• Defence Notes

  South Korean defence companies increase exports

  7th January 2014

  South Korean defence exports increased to $3.4 billion in 2013 bringing it closer to its target of $4 billion of annual exports by 2020.  According …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  First French Reaper delivered to Africa

  6th January 2014

  The first MQ-9 Reaper system for the French Air Force has been delivered to the Sahel region of Africa ahead of its initial deployment in …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Global Hawk in Philippine disaster relief efforts

  6th January 2014

  The US Air Force (USAF) deployed a Global Hawk Block 30 UAV in support of international humanitarian assistance and relief efforts following Typhoon Haiyan in …

• Defence Helicopter

  India scraps AW101 deal

  2nd January 2014

  India has terminated the $750 million agreement signed with AgustaWestland in 2010 for 12 AW101 VVIP/VIP helicopters on the grounds of a breach of the …

• Land Warfare

  New Zealand receives first Rheinmetall MAN vehicles

  2nd January 2014

  The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has formally accepted the first 40 of 194 logistics vehicles ordered from Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles Australia in April …

• Defence Helicopter

  Lockheed Martin receives Cobra targeting system contract

  2nd January 2014

  Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control has been awarded a $33 million contract for procurement of AN/AAQ-30(A) Target Sight Systems (TSS) for the US Marine …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Australian Heron deployment extended

  30th December 2013

  The Australian government is to extend its Heron-1 UAV deployment in Afghanistan to July 2014 in support of the transition of responsibility in the region …

• Digital Battlespace

  Harris announces $100 million Australian DoD order

  27th December 2013

  Harris will supply additional multiband handheld and high-frequency Falcon manpack tactical radios to the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) under a $100 million follow-on order …

• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop Grumman transfers SATCOM tech to aircraft comms system

  27th December 2013

  Northrop Grumman has successfully demonstrated a new SATCOM-derived aircraft communications system on-board its Firebird demonstrator aircraft, the company has revealed. The new ‘high-functioning, low-cost communications …

• Defence Helicopter

  Military helicopter industry to decline by half

  27th December 2013

  Frost and Sullivan has predicted that US DoD spending on military helicopters will decrease by almost half from $12.4 billion in 2012 to $6.7 billion …

• Military Logistics

  First PW4062 engines for KC-46 tanker delivered

  23rd December 2013

  The first PW4062 engines for the KC-46 test aircraft have been delivered to Boeing’s Everett, WA, facility by Pratt & Whitney. The flight test aircraft …

• Digital Battlespace

  Babcock makes move into cyber market

  23rd December 2013

  Babcock International Group has announced the acquisition Context Information Security (ContextIS) in a £32 million transaction.   ContextIS, based in London with offices in Germany …

• Land Warfare

  Canada cancels $2 billion IFV project

  20th December 2013

  The Canadian Department of National Defence announced on 20 December the cancellation of its controversial C$2 billion Close Combat Vehicle (CCV) project to acquire infantry …

• Defence Helicopter

  Pakistan to collaborate with Turkey on T-129

  20th December 2013

  The Pakistan Aeronautical Complex has signed a work share agreement with Turkish Aerospace Industries, paving the way for any future Pakistani purchase of the T-129 …

• Land Warfare

  Netherlands to sell Leopard 2 MBTs to Finland

  20th December 2013

  The Netherlands will sell 100 Krauss-Maffei Wegmann Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks (MBTs) to Finland, it has emerged.  Acknowledging reports circulating in the Finnish media …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Land 400 Phase 3 (Logistics, Ammunition Carrier and Mortar Carrier Variants) [Australia]

  Programme Background The Australian DoD released the initial RfI for the Land 400 Phase 3 programme in November 2015. Following consultations with local industry, the ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Land 400 Phase 3 (Amphibious Vehicles) [Australia]

  Programme Background The Australian DoD released the initial RfI for the Land 400 Phase 3 programme in November 2015. Following consultations with local industry, the ...

• Main battle tanks

  M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams [Poland]

  Background Requirement Since the early 2010s, Poland has wanted to upgrade its Soviet-era tank fleet due to modernisation requirements, the need to increase interoperability with NATO ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - micro

  Drone40 (Ukraine Aid) [Australia]

  Programme Background In August 2022, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), a think tank, held a podcast with Ukraine's ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, in which ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  Littoral Manoeuvre Vessel - Medium (Project Land 8710 Phase 1A) [Australia]

  Background Requirements Australia has set out requirements for a fleet of up to 18 Littoral Manoeuvre Vessels - Medium (LMV-M) with the release of a ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Land 400 Phase 2 - Boxer CRV [Australia]

  Programme Background History The Land 400 Phase 2 programme will procure a replacement for the ASLAV, a derivative of the General Dynamics Land Systems Light Armoured Vehicle ...

• Main battle tanks

  Viatura Blindada de Combate-Carro de Combate (VBC-CC) [Brazil]

  Programme Background Several key technical requirements have been outlined by the Brazilian MoD. Among the most important are that the platform should weigh less than ...

