• Defence Notes

  Nordic countries further defence cooperation

  13th December 2013

  The Nordic defence ministers have adopted a vision for 2020 showing their commitment to progressing cooperation further in the coming decade as national defence budgets …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sikorsky to advance VTOL X-Plane programme

  13th December 2013

  The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded Sikorsky Phase 1 of the VTOL Experimental Aircraft (X-Plane) programme.   The new contract, valued …

• Naval Warfare

  MBDA to continue MCM- ITP programme work

  13th December 2013

  MBDA will continue research and development work for the Materials and Components for Missiles - Innovation and Technology Partnership (MCM-ITP) programme, following the issue of …

• Digital Battlespace

  Textron AirLand's ISR/Strike platform takes flight

  13th December 2013

  Textron AirLand has completed the first flight of its Scorpion ISR/Strike technology demonstrator, with a 1.4 hour flight from McConnell AFB in Wichita, Kansas. The …

• Digital Battlespace

  Sixth Boeing-built WGS-6 enters service

  12th December 2013

  The sixth Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS-6) built by Boeing has been delivered on orbit to the US Air Force, boosting communications capabilities for the US …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Iran claims successful reverse-engineering of stealth UAV

  11th December 2013

  Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) will reveal a reverse-engineered version of the US stealth UAV which it claims to have captured in 2011, local …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  USN unveils submarine-launched UAV

  11th December 2013

  The US Navy has revealed details of a submarine-launched electric UAV concept following the conclusion of 12 months of live demonstrations this year. The all-electric, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Royal Australian Navy receives first MH-60R helicopters

  11th December 2013

  The first two MH-60R helicopters have been accepted by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) at ceremony at Lockheed Martin’s Owego facility. The RAN has 24 …

• Military Logistics

  GOCO dies, but will live again

  11th December 2013

  The UK government has finally abandoned proposals to privatise the MoD’s defence equipment procurement agency, DE&S. The secretary of state for defence, Philip Hammond, told …

• Defence Notes

  EADS details Defence and Space restructure plans

  10th December 2013

  EADS has presented a plan to the European Works Council that will see its future Airbus Defence and Space Division (Airbus DS) and corporate functions …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sweden’s first NH90 TTT/IM delivery imminent

  10th December 2013

  Nearly seven years after the first NH90 was delivered to Sweden’s Helicopter Battalion, a fifth helicopter is expected to be handed over on 17 December. …

• Land Warfare

  Excalibur successfully fired from PzH2000 howitzer

  10th December 2013

  Testing to assess Excalibur’s compatibility and performance with the PzH2000 self-propelled howitzer has been completed at Yuma Proving Ground by the US Army and Raytheon. …

• Land Warfare

  Puma AIFV completes hot climate testing

  10th December 2013

  Germany’s Puma armoured infantry fighting vehicle (AIFV) have completed hot climate trials, it has emerged. Two of the new AIFVs were flown to the UAE …

• Defence Notes

  European ‘go-it-alone’ defence approach a major weakness, report says

  9th December 2013

  In the run-up to the European Council meeting on defence, a report from the EU Parliament has highlighted the costs resulting from the lack of European …

• Defence Notes

  Boeing, Saab team for USAF T-X programme bid

  9th December 2013

  Boeing and Saab have teamed to offer a solution for the US Air Force’s upcoming competition to replace its T-38 aircrew training system. The companies …

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 ...