• Naval Warfare

  Airbus upgrades OceanFinder

  23rd September 2019

  Airbus Defence and Space has upgraded its OceanFinder digital maritime service to introduce new features for the detection, identification and tracking of collaborative and non-collaborative …

• Defence Helicopter

  Pacific 2019: Leonardo offers helicopters and UAVs to Australia

  9th October 2019

  Leonardo has two Australian Army helicopter tenders and two UAV competitions – one for the army and the other for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) …

• Training

  Taiwan rolls out jet trainer prototype

  25th September 2019

  The Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) rolled out a prototype of Taiwan’s new advanced jet trainer (AJT) on 24 September, in a ceremony witnessed by …

• Digital Battlespace

  DSEI 2019: New Skynet 6 competition announced

  11th September 2019

  A new competition for the Skynet 6 military satellite communications project was announced at DSEI 2019, seeking an an industry partner to operate and manage …

• Naval Warfare

  DSIT develops new towed array sonar

  27th September 2019

  DSIT announced on 26 September that it will launch its SwordFish Towed Array Sonar (TAS) system at Pacific 2019 in Australia. According to the company, …

• Digital Battlespace

  USAF launched second GPS III satellite

  27th August 2019

  The US Air Force has launched its second GPS III satellite, part of a constellation of up to 32 satellites that will bolster the US’ …

• Digital Battlespace

  Airbus, Telespazio to market Syracuse IV satellites

  11th September 2019

  Airbus and Leonardo-Thales joint venture, Telespazio, have set up a partnership to market military telecommunications services for armed and security forces using the future Syracuse …

• Military Logistics

  A400M performs dry contacts with H225M

  24th September 2019

  The Airbus A400M has carried out its first air-to-air refueling contacts with a helicopter in flight trials over the south of France. Over the course …

• Digital Battlespace

  DSEI 2019: Spectra ventures into the Troposphere

  12th September 2019

  Spectra Group has agreed to partner with US company Comtech to provide a Troposcatter communications capability for end users demanding high capability and resilient connectivity …

• Digital Battlespace

  DSEI 2019: Commercial space innovation presents military challenges

  11th September 2019

  The most innovative communications and military computing equipment now comes from the commercial sector, rather than military R&D; labs, Dr Stuart Eves, Consultant and Director at …

• Defence Helicopter

  Combat Rescue Helicopter gains Milestone C

  25th September 2019

  The US Air Force (USAF) has issued a Milestone C decision for the Sikorsky HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH) programme, clearing the way for low …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  HAWK30 takes flight

  17th September 2019

  The HAWK30 solar high-altitude pseudo-satellite (HAPS) UAS undertook its first flight on September 11, 2019 at the NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, AeroVironment …

• Digital Battlespace

  BAE Systems announces SMC support team

  23rd September 2019

  BAE Systems has announced its team for its US Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center’s Launch Enterprise – Systems and Engineering and Integration programme …

• Land Warfare

  Questions raised as Bradley replacement becomes one-horse race

  9th October 2019

  The US Army’s contest to develop an Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) launched in earnest at the beginning of October but drew only a single …

• Military Logistics

  MSV(L) prototype construction begins

  18th September 2019

  Vigor has laid the keel for the US Army’s new landing craft, the Maneuver Support Vessel (Light) (MSV(L)) at its Aluminum Fabrication Facility in Vancouver, …

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 ...