• Defence Notes

  NZ White Paper looks south and north

  9th June 2016

  The New Zealand government has outlined a 15-year modernisation plan through the release of its Defence White Paper on 8 June. Originally due last year, …

• Military Logistics

  EPF 7 completes acceptance trials

  9th June 2016

  Austal’s Expeditionary Fast Transport 7 (EPF 7) has successfully completed US Navy acceptance trials, it announced on 7 June. The trials were conducted in the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Fokker works on Predator landing gear

  8th June 2016

  General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA‑ASI) and GKN Aerospace’s Fokker business unit have collaborated to produce and support landing gear systems for the Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper …

• Land Warfare

  Mack, JWF partner for Lakota assembly

  8th June 2016

  Mack Defense has entered into a partnership with JWF Defense Systems for the assembly of the former's Lakota 6x6 vehicle system and production of the …

• Naval Warfare

  Ice patrol, littoral support for NZDF

  8th June 2016

  The release of New Zealand’s Defence White Paper on 8 June has confirmed what has long been suspected with the intended addition of an ice-strengthened …

• Land Warfare

  Eurosatory: Guided 155mm shell for UK?

  8th June 2016

  The UK government could put out requirements for a guided 155mm artillery munition to supplement its stock of ‘dumb’ shells early next year, industry figures have …

• Digital Battlespace

  Elbit, Diehl to develop A400M DIRCM system

  8th June 2016

  Elbit Systems and Diehl Defence have signed an additional agreement and extended their cooperation to develop a Directed Infrared Countermeasure (DIRCM) self-defence system for Germany's …

• Training

  First Polish M-346 aircraft rolls out

  8th June 2016

  The first of eight Polish Air Force M-346 twin-engine transonic trainer aircraft has been rolled out at Leonardo-Finmeccanica’s facility in Venegono-Superiore, it was announced on …

• Defence Helicopter

  Qatar orders 24 AH-64Es

  8th June 2016

  Boeing has received a foreign military sales (FMS) contract from the Qatari Government for 24 AH-64E Apache helicopters, the US Department of Defense (DoD) has …

• Land Warfare

  South Korea crests the WAV

  8th June 2016

  Evaluations of South Korea’s new 8x8 Wheeled Armoured Vehicle (WAV) have been successfully completed, according to an announcement by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) …

• Defence Helicopter

  Safran to supply Korean helicopter engines

  8th June 2016

  Safran Helicopter Engines has been selected by Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) to supply engines for its Light Civil Helicopter (LCH) and Light Armed Helicopter (LAH), …

• Defence Helicopter

  Russia gains business in Myanmar and Korea

  8th June 2016

  Russian Helicopters has been awarded a contract to repair four attack helicopters belonging to the Myanmar Air Force. The first Mil Mi-35P will be repaired …

• Military Logistics

  USMC orders vehicle refurbishment

  7th June 2016

  Raytheon has received an up to $249 million contract to refurbish vehicles, with options of over five years, from the US Marine Corps (USMC) Logistics …

• Digital Battlespace

  Rockwell delivers 1,400 RSRs to USAF

  7th June 2016

  Rockwell Collins has made delivery of 1,400 Remote Secure Receivers (RSR) under a follow-on order from the US Air Combat Command (ACC) and US Air …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  CODE programme moves ahead

  7th June 2016

  US DARPA's Collaborative Operations in Denied Environment (CODE) programme is moving ahead, awarding Phase 2 system integration contracts to Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, it announced …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-60M Black Hawk [Latvia]

  Programme Background In August 2018, the Latvian government approved the acquisition of four UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters. The UH-60Ms are intended for both military and ...

• Transport

  C-130J [USA]

  Programme Background The C-130J Super Hercules is a four-engine turboprop transport aircraft developed by Lockheed Martin to replace aging C-130 variants. The US and foreign ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A Joint Strike Fighter - USAF

  Background The programme’s early competitive phase included three different airframe designs. Boeing submitted one design, Lockheed Martin submitted another, and McDonnell Douglas submitted a third ...

• Transport

  King Air 360 [Nigeria]

  Programme Background On 7 October 2021, Nigeria’s Budget Office published its proposed budget details. The Nigerian Air Force requested 10.86 billion Nigerian Naira (US$26.4 million) ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  Light Attack/Trainer Aircraft - Ghana

  In 2013, the Chief of Ghana Air Force stated that A-29 is their preferred platform and this position was also submitted to the Government. In ...

• Bomber

  B-21 Raider [USA]

  Programme Background Development The US DoD is developing a new long-range bomber called the B-21 Raider, previously known as LRS-B. At least 100 units are ...

• Trainer

  Trainer Aircraft (1-12) [Vietnam]

  Programme Background After years of operating Russian-built military equipment, Vietnam is more willing to procure US-supplied equipment following the lifting of the arms embargo in ...

