• Digital Battlespace

  Saab to upgrade Brazilian Erieye

  28th February 2013

  Saab will perform work to upgrade the Brazilian Air Force’s Erieye Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) mission system under a new 380 MSEK order …

• Defence Helicopter

  Avalon: Australian Aerospace chief confident of Tiger service entry

  28th February 2013

  Australian Aerospace is confident that problems which have plagued the Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopter have been solved and it will soon be declared operational and …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Avalon: Please stop droning on

  28th February 2013

  There’s a word not being used around the Australian Airshow or at least only being whispered in dark corners away from the prying ears of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Avalon: Australian opposition hints at return to BAMS

  28th February 2013

  Northrop Grumman has noted a commitment by Australia’s conservative opposition that Australia would return to the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) system, but is not …

• Defence Helicopter

  General Dynamics wins Hydra-70 rocket contracts

  27th February 2013

  General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products has received two contracts totalling $224 million to provide the US Army with Hydra-70 air-to-ground rockets and supporting engineering …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Phantom Eye demonstrates capabilities during 2nd flight

  27th February 2013

  Boeing’s Phantom Eye unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) completed its 2nd flight on 25 February at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, …

• Digital Battlespace

  Another Ground Master 400 radar base for France

  27th February 2013

  ThalesRaytheonSystems (TRS) will supply the French Air Force with a third Ground Master 406 (GM 406) radar for the Lyon Mont-Verdun airbase. The order includes …

• Military Logistics

  A330 MRTT accepted into Saudi Air Force fleet

  27th February 2013

  Airbus Military has announced that the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) has formally inducted into service the A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) new generation …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Avalon: Victoria police to trial new UAV control interface

  27th February 2013

  Police in the Australian state of Victoria will shortly trial a new tablet-based control interface for use with an Aerobot Mikrokopter quadcopter UAV with the …

• Military Logistics

  Avalon: Airbus expects A400M type certification mid-year

  26th February 2013

  Airbus Military aircraft expects the type certification of the A400M transport and refueling aircraft before the middle of 2013 after the aircraft completed cold weather …

• Defence Helicopter

  Indian Army orders HAL Cheetal helicopter

  26th February 2013

  HAL has revealed that it has signed a contract with the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) to deliver 20 Cheetal helicopters and associated equipments to …

• Military Logistics

  Avalon: RAAF operational with MRTT

  26th February 2013

  The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has declared initial operational capability (IOC) for its Airbus KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft. The aircraft has …

• Military Logistics

  Arotech receives US Army Swipes order

  25th February 2013

  Arotech has announced that its Battery and Power Systems Division will supply over 1,500 units of the Soldier Wearable Integrated Power Equipment System (SWIPES) under …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Insitu announces SOCOM ScanEagle UAV contract

  25th February 2013

  Insitu will continue to provide intelligence gathering, target surveillance, and reconnaissance services for US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) under a new 26 month contract announced …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Australian Shadow nears full operational capability

  25th February 2013

  An ‘Australianised’ variant of the Shadow 200 unmanned air system (UAS) should achieve full operating capability by the end of this year. Speaking at the …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Light attack, Trainer

  PC-21 (Project Air 5428) [Australia]

  The new PTS, including aircraft, flight training simulators and learning environments is being acquired from a single capability contractor, Team 21, which consists of Lockheed ...

• Transport, Transport/tanker aircraft

  Project Air 7404 [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement Australia is thinking ahead to an enlarged transport fleet to replace the current C-130Js. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was the second ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A (Project Air 6000 Phase 2A/B) [Australia]

  Programme Background The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) took delivery of 18 F-35A aircraft as of March 2020 and the remaining aircraft are expected to ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton (5-6) [Australia]

  Background Four Contracted Units In the summer of 2020, Northrop Grumman announced that the Australian Government provided $333 million for three MQ-4C Tritons and associated GCS. ...

• Medium Range Missile Defence Systems: 20-90km range

  Medium Range Air Defence [Australia]

  Background Faced with a growing threat from China and a vast land and sea territory to protect, Australia is seeking to establish a medium-range ground-based ...

• Patrol boats

  Evolved Cape Class (13-14) [Australia]

  Programme Background Austal was awarded a contract to build six 'Evolved'Cape-class patrol boats for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) on 1 May 2020 (see separate ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) [Australia]

  Background Older Efforts On 23 April 2021, the US State Department's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) approval announcement revealed that Australia had requested to buy up ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Project Air 7003 [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement The Royal Australian Air Force has been without a UAS capability since the Heron was withdrawn in mid-2017. According to Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, ...

