• Naval Warfare

  Latest Virginia-class SSN commissioned by US Navy despite increasing pressure on submarine service

  16th October 2023

  USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN 795) has become the 22nd Virginia-class submarine to enter service with the US Navy following a commissioning event on 14 October 2023.

• Naval Warfare

  New Exocet variants secure anti-ship missile capability for the future

  16th October 2023

  MBDA and the French Navy have completed the test firing of a new Exocet MM40 Block 3c anti-ship missile (AShM) from Aquitaine-class frigate FS Alsace.

• Air Warfare

  French Navy tests VSR700 naval UAS demonstrator on multi-mission frigate

  2nd November 2023

  The latest Naval Aerial Drone System trials aimed to showcase the UAS performance capabilities in surveillance and intelligence missions.

• Naval Warfare

  First Flight III destroyer for US Navy introduces innovative radar capabilities

  8th October 2023

  The introduction of USS Jack H. Lucas to the US Navy's fleet has led to a series of innovative developments that will enhance US capabilities in A2AD zones.

• Air Warfare

  Global defence shift: report reveals $32.3 billion in opportunities in armed overwatch/ISR sector amid rising threats and evolving nature of warfare

  13th September 2023

  Amid escalating global tensions and a paradigm shift in warfare, a ground-breaking new market report forecasts a staggering $32.3 billion worth of opportunities in the armed overwatch/ISR sector over the next five years.

• Air Warfare

  Boeing gives F-15EX new lease of life with EW and weapons upgrade

  13th November 2023

  Boeing has expressed confidence in the F-15EX's appeal to both existing F-15 operators and potential new customers at the Dubai Airshow 2023.

• Air Warfare

  US Air Force strategic programmes to be affected by budgetary uncertainty

  15th November 2023

  The operation under continuing resolutions can impact the schedule of several US Air Force efforts including the B-21, AMRAAM and C3BM.

• Digital Battlespace

  How Next-Generation Optical Systems Are Transforming Multi-Domain Operations (Studio)

  13th September 2023

  Optical solutions are crucial for effective situational awareness. As militaries prepare for the joint all-domain command and control (JADC2) future, Raytheon ELCAN is embracing innovation in digital engineering, material science and beyond to ensure its customers thrive in the data-driven battlespace.

• Training

  Rheinmetall-led next-gen training solution wins EU backing

  19th October 2023

  The FEDERATES consortium will aim to create a distributed synthetic simulation environment, fostering collaboration in a networked digital ecosystem similar to NATO's MSaaS.

• Digital Battlespace

  Lockheed Martin deploys ten satellites for Low-Earth Orbit comms

  4th September 2023

  Ten Lockheed Martin Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) Tranche 0 Transport Layer (T0TL) communications satellites have been successfully deployed in support of the US Space Development Agency's (SDA) T0TL mission.

• Naval Warfare

  DSEI 2023: OSK pitches Arctic frigate design for new Danish Navy requirement

  13th September 2023

  OSK Design has revealed details of its Arctic frigate concept, designed to replace Denmark's ageing Thetis class for operations in the High North.

• Digital Battlespace

  US consortium aims to improve platoon power by factor of 10

  31st October 2023

  A consortium of nine companies plans to conduct experiments and exercises over the next 12 months to demonstrate how new technologies can massively increase the power of forces at platoon level.

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2023: Hanwha K9 Thunder becomes ‘best-selling’ 155mm SP artillery system

  18th October 2023

  Hanwha’s K9 Thunder customers are considering upgrading their equipment to the K9A2 following the South Korean Army’s example.

• Naval Warfare

  Keel laid for USS Tang

  17th August 2023

  The keel was laid for the 32nd Virginia-class submarine USS Tang on 17 August, a Block V variant of the type and the third boat with this name for the USN.

• Digital Battlespace

  Interoperability: The Vital Ingredient for NATO’s Future Success (Studio)

  10th October 2023

  The lens of multi-domain operations is sharpening, and software-driven communication choices, deeper integration, and innovative technology are increasingly crucial. Companies like L3Harris are enabling a new age of international collaboration by emphasising NATO-standardised interoperability.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - MALE

  Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement The FVL-MS programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft utilised ...

• Tiltrotors

  V-22 Osprey [Japan]

  Programme Background Procurement Contracts The Japanese government is the first export customer of the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey, having ordered 17 helicopters from the US across ...

• Loitering munitions

  Launched Effects - Short Range (LE-SR) [US]

  Background Air-launched effect (ALE) In 2022, the US sought a family of systems comprising an air vehicle, payload, mission systems applications and support equipment to ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-8C Fire Scout (USA)

  Programme Background Timeline According to the Naval Air Systems Command, having first ordered the MQ-8B in 2009, the UAV has become a pillar of the ...

