• Defence Helicopter

  Russian Helicopters, AVIC sign framework agreement for AHL

  12th May 2015

  Russian Helicopters and Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) have signed a framework agreement to develop a heavy-lift helicopter called the Advanced Heavy Lift (AHL) …

• Digital Battlespace

  French warship defence simulators set for upgrade

  12th May 2015

  DCNS and RUAG Defence subsidiary GAVAP are to perform work to upgrade and maintain the Warship Onsight Defense Simulators of the French Navy, it was …

• Naval Warfare

  Boeing to provide P-8A training system to Australia

  11th May 2015

  Boeing will provide a complete training system for the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), marking the first international …

• Military Logistics

  Airbus team to help A400M crash investigation

  11th May 2015

  Following the crash of a test A400M aircraft near Seville in Spain on 9 May, manufacturer Airbus Defence and Security has flown in an investigation …

• Defence Helicopter

  India gets two repaired Ka-31 helicopters

  11th May 2015

  Russian Helicopters has delivered the first two repaired Ka-31 helicopters from Kumertau Aviation Production Enterprise to India, it announced on 6 May. Kumertau Aviation Production …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2015 (video): Big fans of the Hummingbird

  11th May 2015

  Allen Bishop, the founder of Reference Technologies, tells Shephard about the company's Hummingbird ducted fan-powered UAV on display at the AUVSI exhibition in Atlanta. The …

• Military Logistics

  Thales TopShield-400 selected for French A330 MRTT

  11th May 2015

  Thales has been awarded a contract to provide its TopShield-400 Controlled Reception Pattern Antenna (CRPA) system for the future French A330 tanker, the company announced …

• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop Grumman introduces SABR-GS radar

  11th May 2015

  Northrop Grumman has introduced its Scalable Agile Beam Radar – Global Strike (SABR-GS) developed for the US Air Force B-1B Lancer. The development of the …

• Naval Warfare

  Raytheon's SM-6 enters full-rate production

  11th May 2015

  Raytheon's Standard Missile-6 surface-to-air supersonic missile programme has moved from low-rate to full-rate production, the company has announced, with the first full-rate production round delivered …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Exelis to research UAS integration into national airspace

  11th May 2015

  Exelis has entered into agreements with four Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) designated UAS test sites for research focused on integrating UAS into the national airspace …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US AFRL tests MuSICA software

  8th May 2015

  The US Air Force Research Laboratories (AFRL) has completed a round of flight tests of the Multiple Sensor Integrated Conflict Avoidance (MuSICA) standard collision avoidance …

• Digital Battlespace

  DDC introduces Rugged Avionics Interface Computer

  8th May 2015

  Data Device Corporation (DDC) introduced its new Rugged Avionics Interface Computer suitable for new systems and upgrades on 5 May. The Rugged Avionics Interface Computer …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Drone Aviation wins order for WASP aerostat systems

  8th May 2015

  Drone Aviation has received an order for a set of Winch Aerostat Small Platform (WASP) aerostat systems from defence contractor Troll Systems, the company announced …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Trimble introduces BD935-INS module with precision GNSS

  8th May 2015

  Trimble has introduced its BD935-INS module featuring precision GNSS with an integrated 3-D Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) inertial sensor package, as announced on 6 May. The …

• Defence Helicopter

  IDEF 2015: L-UMTAS preparing for delivery

  8th May 2015

  The Long-Range Anti-Tank Missile (L-UMTAS) from Roketsan is to be bought by the Turkish Army next year. At the IDEF exhibition in Istanbul, a spokesperson …

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 - 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. ...

• Medium Range Missile Defence Systems: 20-90km range

  Medium Range Air Defence [Australia]

  Background Faced with a growing threat from China and a vast land and sea territory to protect, Australia is seeking to establish a medium-range ground-based ...

• 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 ...

• 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 - 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Mission Talon Strike [Australia]

  Background Request for Tender (RFT) On 19 May 2025, the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA), an agency aimed at streamlining defence invocation for the Australian Defence ...

• Military UAS - small

  VTOL UAV [New Zealand]

  Background Defence Capability Plan (DCP) In April 2025, the New Zealand government published the DCP, a document that is essentially a blueprint for what procurements ...

• Trainer

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

  Programme Background Requirements The RAAF is seeking a future solution that provides a ‘relevant, adaptable, affordable and safe LIFTS out to 2050’ for training pilots ...

• Military UAS - small

  DEF129 (Tactical UAS) [Australia]

  Programme Background Programme Announcement The Australian Army announced the Project Land 129 Phase 3 programme in 2017. This announcement led to the release of an industry ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Harpii Szpon (Loyal Wingman) [Poland]

  Background Market Evaluation On 6 November 2023, speaking at the IQPC International Fighter Conference (IFC) 2023 in Madrid, Major General Cezary Wiśniewski, the Deputy General Commander of the ...

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. ...

• 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 - 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 - MALE

  MQ-28A Ghost Bat

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

• 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). In ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - micro

  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 ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  Hawkei

  Thales Australia developed the 4x4 Hawkei for the Australian Army's Land 121 Phase 4 Protected Mobility Vehicle – Light (PMV-L) project.  The prototype was unveiled in ...

• 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 ...

• Air-to-surface missiles

  AGM-88E AARGM

  The AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) is a supersonic, medium-range, air-launched tactical missile compatible with US and allied strike aircraft. Designed to upgrade the AGM-88 ...

• 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 ...