• Military Logistics

  Australia seeks engineering support vehicles

  19th April 2019

  The Australian Department of Defence has issued a request for tender (RfT) for engineering support vehicles including earthmoving and material handling equipment. Under Project Land …

• Training

  US Army to open MSAR in American Samoa

  19th April 2019

  The US Army is set to open its first indoor training rifle range, a Modular Small Arms Range (MSAR), at the Army Reserve in American …

• Defence Notes

  Podcast: NATO's electronic warfare challenge, the latest from Asia-Pacific and the pervasive cyber threat

  19th April 2019

  Welcome to Episode 13 of The Weekly Defence Podcast. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and more. Sign up to an early email alert of future podcasts here.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  France joins maritime unmanned systems project

  18th April 2019

  NATO has announced that France has joined a multinational effort to cooperate on the development of maritime unmanned systems. Launched in October 2018, the project …

• Training

  New fast jet training for RAF

  4th February 2019

  The UK Royal Air Force has officially opened its new £44 million centrifuge at RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire. The project has been headed by Thales and this …

• Training

  Afghan Air Force facing UH-60 training and recruitment headache

  5th February 2019

  A report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has made clear that the country's UH-60 Black Hawk programme is beset by pilot …

• Defence Helicopter

  Serbia purchases Mi-35Ms and Mi-17V-5s

  18th January 2019

  Russia has received an order to supply seven Mi-35 and three Mi-17V-5 helicopters to Serbia, with delivery planned for completion in 2019. This agreement has …

• Land Warfare

  Poland receives first serial production Krab howitzers

  17th April 2019

  The Polish Army has taken delivery of the first batch of serial production 155mm Krab self-propelled howitzers (SPH) from Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW). The handover …

• Military Logistics

  Russia’s new Il-112V prototype completes maiden flight

  17th April 2019

  Russia’s first prototype of the Il-112V transport aircraft, built by United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), has completed its first flight in Voronezh, Rostec announced on 11 …

• Defence Notes

  FLIR Systems to support NBCRV SSU programme

  17th April 2019

  FLIR Systems has received an award from the US Department of Defense in support of the US Army’s nuclear, biological and chemical reconnaissance vehicle sensor …

• Naval Warfare

  DST developing maritime application for SPAD technology

  17th April 2019

  Australia’s Defence and Science Technology (DST) is developing a maritime application for its single-photon avalanche detector (SPAD) technology, the DST announced on 10 April. The …

• Defence Helicopter

  PDAS flies on V-280 Valor

  19th April 2019

  Lockheed Martin's Pilotage Distributed Aperture Sensor (PDAS) system has flown aboard Bell Helicopter's V-280 Valor tiltrotor aircraft in Fort Worth, Texas, the company announced on …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Military help UK police respond to Heathrow drone threat

  9th January 2019

  Britain's armed forces were supporting police Wednesday at London's Heathrow Airport after a drone sighting led to the suspension of all departing flights for nearly …

• Land Warfare

  Russian Coastal Forces take delivery of Khrizantema-S ATGMs

  28th January 2019

  Russian Navy’s Coastal Troops branch has begun taking on the 9K123 Khrizantema-S (AT-15 Springer) self-propelled anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) systems. The Russian Navy plans to …

• Digital Battlespace

  Hughes awarded PTES work

  18th April 2019

  Hughes Network Systems has received a contract from Boeing to develop mission management, system control, networking and ground hub capabilities. The company will participate in …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  NH90 TTH [France]

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

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Joint Light Helicopter (HIL) programme [France]

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

• 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 ...

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

  Mistral SHORAD [Romania]

  Background Romania signed a contract with the Ministry of the Armed Forces and Veterans of the French Republic within the "European Joint Acquisition of Mistral ...

• Loitering munitions

  Colibri: Short-range loitering munition (Contracted) [France]

  Background Origins French Ministry of Armed Forces spokesperson Hervé Grandjean stated at a press conference in May 2022 that the General Directorate for Armament (DGA) ...

• 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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Colibri: Short-range loitering munition (Uncontracted) [France]

  Background Origins French Ministry of Armed Forces spokesperson Hervé Grandjean stated at a press conference in May 2022 that the General Directorate for Armament (DGA) ...

• 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 ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  NH90 (Special Forces) [France]

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

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A330 MRTT (13-15) [France]

  Background 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 ...

• 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, 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. ...

• 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 ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  PLFS [France]

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

• Loitering munitions

  Larinae: Medium-range loitering munition [France]

  Background Origins French Ministry of Armed Forces spokesperson Hervé Grandjean stated at a press conference in May 2022 that the General Directorate for Armament (DGA) ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• CUAS - hybrid effector 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 - 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

  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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  MX-10 Damocles

  The MX-10 Damocles is a quadcopter loitering munition from KNDS France and Delair. Unveiled at IDEX 2025, it features a 500g fragmentation payload. It is part ...

• Military UAS - small

  LEMUR

  LEMUR is a VTOL, fixed-wing UAV designed for long-endurance observation and reconnaissance missions. The aircraft is available with either an electric motor or an internal ...

• Military UAS - mini

  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 - 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 ...

• 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 - 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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. ...