• Military UAS - small

  Heavy Lift Capability (UASHLC) [UK]

  Programme Background Requirement & Objective The RN identified a requirement to acquire an RPAS to transport cargo and supplies between ships and personnel. When mature, it ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Heavy Lift UAV [Germany]

  Background  Victor U250 agreement On 10 June 2026, at ILA Berlin, Rheinmetall, ERC Systems, and the North Rhine-Westphalia state formed a strategic partnership to lay ...

• Loitering munitions

  Launched Effects - Medium Range (LE-MR) [US]

  Background Air-launched effect (ALE) In 2022, the US sought a family of systems comprising an air vehicle, payload, mission systems applications and support equipment to ...

• Military UAS - small

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 1) [USA]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Project Proteus [UK]

  Background Requirements The RN requires an uncrewed helicopter to test the viability of larger uncrewed aircraft, possibly providing an alternative to crewed aircraft such as the ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Heavy Lift VTOL (HVTOL) [US Army]

  Background USMC First, Army Second In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Medium Aerial Resupply Vehicle – Expeditionary ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Heavy-lift Helicopter STH [Germany]

  Background Requirement The German government issued a tender in March 2019 for the procurement of heavy-lift helicopters under the Schwerer Transporthubschrauber (STH) program, 60 units are ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) (MV-75 Cheyenne II) [USA]

  Programme Background US Army's Future Vertical Lift Programme The FLRAA is one of three strands of a broader army programme. The others are the Future ...

• Military UAS - small

  Intra-Theatre Lift [UK]

  Background  Relationship to the Heavy Lift Challenge The Royal Navy (RN) embarked on the Heavy Lift Challenge, now called the Heavy Lift Capability (UASHLC), to explore cargo-carrying ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  CH-47F CHINOOK [USA]

  Programme Background As the Army's only heavy-lift helicopter, the CH-47F Improved Cargo helicopter is an essential component of the Army's Multi-Domain Battle framework. The CH-47F ...

• Transport

  Large Transport Aircraft-II (LTA-II) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Requirements The aircraft are needed for peacetime, international peacekeeping, emergency and combat operations. They are especially required to ensure a strategic lift capacity ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - MALE

  Korean Future Vertical Lift (KFVL)

  Unveiled at KADEX 2024, the Korean Future Vertical Lift (KFVL) is a family of uncrewed helicopters from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). Despite being in the ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Aerosonde Mk 4.8 HQ FTUAS

  From the Texton family of Aerosonde UAS, the Aerosonde Mk 4.8 Hybrid Quad (HQ) FTUAS is a tactical drone purpose-built to meet the US Army's Future Vertical Lift ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  HQ-60

  Similarly to other platforms in the L3 Technologies Hybrid Quadrotor (HQ) and Fixed-Wing Rotator family (see separate entries) of VTOL fixed-wing UAVs, the HQ-60 has ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  SB-1 Defiant

  The SB-1 Defiant is a Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD) aircraft. Sikorsky and Boeing announced in February 2013 that they would submit a joint proposal ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  V-247 Vigilant

  The V-247 Vigilant is a tiltrotor UAV from Bell. Officially introduced in 2016, it features an open modular architecture and can host several payloads. These include ...

• Air: Displays

  F-15 Replacement Vertical Situation Display

  BAE Systems Replacement Vertical Situation Display (RVSD) replaces the legacy VSD units on F-15E aircraft. The AMLCD display offers a larger display size and is compatible ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  X-Sight

  Elbit X-Sight is a developmental helmet-mounted display system designed for helicopters. According to the manufacturer, it will offer a high field of view and colour binocular ...

• Military helicopters - multirole, Military UAS - tactical

  Hexa

  The Hexa, or LIFT Hexa, is a rotary-wing aircraft developed by LIFT Aircraft for military and commercial markets. Due to its configuration and triple redundant autopilot computer, ...

• Military UAS - small

  H6 Poseidon

  Manufactured by Swarmly, the H6 Poseidon is a fixed-wing VTOL-capable UAV. The second largest member of the Poseidon family, the vertical lift is provided through ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  DrN-600

  The DrN-600 is a medium-lift cargo UAV developed by Singapore-based manufacturer ST Engineering. The platform combines vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) with wing-borne forward flight and ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Victor U250

  The Victor U250 is a heavy lift drone in development by ERC Systems. The UAV has been developed by ERC for critical mission applications including ...

• Light UGVs

  Avenger

  In January 2017, Med-Eng announced the launch of a new bomb disposal and tactical robot, called the Avenger, at the SHOT Show in Las Vegas. ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Veloce-15

  The ST Engineering Veloce-15 (V-15) is a hybrid fixed-wing UAV with four rotors for vertical lift and a tail-mounted two-bladed pusher propeller for horizontal propulsion.  ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Loong 2

  The Loong 2 is a rotary-wing mini-UAV manufactured by LoongUAV. Designed for ISR missions, the UAV features a universal plug-and-play standardised interface, meaning a lot of different ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Proteus

  Proteus is a technology demonstrator that Leonardo is developing in collaboration with the UK MoD's Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S;) Future Capabilities Group and the ...