• Naval Warfare

  Is the Philippine Navy’s modernisation rudderless?

  27th February 2020

  Amidst the controversy surrounding Manila’s termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement with the US, the Philippine Navy (PN) finds itself in a peculiar position as …

• Defence Helicopter

  Kenya to receive MD-530F​ helicopters in US FMS

  24th January 2020

  The Kenya Defence Force (KDF) is to receive six MD-530F helicopters under a US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme. The programme was announced by the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Battle of the CH-47F vs CH-53K heats up in Israel

  30th January 2020

  The Israeli Air Force's (IAF's) quest to find a replacement for its ageing CH-53 Yas'ur heavy-lift transport helicopter took a significant step forward with the …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Army orders Apache retrofit kits

  29th January 2020

  Boeing has received funding from the US Army for retrofit kits and software development for the Apache attack helicopter, the US Department of Defense announced …

• Land Warfare

  DefExpo 2020: M777 is going great guns in India

  7th February 2020

  A total of 29 M777A2 towed howitzers have been delivered to India to date, with the weapons being delivered according to schedule. Interestingly, India might also have an option …

• Defence Helicopter

  Rheinmetall, Thales team for rocket solutions

  7th January 2020

  Rheinmetall and Thales have signed an agreement to jointly support future developments, qualification and production of 70mm (2.75”) guided and unguided rocket solutions for opportunities …

• Defence Helicopter

  Safran to support Portuguese helicopter engines

  30th January 2020

  Safran Helicopter Engines will support the Portuguese Air Force’s RTM 322-powered EH101 Merlin helicopter fleet under a ten year contract announced on 28 January. The …

• Air Warfare

  Singapore Airshow 2020: Malaysian air force grapples with fighter shortages

  5th February 2020

  Gen Ackbal Samad assumed command of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) on 3 January, making him the fifth chief who will have to grapple with …

• Defence Helicopter

  Honeywell Authorized Warranty and Repair Stations deliver genuine parts to helicopter operators

  30th January 2020

  This article is brought to you by Honeywell. Helicopter operators have lots of options when it comes to choosing replacement parts and maintenance, repair and …

• Digital Battlespace

  Longbow receives Fire Control Radar contract

  27th January 2020

  Longbow has received a contract from the US Army Contracting Command for production support services for the Fire Control Radar System for the Apache attack …

• Defence Helicopter

  Luxembourg receives second H145M

  21st January 2020

  The second of two H145M helicopters acquired by the NATO Support and Procurement Agency on behalf of the Luxembourg Directorate of Defence has been delivered …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DefExpo 2020: IAI cements UAV ties in India

  6th February 2020

  IAI strengthened its hand with the Indian military by signing an MoU with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Dynamatic Technologies Limited (DTL) on 5 February, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Malaysia decides to retire Nuri helicopter fleet

  9th January 2020

  The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) will phase out its Sikorsky S-61A Nuri fleet, said its newly appointed chief Gen Ackbal Samad on 7 January. …

• Defence Helicopter

  RAF Puma fleet hits 30,000 flying hours

  29th January 2020

  The Royal Air Force (RAF) Puma helicopter fleet has achieved 30,000 flying hours since the Puma 2 helicopter came into service in 2015. Operated by …

• Defence Helicopter

  Mi-38T gains export customer

  29th January 2020

  Rosoboronexport has announced the signing of the first export contract to a foreign customer of the Mi-38T helicopter. The customer has not been named. The …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 - transport/heavy lift

  H225M [France]

  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 Puma ...

• Military helicopters - attack, Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M / H145M Add-On [Romania]

  Methodology As part of a potential initial order for 12 H225M helicopters, Romania has included the option to acquire 30 additional helicopters from Airbus. Shephard estimates this ...

