• Defence Helicopter

  Sikorsky receives Lot 2 HH-60W contract

  28th February 2020

  Sikorsky has received the Lot 2 Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) contract award from the US Air Force for the HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH) …

• Digital Battlespace

  Germany joins ESSOR programme

  25th February 2020

  The Alliance for ESSOR (a4ESSOR) has been awarded a contract amendment by OCCAR which allows Germany to join the European Secure Software defined Radio (ESSOR) …

• Air Warfare

  Israel investigates cargo potential of Heron

  4th March 2020

  Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is offering a combat cargo supply drone based on its Heron MK II MALE UAV (pictured). The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  RAN to roll out unmanned MCM capability

  19th February 2020

  The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is introducing deployable mine counter-measures (MCM) capabilities under Project Sea 1778. Under Project 1778 Phase 1, Australian Mine Warfare Team …

• Naval Warfare

  LCS is in a ‘good place’ but capabilities are not being maximised, says CNO

  3rd March 2020

  The USN Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) used the Sea Service Chiefs Town Hall at AFCEA West 2020 on 2 March to address the current …

• Naval Warfare

  Anson submarine build affected by Audacious issues

  2nd March 2020

  The delivery schedule of Anson, as the fifth of the seven-boat Astute class of submarines due to enter service with the UK Royal Navy, has been impacted …

• Land Warfare

  Aussie EF88 rifle approaches delivery milestone

  27th February 2020

  Deliveries of EF88 bullpup rifles to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) are nearing completion, with just 4,000 of these 5.56mm weapons left to be completed. …

• Training

  New AKM-patterned training rifle plugs a gap

  28th February 2020

  US-based Centre Firearms Co has released the first dedicated 5.56x45mm FX AKM-patterned training rifle.  The company has a primary focus on armourer and training classes …

• Defence Notes

  Airbus Defence & Space starts consultation on potential job losses

  20th February 2020

  Airbus Defence and Space has begun a consultation process with employee representatives from the group’s European work council over planned redundancies. It comes as the …

• Digital Battlespace

  Bittium to continue ESSOR porting for Finland

  18th February 2020

  Bittium will continue porting the European European Secure Software-defined Radio (ESSOR) programme’s Operational Capability 1 (OC1) wideband waveform to the Bittium Tough SDR radio for …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Singapore Airshow 2020: ST Engineering lifts lid on VTOL UAVs

  11th February 2020

  Singapore-based ST Engineering displayed two new hybrid UAV platforms at Singapore Airshow 2020. The Veloce 15 and Veloce 60 respectively cover MTOWs from 15-16kg to 50-70kg …

• Land Warfare

  Funding challenges confront main UK land programmes

  9th March 2020

  The British Army is facing a huge challenge as it modernises its armoured vehicle fleet in the next decade.  The UK National Audit Office's (NAO) …

• Training

  Upgrade for German NH90 simulators

  17th February 2020

  The Helicopter Flight Training Services consortium will upgrade NH90 Full Mission Simulators (FMS) for the German military under a contract announced on 13 February. The …

• Training

  ADF orders moving target systems

  14th February 2020

  The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has awarded a contract to Geelong’s Deakin University for additional robotics-driven target systems, the Australian Department of Defence announced on …

• Defence Helicopter

  Clean bill of health offers springboard for Defiant’s FLRAA fight

  20th February 2020

  The SB>1 Defiant Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) is moving towards increased speed flight tests, having overcome a gearbox joint ‘bearing creep’ issue that was …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Fighter - multirole

  H-X Fighter Programme [Finland]

  Programme Background In June 2020, Finnish MoD announced that the Hornet fleet life extension programme is neither cost-effective solution nor sufficient in terms of Finland’s ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  H10 Poseidon [Ukraine]

  Background 2022 According to Army Recognition in 2022, citing VK, a Russian social network, Ukrainian sources had reportedly stated that the 26th Artillery Brigade and ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | PAK-DA - Procurement - Russia

  Russian MoD is planning to procure PAK-DA strategic bomber aircraft to replace the existing Tu-95MS Bear-H fleet, about 65 examples of which are in service with ...

• Data links

  Data links | PAK-DA - Procurement - Russia

  Russian MoD is planning to procure PAK-DA strategic bomber aircraft to replace the existing Tu-95MS Bear-H fleet, about 65 examples of which are in service with ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | PAK-DA - Procurement - Russia

  Russian MoD is planning to procure PAK-DA strategic bomber aircraft to replace the existing Tu-95MS Bear-H fleet, about 65 examples of which are in service with ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | PAK-DA - Procurement - Russia

  Russian MoD is planning to procure PAK-DA strategic bomber aircraft to replace the existing Tu-95MS Bear-H fleet, about 65 examples of which are in service with ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  AR100-H [Germany]

  Programme Background In May 2022, it was announced that 145 AR100-H drones would be supplied to the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr). At the time of ...

