• Naval Warfare

  HMS Duncan demonstrates air defence capability in exercise

  21st May 2019

  Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Duncan has showcased its air defence capabilities during Exercise Mare Aperto off the coast of Italy, the navy announced …

• Defence Helicopter

  Czech Republic requests helicopters

  9th May 2019

  The US State Department has made a determination approving a potential foreign military sale of military helicopters to the Czech Republic, the Defense Security Cooperation …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Romania acquires Polish C-IED robots

  21st May 2019

  The Romanian Air Force has taken delivery of an unspecified number of counterterrorism Gryf UGVs designed and manufactured by the Polish Lukasiewicz-PIAP Institute. The deliveries …

• Defence Helicopter

  IMDEX Asia 2019: India seeks more Ka-31 AEW helicopters

  7th May 2019

  India’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved the acquisition of ten Kamov Ka-31 airborne early warning (AEW) helicopters for the Indian Navy (IN). The deal …

• Defence Helicopter

  IMDEX Asia 2019: Wildcats touch down in Philippines

  7th May 2019

  Two AW159 Wildcat helicopters belonging to the Philippine Navy (PN) arrived on home shores on 7 May, having been delivered via a chartered Antonov An-124 …

• Training

  Dark Blade 2019 kicks off in Czech Republic

  16th May 2019

  The European Defence Agency (EDA) has kicked off the Dark Blade 2019 helicopter exercise at Náměšť airbase in Czech Republic, the agency announced on 13 …

• Defence Helicopter

  Bell hits last of JMR-TD key performance targets

  21st May 2019

  Helicopter manufacturer Bell has successfully completed all of the main performance standards associated with its Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD) flight test efforts, having now demonstrated a …

• Defence Helicopter

  RUAG completes first NH90 inspection

  7th May 2019

  RUAG MRO International has completed the first inspection of an NH90 transport helicopter for the German Bundeswehr in Oberpfaffenhofen. Before commencing work on the NH90 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Kaman to reactivate USMC K-MAX helicopters

  3rd May 2019

  Kaman Aerospace has received a contract to reactivate two US Marine Corps (USMC) K-MAX helicopters to flight-ready status, the company announced on 1 May. The …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sea-Air-Space 2019: New US presidential helicopter nears production

  7th May 2019

  The USMC’s VH-92A presidential helicopter replacement could soon receive the go-ahead to enter production, according to a key official. USMC Brig Gen Greg Masiello, the navy’s …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sea-Air-Space 2019: FAA to sign off on TH-119 IFR certification

  7th May 2019

  The FAA is due to approve IFR certification for Leonardo’s US Navy TH-XX training helicopter entrant – the TH-119 single engine aircraft – within ‘the …

• Defence Notes

  Sweden seeks defence growth if budget demands met

  22nd May 2019

  With increased military activity in the Baltic Sea and Russia’s aggression in the air and on the ground, it is hardly surprising Sweden is looking …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  QinetiQ to deliver UAS for Canadian armed forces

  10th May 2019

  QinetiQ has received a CAD$51 million contract to deliver UAS services for the Canadian armed forces, the company announced on 7 May. The services will …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sea-Air-Space 2019: USN faces balancing act over Sea Hawk's life

  7th May 2019

  The US Navy (USN) is currently assessing the benefits of formally introducing a service life extension programme (SLEP) for its fleet of MH-60R/S Sea Hawks, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Leonardo receives Polish AW101 contract

  30th April 2019

  Leonardo has received a €380 million contract from the Polish Ministry of National Defence to supply four AW101 helicopters for the Polish Navy, the company …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530F -Kenya

  Crew transition training took place at the MD Helicopters headquarters in Mesa, Arizona, with field service support, armament, and gunnery training scheduled to occur at ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  MD 530G - Malaysia

  Procured for an urgent operational requirement for gunships to support Eastern Sabah Security Command operations, helicopter deliveries had to slip from a planned delivery of ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530G Lebanon

  The Armed MD 530G Scout Attack Helicopter features next-generation all-glass cockpit that includes: two Genesys Aerosystems IDU-680 6” x 9” LCD primary displays, Tek Fusion ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Uncrewed MD 500 Replacement [South Korea]

  Background Uncrewed Replacement of the MD 500 Throughout the 2010s, South Korea appeared interested in replacing its fleet of crewed MD 500 helicopters that were manufactured under licence ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  Project Land 2097 Phase 4 [Australia]