• Military UAS - mini

  RemoEye-006A [Bolivia]

  Background Ceremony In June 2013, the Bolivian air force inducted its first two UAVs into service, with the models, FAB 0001 and FAB 0002, being ...

• Long Range Missile Defence Systems: > 90km range

  Barak MX [Thailand]

  Background Thailand is procuring the Barak MX air defence system, which will be operated by the Anti-Aircraft Regiment of the Security Force Command. The system ...

• CUAS - jammers

  Airbase Air Defence Systems CUAS [US]

  Background The US Air Force's Budget Documentation for FY 2027 included $1.529 billion for Air Base Air Defence, part of which was to be used for ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 505 [Jordan]

  Background Requirement The Jordanian Air Force has a requirement for training helicopters that are to be used in the King Hussein Air College. The country currently ...

• Hybrid effector systems

  US Air Force Air Base Defence Missile Defence [US]

  Background The US Air Force's (USAF) Air Base Air Defence Missile Defence (ABAD MD) programme is part of the Air Force Physical Security System and sits ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Tornado Replacement (F-35A) [Germany]

  Background Requirement In March 2020, it emerged that the German government was considering  30 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets to replace 45 nuclear-capable Tornados. The remaining 40 Tornados ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-16V (1-8) [Bulgaria]

  Programme Background Requirement Bulgarian MoD plans to procure 16 new-built fighter aircraft to replace its fleet of 15 Russian-manufactured MiG-29 fighters. Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Block ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-47 Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) [USA]

  Background Requirement Originally conceived as a replacement for the F-22, the PCA was designed to counter various air threats, including integrated air defence systems and ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: EO/IR – Jamming Systems

  AN/AAQ-45

  Leonardo’s AN/AAQ-45 Distributed Aperture Infrared Countermeasures is designed to equip rotorcraft. The system is being installed on Sikorsky HH-60G Pave Hawk medium-lift utility helicopters used ...

• Air: Electronic Attack - Jamming

  J/ALQ-8

  Like Israel, Japan elected to outfit its McDonnell Douglas/Boeing F-15J/DJ combat aircraft with an indigenous self-protection system. This takes the form of Mitsubishi Electric’s J/ALQ-8 ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  FAB-T Force Element Terminal

  The Family of Advanced Beyond Line-of-Sight Terminals - Force Element Terminal (FAB-T FET) is a nuclear-hardened SATCOM solution designed for airborne applications. Produced by Raytheon, ...

• Unguided Medium Calibre Ammunition

  25mm PGU-48/B

  The 25mm PGU-48/B is a medium-calibre armour-penetrating round manufactured by American Rheinmetall. The US Air Force uses the PGU-48/B with its F-35 aircraft.

• Unguided Medium Calibre Ammunition

  25mm PGU-23/U

  The 25mm PGU-23/U is a medium-calibre training round manufactured by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems. The US Air Force utilises it with its AC-130 and ...

• Land: soldier modernisation systems - industry programmes

  Warrior Systems

  General Dynamics Mission Systems is prime contractor and system integrator for the US Army’s Warrior soldier systems, which include Air Warrior, Future Force Warrior, Land Warrior ...

• Air: mission management systems

  TBMCS

  Theater Battle Management Core Systems (TBMCS) is a US joint C2 integrated BMS used to plan and execute air campaigns in theatres of operations worldwide. ...

• Fighter - air superiority

  F-5E/F Tiger II

  The F-5E (single-seat)/F (twin-seat) Tiger II is an air superiority fighter developed by Northrop Grumman based on the original F-5 Freedom Fighter. Production of the ...

• Unguided Medium Calibre Ammunition

  30mm PGU-13B High Explosive Incendiary

  The 30mm 30mm PGU-13B High Explosive Incendiary (HEI) is a medium-calibre munition manufactured by Northrop Grumman. The US Air Force uses the PGU-13B HEI with ...

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  CLS-200

  The CLS-200 is part of the Yates Electrospace Corporation Silent Arrow family. It is a powered cargo-carrying one-use UAV, based on the company's GD-2000 glider.  In ...

• Trainer

  T-6A/B Texan II

  The T-6 Texan II is a single-engine trainer aircraft, which was developed from the Pilatus PC-9 to meet the training requirements of USAF and USN ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-4 Phantom II family

  The F-4 Phantom II is a two-seat multirole fighter developed originally by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) to meet USN interceptor requirements. It soon became a unified ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  EMB-312 Tucano

  The EMB-312 Tucano (Brazilian designation T-27) is a trainer and light attack aircraft developed by Embraer to meet the training requirements of the Brazilian Air ...

• Loitering munitions

  Sureshastra

  The Sureshastra, or Smart Unmanned Munitions System (S-UMS), is a jet-powered, catapult-launched loitering munition manufactured by Veda Aeronautics.  In 2023, the Indian Air Force (IAF) acquired ...