• Digital Battlespace

  USAF long-range radar programme moves to next phase

  30th August 2013

  Following the completion of the evaluation and prototype demonstration phase for its new long-range radar programme, the US Air Force (USAF) is preparing for the …

• Land Warfare

  Upgraded Arjun MBT begins user trials

  30th August 2013

  A fully-upgraded model of India's indigenously-designed Arjun Mk2 main battle tank (MBT) began its final round of user trials in August. The trials in the …

• Defence Helicopter

  FLIR Systems awarded BRITE Star contract

  30th August 2013

  FLIR Systems will supply BRITE Star Block II Systems for the Naval Air Systems Command’s UH-1 programme and the Vertical Takeoff Unmanned Aerial Vehicle programme …

• Digital Battlespace

  US DoD announces shared IT architecture plans

  30th August 2013

  The US Air Force, Army and Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) have agreed new architecture-sharing and modernisation changes that will increase bandwidth and network security, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Global decline of military aircraft market forecast

  30th August 2013

  The production of military aircraft will decline over the next decade due to shrinking defence budgets, according to projections by Forecast International. Around 11,940 military …

• Defence Helicopter

  ViaSat to supply Link 16 STTs for US Army Apaches

  28th August 2013

  The US Army has selected ViaSat to supply the Small Tactical Terminal (STT) KOR-24A to satisfy its requirement for an Airborne and Maritime/Fixed Station (AMF) …

• Land Warfare

  AeroVironment wins US Army Switchblade award

  28th August 2013

  AeroVironment has received new orders that will see it supply the Switchblade tactical missile systems, ancillary equipment and support to the US Army. The five …

• Land Warfare

  Lockheed Martin receives counterfire radar order

  28th August 2013

  Lockheed Martin is to supply additional AN/TPQ-53 (Q-53) long-range counterfire radars to the US Army under a $206 million contract announced on 26 August. The …

• Naval Warfare

  F-35C fighter refueled in-flight by USAF KC-135

  27th August 2013

  Lockheed Martin has reported that an F-35 Lightning II carrier variant (CV) has been refuelled during flight by a US Air Force KC-135 for the …

• Land Warfare

  BAE Systems elects to test HED system for GCV programme

  27th August 2013

  The Hybrid Electric Drive (HED) system in development as part of BAE Systems’ Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) proposal has completed 2,000 miles of testing on …

• Defence Notes

  Typhoon deployment postponed

  27th August 2013

  The RAF has postponed the deployment of ten Typhoon fighter aircraft and supporting elements to its airbase at Akrotiri on Cyprus because of the tensions in the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Boeing awarded South Korean Apache contract

  27th August 2013

  Boeing has been formally awarded a contract for 36 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters for South Korea, following the aircraft’s selection by Seoul in April. On …

• Defence Helicopter

  US to sell eight Apaches to Indonesia

  27th August 2013

  The US will supply eight Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters to the Indonesian armed forces, according to an announcement by the Department of Defense.  Speaking …

• Land Warfare

  GD’s GMV selected for USSOCOM vehicle

  27th August 2013

  General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GDOTS) has been awarded a $562 million contract for the purchase of Ground Mobility Vehicles 1.1. for the US …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Army defends AAS ‘voluntary demonstrations’

  26th August 2013

  Despite the US Army’s continuing failure to find direction for its Armed Aerial Scout (AAS) programme, the general in charge of aviation has defended the …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  MQ-1 Gray Eagle [US Army]

  Background Required Quantity Although the US Army first envisioned a requirement for 132 MQ-1C Gray Eagles, the US Army's Army Acquisition Objective (AAO) was increased ...

• Main battle tanks

  NGCV: DLP

  Programme Background Requirement The DLP is one of five vehicle families being developed for the US Army's NGCV programme. Expanded to include five programmes in ...

• AGMV 1.1

  Programme Background The US Army has been seeking a lightweight, air-droppable, high mobility vehicle since as early as 2014, when it initiated its Ultra Light ...

