• Land Warfare

  Lockheed Martin signs Australian air and missile defence system deal

  25th April 2024

  Air 6500 Phase 1, worth AU$500 million (US$326 million), will result in a sovereign system that can provide greater situational awareness and help to defend against hostile aircraft and missiles. It will sit at the core of Australia’s Integrated Air and Missile Defence programme.

• Air Warfare

  Lockheed Martin signs with Patria for F-35 landing gear doors

  27th March 2024

  Finland’s purchase of F-35A aircraft was approved as a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) in October 2020 and 14 months later the aircraft was selected by the Finnish government. The FMS announcement noted a deal for 64 F-35A aircraft along with missiles, munitions and related equipment for an estimated cost of US$12.5 billion.

• Naval Warfare

  Brazil’s Navy launches third Riachuelo attack submarine

  28th March 2024

  The ceremony was attended by Brazil’s President Lula da Silva and French President Emmanuel Macron.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Revolutionising Warfare: The Rapid Rise and Future of UGVs (Analysis)

  17th June 2024

  The uncrewed ground vehicle (UGV) market is advancing rapidly due to technological growth and geopolitical shifts. Increased investment and evolving defence priorities are driving interest in UGVs, although political, technological, and production challenges must be addressed for full market potential.

• Air Warfare

  Irish C295 MPAs fitted with Viasat SATCOM terminals

  5th December 2023

  The terminals enable secure, reliable satellite connectivity and support a range of command, control and communication needs for the C295 aircraft, which have roles in maritime patrol, tactical transport, special operations and medical evacuation.

• Air Warfare

  Greece goes ahead with Black Hawk order

  5th April 2024

  The Black Hawk helicopters will replace Greece's current fleet of multi-role helicopters.

• Air Warfare

  Safran continues to support UK Merlin helicopters

  4th April 2024

  The new engine support contract could be extended until 2040 to match the AW101 Merlin helicopter’s retirement date.

• Air Warfare

  First three MH-60R naval helicopters join Hellenic Navy

  22nd March 2024

  Greece has strengthened its naval prowess with the formal induction of the first three Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk helicopters.

• Naval Warfare

  Spain says farewell to the last of its Galerna-class submarines

  20th February 2024

  The four Spanish (S 70/Galerna) boats entered service between 1983 and 1985, but have now all been decommissioned, leaving Spain with just one active submarine.

• Digital Battlespace

  Why the US would struggle to overcome Russia’s nuclear anti-satellite weapon

  11th March 2024

  Russia's move to develop a nuclear anti-satellite weapon has highlighted US anxieties over space combat readiness, challenging the Pentagon's strategic defences in a potential cosmic battleground.

• Air Warfare

  USAF's F-16 to fly pilotless for first time in 2025

  14th May 2024

  F-16 Fighting Falcon is currently passing through the developmental and operational testing phase under the VENOM-AFT programme.

• Land Warfare

  Rheinmetall to upgrade Romanian air defence artillery systems

  2nd January 2024

  Romania is one of several countries near Ukraine and Russia which have recently signed contracts for improved air defence equipment alongside Austria, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

• Air Warfare

  Leonardo and Textron pitch M-346N for upcoming US Navy T-45 replacement

  30th April 2024

  Leonardo and Textron’s joint effort to introduce the M-346N aircraft into the US Navy’s training programme has promised to offer a proven efficient training enterprise as the T-45 replacement.

• Naval Warfare

  Royal Marines transformation programme shows early signs of progress

  9th April 2024

  The UK’s Royal Marines have taken significant strides in the first year of a decade-long transformation programme focusing on advanced communications, distributed operations and enhancing its capabilities.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Red Cat looks to partnerships to expand Teal 2’s wings

  3rd May 2024

  Teal 2 UAV producer Red Cat has unveiled its strategic partnerships and advancements in drone technology in anticipation of the US Army’s decision on the Short-Range Reconnaissance (SRR) programme.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• AEW&C

  GlobalEye (1-3) [UAE]

  Programme Background The GlobalEye is a modification of Bombardier's Global 6000 jet aircraft fitted with the S-band Erieye Extended Range (ER) radar and mission system ...

• OPVs

  OPVs Procurement (1-2) [Greece]

  Programme Background Requirements According to the RFI issued in late 2022, the Hellenic Coast Guard is seeking to procure two new OPVs. The vessels are ...

• ISR/special mission

  MC-27J - Algeria

  Programme Background Algeria has a long standing ISR aircraft requirement to support its Beech 1900 fleet comprised of six aircraft. The new ISR fleet is ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Landing Platform Docks [India]

  Programme Background Requirements The LPD tender, although more akin to an LHD, specifies that the quartet of ships must be built within India, although collaboration ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Landing Platform Dock [Qatar]

  Programme Background Close to a €4 billion ($4.67 billion) contract was awarded to Fincantieri in June 2016 for the construction of seven surface vessels, including the four ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-S (First Batch) [Turkey]

  Programme Background Orders In February 2018, TAI announced that it had delivered the first Anka-S UAVs to the Turkish Air Force. In late 2018, Savunmasanay ...

