• Defence Notes

  EU commits to increased defence spending and boosting capability

  4th February 2025

  There has been increased pressure from the second-term Trump administration in the US, as there was in the first term, for increased defence spending from non-US NATO countries, a move which is noted by Europe as already occurring.

• Air Warfare

  South Korea starts mass assembly of its MUAV

  17th December 2024

  Construction of the Busan-based production facility has also now been completed, with the new medium-altitude reconnaissance drones destined for the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) by 2028.

• Air Warfare

  Offsets could be the clincher in Thai fighter competition

  19th July 2024

  The 'Thai Air Force White Paper 2024', released on 29 February, promised the procurement would take place from FY2025–34, to allow retirement of late-1980s-era F-16s of 102 Squadron based at Korat by 2028.

• Naval Warfare

  Swedish Navy and Saab sign deal on autonomous mine countermeasures vessels

  13th December 2024

  The AUV will use high-resolution sonar images to detect mines on the seabed without endangering personnel.

• Land Warfare

  Successful firing in next stage of US hypersonic missile tests

  13th December 2024

  The US Army and US Navy are working together on the development of the hypersonic missile which will have a speed of Mach 5.

• Land Warfare

  Babcock and Patria join up to compete for the British Army’s medium vehicle requirement

  22nd January 2025

  Patria’s 6x6 armoured personnel carrier (APC) forms the basis of the trans-European Common Armoured Vehicle System (CAVS). The Finnish company and Babcock want to offer it for the UK’s Land Mobility Programme (LMP) medium protected requirement.

• Naval Warfare

  The future remains unclear for US Coast Guard’s Healy icebreaker

  4th September 2024

  The cutter has been in Seattle where repairs have been taking place to electrical fire damage but no estimate has been given on its return to service leaving the US Coast Guard without surface assets to patrol the Arctic.

• Air Warfare

  Angola receives first Airbus C295

  31st July 2024

  The first of three aircraft ordered is in transport configuration with the remaining aircraft to be configured for maritime patrol.

• Naval Warfare

  Was acquiring the Aiviq polar vessel the right choice for the US Coast Guard?

  28th January 2025

  Previous structural and mechanical issues in the 20-plus year icebreaker might represent challenges for the service.

• Land Warfare

  Swiss move forward on enhancing indirect firepower

  29th May 2024

  The Swiss Army will select a new self-propelled artillery system to replace its aging Pz Hb 88/95 155mm tracked units in a bid to modernise its artillery capabilities.

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy to invest $3 billion in UAS and C-UAS capabilities

  30th July 2024

  UAS and C-UAS funding for the US Navy in FY2025 will cover R&D and procurement programmes along with improvements to the branch’s current inventory.

• Air Warfare

  Finland’s Summa Defence establishes drone production facility with Ukrainian partners

  28th November 2024

  The Finnish defence and security group will work with Ukrainian drone companies to speed up production of platforms for Ukraine and across the European Union (EU) and NATO countries.

• Land Warfare

  Patria lifts the lid on new FAMOUS armoured fighting vehicle

  12th February 2025

  One of the few new tracked armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) to be shown in Paris at Eurosatory in June 2024 belonged to Patria. The vehicle is being developed as part of a multinational FAMOUS (Future Highly Mobile Augmented Armoured Systems) programme.

• Naval Warfare

  Military threats force through Australian frigate procurement

  9th July 2024

  Construction may have been started by BAE Systems on the first Hunter-class frigate but scepticism surrounds the general-purpose frigate programme due to delays and planning issues.

• Land Warfare

  Egypt approved for $4.7 billion upgrade of its Abrams main battle tanks

  3rd January 2025

  The approval is for the upgrade of 555 of Egypt’s M1A1 Abrams tanks into M1A1SA configuration.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  XQ-58A Valkyrie [USMC]

  Programme Background Contract Award On 30 December 2022, the US DoD announced that it had awarded Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems a $15.52 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) [Japan]

  Programme Background Shephard notes that GCAP's Japanese, British and Italian components are tracked in separate entries. Programme Timeline 2020: The Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency of Japan issued ...

• Fighter - multirole

  JAS-39C/D Gripen Replacement [Czech Republic]

  Programme Background Requirements The Czech Republic Air Force operates 14 Gripens (12 JAS 39C and two JAS 39D variants) under a lease agreement that runs ...

• Fighter - electronic warfare

  Jamming and Escort Electronic Attack Aircraft (luWES) [Germany]

  Programme Background According to earlier reports, Berlin had earlier decided to procure 15 EA-18G Growlers over the Eurofighter Typhoon ECR concept, which is expected to be ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Multirole Fighter [Turkiye]

  Programme Background Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that Turkey had already paid $1.4 billion into the programme, while its defence industry has ploughed significant ...

• Fighter - multirole

  TF-X Kaan Next Generation Fighter [Türkiye]

  Programme Background Requirement Geopolitical factors have spurred aircraft development in Türkiye. With its removal from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter project following the Russian S-400 ...

