• Naval Warfare

  Defence Insight: Year in review (Naval)

  18th December 2019

  The year has been an eventful one, with multiple major contracts announced and new generations of vessels entering service. The US Navy continued its drive towards …

• Land Warfare

  Kazakhstan receives new Arlan vehicles

  3rd December 2019

  Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Defense and Special Services division has received new 4x4 Arlan mine-protected armoured vehicles from Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering (KPE).KPE, a joint venture between …

• 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 …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sikorsky awarded CH-53K​ configuration change work

  26th November 2019

  Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky will carry out CH-53K configuration changes required for initial operational test and evaluation for lot 1 low rate initial production aircraft. The …

• Military Logistics

  New Zealand seeks C-130J aircraft

  22nd November 2019

  New Zealand is looking to acquire five C-130J aircraft via the US government’s foreign military sales programme. Along with the aircraft, New Zealand has requested …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  FLIR introduces new UAS payload family

  21st November 2019

  FLIR Systems has developed a new family of payloads for the SkyRanger R70 and R80D SkyRaider UAS, the company announced on 19 November. Called the …

• Digital Battlespace

  GPS III COps connects with first GPS III satellite

  23rd October 2019

  The US Air Force’s (USAF’s) GPS III Contingency Operations Program (COps) has successfully connected with the first GPS III satellite on orbit, the USAF announced …

• Defence Helicopter

  The APKWS® Laser-Guided Rocket (sponsored)

  20th November 2019

  The APKWS® guidance kit transforms unguided 2.75-inch (70 millimeter) rockets into precision-guided rockets, giving warfighters a low-cost surgical strike capability.

• Digital Battlespace

  IBCS demonstrates non-US sensor system

  27th November 2019

  Northrop Grumman, MBDA and Saab have jointly demonstrated the ability to integrate the Common Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM) family and Giraffe radar system family into …

• Special Operations

  D-Fend C-UAS system deployed by US Special Ops

  22nd November 2019

  D-Fend Solutions has been working with the US Department of Defense to co-develop advanced counter-UAS capabilities. The company has been working with the US Assistant …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Thales introduces EagleSHIELD solution

  19th November 2019

  Thales has introduced a new counter-UAS solution designed to detect, identify, track and neutralise drones flying in civil airspace, called EagleSHIELD. The system can be …

• Naval Warfare

  D&S 2019: Singapore achieves final Independence

  13th November 2019

  ST Engineering handed over the last of eight Independence-class Littoral Mission Vessels (LMV), one that is christened Fearless, to the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) …

• Digital Battlespace

  BAE Systems receives CMWS FMS orders

  19th November 2019

  BAE Systems will supply aircraft survivability equipment to a number of nations as part of US foreign military sales, the company announced on 18 November.The …

• Defence Helicopter

  I/ITSEC 2019: US Navy trainer helicopter award schedule slips

  28th November 2019

  The US Navy’s (USN) TH-73A trainer helicopter contract award is to be delayed by at least a month as the US Government continues to function …

• Digital Battlespace

  EUTELSAT 10B satellite ordered

  30th October 2019

  Thales Alenia Space has signed an agreement with Eutelsat Communications for the procurement of a new all-electric satellite, EUTELSAT 10B. Thales Alenia Space is a …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Loitering munitions

  Medium-Range Loitering Munition with LEO Satellite Data Link [South Korea]

  Background New Project In April 2025, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) announced a new project titled “Development of Medium-Range ...

• Loitering munitions

  Long Range One-way Platforms [US]

  Solicitation In October 2024, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) released a solicitation for long-range, one-way platforms. The DIU noted recent conflicts highlighted the asymmetric impact of low-cost, ...

• Military UAS - small

  Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF) GUARD [Ireland]

  Background Problem As stated on the project’s website in 2022, Ireland is the “softest target in the EU for smugglers” due to its 3171km of ...

• Military UAS - micro

  Micro UAV [Argentina]

  Background Tender The EA and MoD in April 2021 announced Public Tender 0090/2021 (UOC: 84/135), which saw the General Directorate of Material begin the process of ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  CH-4 (First Batch) [Pakistan]

  Programme Background First Batch According to the Pakistan Exim Trade Info website, five aircraft were delivered to the country on 15 January 2021. According to a ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  BZK-005 [Sudan]

  Methodology PGO and programme status Defence Insight has assigned this programme a PGO of 100% since it is complete. Units required Defence Insight estimates that ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Bayraktar TB2 [Pakistan]

  Programme Background Requirement Following a 2019 skirmish with India, Pakistan placed newfound importance on EW and ISR, primarily due to the significant advantage gained during that ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Seeker 400 (1-6) [UAE]

