• Air Warfare

  Israel bets big on India to enhance defence procurement

  4th April 2024

  Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has enhanced its defence collaboration with India, focusing on joint development and support for the Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MR-SAM) system, alongside the establishment of a dedicated local subsidiary for maintenance and upgrades.

• Land Warfare

  MBDA's Enforcer missile system: Locked, loaded and Euro-funded for rapid expansion

  22nd March 2024

  MBDA's Enforcer missile system production has received an additional boost as the company was set to receive funding by the European Commission's ASAP programme.

• Naval Warfare

  Netherlands selects Barracuda submarine as Australia looks on

  20th March 2024

  With the Netherlands selecting the Barracuda design for its new Orka-class submarines, it will give Australia a chance to see what it could have had after it cancelled its conventional submarine (SSK) project based on Barracuda, opting instead for a nuclear-powered submarine (SSN).

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US approves sale of MQ-9Bs to India

  1st February 2024

  The US Government’s approval for the sale of 31 MQ-9B SkyGuardian UAS to India has begun paving the way for the nation to conclude its tri-service acquisition, ending years of delays.

• Air Warfare

  UK GCAP fighter effort can only survive if more funds are allocated, expert warns

  7th March 2024

  The urgency to address chronic issues of cost overruns and delays in UK defence procurement, particularly in complex and important initiatives like the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), have underscored the need for upfront honesty about project costs.

• Air Warfare

  Rafael’s Ice and Sea Breaker readies for production

  23rd February 2024

  Rafael revealed at the Singapore Airshow 2024 that production was about to commence on the Ice and Sea Breaker for two customers who signed up for the missile two years ago.

• Defence Notes

  Global defence spending hits record highs amid threats from Russia and beyond

  14th February 2024

  With the possibility of having to confront challenges without substantial US support looming, European nations have been compelled to reassess their defence strategies and prioritise investments to ensure collective security and resilience.

• Air Warfare

  Poland buys air and surface radar systems for $1.2 billion

  8th February 2024

  Poland has remained steadfast in its commitment to bolstering its defence capabilities as it secured a freshly approved Airspace and Surface Radar Reconnaissance deal.

• Naval Warfare

  Is Australia’s plan for the surface fleet viable?

  21st February 2024

  Australia’s long-awaited Enhanced Lethality Surface Combatant Fleet review has recommended significant changes to the future make-up of the country’s surface fleet. It has received sharp criticism from some experts who claim the recommendations have not gone far enough, while others have described it as an attempt to run before being able to walk.

• Training

  Lockheed makes progress on TF-50 augmented reality project

  13th February 2024

  Lockheed Martin and Red 6 have achieved Phase 1 integration of Red 6’s augmented reality training solution into the TF-50 simulator.

• Naval Warfare

  US Coast Guard awaits $350 million to acquire icebreakers

  1st February 2024

  The service has declared its intention to purchase an existing commercially available polar vessel, a new Great Lakes icebreaker and Polar Security Cutters.

• Land Warfare

  Saab receives Carl-Gustaf M4 order from Poland and gets greenlight for Indian factory

  5th March 2024

  In September 2014, Saab Dynamics introduced the Carl-Gustaf M4, the fourth generation of the widely deployed shoulder-fired 84mm recoilless weapon system.

• Naval Warfare

  Babcock wins $707 million HMS Victorious support and upgrade contract

  1st March 2024

  The UK Royal Navy’s Vanguard class of ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) provide the UK with its continuous-at-sea deterrent (CASD) coverage and have done so since 1994 when the boats started to replace the Resolution-class submarines. Second of class, HMS Victorious, entered service in 1995.

• Air Warfare

  Boeing to deliver first US Grey Wolf helicopters this year

  1st February 2024

  Boeing has begun gearing up to deliver the first MH-139A Grey Wolf multirole helicopters to the US Air Force later this year as the branch closes in on a milestone in its UH-1N Huey Replacement effort.

• Land Warfare

  BAE wins contract to support Danish CV90s

  29th February 2024

  Initially developed in the late 1980s and entering full-rate production in 1993, BAE Systems Hägglunds’ Combat Vehicle 90 (CV90) has since entered service with 10 European countries. Spanning five iterations following continuous development and upgrades, the platform’s latest variant has been the MkIV.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Puma 3 AE (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Military Aid - $300 Million On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine to "bolster Urkaine's capacity ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1165 Special Ops HMMWV [USA]

  Programme Background The HHMWV or Humvee has been in US service since 1983. The M1165A1B3 is a special operations variant of the platform.  In 2015, the ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV Oshkosh Contract (US Navy) [US]

  As of November 2020, the US DoD had signed 14 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all branches of ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 300 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Presidential Drawdown (16 March 2022 & 13 April 2022) On 16 March 2022, President Biden announced $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine through ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A Joint Strike Fighter - USAF

  According to the US FY2021 budget document, Turkey's removal from the JSF program and transition to the alternate supply chain sources may challenge to achieve ...

