• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Facebook details high-flying connectivity solution

  31st March 2014

  Social networking site Facebook intends to build and deploy HALE UAVs in an effort to provide basic broadband connectivity to remote areas of the world, …

• Land Warfare

  UK MoD issues Saab DFWES support contract

  31st March 2014

  Saab has signed on to support the British Army’s Direct Fire Weapon Effects Simulator System (DFWES) under a new contract with the UK Ministry of …

• Defence Notes

  European defence cooperation still falling short

  31st March 2014

  While the pooling and sharing of defence capabilities is still regarded as the way forward, many obstacles to its voluntary implementation remain, participants at the …

• Defence Helicopter

  FIDAE: Airbus Helicopters reveals $54 million of deals

  31st March 2014

  Airbus Helicopters secured transactions worth $54 million for the AS350, EC145 and EC155 helicopters during the FIDAE exhibition in Santiago in Chile at the end …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  FIDAE: EXPAL displays Shepherd UAV

  31st March 2014

  Spanish defence manufacturer EXPAL unveiled its hand-launched Shepherd-MIL UAV at the FIDAE exhibition in Santiago, Chile. Designed for silent, autonomous aerial reconnaissance, the platform is …

• Defence Helicopter

  Philippines buys new Bell 412s

  28th March 2014

  The Philippines has signed a signed a contract worth more than $100 million with the Canadian Commercial Corporation for eight Bell 412 utility helicopters. Fernando …

• Defence Helicopter

  France, UK finally commit to FASGW(H)/ANL

  28th March 2014

  Some five years after signing a statement of intent to jointly pursue a next-generation helicopter-launched surface attack missile, the UK and France have finally committed …

• Defence Helicopter

  Qatar announces $24 billion in defence contracts

  28th March 2014

  The Qatar Armed Forces has awarded an estimated $24 billion in defence contracts for the purchase of tanks, helicopters, missiles and other weapons, it was …

• Military Logistics

  Airbus A330 MRTT selected by Qatar Emiri Air Force

  28th March 2014

  Qatar has selected the A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) as the new-generation air-to-air refuelling solution for the Qatar Emiri Air Force. Airbus will deliver two …

• Land Warfare

  Cassidian Optronics wins military vehicle optronics contract

  27th March 2014

  Under an order announced on 26 March, Cassidian Optronics will supply vision equipment to Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall Defence Electronics to be installed on battle …

• Defence Helicopter

  FIDAE: Surplus Chinooks may head for South America

  27th March 2014

  A significant portion of the 80 CH-47D helicopters that are being designated as surplus by the US Army are being targeting at South America, according …

• Land Warfare

  Rheinmetall signs South African air defence contract

  27th March 2014

  Rheinmetall will perform work to support South Africa’s programme to modernise its existing air defence systems under a new contract announced on 27 March. The …

• Land Warfare

  UK advances Army 2020 plan

  27th March 2014

  The UK Ministry of Defence has implemented the first phase of its Army 2020 re-structuring programme with the launch of Force Troops Command (FTC), which …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  FIDAE: Argentine UAVs revealed

  26th March 2014

  Argentine company Mundo Compuesto (MCOM) Special Developments has provided information about its developmental MCOM UAV at FIDAE. The UAV has a wingspan of 4.2m and …

• Digital Battlespace

  DIMDEX: Middle Eastern C4ISR requirements evolve

  26th March 2014

  The Middle East is experiencing a change of mindset in the area of C4ISR procurement, according to Thales. Speaking to Shephard at DIMDEX on 26 …

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 ...

• 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 ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A330 MRTT Follow-On [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 ...

• Main battle 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 ...

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

  Penguin C VTOL [Croatia]

  Background Announcment Redwire Corporation announced on 12 November 2025 that its wholly owned subsidiary, Edge Autonomy, had been contracted to deliver the Penguin C VTOL ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

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

  UAV Tactical Level [Norway]

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

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

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

  Capa-X

  The Capa-X is a VTOL-capable fixed-wing drone from Survey Copter, a subsidiary of Airbus. The drone has been linked with France's Système de Drone Tactique Léger (SDTL) ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  Tryzub Laser

  Ukraine's Tryzub (Trident) laser was revealed during the European Defence Industry: Prospects for Cooperation with the Ukrainian Defence Industry conference in 2025. Video footage from ...

• 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 ...