• 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 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H135 [UK]

  Programme Background Airbus Helicopters UK announced on 2 February 2022 that it has won an order to provide five additional H135 twin-engine helicopters for the ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  Maritime Operations Helicopters

  The three maritime operations helicopters will be used for logistics and personnel transport, alongside transportation of PASKAL naval special forces in operations in the area. ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M [Ireland]

  Background On 30 December 2024 Ireland announced a contract with Airbus for four new H145M helicopters to replace the Air Corps existing fleet of light ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Future Aircrew Training Program [Canada]

  Background The FAcT requires to graduate 120 pilots, 40 combat systems officers and 36 airborne electronic sensor operators per year with 15% fluctuation. Training services are ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  NH-90 [Spain]

  Programme Background Along with a range of other air programmes, the Spanish Government announced the nation has set aside 1 billion euros (USD$1.162 billion) to ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Bell 412EPI-Indonesia

  Programme Background PTDI is assembling Bell helicopters in its factory in Bandung.  The first Bell 412EPI was delivered to Indonesian Army on 29 December 2020 ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  TH-73 Advanced Helicopter Training System (AHTS) (TH-57 Replacement)

  Programme Background Contenders for the competition included the Leonardo single engine TH-119 – a military variant of the AW119Kx – and Bell’s newly upgraded single ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  AW101 [Poland]

  Bids and suppliers Airbus Helicopters Though not involved in the final bid stage, Airbus Helicopters had originally put the H225M forward to meet the Polish ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Spain HT-29 Caiman (NH90 TTH) - Army First Batch

  HT-29 Caiman GSPAs (NH90 TTH) will be assembled at Airbus Helicopters’ facility in Albacete and will replace AS332 Super Puma fleet in service. Even though ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  SW4 Puszczyk Replacement [Poland]

  Background  Requirement In 2002, Poland order 47 SW4 training helicopters from Italian manufacturer Leonardo; as of Spring 2025, the Ministry of Defence is looking to ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M [Spain]

  Programme Background  In May 2025, Spain announced the National Helicopter Plan as part of the country's wider effort to rearm in response to American pressure. ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - light/training

  H145

  The light, twin-engine EC145 began as an initiative to increase the cabin size of the BK 117 C1 aircraft, involving Kawasaki of Japan and Airbus ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M

  The medium-weight, 11t-class H225M (formerly known as the EC725) is the latest military Super Puma/Cougar family member.  Technical features include a modular design of mechanical ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M

  The H145M (formerly known as the EC645 T2) is the military version of the H145 medium-sized (3.7t) helicopter (covered in a separate entry). It is ...

• Military helicopters - light/training, Military helicopters - multirole

  H135M

  The H135M (formerly known as the EC635 and also designated as H135) is a light utility variant of the EC135 twin-engine, multipurpose 3t helicopter. In ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H215M

  The H215M (formerly the AS532 ALe) is the most recent addition to the Cougar family.  It is a medium-weight (9t-class), twin-engine helicopter, combining the AS532's ...

• Air: mission management systems

  Helionix

  The Helionix digital avionics suite was developed from the need for a more powerful avionics system with greater functions and computing capacity, alongside a user-friendly interface. ...

• Helicopter engines

  Arriel 2+/2D

  Unveiled in 2011, the Arriel 2+ is an upgrade of the Arriel 2 and is intended for single- and twin-engine helicopters. It incorporates a new ...

• Helicopter engines

  LTS101

  The LTS101 was first certified in 1975. Since then, over 2,100 engines have been delivered to customers worldwide, logging over 11 million service hours. The ...

• EO/IR systems

  Viviane

  Viviane is an out-of-production gyro-stabilised night and adverse weather observation system with missile sight.  Manufactured by Safran, it was fitted to French Army Gazelles. It contained a ...

• Air: mission management systems

  APM 2000

  The current generation of autopilots is the APM 2000 family, fitted on major worldwide platforms. The APM 2000 is based on an integrated digital computer. ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H175M

  The Airbus H175M is the military variant of the H175 and works to fill a gap in the H175 helicopter family, as well as offer ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  Light Armed Helicopter

  The South Korean government selected Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in July 2014 to develop the Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) and the related Light Civil Helicopter ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  AS365 N3+ Dauphin

  The AS365 N3+, manufactured by Airbus Helicopters (formerly Eurocopter), was developed from the Dauphin series of medium, twin-turboshaft rotorcraft. The AS365 N3+ was launched at the 2009 ...

• Military UAS - small

  Flexrotor

  Flexrotor, or U030 Flexrotor, is a VTOL small UAS manufactured by Aerovel. It can integrate different types of payloads, including electro-optical systems and advanced sensors, to suit ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  NH90 TTH

  Developed as a multinational programme between France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, the European NH90 was designed to meet NATO requirements for multirole capability from ...