• Defence Notes

  SGA14: Increased Asian defence spending ahead of Singapore Airshow

  5th February 2014

  The growth of Asian defence budgets has accelerated in 2013 with military procurement rising further, according to the Military Balance 2014 released on 5 February.  …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UK sheds light on Taranis

  5th February 2014

  The UK MoD and BAE Systems have finally shed some light on the secretive Taranis UCAV demonstrator test programme, although the development remains highly classified. …

• Defence Helicopter

  SGA14: Rockwell Collins eyes Asia-Pacific growth

  5th February 2014

  Rockwell Collins is looking to accelerate growth of its business by focusing on opportunities in the promising Asian Pacific market through a number of key …

• Military Logistics

  First German A400M enters final assembly

  4th February 2014

  The first A400M airlifter for the German Air Force has entered the Airbus Defence and Space A400M final assembly line (FAL) in Seville, Spain. Following …

• Naval Warfare

  Defexpo 2014: DCNS updates on Indian sub programme

  4th February 2014

  French shipbuilder, DCNS, has announced that the first Scorpene submarine built under licence by Mazagon Docks (MDL) will be commissioned in 2015. Issued in a …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  BoldIQ software enhances Silent Guardian HALE UAV performance

  4th February 2014

  Bye Aerospace and BoldIQ have joined forces to enhance the performance of the former’s Silent Guardian HALE UAV at half the cost, the companies have …

• Defence Helicopter

  UK MoD accelerates Crowsnest airborne warning programme

  3rd February 2014

  The Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers being built for the Royal Navy will have operational Crowsnest early warning systems by 2019 following the renegotiation of …

• Defence Helicopter

  Exelis receives US Army helicopter radio order

  3rd February 2014

  The US Army has ordered the Exelis ARC-201D radios for installation in its UH-60M Blackhawk and CH-47F Chinook helicopters. The $10.9 million contract was issued …

• Defence Helicopter

  HeliVert to produce commercial AW139 helicopters

  31st January 2014

  Russian Helicopters and AgustaWestland joint venture, HeliVert, has been given the go-ahead to produce the AW139 commercial helicopter. The Register of the Interstate Aviation Committee …

• Digital Battlespace

  Thales APAR aces Royal Danish Navy firing trials

  31st January 2014

  The Royal Danish Navy’s HDMS Peter Willemoes has demonstrated its air defence capabilities using the Thales Active Phased Array Radar (APAR). The vessel performed live …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  General Atomics receives DAOS certification in UK

  31st January 2014

  General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GAASI) has been awarded a design competence certification by the UK’s Military Aviation Authority (MAA). Announced on 30 January by the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  France and UK make £120 million UCAV pledge

  31st January 2014

  Promises made under the 2010 Anglo-French Lancaster House treaties are starting to come to fruition as the leaders of both nations have pledged £120 million …

• Defence Helicopter

  Saab wins US Army low-altitude air surveillance contract

  31st January 2014

  The US Army has chosen Saab to install a low-altitude air surveillance system, designed to prevent mid-air collisions during tactical aviation training, on one of …

• Land Warfare

  Austria joins Sweden for BvS10 procurement

  30th January 2014

  Austria is joining Sweden’s BAE Systems Hägglunds BvS10 armoured all-terrain vehicle (ATV) project. Swedish Defence Minister Karin Enström said the government had approved on 23 …

• Defence Helicopter

  Iraq requests AH-64E Apache helicopter FMS

  29th January 2014

  The US government will consider a request from Iraq to purchase 24 AH-64E Apache Longbow attack helicopters at an estimated cost of $4.8 billion. The …

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 ...