• Land Warfare

  Rheinmetall expects recovery of defence sales in 2014

  21st March 2014

  Rheinmetall has reported a lower group operating profit for 2013 compared to 2012 as defence sales have been affected by a challenging budget environment.  Operating …

• Naval Warfare

  MBDA unveils new Marte Coastal Defence System

  21st March 2014

  MBDA has developed a new coastal defence system based on the Marte missile family called the Marte Coastal Defence System (MCDS). The system is designed …

• Military Logistics

  UK DIO to become a GovCo after 2016

  21st March 2014

  The UK Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), which manages and develops the defence estate will become a Government Company (GovCo) after 2016, Shephard has learned. A …

• Defence Helicopter

  Italian Air Force’s first HH-101A takes flight

  20th March 2014

  The first production AW101 for the Italian Air Force has made its maiden flight at the AgustaWestland facility in Yeovil, UK, on 19 March. A …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Navy to study MH-53E engine fire risk

  20th March 2014

  The US Navy plans to award Sikorsky a contract to study ways to ‘reduce or eliminate’ the risk of engine-fires on its MH-53E Sea Dragon …

• Defence Helicopter

  India receives Mi-17s, AW101 saga continues

  20th March 2014

  India has received its first batch of 19 Mi-17V5s as New Delhi continues to clash with Italy over the termination of its deal to purchase …

• Digital Battlespace

  CAE details new training simulation contracts

  20th March 2014

  CAE has announced a number of new contracts that will see it supply training simulators and support services to a number of customers worldwide, including …

• Defence Helicopter

  DAGR capability as air-launched weapon demo'd

  19th March 2014

  Lockheed Martin’s DAGR guided rocket has successfully completed a series of Air Worthiness Release (AWR) live firing flight tests from an Apache AH-64D helicopter, during …

• Defence Helicopter

  DARPA confirms VTOL X-Plane contract recipients

  19th March 2014

  DARPA has finalised the list of contenders for its VTOL Experimental Plane (VTOL X-Plane) programme, with the awarding of two additional Phase 1 contracts to …

• Defence Notes

  China becomes fourth-largest arms exporter

  18th March 2014

  China has become the world’s fourth largest weapons exporter amid continued growth in international arms sales, according to a new study by Sweden-based think-tank SIPRI.  …

• Defence Helicopter

  Russia stages helicopter exercises near Ukraine border

  18th March 2014

  The Russian army started a new round of military exercises close to the border with Ukraine on 17 March. Held at a training center in …

• Defence Helicopter

  Royal Navy Wildcat helicopter lands on HMS Dragon

  18th March 2014

  The Royal Navy’s Wildcat helicopter has landed on the flight deck of a Type 45 destroyer, HMS Dragon, at sea as part of sea trials …

• Digital Battlespace

  Boeing signs RAAF Wedgetail support extension

  17th March 2014

  The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has elected to extend a contract with Boeing Defence Australia (BDA) to support its Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning & …

• Naval Warfare

  Thales details Polish Patrol Vessel contract

  14th March 2014

  Thales will supply an integrated combat system for the ORP ŚLĄZAK Patrol Vessel being built for the Polish defence force. The company announced a contract …

• Defence Helicopter

  Brazil to receive first upgraded Panther K2 aircraft

  13th March 2014

  Airbus Helicopters’ Helibras subsidiary is set to deliver the first two upgraded AS365 Panther K2 helicopters to the Brazilian Army this month following work to …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A330 MRTT (1-9) [NATO]

  Programme Background Following operations in Libya and extensive analyses by the European Defence Agency (EDA), it was agreed at the NATO Summit in 2012 that ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A330 MRTT Follow-On (NATO)

  Following operations in Libya and extensive analyses by the European Defence Agency (EDA), it was agreed at the NATO Summit in 2012 that the EDA ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawks [Norway]

  Programme Background NH90 NFH cancellation  The Norwegian government announced the termination of the NH90 NFH helicopter contract for 14 NH90s with NHIndustries in June 2022. Seahawk Acquisition ...

• Tanks

  New MBT [Romania]

  Programme Background Requirement The Romanian Army's MBT fleet is composed of T-55 variants that are due to be retired in the mid-2020s. Although Romania's TR-85 ...

