• Defence Notes

  AUSA Winter: US Army plans force transition

  25th February 2013

  The US Army plans to reduce its Active Component (AC) from 570,000 to 490,000 personnel by 2017, retain the strength of the Army National Guard …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Triton set to make first flight this year

  25th February 2013

  Northrop Grumman’s Triton MQ-4C will fly for the first time before the middle of 2013, and two system development and demonstration (SDD) platforms will likely …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Australian Army chief calls for unmanned technology use reassessment

  25th February 2013

  There is no foreseeable alternative to close combat, and the issue of unmanned platforms in symmetric warfare needs to be addressed according to the Chief …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Elbit Systems announces new Hermes 900 delivery

  25th February 2013

  Elbit Systems has announced that it has delivered a Hermes 900 unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to an unnamed customer in the Americas. The order will …

• Land Warfare

  US Army becomes 'army of preparation'

  22nd February 2013

  After 12 years of conducting counter insurgency and stability operations in Afghanistan and Iraq the US Army will shift its focus in the future to …

• Defence Helicopter

  German CH-53 Mission Tactical Workstation operational debut

  22nd February 2013

  It has emerged that the German air force has recently commenced operations with the Mission Tactical Workstation from ESG Elektroniksystem & Logistik on board its …

• Naval Warfare

  Canadian Navy to deploy Aurora Towfish

  22nd February 2013

  International Submarine Engineering (ISE) has announced that it has received a contract from Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) that will see its Aurora Towfish deployed on …

• Naval Warfare

  3SDL supports Finnish Navy acceptance tests

  22nd February 2013

  3SDL has provided support to the Finnish Navy during the recent Sea Acceptance Testing onboard the 1,450 ton Minelayer FNS Uusimaa. The work was performed …

• Military Logistics

  A400M undergoes cold weather testing

  21st February 2013

  Airbus Military has announced that the A400M has successfully passed a renewed series of cold weather tests in a production-representative configuration. The testing is an …

• Land Warfare

  DAGR missile launched from JLTV prototype

  21st February 2013

  Lockheed Martin has demonstrated the ability of its DAGR missile to launch from a pedestal launcher mounted on in the bed of a ground vehicle. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MX-25 EO/IR imaging system evaluated by US Army

  21st February 2013

  L-3 Wescam has announced that the MX-25 electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) imaging system has been evaluated by the US Army’s Persistent Threat and Detection System (PTDS) Communications-Electronics …

• Digital Battlespace

  Malaysian MoD receives new C2 system

  20th February 2013

  ThalesRaytheonSystems has announced that it has provided the Malaysian Ministry of Defence (MoD) with an enhanced national command and control (C2) system under the Malaysian …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Integrator Block 2 UAV completes first flight

  20th February 2013

  Insitu has successfully completed the first flight of the Block 2 version of the Integrator unmanned aircraft system (UAS). The latest technology release of the …

• Land Warfare

  Raytheon targets Mobile Range at Middle East

  20th February 2013

  Raytheon used IDEX 2013 as the venue to launch its Mobile Range concept, designed to be a total solution for all complex weapon testing missions. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Raytheon JLENS aerostat successfully detects missile threats

  19th February 2013

  Raytheon has announced that its Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System (JLENS) tethered surveillance aerostat managed to detect and track four …

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 ...