• Naval Warfare

  Indian Ocean – the dragon’s new swimming hole

  16th April 2021

  The Indian Ocean region is hotting up as an arena for great power competition, as China boosts its presence there.

• Naval Warfare

  No watering down of local content on Australian naval projects

  26th March 2021

  Although concerns linger about the construction schedule for Attack-class submarines, Australian government demands for greater local industrial content in naval programmes continue with the rollout of a Saab Australia combat management system.

• Training

  PLAAF makes major reforms to fast-jet pilot training

  18th March 2021

  The PLAAF has introduced changes to the fast-jet pilot training curriculum and added a new advanced trainer — but major shortcomings persist.

• Naval Warfare

  Bridging the Gulf – private sector moves to fill naval gaps

  2nd March 2021

  Amid widespread cuts to defence budgets, West African countries see private sector as way to boost naval capacity in Gulf of Guinea.

• Special Operations

  Special operations move up the agenda for RN

  17th March 2021

  ​Special operations are moving ‘from the memory bank to the frontal lobe’ of UK naval strategic thinking, says the incoming Assistant Chief of Staff for the RN Special Operations Cell.

• Training

  Kazakh Navy highlights readiness in force protection exercise

  25th February 2021

  With its vitally important geostrategic location between Europe and Asia, Kazakhstan recently held a force protection exercise in the Caspian Sea.

• Naval Warfare

  Analysis – the EU and maritime power projection

  29th January 2021

  With another renewal of the mandate of the long-running EU maritime security mission in the waters off the Horn of Africa and Arabian Peninsula, the EUNAVFOR deployment looks to have entered a new era.

• Defence Helicopter

  Defiant X enters FLRAA reckoning

  25th January 2021

  A modified version of the SB>1 Defiant could become the US Army's next long range assault helicopter.

• Naval Warfare

  USN unmanned ambitions face a crucial year

  20th January 2021

  Hurdles await the USN in its effort to developed greater unmanned capabilities as Congress remains to be convinced.

• Defence Notes

  Myanmar military pleads ‘major cabinet reshuffle’ in coup

  4th February 2021

  Myanmar's military proves it cannot loosen its grip on the country, but it will still have no trouble obtaining equipment from non-Western sources.

• Defence Notes

  Sweden pledges surge in cyber investment

  13th January 2021

  Sweden will improve the cyber defence capabilities of the armed forces under the Total Defence Bill 2021-2025, including measures to enhance inter-service cooperation in this area.

• Training

  ANG highlights innovation to improve training

  30th November 2020

  Technology and disruptive training models will enable the USAF and ANG to compensate for a shortfall in pilots

• Defence Notes

  Taiwan is piggy in the middle amidst Sino-US competition

  15th January 2021

  A strategic 'Great Game' is going on between China and the US, with Taiwan unfortunately stuck in the middle and under pressure.

• Naval Warfare

  Sweden accentuates naval enhancements in reform package

  23rd December 2020

  Submarines, surface vessels and amphibious forces feature prominently in the Total Defence plan.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Nigeria expands UAV fleet for counter-terror operations

  8th December 2020

  Eight UCAVs will be based in northern Nigeria for strike missions against Boko Haram and Islamic State elements, and budget plans for 2021 include UAVs for ISR.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | Additional OPVs (2-3) [Philippines]

  Following the delivery of OCEA's OPV 270, BRP Gabriela Silang (8301), to the Philippine Coast Guard in 2020, the service are planning to acquire a further two OPVs ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | Additional OPVs (2-3) [Philippines]

  Following the delivery of OCEA's OPV 270, BRP Gabriela Silang (8301), to the Philippine Coast Guard in 2020, the service are planning to acquire a further two OPVs ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | Navio Polivalente Logistico (NAVPOL) (Portugal)

  The Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa announced plans for a locally constructed multipurpose ship for the Portuguese Navy in July 2018. The ship is to be ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | Navio Polivalente Logistico (NAVPOL) (Portugal)

  The Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa announced plans for a locally constructed multipurpose ship for the Portuguese Navy in July 2018. The ship is to be ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  A-29 [Nigeria]

  Earlier on 3 August 2017, the US State Department announced that it has approved a possible FMS of 12 A-29 Super Tucanos to Nigeria for ...

• OPVs

  Viana do Castelo-class (Batch II - NPO3S) (5-10) [Portugal]

  Programme Background Requirements The Viana do Castelo class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) are used for maritime patrol and surveillance, fisheries protection, SAR, anti-drug and anti-arms trafficking, illegal ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  KUH-1 Surion [Iraq]

  Programme Background Iraq's purchase of two KUH-1 Surion helicopters from Korea Aerospace Industries represents another step in increased defence cooperation between Korea and Iraq after ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Navio Polivalente Logistico (NAVPOL) (Portugal)

  Programme Background Requirements The NAVPOL is expected to feature a flexible and modular LPD design capable of amphibious operations and HADR tasks. Timeline The plans for ...