  Programme Background According to the RfI, under Project Land 2097 Phase 4, the selected helicopter must comprise a commercial or military off-the-shelf solution that is ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) First Batch (South Korea)

  Programme Background The LAH is the first time that the South Korean OEM has developed an armed helicopter. The project kicked off in June 2015, ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 505 (South Korea - Army)

  Programme Background Requirement South Korea operates an ageing fleet of Bell UH-1s and MD 500s for training purposes. The country has already replaced a part of ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 505 (South Korea - Navy)

  Programme Background Requirement South Korea operates an ageing fleet of Bell UH-1s and MD 500s for training purposes. The country has already replaced a part of ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Light Armed Helicopter (Second Batch) [South Korea]

  Programme Background The LAH is the first time that the South Korean OEM has developed an armed helicopter. The project kicked off in June 2015, ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton - Germany (Cancelled)

  Programme Background Germany requested to buy four MQ-4C Triton HALE UAVs from Northrop Grumman. On 5 April 2018, the US State Department announced that it ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M - France

  Programme 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 ...

• 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 - multirole

  Multirole Helicopters [Poland]

  Programme Background In 2020, Poland announced the launch of the Perkoz programme to acquire 32 support helicopters to replace its fleet of Mi-2 aircraft stationed ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  New Exploration and Escort Helicopter (NEES) (Phase II) [Italy]

  Programme Background Phase I In 2017, the Italian government signed a contract with Leonardo to replace its fleet of AW129 Mangusta attack helicopters with the ...

• 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 ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530F Cayuse Warrior

  An evolution of the OH-6 Cayuse light observation helicopter, the MD 530F was initially Federal Aviation Administration-certified in July 1985 as the Model 369FF. It ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  MDHI Glass Cockpit

  The American aerospace manufacturer MD Helicopters Inc. (MDHI) has designed and developed a glass cockpit specifically for MD 500E AND MD 520N aircraft. It is ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 500

  US-based MD Helicopters' MD 500 is a single-engine light helicopter derived from the Hughes OH-6A Cayuse developed for the US Army in the early 1960s and ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  IDU-680

  The IDU-680 is Genesys Aerosystems’ 3D synthetic vision integrated Electronic Flight Instrument System. The system includes a Highway in the Sky navigation system, geo-referenced hover ...

• Helicopter guns

  FN HMP

  The FN HMP (Heavy Machine Gun Pod) is a self-contained airborne weapon system armed with a 50cal FN M3P heavy machine gun. It is available ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530G

  The MD 530G is the newest addition to the MD Helicopters (MDHI) line of light scout attack platforms. It has increased-capacity landing gear and a ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  KUS-VH

  The Korean Air Korean Air Unmanned System-Vertical Helicopter (KUS-VH) is a large, rotary-wing UAV based on the MD 500. The first flight of the platform ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  6XX

  Publicly unveiled at Heli-Expo in March 2017, the MD Helicopters 6XX is the next evolution in the MD 500 series and is a redesigned, single-engine ...

• Helicopter engines

  M250-C30

  The M250-C30 and -C30P are the exclusive powerplants for the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger and the MD Helicopters MD 530F and MD 530G. In addition, the AH-6i is ...

• EO/IR systems

  LEO-III

  The LEO-III, or LEO-III HD, was an airborne observation system with HD sensors and video outputs. It was a COTS, gyro-stabilised platform containing a multi-sensor HD ...

• Airborne rockets - unguided

  Aculeus MD-36 and MD-432

  The Aculeus MD-36 unguided multi-dart rocket provides 36 darts for the neutralisation of columns of light armoured vehicles. The Aculeus MD-432 provides 432 darts to ...

• Helicopter engines

  M250-C47E

  The C47E is the latest growth variant of the C47B/8 engine. In addition to a hot-and-high Value Improvement Package Kit, the C47E also includes dual-channel ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MD-1366 EBEM

  The US government selected the MD-1366 Enhanced Bandwidth Efficient Modem (EBEM) from ViaSat to set the DoD standard for high-speed, high-performance,flexibility and compatibility in a ...

• EO/IR systems

  Wescam MX-10

  The Wescam MX-10 EO/IR low-weight imaging system is designed for low-altitude tactical surveillance and reconnaissance missions from crewed and uncrewed aircraft. The MX-10 has had a close ...

• Military UAS - MALE, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Night Intruder 600 Vertical Take-Off (NI-600VT)

  The Night Intruder 600 Vertical Take-Off (NI-600VT) is an in-development UAV from Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) based on an MD 500 twin-seat American commercial helicopter airframe. With the ...