• Tanks

  M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 [Romania]

  Programme Background Requirement The Romanian Army's MBT fleet is composed of T-55 variants that are due to be retired in the mid-2020s. Although Romania's TR-85 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) - (Greece)

  Programme Background EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) was announced in early 2022 and the project contract was awarded ...

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

  UAV Tactical Level [Norway]

  Programme Background Request for Information (RfI) In September 2022, the Norwegian Defence Material Agency (NDMA) launched a request for information in preparation for a possible ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) - (Italy)

  Programme Background EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) was announced in early 2022 and the project contract was awarded ...

• Maritime patrol

  MAWS/PATMAR [France]

  Programme Background In 2017, Germany and France announced that they would be working towards developing an MPA to replace their current fleets in service. The ...

• Tanks

  Leopard 2A8 [Netherlands]

  Programme Background Bidders and Suppliers The Leopard 2A8, the latest in the Leopard family, was selected by the Royal Dutch Army as per announcements in ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2 [Kuwait]

  Background Contract Award On 18 January 2023, Baykar announced signing a $370 million export contract with Kuwait for the Bayraktar TB2. According to the announcement, ...

• 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 ...

• Corvettes

  European Patrol Corvette (EPC) [France]

  Programme Background Requirements The European Patrol Corvette (EPC) is one of the new PESCO (Permanent Structured Cooperation on Defence and Security) projects. PESCO was established ...

• AEW&C

  Alliance Future Surveillance and Control (1-6) [NATO]

  Programme Background NATO’s E-3A AWACS fleet is set to retire in 2035, after 50 years of service. To plan for the required follow-on capability, NATO's ...

• Corvettes

  European Patrol Corvette (EPC) [Italy]

  Programme Background Requirements The 2021-2023 Documento Programmatico Pluriennale (DPP) - a multi-year defence planning document from the Italian MoD - includes a plan to acquire eight "Patrol Ships", ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Land: air defence radar

  APIS

  APIS is a passive high-resolution primary radar system developed by Indra. It is the first passive system in the world capable of offering images using ...

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  AE50R

  The AE50R is an aviation gasoline single rotary engine with an output of 40.4kW. The engine is certified according to European Aviation Safety Agency Part ...

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

  LOTUS

  The LOTUS, Low Observable Tactical Unnamed System, is a tactical UAV especially designed for border patrol ISR operations.  The development of the project is funded by ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  Mistral 3

  The Mistral 3 is the latest member of the Mistral family of very short-range surface-to-air missiles. It entered service in 2018 and has been chosen ...

• Helicopter engines

  Arriel 2H

  Safran Helicopter Engines received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) engine type certification for its Arriel 2H engine, installed in the Avicopter AC312E, in April 2018. ...

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

  AR5

  First announced in October 2012, the AR5 is a MALE UAS designed for SAR, surveillance and maritime patrol missions. The AR5 can be flown manually or commanded ...

• Air: NVGs

  PNL-3M Orlik

  PNL-3M are high-performance, lightweight, passive stereoscopic NVGs for helicopter crew members. Certification by European Aviation Safety Agency also enables civilian use. The device can be ...

• Trainer

  Gabriel-TP

  Gabriel-TP is a low-wing, two-seat tandem trainer aircraft aimed at both military and civilian customers. It is certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in ...

• Loitering munitions

  Akeron RCH 170

  Unveiled in April 2025, the Akeron RCH 170 is a fixed-wing loitering munition from MBDA. Similar in design to the Switchblade 300, the catapult launched system ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  Standard 3

  Jointly developed by ATR and Thales, The Standard 3 avionics suite has been specifically designed for ATR-600 aircraft. It offers the pilot user-friendly interface, along ...

• Loitering munitions

  Akeron RCX 50

  Unveiled in April 2025, the Akeron RCX 50 is a rotary-wing loitering munition from MBDA.  According to reports, the RCX 50 is designed to support ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  DroneGun

  DroneGun enables controlled management of an adversarial UAS, causing no damage to the UAV or surrounding area. It either forces the drone to perform a ...

• Military - USVs

  NOMARS

  The No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) is a US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) effort to develop a first-of-its-kind large uncrewed surface vessel.

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  Trident 100TD2

  The Trident 100TD2 is a compression-ignition engine that is capable of operating on various types of heavy fuel. It is claimed to offer up to ...

• Space: radar systems

  ESA Sentinel-1

  Sentinel-1 is a planned constellation of four satellites with two already in orbit and two on order. They carry a payload of a C-band SAR ...