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

  Camcopter S-100 [Greece]

  Programme Background Trails A 2 August 2021 Schiebel press release announced the company had demonstrated the Camcopter S-100's capabilities to the Hellenic Navy. The UAV was ...

• OPVs

  Additional OPVs (2-3) [Philippines]

  Programme Background The Philippine Coast Guard has set its sights on having a fleet of five new OPVs in its quest to sustain monitoring of ...

• Maritime patrol

  Maritime Patrol Aircraft [Singapore]

  Programme Background Deployed from Changi West airbase, and jointly operated by the RSAF and Republic of Singapore Navy, the ageing Fokker 50 fleet is primarily ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-S (Nigeria)

  Programme Background Domestic Production Possibility As reported by TurDef, a defence news outlet focussing on Turkey, in March 2023, İsmail Yusuf Abba, Nigeria's ambassador to Ankara, stated at ...

• Frigates

  Daegu Class (FFX Batch II) [South Korea]

  Programme Background The Incheon and Daegu classes are part of a re-capitalisation effort to replace the older Pohang-class corvettes and Ulsan-class frigates with a new FFX class ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Bayraktar TB2 [Nigeria]

  Programme Background Rumours On 11 October 2021, Bello Matawalle, the Governor of Zamfara State, stated that several companies had signed an MoU with the Nigerian Government. ...

• Submarines nuclear, ballistic missile

  Type 096

  Programme Background The Type 096 SSBNs are expected to operate alongside the PLANs Type 094 Jin-class submarines which entered service between 2007 and 2020. These ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  RF-300H

  The Falcon III RF-300H is Harris’s next-generation Falcon radio. The manpack solution was first presented at the AFCEA West conference on 21 February 2017. The ...

• CESA

  The CESA (Centre d’Essais et de Services sur les Systèmes Autonomes) UAV test centre is a collaboration between the Bordeaux TechnoWest technopole, DSAC (Directions de ...

• OPVs

  Kingston Class

  The Kingston-class undertakes a minehunter and coastal patrol roles with the Royal Canadian Navy. A total of 12 were built by Halifax Shipyards and commissioned ...

• Sea: procedural training

  IMAT

  DAS supports the development and deployment of the Interactive Multisensor Analysis Training (IMAT) system for the US Navy, used at navy schoolhouse and training centres, ...

• Fighter - electronic warfare

  Tornado ECR EW

  The Panavia Tornado Electronic Combat Reconnaissance Aircraft (ECR) is a twin-engine, multi-role combat aircraft developed and manufactured jointly by the governments and industry bases of Italy, ...

• OPVs

  Viana do Castelo Class

  The Viana do Castelo class currently consists of four OPVs in service with the Portuguese Navy. The vessels entered service between 2011 and 2019, while ...

• Naval guns

  RPK-8/ RBU-6000

  RPK-8, also known as Zapad (West), is a rocket launcher system designated to provide protection against surface ships, enemy submarines and torpedoes. At the core ...

• Tanks

  Leopard 1

  The Leopard 1 was developed from 1956-65 to meet the requirement of the West Germany Army for a new MBT to replace the US-supplied M47s ...

• Submachine guns

  MP5

  The MP5 is one of the most prolific 9mm SMGs in production, with more than 100 variants developed to meet the requirements of military, paramilitary ...

• Land: fire control systems

  Fieldguard

  Fieldguard is an active all-weather fire control system used to improve the accuracy of field artillery and multiple rocket launchers. Originally developed by Oerlikon Contraves ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  UH-60 Black Hawk Training Devices

  FlightSafety offers UH-60A/L pilot training on their Black Hawk Level D simulator at West Palm Beach, Florida. The UH-60A/L pilot training features the company’s exclusive ...

• Patrol boats

  RPB 33

  The RPB 33 offshore patrol boat from France's Raidco Marine is designed for the use of naval forces to enhance maritime surveillance capabilities. This new ...

• Helicopter engines

  T58

  The T58 is a US turboshaft helicopter engine. Development commenced with a 1953 USN requirement for a helicopter turboshaft to weigh under 180kg while delivering ...

• OPVs

  OPV 190 MKII

  The OCEA OPV 190 MKII is descended from the OCEA OPVs range. This multipurpose vessel is designed for law enforcement and surveillance operations, anti-smuggling and illegal ...

• Submarines: conventional, attack

  Santa Cruz (TR 1700) Class

  The Santa Cruz-class diesel-electric submarines were built for the Argentine Navy by Thyssen Nordseewerke. Six submarines based on the TR 1700 type were planned for ...