  Background Long history The UAE has a long history of transactions with Denel Dynamics. The country has been purchasing various Seeker systems from as far ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  CH-4 (Second Batch) [Pakistan]

  Background First Batch According to the Pakistan Exim Trade Info website, five CH-4 aircraft were delivered to the country on 15 January 2021. According to a satellite ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Wing Loong II [Pakistan]

  Background Original Effort On 6 October 2018, the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) announced on social media that it would acquire 48 Wing Loong II UAVs. ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  NH90 - NFH [Italy]

  Background  Programme history The Italian Navy took delivery of its first NH90 NFH helicopter in Full Operational Capability (or Step B) configuration in 2011. The ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-9A Reaper [Spain]

  Programme Background First Contract The US State Department approved a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of MQ-9 Block 5 aircraft and associated parts, equipment, and logistical ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Turkish UCAV [Saudi Arabia]

  Background Desired Procurement Saudi Arabia reportedly began negotiations to procure six Anka UAVs in 2013. It had not been disclosed which Anka variant was requested, ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-60M Black Hawk (Second Contract) [Croatia]

  Programme Background Western Technology With the help of the US, Croatia has attempted to improve its military technology, replacing Soviet equipment, such as the Mi-8/Mi-17. ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  Long-Endurance UAV [US AFRICOM]

  Programme Background Ageing MQ-9A Reapers In November 2022, Shephard reported that GA-ASI would continue supporting contractor SMX with its MQ-9A after winning a $2.3 billion task ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Space: radar systems

  RISAT-1

  Radar Satellite-1 (RISAT-1) is a microwave remote-sensing satellite carrying an SAR payload operating in C band (5.35GHz), which enables imaging of surface features during both ...

• Naval: Radio and SATCOM

  OceanTRx 4MIL

  The OceanTRx 4MIL is a ruggedised maritime SATCOM solution featuring simultaneous multi-band communication and advanced antenna management capabilities.  It was introduced at the Euronaval 2022 ...

• Major networking projects

  Skynet 6 SATCOM

  Skynet 6 is designed to replace Skynet 5. The PFI contract for Skynet 5,  held by Paradigm Secure Communications and Airbus DS, ends in 2022. As ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Osprey u8 HGL

  Launched in 2023, Kymeta Osprey u8 HGL is a hybrid Geostationary/Low-Earth Orbit terminal that provides satellite communications on the move. Notably, it can be mounted ...

• Naval: Radio and SATCOM, UAS: communication systems

  Multi-Purpose Terminal (MPT)

  Orbit's Multi-Purpose Terminal (MPT) is a family of stabilised VSAT systems suitable for installation on smaller vessels and airborne platforms including uncrewed vehicles. 

• Military Satellites - ISR

  Radarsat-2

  Owned and operated by MDA, Radarsat-2 was launched in late 2007 as a follow-on radar satellite to Canada’s Radarsat-1. The satellite's resolution ranges from a ...

• Naval: Radio and SATCOM

  SURFSAT-L

  Produced by Thales, SURFSAT-L is a SATCOM terminal designed for medium to large surface vessels. According to the manufacturer, it is designed to achieve a ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MONDO Satellite Terminal

  The Multi Orbit Network, Dual Operation (MONDO) Satellite Terminal is a developmental SATCOM solution that provides continuous communication links on GEO, LEO and MEO networks. ...

• Military Satellites - ISR

  Helios

  The Helios system consists of the Helios 2A and Helios 2B satellites, the latter of which was launched in December 2009, five years after Helios ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Multi-Orbit Tactical Terminal

  Intelsat Multi-Orbit Tactical Terminal (MOTT) is a ruggedised terminal with a low-profile design. The vehicle-mountable terminal features an electronically steered array antenna, edge computing capabilities ...

• Data links

  GSNC

  Global Secure Network Connection (GSNC) provides a global data communications solution for military aircraft, including bomber, refuelling and transport aircraft. The GSNC system uses Iridium ...

• Space: radar systems

  ESA Sentinel-1

  Sentinel-1 is a planned constellation of four satellites with two already in orbit and two on order. They carry a payload of a C-band SAR ...

• Space: radar systems

  NISAR

  The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) is a joint programme between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to build and launch an observation ...

• Space: radar systems

  TerraSAR-X and ​TanDEM-X

  TerraSAR-X and the more advanced TanDEM-X (TerraSAR-X add-on for digital elevation measurement) are designed to operate closely together to generate an accurate 3D image of ...

• Military - USVs

  USV-12

  The USV-12 is an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) developed by HAVELSAN and VN Maritime Technologies. The modular platform is designed for defence, maritime security, and search ...