• Main battle tanks

  Leopard 2A4 [Czech Republic]

  Background  The Czech Republic currently operates a small fleet of T-72s, which, while undergoing upgrades and life extension programmes, are increasingly obsolete. In October 2022, ...

• Submarines: nuclear/attack

  Second Hand SSNs [Australia]

  Programme background Timeline In September 2021, it was announced in a trilateral announcement between Australia, the US and the UK that Australia, in a shock ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Chios class LST replacement [Greece]

  Background Requirements The Hellenic Navy’s Chios-class tank landing ship platforms have been in service for almost 30 years. Shephard estimates they will start reaching their out-of-service date (OSD) ...

• Self-propelled rocket launchers

  HIMARS (Batch 2) [Australia]

  Programme background Prior to selecting HIMARS in January 2023, Australia did not operate an MLRS system. However, the effectiveness of Ukrainian HIMARS convinced the Australian government ...

• Medium UGVs

  Mission Master (RPV Sprial 2) [UK]

  Background First announced in April 2017 and referred to in early MOD documents as the ‘last mile resupply’ initiative, the British Army is reportedly evaluating ...

• Military - USVs

  Bluebottle USV (16-55) [Australia]

  Programme Background Timeline The RAN purchased a number of the 6.8m-long Bluebottles, including five under an A$4.9 million ($3.3 million) contract signed in November 2022. ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Project Land 400 Phase 3 [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement: 2015 RfI The Land 400 Phase 3 programme will procure a new tracked IFV to replace the Australian Army's legacy fleet of ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Project Air 7003 [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement The Royal Australian Air Force has been without a UAS capability since the Heron was withdrawn in mid-2017. According to Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  Carl-Gustaf M3

  The Carl-Gustaf M3 is the third generation of the 84mm shoulder-fired recoilless antitank gun, first fielded by the Swedish Army in 1946. Since then, it ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  120mm KE DM63 / DM53 A1 Tank Ammunition

  The 120mm kinetic energy tank ammunition is manufactured by Rheinmetall. There are several variations of the ammunition, including the DM63, which can be fired from ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  120MM HEAT-TP F1A

  Franco-German KNDS-Nexter produce the 120mm High-Explosive Anti-Tank Training-Purpose F1A (HEAT-TP F1A) round to enable reduced-cost training for Main Battle Tank crews. 

• Main battle tanks

  M1/M1A1 Abrams

  The 105mm-armed M1 Abrams tracked MBT was introduced into US Army service in 1980 as a replacement for the 105mm-armed M60 MBT. In April 1991, ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  120mm PELE Tank Ammunition

  The 120mm Penetrator with Enhanced Lateral Effect (PELE) tank ammunition is an inert round produced by Rheinmetall. It is suitable for use against semi-hard targets ...

• Light mortars

  60mm Mortar Ammunition

  US-based LD Systems' 60mm Mortar ammunition fulfils the NATO standard for lightweight mortar ammunition.

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  120mm L55A1

  The 120mm L55A1 is a smoothbore high-pressure gun based on the L55 tank gun. The L55A1 has been qualified and in service since 2019. It ...

• Naval: RF/IR/acoustic decoys

  Nulka

  The Nulka is an active anti-ship missile decoy originally conceived in Australia, and developed under a joint Australian-US programme. BAE Systems Australia is prime contractor, while ...

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  120mm L55 Tank Gun

  The 120mm L55 is a smoothbore tank gun produced by Rheinmetall. It is designed for use on the Leopard main battle tank, to which it ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  M1147 Advanced Multi-Purpose (AMP)

  The M1147 Advanced Multi-Purpose (AMP) is a 120mm tank round developed by Northrop Grumman Defence Systems. Various customers, including Bahrain, Israel, and the US, use the tank ...

• Main battle tanks

  M1A2 SEPv3

  The M1A2 System Enhancement Package 3 (M1A2 SEPv3, also known as M1A2C) is the latest production-standard variant of the Abrams MBT. Designed primarily to address ...

• Land: RWS

  R400 Slinger

  The R400 Slinger is a counter-uncrewed aerial system (C-UAS) remote weapon system (RWS) being developed in Australia. The development is a response to growing international ...

• Unguided Medium Calibre Ammunition

  Next Generation Combat Vehicle Ammunition

  The Next Generation Combat Vehicle Ammunition (NGVA) is a family of ammunition being developed by the US Army's Armaments Center and manufactured by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems ...

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  CVTESS

  Saab's Combat Vehicle Tactical Engagement Simulation System (CVTESS) is a laser-based simulator which supports every version of the Abrams Main Battle Tank and the Bradley ...

• Submarines: nuclear/attack

  SSN AUKUS

  The SSN-AUKUS will be the submarine design resulting from the AUKUS trilateral pact between Australia, the US and the UK. Expected to incorporate technology from ...