• Submarines: conventional, attack

  Isaac Peral Class (S-80A Plus) [Spain]

  Programme Background The S-80A SSK design for the Spanish Navy is based on the Franco-Spanish S-80 Scorpene design that both countries decided to cooperate on ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-S [Chad]

  Programme Background Hurkus Trainer Aircraft On 10 July 2023, President General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno visited an air base to inspect the country's new Hurkus trainer ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-S (Saudi Arabia)

  Programme Background Desired Procurement Saudi Arabia has reportedly been in negotiations to procure six Anka UAVs since 2013. It has not been disclosed which Anka ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  S-70i (Philippines)

  The Black Hawk is believed to have been the most expensive of the aircraft that had been shortlisted for the PAF project, others being the ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  EDA-S [France]

  Programme Background Following the announcement of the 14-ship contract, the DGA approved the design of the first two standard amphibious landing craft (EDA-S) in October 2019, ...

• Destroyers

  KDDX-S [South Korea]

  Programme Background Requirements During MADEX 2023, Naval News reported that there is an upcoming competition for new destroyers, namely the KDDX-S programme. According to the ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-S [El Salvador]

  Programme Background As reported by InfoDefensa in September 2023, The Salvadoran Air Force (FAS) is considering purchasing the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) Anka-S and T625 Gokbey medium ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-S (Second Batch) [Turkey]

  Programme Background First Batch Based on comments by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and Turkish media in 2018, Shephard believes that Türkiye acquired 26 Anka-S drones ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Camcopter S-100 [Greece]

  Programme Background Trails A 2 August 2021 Schiebel press release announced the company had demonstrated the Camcopter S-100's capabilities to the Hellenic Navy. The UAV was ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Sea: commercial shipping radar

  FAR-21x7

  FAR-21x7 is a series of S-band and X-band radars with a 19in LCD display unit. The family consists of FAR-2117 and FAR-2127 X-band radars and ...

• Data links

  S-band TDMA Airborne Data Link

  Multiple-participant airborne S-band TDMA data link with up to 400 slots/s. Transmission rate is up to 625Kb/s. As an example, a data link built for ...

• Air: UAS radar

  Anka SATCOM Radome

  The Anka SATCOM Radome is a structural component specifically designed for the Anka-S UAV to protect satellite communication (SATCOM) antennas. Produced by Meteksan Defence, it ...

• Data links

  CMDL

  The Compact Multi-band Data Link (CMDL) operates in the Ku-, C-, L- or S-band, using both analogue and digital waveforms. It is interoperable with military ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  THPR1055

  Triad THPR1055 is a four-channel, S-Band radio system designed for long-distance uncrewed C2 and data link applications in particular.

• Major networking projects

  TST 111/X

  The TST 111/X X-band transportable satellite terminal provides voice and data communications through FDMA PAMA channels at 256kb/s (2Mb/s as an option) maximum. The outdoor ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar, Air: surveillance radar

  AN/APY-1/2

  The S-band AN/APY-1 radar is installed in a large rotodome above the fuselage of the Boeing KE-3A/E-3A/B Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft ...

• Land: weather radar

  Defender S-band Series

  Magnetron- and Klystron-powered Defender S-band series weather radars are designed and engineered with an output of 850kW to 1,000kW, which the company claims is the ...

• Data links

  TIGDL-II

  Tactical Interoperable Ground Data Link (TIGDL)-II is described as a transportable TDL surface terminal that supports military operations by providing a full duplex ground capability ...

• Land: air defence radar

  Giraffe 4A

  The Giraffe 4A is a multi-function S-band AESA radar system combining air surveillance, ground-based air defence, and weapon locating capabilities in a single platform.

• Land: weather radar

  Defender X200

  EEC’s shorter wavelength X-band weather radar is designed to be able to detect smaller particles such as high-altitude water droplets or light snow. The size ...

• Data links

  Naval TDMA Data Link Management Unit

  The multiple-participant naval TDMA data link updates a ship’s C2 via existing radios (HF, VHF, UHF, L- and S-band) and INMARSAT. The Data Link Update ...

• Naval: COMINT and ELINT systems

  C-Pearl-DV (S)

  The C-Pearl-DV (S) is a variant of the C-Pearl system adapted for submarines by integrating an antenna array with the submarine’s ESM mast, search periscope ...

• Land: air defence radar

  Series 320

  The Series 320 is a family of S-band air defence radars designed by ITT Gilfillan (now L3Harris) in the late 1970s.  It was used by ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  ULV MicroVSAT

  Ultra I&C;'s ULV MicroVSAT is a tri-band, lightweight SATCOM terminal that emphasises portability. First introduced in 2022, the modem-agnostic system supports WGS, Intelsat Flex, Inmarsat GX ...