• Defence Notes

  Five missing after two US military planes crash off Japan

  6th December 2018

  Rescue operations were underway on 6 December for five US marines missing after two American military aircraft crashed during a refuelling operation off the coast …

• Naval Warfare

  Steel cutting commences for USCGC Argus

  13th February 2019

  Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) has cut first steel for the US Coast Guard’s first Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC), Argus, at its facility in Panama City, …

• Training

  South Korea, US resume suspended joint marine drills

  5th November 2018

  South Korea and the United States resumed small-scale military training that was indefinitely suspended following a summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean …

• Defence Notes

  Airbus, Dassault Aviation to carry out FCAS study

  12th February 2019

  Airbus and Dassault Aviation have received a joint concept study (JCS) contract from France and Germany for the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme, the …

• Land Warfare

  Russian Army to induct 30 T-72B3 tanks

  15th November 2018

  The Russian Army's 2nd Combined Arms motorised rifle brigade in Orenburg will receive 30 modernised T-72B3 tanks in the first half of 2019, according to …

• Digital Battlespace

  Raytheon to deliver ARC-231A radios

  19th February 2019

  Raytheon has received a $406 million IDIQ contract from the US Army to deliver its ARC-231A radio systems, the company announced on 14 February. The …

• Digital Battlespace

  AOC 2018: Next Generation Jammer-Low Band eyes new ground target sets

  26th November 2018

  The US Navy’s new multi-billion dollar airborne electronic warfare programme - the Next Generation Jammer-Low Band - will give the US military the ability to …

• Land Warfare

  Leonardo DRS to expand in Missouri

  12th February 2019

  Leonardo DRS is set to build a new engineering, development and light manufacturing facility in Bridgeton, Missouri, to accommodate its growing land systems business, the …

• Land Warfare

  Latvia orders Carl-Gustaf ammunition

  30th October 2018

  Saab has received an $18.7 million order for ammunition for the Carl-Gustaf weapon system from the Latvian Ministry of Defence, the company announced on 24 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  New US Navy Fire Scouts first to have lightweight fuel cells

  12th February 2019

  The US Navy has contracted Northrop Grumman for the provision of five additional MQ-8C Fire Scout VTOL UAVs, which will be the first delivered with …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Marine West 2019: USMC seeks SUAS expansion

  11th February 2019

  The USMC is exploring the possible expansion of its fleet of its Group 1 Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS). The marines has three SUAS programmes of …

• Digital Battlespace

  Kratos demos SATCOM roaming capability

  11th February 2019

  Kratos RT Logic has successfully demonstrated the ability of its Enterprise Management and Control (M&C;) architecture to roam among heterogeneous networks and optimise wideband satellite …

• Defence Notes

  Nine countries meet to kickstart European force

  7th November 2018

  Defence ministers from nine European countries will meet in Paris on 7 November to set out plans for a joint force that could rapidly be …

• Defence Notes

  France, Germany 'jumping the gun' on EU army: Dutch PM

  16th November 2018

  France and Germany are jumping the gun with calls for a European army, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said 16 November, asserting that the continent's …

• Military Logistics

  O’Gara Armoring receives US Army contract

  14th February 2019

  O’Gara Armoring has received a five- year IDIQ contract to produce armoured military components for the US Army, the company announced on 8 February. Under …

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. ...