack aircraft developed by Embraer to meet the training requirements of the Brazilian Air ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  TPTS

  Tactical Procedures Training Simulators (TPTS), operating with SWARM software, can be used to provide most core training elements to pilots or offload training tasks from ...

• Guided munitions

  SMKB (Smart-MK-Bomb)

  The Smart-MK-Bomb, or the SMKB, is a precision guidance kit developed by Mectron and designed to turn Mk 82 and Mk 83 bombs into guided munitions.

• Military UAS - tactical

  Albatroz Vortex

  The Albatroz Vortex from Stella Tecnologia is a development of the company's Albatroz UAV.  The key differentiator is that the Vortex is fitted with an ATJR ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Condor

  The Condor, or Atobá XR, is an in-development MALE-class UAV from Stella Technologia.  The development of the multi-role is tied to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), which has ...

• Trainer, Transport

  EMB-121 Xingu

  The EMB-121 Xingu is a twin-turboprop light transport and advanced multi-engine trainer aircraft developed by Embraer based on the EMB-110 Bandeirante. Its maiden flight was ...

• Land: battle management systems

  Arkhe Mission & Combat

  Launched in 2017, Atech's Arkhe Mission & Combat solutions offer a variety of solutions enabling operator to conduct missions from planning to execution and debriefing. It ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-390/C-390 Millennium

  The KC-390 is a high-wing, twin-turbofan, T-tail design intended to meet the needs of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) for a tanker/transport aircraft. Developed and ...

• Fighter - air superiority

  F-5E/F Tiger II

  The F-5E (single-seat)/F (twin-seat) Tiger II is an air superiority fighter developed by Northrop Grumman based on the original F-5 Freedom Fighter. Production of the ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M

  The medium-weight, 11t-class H225M (formerly known as the EC725) is the latest military Super Puma/Cougar family member.  Technical features include a modular design of mechanical ...

• EO/IR systems

  Skyward

  The SkyWard system is an advanced Infrared Search and Track (IRST) solution developed for next-generation airborne platforms, including 5th-generation fighter aircraft.  Designed with modularity in ...

• Land: air defence radar

  Saber M60

  The Saber M60 is a low-altitude air-defence radar developed by the Brazilian Army's CTEx (Army Technology Centre) in collaboration with Bradar, part of Embraer Defence ...

• Trainer

  Phenom 100

  Phenom 100 is a very light jet originally developed for single owner-pilot operation but later gained popularity as a jet trainer aircraft. The platform first ...