• Defence Notes

  Podcast: I/ITSEC 2019 highlights, the V-22 Osprey topping the 500,000 flight hour milestone and more

  6th December 2019

  Welcome to Episode 46 of The Weekly Defence Podcast. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and more. Sign up to an early email alert of future podcasts here.

• Defence Notes

  Podcast: Revolutions in Vertical Flight S1 E4 - The Future Battlespace

  20th December 2019

  Welcome to Shephard Studio’s podcast series on Revolutions in Vertical Flight, sponsored by our partner Bell. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and more. The Revolutions in Vertical Flight …

• Naval Warfare

  Royal Navy commissions HMS Prince of Wales

  11th December 2019

  The Royal Navy commissioned HMS Prince of Wales into the fleet on 10 December at HM Naval Base Portsmouth. HMS Prince of Wales is marginally …

• Military Logistics

  Boeing to continue F/A-18 life extension work

  29th November 2019

  Boeing has been awarded a contract modification to continue extending the service life of F/A-18E/F aircraft for US Naval Air Systems Command. The company received …

• Naval Warfare

  HMS Queen Elizabeth reforms carrier battle group

  4th December 2019

  The Royal Navy’s HMS Queen Elizabethhas reformed its carrier battle group for combined NATO/anti-submarine warfare training in the Western Atlantic. The vessel rejoined HMS Northumberland, …

• Training

  US Navy orders CMV-22 flight training devices

  27th November 2019

  The US Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida, has ordered CMV-22 flight training devices from Bell Boeing.The $14.3 million order is for …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Australia decides on Reaper variant

  29th November 2019

  On 28 November the Australian Department of Defence announced which one of two shortlisted MQ-9 MALE UAVs it will buy to equip the Royal Australian …

• Defence Notes

  Malaysia publishes its first White Paper

  9th December 2019

  Malaysia’s parliament passed the country’s first ever Defence White Paper on 2 December to guide defence planning and development from 2020-30. Amidst opposition criticism on …

• Land Warfare

  Indonesian army presents its shopping list

  5th December 2019

  The Indonesian military operates on five-year procurement cycles, and Phase 3 of its modernisation programme will occur from 2020-24. As the Indonesian Army (TNI-AD) looks …

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2019: Decision made on initial CMV-22 trainers for US Navy

  27th November 2019

  The Bell Boeing Joint Project Office (JPO), Amarillo, Texas, has been awarded a $14.32 million firm-fixed-price order for the design, fabrication, installation, test and delivery …

• Defence Helicopter

  Boeing awarded AH-6i retrofit work

  28th November 2019

  Boeing has been awarded a $10.7 million contract to retrofit AH-6i helicopters destined for Saudi Arabia, the Department of Defense announced on 22 November. Under …

• Training

  Misawa AFB connects to DMON

  3rd December 2019

  The US Air Force’s Misawa Air Force (AFB) Base F-16C simulator has connected to Northrop Grumman’s Distributed Mission Operations Network (DMON).DMON provides the virtual-constructive backbone …

• Digital Battlespace

  Rohde & Schwarz radios for F-16 Block 70​ aircraft

  21st November 2019

  Rohde & Schwarz has been selected by Lockheed Martin as the preferred supplier of airborne radio communications for new production F-16 Block 70 aircraft, the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Rolls-Royce to support AE1107C engines

  21st November 2019

  Rolls-Royce has been awarded a £1.2 million IDIQ contract to support AE1107C engines for US Naval Air Systems Command. Under the contract the company will …

• Defence Notes

  Dubai Airshow 2019: Standoff Weapon certification for F-35A nears completion

  22nd November 2019

  Munitions manufacturer Raytheon has confirmed it is anticipating F-35A airworthiness certification for the guided Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) before the end of 2019, a development …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Light attack, Trainer

  F-5E/F Adversary Trainer US Navy

  The F-5N is a single seat, dual engine supersonic land based fighter. It is designed to a service life of 9000 flight hours. The aircraft ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | F-16 Replacement [Portugal]

  On 12 April 2024, General João Cartaxo Alves, the Chief of Staff of the Portugese Air Force, revealed that Portugal would replace its fleet of F-16A/B ...