• Fighter - naval

  F-35B STOVL - US Navy

  The JSF programme will develop and field a family of aircraft that meets the needs of the US DoD and US allies with the F-35A ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV Oshkosh Contract [US Air Force]

  As of November 2020, the US DoD had signed 14 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all branches of ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank [US]

  Programme Background As IAI stated in a 19 January 2023 press release, it had been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract by the Irregular Warfare Technical Support ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A [US Navy]

  Background Previous Purchases The BQM-177A was designed for the USN and has been in service with the USN for many years. Indeed, in August 2022, Shephard reported ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 600 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background $300 Million USAI (1 April 2022) On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine following ...

• Fighter - naval

  F-35C Carrier Variant

  The US Navy is planning to order 130 F-35Cs between FY2026 and FY2030 under the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. The purchase is estimated be ...

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Puma LE [Kosovo]

  Background Contract Award On 21 January 2022, the US Department of Defence (DoD) announced that AeroVironment had been awarded an $11.01 million firm-fixed contract for Puma ...

• Loitering munitions

  ALTIUS-600M (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background On 24 February 2023, the US DoD announced that the Biden Administration had released an additional aid package under the Ukraine Security Assistance ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1152A1B2/M1165A1B3 HMMWV [USA]

  Programme Background The HMMWV has been in US service since the 1980s. Despite the introduction of newer platforms, the US DoD continues to utilise the ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Pistols

  M9

  M9 is the US DoD designation for the military-specification 9mm Beretta 92FS, selected in 1985 to replace the 45cal M1911A1 in US service. Sales to ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  Igla/SA-18

  The 9K38 Igla (US DoD designation SA-18, NATO reporting name Grouse ) IR-homing MANPADS was developed by KBM and entered service in 1983 to meet the requirements ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank

  Point Blank Weapon System is a hand-launched electro-optical VTOL-capable loitering munition developed by Isreal Aerospace Industries (IAI). IAI has been awarded a contract by the US ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  ScanEagle 3

  Insitu unveiled the ScanEagle 3 at the Xponential exhibition in Denver in May 2018. The platform has twice the payload capacity of its ScanEagle predecessor ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  BAT-850

  Pathfinder's BAT-850 VSAT is a carbon fibre, tri-band terminal with auto-acquisition capability. Suitable for flyaway (case-based) and vehicle-mounted applications, it is in service with the ...

• Autonomous GPADS

  Airborne Systems has developed a family of smart systems ranging in payload capacity from 90-4,536kg. Utilising the technology developed and used in ram-air canopies, Guided ...

• Air: aerial targets, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A/i

  The BQM-177A subsonic aerial target (SSAT) was designed for the USN, and the BQM-177i is the export variant. The BQM-177 provides realistic threat emulation for ...

• Crew-served grenade launchers

  Striker 40/MK47

  General Dynamics is systems integrator for the Striker 40 (MK47 AGL in US service). The complete system comprises the weapon, AN/PWG-1 Lightweight Video Sight and ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  URC-300

  The URC-300 is a software-defined radio designed for line-of-sight, ground-to-air communications in particular. Introduced in 2020, it adheres to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards as well ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Banshee Tactical Radio

  Developed by Fenix Group, the Banshee Tactical Radio (BTR) is a communications system that uses 4G/LTE connectivity to provide secure mesh networking capability on the ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  AN/ARC-231 Skyfire

  The AN/ARC-231 Skyfire is an airborne VHF/UHF/LOS and DAMA SATCOM system. This system supports US DoD requirements for airborne, multi-band, multi-mission, secure anti-jam voice, data ...

• Air-to-air missiles

  9M39 Igla-V

  The 9M39 Igla-V (‘needle’) is a Russian IR homing SAM adapted for helicopter use. It is an air-launched version of the Igla MANPADS, which the ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Global Observer

  The AeroVironment Global Observer HALE UAV was a developmental HALE UAV designed for various civil, commercial and government applications.  Development of the platform began in 2007 ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  CLWS

  Developed by Boeing, Compact Laser Weapon System (CLWS or CLaWS) is a medium-range, low-power laser C-UAS system. According to the reports, the CLWS prototype has ...

• Data links, Land: Radio and SATCOM, UAS: communication systems

  QNT-200

  The Collins QNT-200 is a dual-channel software-defined radio (SDR) designed for size, weight and power-constrained platforms. Using IP-based mesh networks, it offers high-bandwidth mobile networking ...