• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2019: UVision looks to extend loitering munition CONOPS

  17th September 2019

  Israeli company UVision displayed a mock-up of a special operations vehicle (SOV) equipped with multiple Hero 30 launchers at DSEI 2019, as it seeks to …

• Naval Warfare

  New Asian-built LPDs for Thailand and Myanmar

  11th September 2019

  Two neighbouring Southeast Asian countries are adding LPDs to their naval fleets and both are procuring them from Asian shipbuilders in different countries. There is …

• Defence Helicopter

  Support contract awarded for German NH90 fleet

  29th August 2019

  Germany’s NH90 rotorcraft fleet will be supported by a new 10-year contract signed on 28 August between the government and two domestic suppliers. The Federal …

• Training

  EDA to establish Multinational Helicopter Training Centre

  11th September 2019

  The European Defence Agency (EDA) will establish a new Multinational Helicopter Training Centre (MHTC) in Sintra, Portugal, by the end of 2022.Together with 18 of …

• Defence Helicopter

  DSEI 2019: Bringing rotary-wing to the big deck

  3rd September 2019

  Fixed-wing fast jets are not the only aircraft that will operate from the flight decks of the Royal Navy’s (RN) new Queen Elizabeth class (QEC) aircraft carriers and …

• Defence Helicopter

  MSPO 2019: Leonardo puts W-3 Sokól upgrade offer on the table

  4th September 2019

  PZL Swidnik, under parent company Leonardo and in collaboration with the Polish Armaments Group has proposed a W-3 Sokół upgrade to the country’s MoD - as …

• Defence Helicopter

  Airbus pitches Tiger for Australian Army helicopter requirement

  2nd September 2019

  Airbus Helicopters is planning on bidding its Tiger rotorcraft for Australia’s Project LAND4503 Armed Reconnaissance Capability requirement, it confirmed on 30 August.  A request for …

• Defence Helicopter

  China finally signs AHL contract

  29th August 2019

  China and Russia, after a long passage of time, have finally signed a commercial contract to jointly develop the Advanced Heavy Lift (AHL) helicopter, a …

• Digital Battlespace

  MSPO 2019: Connectivity focus for Poland’s rotary police

  5th September 2019

  Poland’s police service has moved to increase its air-to-ground connectivity of its rotary units with the introduction of Evenlode 1 ground datalink systems. Produced by …

• Defence Helicopter

  MSPO 2019: Clock ticks for Romanian rotary plans

  28th August 2019

  The Romanian MoD struggle to procure new rotary platforms has been a long-running issue, overdue correction, not only to enhance troop transport and supply capabilities …

• Digital Battlespace

  US approves sonar and sonobuoy sale to Denmark

  2nd September 2019

  The US State Department has approved the possible Foreign Military Sale to Denmark of nine AN/AQS-22 Airborne Low Frequency Sonar systems and 600 AN/SSQ-36/53/62 sonobuoys. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MD 500 flies totally unmanned in South Korea

  5th August 2019

  Korean Air announced that an unmanned MD 500 scout helicopter achieved its maiden flight on 30 July. The aircraft was originally known under company nomenclature as the KUS-VH, where …

• Defence Helicopter

  ​MSPO 2019: PZL pushes new S-70i weapons pylon

  5th September 2019

  S-70i Black Hawk manufacturer PZL Mielec is developing a single station weapons store pylon for the aircraft, symbolising a ‘Polandisation’ of the utility transport platform. …

• Land Warfare

  MSPO 2019: Weapons accord opens up Brimstone to Polish Destroyer

  4th September 2019

  A joint cooperation agreement signed between PGZ and pan-European missile manufacturer MBDA will provide manufacturers involved in Poland's Tank Destroyer programme an opportunity to integrate …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sweden receives final series production NH90

  23rd August 2019

  The Swedish FMV procurement agency has announced that the final series production NH90 helicopter has been delivered to the Swedish armed forces.  It announced on …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530F -Kenya

  Crew transition training took place at the MD Helicopters headquarters in Mesa, Arizona, with field service support, armament, and gunnery training scheduled to occur at ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  MD 530G - Malaysia

  Procured for an urgent operational requirement for gunships to support Eastern Sabah Security Command operations, helicopter deliveries had to slip from a planned delivery of ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530G Lebanon

  The Armed MD 530G Scout Attack Helicopter features next-generation all-glass cockpit that includes: two Genesys Aerosystems IDU-680 6” x 9” LCD primary displays, Tek Fusion ...