• Data links

  Data links | F-16 Replacement [Portugal]

  On 12 April 2024, General João Cartaxo Alves, the Chief of Staff of the Portugese Air Force, revealed that Portugal would replace its fleet of F-16A/B ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | F-16 Replacement [Portugal]

  On 12 April 2024, General João Cartaxo Alves, the Chief of Staff of the Portugese Air Force, revealed that Portugal would replace its fleet of F-16A/B ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | F-16 Replacement [Portugal]

  On 12 April 2024, General João Cartaxo Alves, the Chief of Staff of the Portugese Air Force, revealed that Portugal would replace its fleet of F-16A/B ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | F-16 Replacement [Portugal]

  On 12 April 2024, General João Cartaxo Alves, the Chief of Staff of the Portugese Air Force, revealed that Portugal would replace its fleet of F-16A/B ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-16 Replacement [Portugal]

  Programme Background At the Portuguese National Defense Conference on April 22, 2025, General João Cartaxo Alves reaffirmed that the F-35A remains the sole viable successor ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  Hawk Mk 165 Advanced Jet Trainer- Saudi Arabia

  The fleet will be used to train Saudi pilots before they transition to the Eurofighter Typhoon and F-15 in service with RSAF.  Under the Saudi-British Defence Cooperation Programme, ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Next Generation Fighter Aircraft (Vietnam)

  Programme Background Requirement The Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) operates an ageing fleet of Su-22 aircraft as well as Su-27s and Su-30s. According to expert commentary, ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) [Japan]

  Programme Background Shephard notes that GCAP's Japanese, British and Italian components are tracked in separate entries. Programme Timeline 2020: The Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency of Japan issued ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-16V [Türkiye]

  Programme Background Requirement Turkish Air Force ordered 100 F-35A aircraft as a partner nation, however, the country was removed from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) [USA]

  Programme 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 ...

• Tiltrotors

  V-22 Osprey (USN)

  Programme Background Requirement According to USN FY2023 Budget Estimate documentation, the V-22 programme provides an aircraft to meet the amphibious and vertical assault needs of ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Presidential Drawdown (21 April 2022) Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, on 21 April 2022, President Biden announced an $800 ...

• Tiltrotors

  V-22 Osprey [Japan]

  Programme Background Procurement Contracts The Japanese government is the first export customer of the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey, having ordered 17 helicopters from the US across ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: air combat simulators

  Air Combat Training

  Boeing has experience in delivering training for fixed-wing air combat platforms including F-15C/E, F-16, F/A-18E/F, EA-18G, F-22 and MV/CV-22.

• Training Services

  Boeing’s training systems and services provide a full range of training activities, including mission planning systems; aircrew and maintenance training devices; training centres; and training ...

• Fighter - air superiority

  F-22A Raptor

  F-22A Raptor is a fifth-generation stealth air superiority fighter with air-to-ground attack capability. It was developed by Lockheed Martin to meet the requirement of the USAF ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  Collective Training

  Boeing has delivered and operates three USAF F-15C Mission Training Centers (MTCs), three F-15E MTCs and three F-16 MTCs. The F-22 platform was added into ...

• Subsystems: hardware

  Flight Simulation Products

  Bugeye Technologies (BT) manufactures simulated-grade flight grips, controls and avionic displays for fixed-wing, rotary-wing and unmanned crafts. BT's full line of products includes replicated control ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  DACTS

  The DRS Air Combat Training System (DACTS) has been delivered to military customers worldwide. Customised versions have supported coalition training for the US government and ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-77

  The AN/APG-77 is a low-probability-of-intercept fire control radar for the F-22 Raptor. It is designed to significantly improve capability in air-to-air combat, allowing the pilot ...

• Air: chaff, flare and decoy systems

  IRCM Flares

  Kilgore develops and manufactures a range of airborne IR decoy flares. These are compatible with most available dispenser systems. Standard flare products manufactured include: MJU-7A/B, ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-81

  AN/APG-81 is operating in the X-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) fire control radar designed by Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems for the F-35 “Lightning” all-weather ...

• EW test systems

  CRIIS

  The Common Range Integrated Instrumentation System (CRIIS) provides time, space and position information (TSPI) as well as systems evaluation data to support testing for a ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-83 SABR

  The AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) is an active electronically scanned array (AESA) fire control radar being developed by Northrop Grumman using its own ...

• Data links

  Multifunction Advanced Data Link

  Multifunction Advanced Data Link (MADL) is a Ku-band data link designed for fifth-generation aircraft. The directional, interflight system is integrated into all F-35 variants, allowing ...

• 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.

• Fixed wing aircraft engines

  F100-PW-229

  The F100 family of engines, selected by 23 air forces globally, power all of the USAF's F-15 Eagles and a substantial proportion of the global ...

• Subsystems: visual

  SpectraView Front Projection Display System

  Designed to support a variety of training requirements, SpectraView systems provide cost-effective, scalable and flexible options for single, tandem and side-by-side seating configurations. Standard and ...