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

  Heavy Lift VTOL (HVTOL) (Forecast) [US Army]

  Background USMC In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, which had been specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  AMPV [USA]

  Programme Background Platform Development The US Army initiated the AMPV programme to acquire a replacement for several variants of the M113 tracked APC, which has ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV Oshkosh Contract [US Army]

  Programme Background As of January 2021, the US DoD had signed 15 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 2) [US Army]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was intended to ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 1) [USA]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow On

  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, ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker (Sergeant Stout) [USA]

  Programme Background As part of the Army Transformation Initiative the US DoD is fundamentally reorganising the structure of the US Army. As part of this all Infantry ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System (LMAMS) [US Army]

  Background First Contract In June 2011, the US awarded AeroVironment a $4.9 million series-production contract for the loitering munition, satisfying the US Army's Lethal Miniature ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Switchblade 300 (USA)

  Programme Background AeroVironment has been providing the Switchblade 300 loitering munition to the US Army under the long-standing Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile Systems (LMAMS) programme ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) [Tranche 1] / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) (USA)

  Programme Background The Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) Programme The RPUAS programme will provide the Battalion and below-ground manoeuvre elements within the US Army with an ...

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

  Group 4/5 UAV [US Army]

  Background Request for Information (RfI) On 5 June 2024, the American DoD published an RfI with an original response date of 19 July 2024. The ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  US Army Maneuver Support Vessel Light (MSVL)

  Programme BackgroundThe Maneuver Support Vessel (Light) or MSV(L) contract was awarded by the US Army to Vigor in 2017 and are being built to replace ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  US Army AVCATT PDSS

  L3Harris Technologies is the prime contractor for the US Army’s Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer (AVCATT) Post Deployment Software Support (PDSS) programme. L3Harris Technologies is ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  US Army Flight School XXI OFT/RCTD

  L3Harris Technologies is a major subcontractor to CSC on the US Army’s Flight School XXI (FSXXI) programme. L3Harris Technologies has built or is under contract ...

• Maritime patrol

  US-2

  The ShinMaywa US-2 is an amphibious short take-off and landing aircraft used primarily by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) for SAR. 

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  OH-58 Kiowa

  The single-engine OH-58 Kiowa, derived from the Bell 206, entered US Army service in 1969 as a light observation helicopter. More than 2,200 were built for ...

• Towed guns

  M198

  The US Army developed the M198 155mm towed howitzer from 1969 to replace the M114 155mm howitzer. From 1978, 1,600 weapons were built by Rock ...

• Towed mortars

  M120/M120A1

  The M120/M120A1 120 mm Towed Mortar System is a US-built version of the Soltam K6 mortar that was accepted into US Army service in 1990.

• Light tanks

  M10 Booker

  The US Army awarded General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) a contract worth US$1.14 billion to supply 96 light tanks under the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) ...

• JPT

  Designed for military applications, the Joint Platform Tablet (JPT) features a rugged design, including a military-grade aluminium case, dual-core processor, 128GB removable hard drive and ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72A/B Lakota

  In 2006, the US Army selected a version of the medium-sized, twin-engine H145, designated the UH-72A Lakota,  to meet its requirement for a new Light ...

• Armoured engineer vehicles

  M1150 ABV

  The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) project, launched by the USMC in 2002, is a joint programme to meet the requirements of both the US ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  RQ-7 Shadow 200

  The Shadow 200, designated RQ-7B by the US Army, is flown by the army brigade combat teams and combat aviation brigades along with the UAV ...

• REBS

  The Rapidly Emplaced Bridge System (REBS) is a 13m dry-gap bridge. It was designed by GDELS to meet a US Army requirement to provide a ...

• Land: Electronic Attack - Jamming

  AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III

  Sierra Nevada’s AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III is the standard Counter Improvised Explosive Device (CIED) manpack system in service with the US Army and US Marine Corps (USMC). ...

• DSB

  WFEL was selected in 1996 to develop the M18 Dry Support Bridge (DSB) for the US Army. The company designed, manufactured and integrated the DSB ...

• Individual grenade launchers

  M320 GLM

  The M320 Grenade Launcher Module (GLM) is a further development of the HK AG36 (see separate entry) to meet a US Army requirement. The M320 ...