• Defence Notes

  DoD plays it safe on air power spending

  12th February 2020

  The proposed US DoD FY2021 defence budget runs at a shortfall of $800 million for aircraft and associated systems compared to last year’s figures. In total, …

• Defence Helicopter

  DefExpo 2020: LUH achieves a milestone

  7th February 2020

  The Indian single-engine Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was awarded initial operational clearance (IOC) at DefExpo 2020 on 7 February. First, …

• Defence Notes

  Croatia sets out its 2020 procurement vision

  7th February 2020

  Salient features of the Croatian defence procurement programme for 2020 were unveiled on 6 February, with new detail provided on plans to purchase new aircraft …

• Defence Helicopter

  National Technologies Associates receives US DoD IDIQ contract

  28th January 2020

  National Technologies Associates will support the US Presidential Helicopters Program Office under a $104.9 million IDIQ contract announced by the US Department of Defense on …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Singapore Airshow 2020: ROKAF stands up Global Hawk unit

  5th February 2020

  The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) established a new reconnaissance squadron in late 2019, to coincide with the arrival of the country’s first RQ-4B …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MCA investigating UAS to support SAR missions

  7th February 2020

  A new project has been announced by the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) to boost search and rescue (SAR) capabilities. The project will investigate …

• Training

  Merlin helicopters train on HMS Queen Elizabeth

  31st January 2020

  Trainees from 824 Naval Air Squadron of the Fleet Air Arm are undertaking a month-long deployment on HMS Queen Elizabeth in the North Sea for …

• Training

  UK Cold Weather Survival training underway

  30th January 2020

  The UK’s Aviation Task Force 2 is undergoing a Cold Weather Survival Course as part of the annual Exercise Clockwork deployment.Aviation Task Force 2 is …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AQS-24B​ components being manufactured in Australia

  6th February 2020

  Northrop Grumman has begun manufacture of AQS-24B towed minehunting system components in Australia, the company announced on 6 February. Manufacture is being carried out with …

• Defence Notes

  DefExpo 2020: Indian missiles abound but are yet to be fielded

  10th February 2020

  Indian state-owned entities displayed a number of missiles at DefExpo 2020 in Lucknow, including a couple for the first time, indicating practical progress on several …

• Defence Helicopter

  First CMV-22B arrives at NAS Patuxent River

  6th February 2020

  The US Navy’s first CMV-22B Osprey tiltrotor has arrived at Naval Air Station Patuxent River following its ferry flight from Bell’s Amarillo Assembly Center in …

• Defence Helicopter

  Battle of the CH-47F vs CH-53K heats up in Israel

  30th January 2020

  The Israeli Air Force's (IAF's) quest to find a replacement for its ageing CH-53 Yas'ur heavy-lift transport helicopter took a significant step forward with the …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Army orders Apache retrofit kits

  29th January 2020

  Boeing has received funding from the US Army for retrofit kits and software development for the Apache attack helicopter, the US Department of Defense announced …

• Land Warfare

  DefExpo 2020: M777 is going great guns in India

  7th February 2020

  A total of 29 M777A2 towed howitzers have been delivered to India to date, with the weapons being delivered according to schedule. Interestingly, India might also have an option …

• Naval Warfare

  Is the Philippine Navy’s modernisation rudderless?

  27th February 2020

  Amidst the controversy surrounding Manila’s termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement with the US, the Philippine Navy (PN) finds itself in a peculiar position as …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530F -Kenya

  Crew transition training took place at the MD Helicopters headquarters in Mesa, Arizona, with field service support, armament, and gunnery training scheduled to occur at ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  MD 530G - Malaysia

  Procured for an urgent operational requirement for gunships to support Eastern Sabah Security Command operations, helicopter deliveries had to slip from a planned delivery of ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530G Lebanon

  The Armed MD 530G Scout Attack Helicopter features next-generation all-glass cockpit that includes: two Genesys Aerosystems IDU-680 6” x 9” LCD primary displays, Tek Fusion ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Uncrewed MD 500 Replacement [South Korea]

  Background Uncrewed Replacement of the MD 500 Throughout the 2010s, South Korea appeared interested in replacing its fleet of crewed MD 500 helicopters that were manufactured under licence ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  Project Land 2097 Phase 4 [Australia]

  Programme Background According to the RfI, under Project Land 2097 Phase 4, the selected helicopter must comprise a commercial or military off-the-shelf solution that is ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) First Batch (South Korea)

  Programme Background The LAH is the first time that the South Korean OEM has developed an armed helicopter. The project kicked off in June 2015, ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 505 (South Korea - Army)

