• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Singapore’s Hermes 450 gains full operational capability

  31st March 2015

  The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) declared full operational capability (FOC) for its Hermes 450 UAV in a ceremony at Murai Camp on 30 …

• Defence Helicopter

  Australia commissions first MH-60R Seahawk simulator

  31st March 2015

  The first of two Royal Australian Navy MH-60R Seahawk 'Romeo' flight simulators has been commissioned into service, the defence ministry announced on 27 March. The …

• Defence Notes

  Kaman to continue JPF contract with USAF

  31st March 2015

  Kaman's Aerospace segment has been awarded a contract modification for the continued procurement of Joint Programmable Fuzes (JPF) for the US Air Force (USAF). Announced …

• Defence Helicopter

  Quad A 2015: Boeing positions for multi-year Apache contract

  31st March 2015

  Boeing received the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the multi-year contract for Apache AH-64E and will respond later in the year. During a media briefing …

• Defence Helicopter

  Quad A 2015: Sikorsky-Boeing JMR TD supplier team announced

  31st March 2015

  The complete supplier teaming arrangement for the Sikorsky-Boeing SB>1 Defiant Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD)has been announced at Quad A, Nashville. During the show Doug …

• Naval Warfare

  French-UK mine countermeasure contract awarded

  31st March 2015

  Thales and BAE Systems, along with partners ECA Group, ASV, Wood & Douglas and SAAB, have won the French-UK Maritime Mine Counter Measures (MMCM) contract, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Bell extends components manufacture contract with Kaman

  30th March 2015

  Bell Helicopter has extended its contract with Kaman to manufacture components for its UH-1Y and AH-1Z helicopters, Kaman announced on 26 March. The five-year follow-on …

• Defence Helicopter

  Quad A 2015: V-280 assault variant fitted with future cockpit

  30th March 2015

  Bell Helicopter is displaying an assault variant of its mock-up of the V-280 Valor tiltrotor at the Quad A exhibition in Nashville. The aircraft has …

• Naval Warfare

  Japan inducts largest warship since WWII

  30th March 2015

  Japan formally received JS Izumo, its largest new warship since the end of World War Two, at the IHI Marine United shipyard in Yokohama on …

• Defence Helicopter

  Wireless TOW fired from Cobra

  30th March 2015

  Raytheon has successfully fired a wireless variant of its TOW missile system from a rotary-wing platform for the first time. The industry-funded firing tests took …

• Defence Helicopter

  AgustaWestland gets UK helicopter support contract

  30th March 2015

  The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) has awarded an approximately £580 million helicopter support contract to AgustaWestland, as announced on 26 March. The deal will …

• Land Warfare

  Second test firing of US Multi-Mission Launcher complete

  30th March 2015

  The US Army successfully completed the second test firing of the Multi-Mission Launcher (MML) using a Launch Demonstration Unit, as announced on 23 March. Three …

• Defence Helicopter

  Raytheon, MESKO sign Letter of Intent

  30th March 2015

  Raytheon Missile Systems and MESKO have signed a Letter of Intent to collaborate and share advanced defence technologies, Raytheon announced on 26 March. The areas …

• Defence Helicopter

  Airbus delivers first Lakota training helicopter to US Army

  30th March 2015

  Airbus Helicopters has delivered the first UH-72A Lakota helicopter in training configuration to the US Army, the company announced on 26 March. This is the …

• Digital Battlespace

  Ninth GPS IIF satellite for USAF launches

  27th March 2015

  A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV rocket with the ninth Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF satellite for the US Air Force (USAF) launched on …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Light attack, Trainer

  PC-21 (Project Air 5428) [Australia]

  The new PTS, including aircraft, flight training simulators and learning environments is being acquired from a single capability contractor, Team 21, which consists of Lockheed ...

• Transport, Transport/tanker aircraft

  Project Air 7404 [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement Australia is thinking ahead to an enlarged transport fleet to replace the current C-130Js. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was the second ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A (Project Air 6000 Phase 2A/B) [Australia]

  Programme Background The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) took delivery of 18 F-35A aircraft as of March 2020 and the remaining aircraft are expected to ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton (5-6) [Australia]

  Background Four Contracted Units In the summer of 2020, Northrop Grumman announced that the Australian Government provided $333 million for three MQ-4C Tritons and associated GCS. ...

• Data links

  Data links | Hawk 127 Replacement (Future Lead-In Fighter Training System- Project Air 6002 PH1) [Australia]

  In June 2020, Australia issued a Request for Information (RfI) for a Future Lead-In Fighter Training System (LIFTS) in a requirement called Project Air 6002 Phase ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | Hawk 127 Replacement (Future Lead-In Fighter Training System- Project Air 6002 PH1) [Australia]

  In June 2020, Australia issued a Request for Information (RfI) for a Future Lead-In Fighter Training System (LIFTS) in a requirement called Project Air 6002 Phase ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | Hawk 127 Replacement (Future Lead-In Fighter Training System- Project Air 6002 PH1) [Australia]

  In June 2020, Australia issued a Request for Information (RfI) for a Future Lead-In Fighter Training System (LIFTS) in a requirement called Project Air 6002 Phase ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | Hawk 127 Replacement (Future Lead-In Fighter Training System- Project Air 6002 PH1) [Australia]

  In June 2020, Australia issued a Request for Information (RfI) for a Future Lead-In Fighter Training System (LIFTS) in a requirement called Project Air 6002 Phase ...

