• Defence Notes

  Defence business booms and order books build on the back of Russia–Ukraine war

  9th August 2024

  The half yearly and second quarter results of defence companies show mostly substantial increases in order books and sales, as supplying Ukraine, buying new equipment and replenishing stocks boosts contracts.

• Digital Battlespace

  UK Space Command launches first military satellite

  19th August 2024

  Tyche satellite will deliver military situational awareness for Ministry of Defence decision-making.

• Naval Warfare

  RIMPAC 2024 brings more navies together than ever before for biennial warfare exercise

  17th July 2024

  RIMPAC 2024 offered 29 national navies opportunities to train together for combat readiness in multiple domains, including underwater.

• Land Warfare

  Major call for shift towards defence-focused advanced manufacturing practices made at DVD 2024

  19th September 2024

  Defence leaders called on the industry to be more proactive in supply chain design, but noted that while the use of modern technological solutions to streamline the supply chain was vital, it could have significant downstream societal consequences.

• Air Warfare

  UK MoD and Hypersonix commit to hypersonic missile deal

  16th July 2024

  Australia’s Hypersonix Launch Systems has signed a deal with the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) to help the UK develop hypersonic missiles for the Hypersonic Technologies and Capability Development Framework (HTCDF) initiative.

• Naval Warfare

  What does the arrival of the USS Wasp in the Mediterranean Sea mean for US European and African Commands?

  3rd July 2024

  The vessel is intended to boost the US deterrence in the region and de-escalate tensions between Israel and Lebanon.

• Digital Battlespace

  First full set of IBCS delivered with testing to start next year

  2nd July 2024

  The Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) is a C2 system designed to integrate current and future sensors. The system also improves the ability of combatant commanders and air defenders to make critical decisions using real time data.

• Naval Warfare

  Italy orders fourth next-generation patrol vessel

  6th August 2024

  In August 2023, the Italian Secretariat General of Defence and National Armaments Directorate awarded a US$1 billion contract to Orizzonte Sistemi Navali (OSN) for the construction of three next-generation patrol vessels and has now signed for a fourth.

• Air Warfare

  FIA 2024: Looking to sixth-generation fighters and the New Medium Helicopter programme

  18th July 2024

  Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) 2024 is the even-year event where the biggest and the best present their efforts, and while the possibility of a roll-out or surprise curtain reveal remain slim, there are big programmes still being competed for.

• Defence Notes

  NATO countries outline strategies to accelerate defence industrial production

  15th July 2024

  During the Washington Summit, member states also agreed to improve manufacturing capacities across the alliance and continue investing in joint projects with Ukraine.

• Naval Warfare

  UK Royal Navy’s Littoral Response Group South makes Asia-Pacific debut

  16th August 2024

  The deployment will aim to strengthen the UK’s Indo-Pacific presence ahead of the potential 2025 arrival of a Carrier Strike Group.

• Air Warfare

  Sale of F-16 fighter jets marks Turkey’s next step in mending relations with the US

  25th June 2024

  As the purchase of F-16 Block 70 fighter jets by Turkey moves ever closer, US–Turkish relations have continued to improve, despite tension between NATO allies.

• Naval Warfare

  Australia’s new frigate options: No easy choices as pressure mounts on DoD

  16th April 2024

  A new class of General Purpose ‘Tier 2’ frigate will replace the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN’s) Anzac-class frigates, but the selected design options appear to have major issues in terms of compatibility and availability for the future fleet.

• Air Warfare

  Northrop Grumman signs South Korean laser mine detection deal

  9th August 2024

  Genohco will team up with Northrop Grumman to work on South Korea’s helicopter-based laser mine detection programme.

• Air Warfare

  MQ-25 development progresses as new contracts possible

  1st July 2024

  The MQ-25 Stingray represents the latest developments in the UAS field, bring closer to reality many of the often predicted additional roles that could be conducted by these types of systems.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Puma 3 AE (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Military Aid - $300 Million On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine to "bolster Urkaine's capacity ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1165 Special Ops HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HHMWV, or Humvee, has been in US service since 1983. The M1165A1B3 is a special operations variant of the platform.  In 2015, the US ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 300 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Presidential Drawdown (16 March 2022 & 13 April 2022) On 16 March 2022, President Biden announced $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine through ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A Joint Strike Fighter - USAF

  According to the US FY2021 budget document, Turkey's removal from the JSF program and transition to the alternate supply chain sources may challenge to achieve ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank [US]

  Programme Background As IAI stated in a 19 January 2023 press release, it had been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract by the Irregular Warfare Technical Support ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A [US Navy]

  Background Previous Purchases The BQM-177A was designed for the USN and has been in service with the USN for many years. Indeed, in August 2022, Shephard reported ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 600 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background $300 Million USAI (1 April 2022) On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine following ...

