• Training

  Thales opens Norway Training Centre

  1st February 2016

  Thales officially opened its Norway Training Centre on 27 January, and is set to commence the first training programmes at the facility.   The centre …

• Naval Warfare

  CCG monster deploys to SCS

  1st February 2016

  The China Coast Guard (CCG) has delivered a statement of intent with its deployment of the largest coast guard vessel in the world to the …

• Land Warfare

  Denel announces Casspir deal

  1st February 2016

  South Africa’s Denel has signed a long-term agreement with the UN to provide the Casspir mine-resistant armoured vehicles. Ashley Williams, general manager of subsidiary Denel …

• Naval Warfare

  Second OPV for Royal Thai Navy

  29th January 2016

  The Royal Thai Navy will receive a second 90m OPV after BAE Systems confirmed they had signed a new contract with Bangkok Dock for the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sikorsky provides early challenge for Lockheed

  28th January 2016

  Lockheed Martin executives predict a sharp fall in commercial helicopter sales due to the poor state of the oil and gas market. Following the company’s …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  New payload software for AFSOC MQ-9s

  27th January 2016

  The development of a new line of software for the US Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) will enable the fielding of ‘new payloads’ on …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Bluesky and Cyberhawk team up

  27th January 2016

  A teaming arrangement between Bluesky and Cyberhawk will target the unmanned aerial survey and mapping market, a statement from Bluesky announced on 27 January. Bluesky …

• Training

  SAC programme training shifts to UK

  27th January 2016

  C-17 Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) programme aircrew are to be trained at Boeing’s International Training Centre (ITC) in the UK under an $8 million contract …

• Defence Helicopter

  Airbus and Mahindra strengthen partnership

  27th January 2016

  Airbus Helicopters and Mahindra Defence announced further solidification of their ‘Make in India’ partnership on 24 January. This followed an initial MoU signed in July …

• Naval Warfare

  India steps up maritime surveillance

  27th January 2016

  India is tightening its monitoring of strategic entry points into the Indian Ocean after it emerged the Indian Navy (IN) deployed for the first time …

• Defence Helicopter

  Oil and gas saga hits Airbus orders

  26th January 2016

  The flatlining oil price continues to depress the helicopter market, Airbus Helicopters reporting a mere two orders for its H225 heavy-lift aircraft in 2015, a …

• Military Logistics

  KC-46A refuels F-16 aircraft

  26th January 2016

  The KC-46A tanker undertook its first refuelling flight on 24 January, with 1,600 pounds of fuel offloaded to an F-16 fighter aircraft 20,000ft above Washington …

• Training

  MilSim Asia: AviationLearn delves into unmanned sector

  26th January 2016

  One of the few domestic companies to exhibit at MilSim Asia 2016 in Singapore was AviationLearn, which is delving more deeply into the unmanned sector. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  New UAS-UGV teaming demo

  26th January 2016

  Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and Sikorsky have participated in a joint autonomy demonstration to prove the capability of new ground-air cooperative missions, CMU announced on …

• Defence Helicopter

  Mi-8/17 after sales support to expand

  25th January 2016

  Russian Helicopters is considering strengthening its in-country after sales support capabilities in Serbia, the company announced on 20 January. The company is assessing whether the …

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 ...

• 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 UAS - fixed-wing, 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 ...

• 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 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 ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, 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 - fixed-wing, 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 ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, 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 ...

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

  Hermes 900 [Undisclosed European Country]

  Background Various Contracts On 18 November 2024, Elbit Systems announced it had awarded various contacts with a combined $335 million to an undisclosed European country. ...

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 - fixed-wing, 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 - fixed-wing, 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 - fixed-wing, 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 ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  RBS 70 system

  The RBS 70 was developed in the 1970s to meet the Swedish Army’s requirement for a low-cost, easy-to-use MANPADS which could function in extreme climatic ...