• Patrol boats

  Evolved Cape Class (13-14) [Australia]

  Programme Background Austal was awarded a contract to build six 'Evolved'Cape-class patrol boats for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) on 1 May 2020 (see separate ...

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

  Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) [Australia]

  Background Older Efforts On 23 April 2021, the US State Department's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) approval announcement revealed that Australia had requested to buy up ...

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

  Project Air 7003 [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement The Royal Australian Air Force has been without a UAS capability since the Heron was withdrawn in mid-2017. According to Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, ...

• OPVs

  Arafura Class (Project SEA 1180) (1-6) [Australia]

  Programme Background Australia's new class of Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV), the Arafura-class, will replace the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) fleet of Armidale and Cape-class patrol ...

• Patrol boats

  Evolved Cape Class (11-12) [Australia]

  Programme Background Austal was awarded a contract to build six 'Evolved'Cape-class patrol boats for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) on 1 May 2020 (see separate ...

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

  MQ-28 Ghost Bat [Australia]

  Background Goal As stated by the Head of Air Force Capability, Air Vice-Marshal Robert Denney, in March 2022, the Ghost Bat will be an "operational system ...

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

  Project Vixen [UK]

  Background Project Goal The Royal Navy uses Leonardo crewed Merlin (AW101) helicopters fitted with CROWSNEST pods to provide airborne early warning capabilities for carriers. An early 2021 Royal ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: Integrated Defensive Systems

  Air-5416 Project Echidna

  Air-5416 Project Echidna was an initiative launched in 2001 by BAE Systems for the Australian DoD. Its goal was to overhaul the self protection systems ...

• Trainer

  King Air trainer

  Textron / Beechcraft King Air trainers are a family twin-engine aircraft based on King Air 90, 100, 200 and 350 utility aircraft. The King Air ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  Australian Defence Force MRH90 Training

  As prime contractor for the ADF's MRH90 training programme, CAE has provided two MRH90 full-flight mission simulators (FFMS), training facilities and engineering and support services. ...

• AMAS

  AMAS – Australian Minesweeping System – was developed with the assistance of the Defence Science & Technology Organisation and the Royal Australian Navy. It adopts ...

• Military - USVs

  Bluebottle

  Bluebottle is a persistent, autonomous, uncrewed surface vessel from Ocius Technology in service with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF).

• Air: air combat simulators

  RAAF Hawk Mk 127 FMS

  Under subcontract to BAE Systems, CAE is designing and manufacturing three Hawk Mk 127 full-mission simulators (FMS) for the Royal Australian Air Force that will ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Wanderer

  The Wanderer is a low-altitude, low-cost, long-endurance UAV produced in-house by the Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF) Jericho Disruptive Innovation Group and the Australian Government's Defense Science ...

• Light attack

  Hawk 200

  The Hawk 200 is a single-seat light attack iteration of the Hawk 100 (see separate entry) and Advanced Jet Trainer or AJT (see separate entry). ...

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

  MQ-28A Ghost Bat

  The MQ-28A Ghost Bat is a loyal wingman-type, Collobrative Combat Aircraft (CCA), MALE fixed-wing drone being developed by Boeing Defence Australia. Its development began in 2013 and took its ...

• Maritime patrol

  Challenger 604

  Bombardier Challenger CL-604 MPAs are in service with the Royal Danish Air Force and the Korea Coast Guard. The first of three Danish aircraft entered ...

• Air: UAV simulators

  Predator Mission Trainer (PMT)

  The CAE Predator Mission Trainer (PMT) is an integrated platform that combines the features of CAE's UAS mission trainer with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' Predator-specific ...

• Air: COMINT and ELINT systems

  AN/ALR-2001

  BAE Systems’ AN/ALR-2001 Electronic Support Measure (ESM) is thought to be based on Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) Elta Systems division’s EL/M-8382 ESM. The AN/ALR-2001 is ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  M Solar-X

  First revealed in August 2020, in February 2024, at its symposium, the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) showcased the M Solar-X. This solar-powered fixed-wing drone was ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Phantom 4 (Series)

  Designed for aerial photograph applications by DJI, the Phantom 4 series of UAVs includes the Phantom 4 Pro, Phantom 4 Pro V2.0, Phantom 4 Advanced ...

• Submarine-launched torpedoes

  Mk 48 Mod 7AT CBASS

  The MK 48 MOD 7 Common Broadband Advanced Sonar System (CBASS) is the latest variant of the Mk 48 torpedo family manufactured by Lockheed Martin and ...