• Trainer

  Hawk 127 Replacement (Future Lead-In Fighter Training System- Project Air 6002 PH1) [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirements The RAAF is seeking a future solution that provides a ‘relevant, adaptable, affordable and safe LIFTS out to 2050’ for training pilots ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Eurofighter Typhoon First-Batch [Türkiye]

  Programme Background Requirement The Turkish Air Force has operated two main fighter platforms, the F-16 and F-4, for several decades. As older F-16 airframes and ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Typhoon Tranche 3A [Saudi Arabia]

  In June 2018, Saudi Arabia agreed to procure 48 Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter aircraft from BAE. The total procurement cost for 48 aircraft is estimated at ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | Typhoon Tranche 3A [Saudi Arabia]

  In June 2018, Saudi Arabia agreed to procure 48 Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter aircraft from BAE. The total procurement cost for 48 aircraft is estimated at ...

• Data links

  Data links | Typhoon Tranche 3A [Saudi Arabia]

  In June 2018, Saudi Arabia agreed to procure 48 Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter aircraft from BAE. The total procurement cost for 48 aircraft is estimated at ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | Typhoon Tranche 3A [Saudi Arabia]

  In June 2018, Saudi Arabia agreed to procure 48 Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter aircraft from BAE. The total procurement cost for 48 aircraft is estimated at ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | Typhoon Tranche 3A [Saudi Arabia]

  In June 2018, Saudi Arabia agreed to procure 48 Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter aircraft from BAE. The total procurement cost for 48 aircraft is estimated at ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A [Denmark]

  Programme Background  Denmark joined the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program in 2002 during the System Development and Demonstration phase and has influenced technical elements ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A (1-60) [Italy]

  The 2019 and 2020 budget contained significant funding for the F-35 programme: €690 million ($775 million) in 2019 and €859 million ($962 million) in 2020, ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: fixed-wing flight simulators

  F-35 Training System

  BAE Systems is involved in F-35 Lightning II Training System design and sustainment, working with prime contractor Lockheed Martin. BAE Systems leads the instructional systems ...

• Air: Defensive Systems - Radar Warning Receivers, EW test systems

  Model 527

  The Model 527 radar signal simulator is used for end-of-runway and walk-around radiated RWR testing to verify the operational status of the aircraft and its ...

• Air: Electronic Attack - Jamming, Air: chaff/flare/decoy systems

  AN/ALE-55 FOTD

  The ALE-55 Fibre Optic Towed Decoy (FOTD) is a high-powered electronic off-board countermeasure that works with an aircraft’s onboard EW equipment to defeat radiofrequency (RF) threats. It ...

• Air-to-surface missiles

  SPEAR-EW

  The SPEAR-EW missile, developed by MBDA in collaboration with Leonardo, is an air-to-surface weapon designed to perform Suppression of Enemy Air Defence (SEAD) missions. This ...

• EW test systems

  A2PATS

  Advanced Architecture Phase Amplitude and Time Simulator (A2PATS) is a real-time EM test environment simulator for military platforms and installed systems, designed to deliver mission ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  HAPS / PHASA-35

  The High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS) is a solar-electric Persistent High Altitude Solar Aircraft (PHASA-35).  Produced by BAE Systems and Prismatic, the platform is designed to provide a persistent, ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-81

  AN/APG-81 is operating in the X-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) fire control radar designed by Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems for the F-35 “Lightning” all-weather ...

• Fighter - multirole

  MiG-35

  The MiG-35 (NATO reporting name Fulcrum F) is a multirole fighter, the latest variant of the MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter family.  The production of the MiG-35 ...

• EO/IR systems

  F-35 Lightning II Advanced EOTS

  The F-35 Lightning II Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS) is a sensor that combines targeting forward-looking IR (FLIR) and IR search and track (IRST) capabilities for ...

• Fighter - multirole, Fighter - naval

  F-35B

  The F-35B Lightning II is a fifth-generation multirole combat aircraft with short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) capability. The USMC is the main customer for the F-35B, ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35I Adir

  The F-35I Adir is an F-35A Lightning II variant customised to meet the requirements of the Israel Defense Forces to replace the F-16 fleet in ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  F-35 Gen III HMDS

  The F-35 Gen III helmet-mounted display system (HMDS) is provided by a joint venture between Elbit Systems of America and Rockwell Collins, developed for the F-35 ...

• Air: Integrated Defensive Systems

  AN/ALQ-178V(5)+

  The AN/ALQ-178(5)+ is an internally mounted self-protection system designed and developed by Aselsan and BAE Systems for the Turkish F-16C fighter aircraft. The system comprises ...

• Air-to-surface missiles, Anti-ship missiles

  JSM

  The Joint Strike Missile (JSM) is a multi-role version of the Naval Strike Missile. Norway funded the programme to develop and produce the JSM for the ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A

  The F-35A Lightning II is a fifth-generation multirole combat aircraft with CTOL capabilities. It is a multinational programme led by the US DoD, bringing together ...