• OPVs

  Arafura Class (Project SEA 1180) (1-6) [Australia]

  Programme Background Australia's new class of Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV), the Arafura-class, will replace the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) fleet of Armidale and Cape-class patrol ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-28 Ghost Bat [Australia]

  Background Goal As stated by the Head of Air Force Capability, Air Vice-Marshal Robert Denney, in March 2022, the Ghost Bat will be an "operational system ...

• Loitering munitions

  Mission Talon Strike [Australia]

  Background Request for Tender (RFT) On 19 May 2025, the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA), an agency aimed at streamlining defence invocation for the Australian Defence ...

• Military UAS - small

  VTOL UAV [New Zealand]

  Background Defence Capability Plan (DCP) In April 2025, the New Zealand government published the DCP, a document that is essentially a blueprint for what procurements ...

• Trainer

  Hawk 127 Replacement (Future Lead-In Fighter Training System- Project Air 6002 PH1) [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirements The RAAF is seeking a future solution that provides a ‘relevant, adaptable, affordable and safe LIFTS out to 2050’ for training pilots ...

• Military UAS - small

  DEF129 (Tactical UAS) [Australia]

  Programme Background Programme Announcement The Australian Army announced the Project Land 129 Phase 3 programme in 2017. This announcement led to the release of an industry ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Harpii Szpon (Loyal Wingman) [Poland]

  Background Market Evaluation On 6 November 2023, speaking at the IQPC International Fighter Conference (IFC) 2023 in Madrid, Major General Cezary Wiśniewski, the Deputy General Commander of the ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: Integrated Defensive Systems

  Air-5416 Project Echidna

  Air-5416 Project Echidna was an initiative launched in 2001 by BAE Systems for the Australian DoD. Its goal was to overhaul the self protection systems ...

• Trainer

  King Air trainer

  Textron / Beechcraft King Air trainers are a family twin-engine aircraft based on King Air 90, 100, 200 and 350 utility aircraft. The King Air ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  Australian Defence Force MRH90 Training

  As prime contractor for the ADF's MRH90 training programme, CAE has provided two MRH90 full-flight mission simulators (FFMS), training facilities and engineering and support services. ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  RAAF Hawk Mk 127 FMS

  Under subcontract to BAE Systems, CAE is designing and manufacturing three Hawk Mk 127 full-mission simulators (FMS) for the Royal Australian Air Force that will ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Wanderer

  The Wanderer is a low-altitude, low-cost, long-endurance UAV produced in-house by the Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF) Jericho Disruptive Innovation Group and the Australian Government's Defense Science ...

• Light attack

  Hawk 200

  The Hawk 200 is a single-seat light attack iteration of the Hawk 100 (see separate entry) and Advanced Jet Trainer or AJT (see separate entry). ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-28A Ghost Bat

  The MQ-28A Ghost Bat is a loyal wingman-type, Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), MALE fixed-wing drone being developed by Boeing Defence Australia. Its development began in ...

• Military - USVs

  Bluebottle

  Bluebottle is a persistent, autonomous, uncrewed surface vessel from Ocius Technology in service with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF). In ...

• Air: UAV simulators

  Predator Mission Trainer (PMT)

  The CAE Predator Mission Trainer (PMT) is an integrated platform that combines the features of CAE's UAS mission trainer with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' Predator-specific ...

• Maritime patrol

  Challenger 604

  Bombardier Challenger CL-604 MPAs are in service with the Royal Danish Air Force and the Korea Coast Guard. The first of three Danish aircraft entered ...

• Military UAS - micro

  Phantom 4 (Series)

  Designed for aerial photograph applications by DJI, the Phantom 4 series of UAVs includes the Phantom 4 Pro, Phantom 4 Pro V2.0, Phantom 4 Advanced ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  Hawkei

  Thales Australia developed the 4x4 Hawkei for the Australian Army's Land 121 Phase 4 Protected Mobility Vehicle – Light (PMV-L) project.  The prototype was unveiled in ...

• Air: COMINT and ELINT systems

  AN/ALR-2001

  BAE Systems’ AN/ALR-2001 Electronic Support Measure (ESM) is thought to be based on Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) Elta Systems division’s EL/M-8382 ESM. The AN/ALR-2001 is ...

• Air-to-surface missiles

  AGM-88E AARGM

  The AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) is a supersonic, medium-range, air-launched tactical missile compatible with US and allied strike aircraft. Designed to upgrade the AGM-88 ...

• Military UAS - mini

  M Solar-X

  First revealed in August 2020, in February 2024, at its symposium, the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) showcased the M Solar-X. This solar-powered fixed-wing drone was ...