  Programme Background Requirement South Korea operates an ageing fleet of Bell UH-1s and MD 500s for training purposes. The country has already replaced a part of ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 505 (South Korea - Navy)

  Programme Background Requirement South Korea operates an ageing fleet of Bell UH-1s and MD 500s for training purposes. The country has already replaced a part of ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Light Armed Helicopter (Second Batch) [South Korea]

  Programme Background The LAH is the first time that the South Korean OEM has developed an armed helicopter. The project kicked off in June 2015, ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton - Germany (Cancelled)

  Programme Background Germany requested to buy four MQ-4C Triton HALE UAVs from Northrop Grumman. On 5 April 2018, the US State Department announced that it ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M - France

  Programme Background In April 2021, the French government signed a deal for the purchase of eight H225M Airbus helicopters to replace its ageing fleet of SA330 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow-On [USA]

  Programme Background In March 2019, Airbus stated that it expected orders from the US Army for between 12 and 15 UH-72A helicopters. In March 2020, ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Multirole Helicopters [Poland]

  Programme Background In 2020, Poland announced the launch of the Perkoz programme to acquire 32 support helicopters to replace its fleet of Mi-2 aircraft stationed ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  New Exploration and Escort Helicopter (NEES) (Phase II) [Italy]

  Programme Background Phase I In 2017, the Italian government signed a contract with Leonardo to replace its fleet of AW129 Mangusta attack helicopters with the ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145 Helicopter [Honduras]

  Programme Background  The Honduran Government has purchased a total of four H145 Helicopters manufactured by Airbus to develop the armed forces preparedness against natural disasters ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530F Cayuse Warrior

  An evolution of the OH-6 Cayuse light observation helicopter, the MD 530F was initially Federal Aviation Administration-certified in July 1985 as the Model 369FF. It ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  MDHI Glass Cockpit

  The American aerospace manufacturer MD Helicopters Inc. (MDHI) has designed and developed a glass cockpit specifically for MD 500E AND MD 520N aircraft. It is ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 500

  US-based MD Helicopters' MD 500 is a single-engine light helicopter derived from the Hughes OH-6A Cayuse developed for the US Army in the early 1960s and ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  IDU-680

  The IDU-680 is Genesys Aerosystems’ 3D synthetic vision integrated Electronic Flight Instrument System. The system includes a Highway in the Sky navigation system, geo-referenced hover ...

• Helicopter guns

  FN HMP

  The FN HMP (Heavy Machine Gun Pod) is a self-contained airborne weapon system armed with a 50cal FN M3P heavy machine gun. It is available ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530G

  The MD 530G is the newest addition to the MD Helicopters (MDHI) line of light scout attack platforms. It has increased-capacity landing gear and a ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  KUS-VH

  The Korean Air Korean Air Unmanned System-Vertical Helicopter (KUS-VH) is a large, rotary-wing UAV based on the MD 500. The first flight of the platform ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  6XX

  Publicly unveiled at Heli-Expo in March 2017, the MD Helicopters 6XX is the next evolution in the MD 500 series and is a redesigned, single-engine ...

• Helicopter engines

  M250-C30

  The M250-C30 and -C30P are the exclusive powerplants for the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger and the MD Helicopters MD 530F and MD 530G. In addition, the AH-6i is ...

• EO/IR systems

  LEO-III

  The LEO-III, or LEO-III HD, was an airborne observation system with HD sensors and video outputs. It was a COTS, gyro-stabilised platform containing a multi-sensor HD ...

• Airborne rockets - unguided

  Aculeus MD-36 and MD-432

  The Aculeus MD-36 unguided multi-dart rocket provides 36 darts for the neutralisation of columns of light armoured vehicles. The Aculeus MD-432 provides 432 darts to ...

• Helicopter engines

  M250-C47E

  The C47E is the latest growth variant of the C47B/8 engine. In addition to a hot-and-high Value Improvement Package Kit, the C47E also includes dual-channel ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MD-1366 EBEM

  The US government selected the MD-1366 Enhanced Bandwidth Efficient Modem (EBEM) from ViaSat to set the DoD standard for high-speed, high-performance,flexibility and compatibility in a ...

• EO/IR systems

  Wescam MX-10

  The Wescam MX-10 EO/IR low-weight imaging system is designed for low-altitude tactical surveillance and reconnaissance missions from crewed and uncrewed aircraft. The MX-10 has had a close ...

• Military UAS - MALE, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Night Intruder 600 Vertical Take-Off (NI-600VT)

  The Night Intruder 600 Vertical Take-Off (NI-600VT) is an in-development UAV from Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) based on an MD 500 twin-seat American commercial helicopter airframe. With the ...