• Military Logistics

  Second KC-46A takes flight

  4th March 2016

  Boeing has conducted the first flight of the second KC-46A tanker aircraft, it announced on 3 March. The flight took off from Paine Field and …

• Land Warfare

  Russia tests Armata

  4th March 2016

  An experimental batch of Armata T-14 MBTs and new T-15 IFVs are set to be taken on strength by the Russian Land Forces from 2017 …

• Training

  ROCAF Invests in F-16 MTC

  4th March 2016

  The Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) is currently undergoing a period of turmoil with budgetary pressures and political intervention from the People’s Republic of …

• Defence Helicopter

  North American helicopter market outlook

  4th March 2016

  Richard Thomas speaks to Chris Emerson, CEO of Airbus Helicopters Inc, about the current state of the North American helicopter market and future prospects for …

• Naval Warfare

  Philippines wants more patrol aircraft

  4th March 2016

  As a way of getting more maritime patrol aircraft in the air, the Philippines is planning to buy new aircraft and lease retired aircraft. These are both …

• Training

  British navy trains HMS Pembroke

  3rd March 2016

  The UK Royal Navy has been conducting training on its Sandown class minehunter HMS Pembroke off the west coast of Scotland, in order to prepare …

• Defence Helicopter

  Heli-Expo 2016: Day 2 round-up (video)

  2nd March 2016

  Grant Turnbull discusses some of the highlights on day 2 of Heli-Expo in Louisville, including Era Group's partnership to develop an EMS variant of the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Heli-Expo 2016: Era Group considers AW609 for EMS

  2nd March 2016

  Era Group is working with Finmeccanica Helicopter Division to further develop the AW609 tiltrotor for EMS missions, following the signing of an agreement at Heli-Expo. …

• Defence Helicopter

  Heli-Expo 2016: MD reveals new attack helicopter (video)

  2nd March 2016

  MD Helicopters has launched a new attack helicopter programme it has dubbed the ‘6XX’ with the aggressive timeline of being ready for market in 2018. …

• Defence Notes

  Rheinmetall automatic cannon for Gripen

  2nd March 2016

  Rheinmetall is to equip Gripen NG fighter aircraft with the BK27 automatic cannon featuring a new linkless ammunition feeding system, under a contract announced by …

• Defence Helicopter

  Heli-Expo 2016: Vector introduces new crash-resistant fuel tank

  2nd March 2016

  Vector Aerospace has presented a new crash-resistant fuel tank retrofit solution for the AS350 and EC130. The design for the fuel tank was in co-operation with Robertson …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Robonic delivers UAV launcher

  2nd March 2016

  Robonic has delivered its tenth Kontio MC2555LLR pneumatic launcher to the direct aerial targets unit of Airbus Defence & Space (DS), Robonic announced on 29 February. The …

• Defence Helicopter

  Thai army buys, and eyes, Russian helicopters

  2nd March 2016

  The Royal Thai Army (RTA) received two Mil Mi-17V-5 helicopters in late 2015, boosting its inventory to five. Furthermore, it plans to buy more to …

• Defence Helicopter

  H160 and H175 Flight Experiences at Heli-Expo 2016

  2nd March 2016

  At this year's Heli-Expo, Airbus Helicopters has taken a slightly different approach to its booth set up. Richard Thomas spoke to the company about some …

• Defence Helicopter

  Heli-Expo 2016: Airbus CEO discusses tough market (video)

  2nd March 2016

  Airbus Helicopters CEO Guillaume Faury spoke to Shephard at this year's Heli-Expo about current market conditions and how it is affecting his company in 2015.

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 ...