• Defence Notes

  US 4th Fleet prepares for P-8A Poseidon

  1st July 2016

  A Boeing P-8A Poseidon has arrived at Cooperative Security Location (CSL) Comalapa, El Salvador, in preparation for deployment with the US Navy's 4th Fleet, the …

• Training

  Cubic integrates ACMI into CWES

  1st July 2016

  Cubic Global Defense (CGD) has successfully integrated the Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation (ACMI) system onboard the Royal Canadian Air Force's F-18 aircraft to the Canadian …

• Defence Helicopter

  Serbia gets first two Mi-17V-5s

  1st July 2016

  Russian Helicopters has made the delivery of two Mi-17V-5 medium military-transport helicopters to Serbia’s Ministry of Defence, the company announced on 29 June. The helicopters …

• Defence Notes

  MBDA to supply missiles to Qatar

  1st July 2016

  MBDA Italia has received a contract worth around $1.12 billion to supply the Qatar Emiri Naval Forces (QENF) with missiles for their new Fincantieri naval …

• Training

  BAE completes RAF simulator upgrade

  1st July 2016

  BAE Systems has successfully completed an upgrade to the British Royal Air Force’s (RAF's) synthetic simulator software, it announced on 29 June. The upgrade was …

• Military Logistics

  C295W enlists in Thai army

  1st July 2016

  Thailand has taken receipt of a single Airbus Defence & Space C295W medium transport aircraft. While Bangkok did not publicise this acquisition,  Airbus Defence & …

• Defence Helicopter

  Farnborough 2016: USAF introduces first HH-60G OLR helicopter

  30th June 2016

  The US Air Force (USAF) has introduced the first of 21 HH-60G Pave Hawk Operational Loss Replacement (OLR) helicopters, it was announced on 28 June. …

• Training

  Dutch Army extends VBS3 enterprise licence

  30th June 2016

  The Netherlands Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) has agreed a multi-year extension of its VBS3 enterprise licence with Bohemia Interactive Simulations (BISim). As well as the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Poland gets final W-3PL Głuszec

  30th June 2016

  PZL-Świdnik has delivered the last in the second series of four W-3PL Głuszec helicopters to the Polish armed forces, the company announced on 27 June. …

• Land Warfare

  Farnborough 2016: Digital expertise key to Army 2025

  30th June 2016

  The future of the British Army will focus on information technology and bringing the force into the digital age, Secretary of State for Defence Michael Fallon …

• Military Logistics

  Magic Carpet flies into testing

  30th June 2016

  The US Navy’s Strike Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX-23) has tested the Maritime Augmented Guidance with Integrated Controls for Carrier Approach and Recovery Precision …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Farnborough 2016: Watchkeeper future support contract disclosed

  29th June 2016

  The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has pledged a further £80 million ($108 million) to the Watchkeeper UAS programme in the form of a support …

• Defence Helicopter

  Farnborough 2016: MGB failure ‘likely’ cause of H225 crash

  29th June 2016

  The investigation into the 29 April crash of an Airbus Helicopters H225 has taken a fresh twist, after it was discovered the aircraft’s main gearbox …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MQ-8B deploys with new radar

  29th June 2016

  An MQ-8B Fire Scout recently deployed with the USS Coronado to begin flight operations using its new AN/ZPY-4(V)1 maritime surveillance radar. In a release from …

• Digital Battlespace

  Harris to provide EW payloads to US Navy

  29th June 2016

  Harris has been awarded a $27 million order to provide maritime electronic warfare (EW) payloads for the US Naval Research Laboratory’s Advanced Decoy Architecture Project …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Light attack, Trainer

  PC-21 (Project Air 5428) [Australia]

  The new PTS, including aircraft, flight training simulators and learning environments is being acquired from a single capability contractor, Team 21, which consists of Lockheed ...

• Transport, Transport/tanker aircraft

  Project Air 7404 [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement Australia is thinking ahead to an enlarged transport fleet to replace the current C-130Js. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was the second ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A (Project Air 6000 Phase 2A/B) [Australia]

  Programme Background The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) took delivery of 18 F-35A aircraft as of March 2020 and the remaining aircraft are expected to ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton (5-6) [Australia]

  Background Four Contracted Units In the summer of 2020, Northrop Grumman announced that the Australian Government provided $333 million for three MQ-4C Tritons and associated GCS. ...

• Medium Range Missile Defence Systems: 20-90km range

  Medium Range Air Defence [Australia]

  Background Faced with a growing threat from China and a vast land and sea territory to protect, Australia is seeking to establish a medium-range ground-based ...

• Patrol boats

  Evolved Cape Class (13-14) [Australia]

  Programme Background Austal was awarded a contract to build six 'Evolved'Cape-class patrol boats for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) on 1 May 2020 (see separate ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) [Australia]

  Background Older Efforts On 23 April 2021, the US State Department's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) approval announcement revealed that Australia had requested to buy up ...