• Loitering munitions

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Background Presidential Drawdown (21 April 2022) Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, on 21 April 2022, President Biden announced an $800 million ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Puma LE [Kosovo]

  Background Contract Award On 21 January 2022, the US Department of Defence (DoD) announced that AeroVironment had been awarded an $11.01 million firm-fixed contract for Puma ...

• Loitering munitions

  ALTIUS-600M (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background On 24 February 2023, the US DoD announced that the Biden Administration had released an additional aid package under the Ukraine Security Assistance ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1152A1B2/M1165A1B3 HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HMMWV has been in US service since the 1980s. Despite the introduction of newer platforms, the US DoD continues to utilise the platform ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawk (India)

  Programme Background On 25 February 2020, a letter of acceptance for 24 MH-60Rs, worth approximately $2.12 billion, was signed by India and the US in Delhi. ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS): Switchblade [US]

  Background DoD Contract On 27 August 2024, the US DoD announced that AeroVironment had been awarded a ceiling $990 million hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to provide “an ...

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

  Puma 2 AE [Estonia]

  Programme Background The US DoD announced that it had awarded AeroVironment an $8.868 million firm-fixed-price contract to supply an undisclosed number of RQ-20B Puma AE ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-46A (3-6) [Japan]

  On 30 October 2020, the US DoD announced that it awarded a $342 million contract to Boeing for two Japanese KC-46A tanker aircraft. Work will be performed ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Pistols

  M9

  M9 is the US DoD designation for the military-specification 9mm Beretta 92FS, selected in 1985 to replace the 45cal M1911A1 in US service. Sales to ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  Igla/SA-18

  The 9K38 Igla (US DoD designation SA-18, NATO reporting name Grouse ) IR-homing MANPADS was developed by KBM and entered service in 1983 to meet the requirements ...

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

  ScanEagle 3

  Insitu unveiled the ScanEagle 3 at the Xponential exhibition in Denver in May 2018. The platform has twice the payload capacity of its ScanEagle predecessor ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank

  Point Blank Weapon System is a hand-launched electro-optical VTOL-capable loitering munition developed by Isreal Aerospace Industries (IAI). IAI has been awarded a contract by the US ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  BAT-850

  Pathfinder's BAT-850 VSAT is a carbon fibre, tri-band terminal with auto-acquisition capability. Suitable for flyaway (case-based) and vehicle-mounted applications, it is in service with the ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  URC-300

  The URC-300 is a software-defined radio designed for line-of-sight, ground-to-air communications in particular. Introduced in 2020, it adheres to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards as well ...

• Air: aerial targets, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A/i

  The BQM-177A subsonic aerial target (SSAT) was designed for the USN, and the BQM-177i is the export variant. The BQM-177 provides realistic threat emulation for ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Banshee Tactical Radio

  Developed by Fenix Group, the Banshee Tactical Radio (BTR) is a communications system that uses 4G/LTE connectivity to provide secure mesh networking capability on the ...

• Crew-served grenade launchers

  Striker 40/MK47

  General Dynamics is systems integrator for the Striker 40 (MK47 AGL in US service). The complete system comprises the weapon, AN/PWG-1 Lightweight Video Sight and ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  AN/ARC-231 Skyfire

  The AN/ARC-231 Skyfire is an airborne VHF/UHF/LOS and DAMA SATCOM system. This system supports US DoD requirements for airborne, multi-band, multi-mission, secure anti-jam voice, data ...

• Air-to-air missiles

  9M39 Igla-V

  The 9M39 Igla-V (‘needle’) is a Russian IR homing SAM adapted for helicopter use. It is an air-launched version of the Igla MANPADS, which the ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Global Observer

  The AeroVironment Global Observer HALE UAV was a developmental HALE UAV designed for various civil, commercial and government applications.  Development of the platform began in 2007 ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  CLWS

  Developed by Boeing, Compact Laser Weapon System (CLWS or CLaWS) is a medium-range, low-power laser C-UAS system. According to the reports, the CLWS prototype has ...

• Weapon sights for day use

  CompM4/M4s

  The US DoD has bought over one million Aimpoint sights since 1997. The US Army is now fielding the CompM4s as the latest version of ...

• Heavy machine guns

  M2HB

  US Ordnance is one of two US M2HB heavy machine gun manufacturers which has received multi-year contracts to supply weapons to the US DoD. The ...