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

  Uncrewed MD 500 Replacement [South Korea]

  Background Uncrewed Replacement of the MD 500 Throughout the 2010s, South Korea appeared interested in replacing its fleet of crewed MD 500 helicopters that were manufactured under licence ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  Project Land 2097 Phase 4 [Australia]

  Programme Background According to the RfI, under Project Land 2097 Phase 4, the selected helicopter must comprise a commercial or military off-the-shelf solution that is ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) First Batch (South Korea)

  Programme Background The LAH is the first time that the South Korean OEM has developed an armed helicopter. The project kicked off in June 2015, ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 505 (South Korea - Army)

  Programme Background Requirement South Korea operates an ageing fleet of Bell UH-1s and MD 500s for training purposes. The country has already replaced a part of ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 505 (South Korea - Navy)

  Programme Background Requirement South Korea operates an ageing fleet of Bell UH-1s and MD 500s for training purposes. The country has already replaced a part of ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Light Armed Helicopter (Second Batch) [South Korea]

  Programme Background The LAH is the first time that the South Korean OEM has developed an armed helicopter. The project kicked off in June 2015, ...

• 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 ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M - France

  Programme Background In April 2021, the French government signed a deal for the purchase of eight H225M Airbus helicopters to replace its ageing fleet of SA330 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow-On [USA]

  Programme Background In March 2019, Airbus stated that it expected orders from the US Army for between 12 and 15 UH-72A helicopters. In March 2020, ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Multirole Helicopters [Poland]

  Programme Background In 2020, Poland announced the launch of the Perkoz programme to acquire 32 support helicopters to replace its fleet of Mi-2 aircraft stationed ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  New Exploration and Escort Helicopter (NEES) (Phase II) [Italy]

  Programme Background Phase I In 2017, the Italian government signed a contract with Leonardo to replace its fleet of AW129 Mangusta attack helicopters with the ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145 Helicopter [Honduras]

  Programme Background  The Honduran Government has purchased a total of four H145 Helicopters manufactured by Airbus to develop the armed forces preparedness against natural disasters ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530F Cayuse Warrior

  An evolution of the OH-6 Cayuse light observation helicopter, the MD 530F was initially Federal Aviation Administration-certified in July 1985 as the Model 369FF. It ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  MDHI Glass Cockpit

  The American aerospace manufacturer MD Helicopters Inc. (MDHI) has designed and developed a glass cockpit specifically for MD 500E AND MD 520N aircraft. It is ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 500

  US-based MD Helicopters' MD 500 is a single-engine light helicopter derived from the Hughes OH-6A Cayuse developed for the US Army in the early 1960s and ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  IDU-680

  The IDU-680 is Genesys Aerosystems’ 3D synthetic vision integrated Electronic Flight Instrument System. The system includes a Highway in the Sky navigation system, geo-referenced hover ...

• Helicopter guns

  FN HMP

  The FN HMP (Heavy Machine Gun Pod) is a self-contained airborne weapon system armed with a 50cal FN M3P heavy machine gun. It is available ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530G

  The MD 530G is the newest addition to the MD Helicopters (MDHI) line of light scout attack platforms. It has increased-capacity landing gear and a ...

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

  KUS-VH

  The Korean Air Korean Air Unmanned System-Vertical Helicopter (KUS-VH) is a large, rotary-wing UAV based on the MD 500. The first flight of the platform ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  6XX

  Publicly unveiled at Heli-Expo in March 2017, the MD Helicopters 6XX is the next evolution in the MD 500 series and is a redesigned, single-engine ...

• Helicopter engines

  M250-C30

  The M250-C30 and -C30P are the exclusive powerplants for the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger and the MD Helicopters MD 530F and MD 530G. In addition, the AH-6i is ...

• EO/IR systems

  LEO-III

  The LEO-III, or LEO-III HD, was an airborne observation system with HD sensors and video outputs. It was a COTS, gyro-stabilised platform containing a multi-sensor HD ...

• Airborne rockets - unguided

  Aculeus MD-36 and MD-432

  The Aculeus MD-36 unguided multi-dart rocket provides 36 darts for the neutralisation of columns of light armoured vehicles. The Aculeus MD-432 provides 432 darts to ...

• Helicopter engines

  M250-C47E

  The C47E is the latest growth variant of the C47B/8 engine. In addition to a hot-and-high Value Improvement Package Kit, the C47E also includes dual-channel ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MD-1366 EBEM

  The US government selected the MD-1366 Enhanced Bandwidth Efficient Modem (EBEM) from ViaSat to set the DoD standard for high-speed, high-performance,flexibility and compatibility in a ...

• EO/IR systems

  Wescam MX-10

  The Wescam MX-10 EO/IR low-weight imaging system is designed for low-altitude tactical surveillance and reconnaissance missions from crewed and uncrewed aircraft. The MX-10 has had a close ...

• Military UAS - MALE, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Night Intruder 600 Vertical Take-Off (NI-600VT)

  The Night Intruder 600 Vertical Take-Off (NI-600VT) is an in-development UAV from Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) based on an MD 500 twin-seat American commercial helicopter airframe. With the ...