• 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, ...

• OPVs

  Arafura Class (Project SEA 1180) (1-6) [Australia]

  Programme Background Australia's new class of Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV), the Arafura-class, will replace the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) fleet of Armidale and Cape-class patrol ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-28 Ghost Bat [Australia]

  Background Goal As stated by the Head of Air Force Capability, Air Vice-Marshal Robert Denney, in March 2022, the Ghost Bat will be an "operational system ...

• Loitering munitions

  Mission Talon Strike [Australia]

  Background Request for Tender (RFT) On 19 May 2025, the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA), an agency aimed at streamlining defence invocation for the Australian Defence ...

• Military UAS - small

  VTOL UAV [New Zealand]

  Background Defence Capability Plan (DCP) In April 2025, the New Zealand government published the DCP, a document that is essentially a blueprint for what procurements ...

• Trainer

  Hawk 127 Replacement (Future Lead-In Fighter Training System- Project Air 6002 PH1) [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirements The RAAF is seeking a future solution that provides a ‘relevant, adaptable, affordable and safe LIFTS out to 2050’ for training pilots ...

• Military UAS - small

  DEF129 (Tactical UAS) [Australia]

  Programme Background Programme Announcement The Australian Army announced the Project Land 129 Phase 3 programme in 2017. This announcement led to the release of an industry ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Harpii Szpon (Loyal Wingman) [Poland]

  Background Market Evaluation On 6 November 2023, speaking at the IQPC International Fighter Conference (IFC) 2023 in Madrid, Major General Cezary Wiśniewski, the Deputy General Commander of the ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: Integrated Defensive Systems

  Air-5416 Project Echidna

  Air-5416 Project Echidna was an initiative launched in 2001 by BAE Systems for the Australian DoD. Its goal was to overhaul the self protection systems ...

• Trainer

  King Air trainer

  Textron / Beechcraft King Air trainers are a family twin-engine aircraft based on King Air 90, 100, 200 and 350 utility aircraft. The King Air ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  Australian Defence Force MRH90 Training

  As prime contractor for the ADF's MRH90 training programme, CAE has provided two MRH90 full-flight mission simulators (FFMS), training facilities and engineering and support services. ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  RAAF Hawk Mk 127 FMS

  Under subcontract to BAE Systems, CAE is designing and manufacturing three Hawk Mk 127 full-mission simulators (FMS) for the Royal Australian Air Force that will ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Wanderer

  The Wanderer is a low-altitude, low-cost, long-endurance UAV produced in-house by the Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF) Jericho Disruptive Innovation Group and the Australian Government's Defense Science ...

• Light attack

  Hawk 200

  The Hawk 200 is a single-seat light attack iteration of the Hawk 100 (see separate entry) and Advanced Jet Trainer or AJT (see separate entry). ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-28A Ghost Bat

  The MQ-28A Ghost Bat is a loyal wingman-type, Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), MALE fixed-wing drone being developed by Boeing Defence Australia. Its development began in ...

• Military - USVs

  Bluebottle

  Bluebottle is a persistent, autonomous, uncrewed surface vessel from Ocius Technology in service with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF). In ...

• Air: UAV simulators

  Predator Mission Trainer (PMT)

  The CAE Predator Mission Trainer (PMT) is an integrated platform that combines the features of CAE's UAS mission trainer with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' Predator-specific ...

• Maritime patrol

  Challenger 604

  Bombardier Challenger CL-604 MPAs are in service with the Royal Danish Air Force and the Korea Coast Guard. The first of three Danish aircraft entered ...

• Military UAS - micro

  Phantom 4 (Series)

  Designed for aerial photograph applications by DJI, the Phantom 4 series of UAVs includes the Phantom 4 Pro, Phantom 4 Pro V2.0, Phantom 4 Advanced ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  Hawkei

  Thales Australia developed the 4x4 Hawkei for the Australian Army's Land 121 Phase 4 Protected Mobility Vehicle – Light (PMV-L) project.  The prototype was unveiled in ...

• Air: COMINT and ELINT systems

  AN/ALR-2001

  BAE Systems’ AN/ALR-2001 Electronic Support Measure (ESM) is thought to be based on Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) Elta Systems division’s EL/M-8382 ESM. The AN/ALR-2001 is ...

• Air-to-surface missiles

  AGM-88E AARGM

  The AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) is a supersonic, medium-range, air-launched tactical missile compatible with US and allied strike aircraft. Designed to upgrade the AGM-88 ...

• Military UAS - mini

  M Solar-X

  First revealed in August 2020, in February 2024, at its symposium, the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) showcased the M Solar-X. This solar-powered fixed-wing drone was ...