• Defence Helicopter

  FLIR sensors for US Air Force MH-139s

  31st December 2018

  FLIR Systems has been selected by Boeing to provide its Star Safire 380-HDc EO/IR surveillance sensor in support of the US Air Force’s UH-1N helicopter …

• Defence Helicopter

  Japan’s UH-X achieves maiden flight

  7th January 2019

  A prototype of the UH-X medium multipurpose helicopter, slated to equip the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), successfully completed its maiden flight in Japan in …

• Defence Helicopter

  Boeing offered relief on CH-47F Block II

  11th January 2019

  Boeing has been issued with a new IDIQ low rate initial production notice by the US Army, which could see the service buy up to …

• Land Warfare

  Iskander-M for Russian missile units

  4th January 2019

  Missile units of the Russian land forces will be equipped with the Iskander-M short range ballistic missile system in 2019, the Russian Ministry of Defence …

• Defence Helicopter

  Insight: Awards and delays dominate air power in 2018

  27th December 2018

  A number of key military contract awards and programme delays throughout 2018 showed that the air domain continues to move along a series of peaks …

• Training

  TH-119 performs successful first flight

  3rd January 2019

  Leonardo has successfully completed the initial flight test of the TH-119 IFR single engine training helicopter at its Philadelphia plant. The test flight included an …

• Defence Helicopter

  Hungary orders 16 H225M helicopters

  21st December 2018

  Airbus Helicopters has received an order from the Hungarian Ministry of Defence for 16 H225M helicopters equipped with the HForce weapon management system. The company …

• Defence Helicopter

  Philippines marks out favoured attack helicopter

  30th November 2018

  The Philippine Air Force (PAF) has narrowed its desire for armed helicopters towards a dedicated attack helicopter platform rather than simply an armed light helicopter. …

• Defence Helicopter

  German Bundeswehr orders H145 helicopters

  19th December 2018

  Airbus Helicopters has received an order to supply seven H145 helicopters for SAR services in Germany, the company announced on 13 December. The contract, awarded …

• Land Warfare

  Indian Army seeks anti-aircraft guns again

  8th January 2019

  The Indian Army is reinvigorating efforts to procure 938 anti-aircraft cannons, with an RfI recently issued and responses due by 19 January. Simultaneously, Russia is …

• Training

  Robinson R44s delivered to Poland

  20th December 2018

  Robinson Helicopter has delivered two R44 Raven II helicopters to its distributor, PHU Polinar of Poland. PHU Polinar handed the aircraft over to the Polish …

• Training

  ADECS 2019: PLA emphasises force-on-force training

  22nd January 2019

  The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is investing a lot of effort to improve the training of personnel, with the overarching goal to make combat training …

• Defence Helicopter

  Chilean seagull programme to squawk in 2019

  21st December 2018

  A tender for new light helicopters for the Chilean Navy is expected in March 2019 with the release of a RfP. Up to five helicopters …

• Defence Helicopter

  Inzpire completes GECO deliveries for UK MoD for CSAT

  20th December 2018

  Inzpire Limited has completed delivery of its GECO military air mission support system for the UK Ministry of Defence’s (MoD's) Apache, Chinook, Merlin and Bell …

• Military Logistics

  Kongsberg, Patria to acquire AIM Norway

  20th December 2018

  Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA) has entered into an agreement with the Norwegian Ministry of Defence for the purchase of Aerospace Industrial Maintenance Norway (AIM …

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 ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8, Tanks

  Tracked & Wheeled Light Tank (Philippines)

  Programme Background The decision to split the programme into a wheeled and a tracked element follows the belief of the Philippine Army that this will ...

• 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-60A [Portugal]

  Programme Background At the end of February 2025, the Portuguese Minister of National Defence said that as part of the Portuguese Army's Support, Protection & ...

• 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 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M (Contracted) [Germany]

  Programme Background Previous Usage The German Armed Forces ordered 15 H145M helicopters, with the initial two delivered in December 2015, for the Kommando Spezialkräfte. These ...

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 ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530G

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

• 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 ...

• 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 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 ...

• Helicopter Armour

  Armor of America (AoA) produces custom armour kits for any rotary-wing aircraft. AoA helicopter armour protects areas such as the cockpit floor and doors, cabin ...

• 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 ...

• HEMS Completions

  RSG has been providing modification, retrofit, completion services and component overhaul to the air medical industry for over 38 years on aircraft produced by Airbus ...

• HS-16600

  Breeze-Eastern's HS-16600 external electric hoist system is operational on the Leonardo Helicopters AW109 and AW119, Bell Helicopter 206 and 222, and MD 500. It is ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 500

  The 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 the ...

• 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 ...