• Loitering munitions

  Project Brakestop [UK]

  Background Information Notice On 25 September 2024, the UK MoD published a prior information notice for Project Brakestop, informing industry of the upcoming competition. Requirements ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  Ka-52K Katran [Russia]

  Programme Background The Ka-52K Katran is a navalised version of the Ka-52 Alligator reconnaissance and attack helicopter.  The history of the Ka-52K is aligned with ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  WH AFV [R&Sp]

  Programme Background The RfI for this requirement stipulated several technical requirements that a prospective platform must meet in order to provide 'high mobility, adequate armour ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Mi-17 [Sri Lanka]

  Programme Background Sri Lanka currently operates 28 Mi-17 Hip H and Mi-171Sh and Mi-8s; the latest variants were three Mi-171Es delivered in 2013. Sri Lanka's military is ...

• Bomber

  PAK-DA - Procurement - Russia

  Programme Background The full-scale design works on the new-generation strategic bomber developed under the PAK-DA initiative were launched by Tupolev in 2013, on order placed ...

• Destroyers

  Arleigh Burke Flight III (DDG 125 - DDG 139) [USN]

  Programme Background Timeline Flight III is the last of the four flights being built for the USN, with the first ship beginning construction in 2018 ...

• Light Bullet-Proof Vehicles (Army) [India]

  Programme Background An RfP for 375 light bullet-proof vehicles (LBPV) is expected to be announced by the end of 2023 following the approval of the Indian Army's ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  VTOL-Capable Group 2 UAV [USA]

  Background Request for Information (RFI) In March 2026, the USAF issued an RFI seeking a VTOL-capable UAV capable of operating in austere environments to support ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  H-1 Family of Avionics

  Northrop Grumman produces a family of avionics for Bell H-1-series helicopters.

• Magline Cruiser

  First displayed at the DefExpo exhibition in 2014, the Magline Cruiser was developed as three variants: Cruiser 1, Cruiser 2 and Mini Cruiser. The two larger ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  UH-1Y/AH-1Z Training Devices

  Together with the prime contractor for the USMC’s new H-1 helicopters, FlightSafety produced the Viper (aka Super Cobra) and the Venom (Huey) flight simulator devices. ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Aybars-1

  The Aybars-1, alternatively known as the Aybars-I or Aerogard V3800-H, is a fixed-wing, VTOL-capable UAV from BMS Defence Technologies.  It is powered by a 100cc EFI engine and ...

• EO/IR systems

  HD25-XV

  The HD25--XV is a lightweight, compact UAV EO camera gimbal from Trillium Engineering. Sometimes called the Orion HD25, the system is designed to operate from ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  AN/ARC-186

  The Collins Aerospace AN/ARC-186 is a low-Cost multi-band VHF/AM/FM transceiver designed to fulfill the demanding multirole missions flown in complex tactical and international environments. Aircraft installations ...

• Land: air defence radar

  H-200

  CEIEC's H-200 is the basis of the KS-1 air defence missile which is thought to have developed from reverse engineering a Patriot air defence system. ...

• Bomber

  H-6

  The People's Liberation Army Air Force has eight regiments of bombers and they operate an estimated 160 H-6 variants that have been in service since ...

• Subsystems: visual

  SpectraView Front Projection Display System

  Designed to support a variety of training requirements, SpectraView systems provide cost-effective, scalable and flexible options for single, tandem and side-by-side seating configurations. Standard and ...

• Naval guns

  H/PJ-45A

  H/PJ-45A is a Chinese 130mm naval gun deployed on the Type 052D destroyers. Reportedly, its design is based on the Soviet AK-130 gun. During the ...

• Self-propelled mortars

  2S34 Chosta

  The 2S34 Chosta is an upgraded version of the 122mm 2S1 tracked SPH that replaces the original 2A31 ordnance with the 120mm 2A80-1 mortar-gun, an ...

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  Trident 140TD2

  The Trident 140TD2 is a compression-ignition engine designed for MALE platforms. Based on the Trident 100TD2, it is a lightweight, four-cylinder design that is intended ...

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  Trident 180TD2

  The Trident 180TD2 is a compression-ignition engine designed for heavier UAVs up to the 2t class. The design is intended to improve efficiency, while being ...

• Air: Electronic Attack - Jamming, Air: chaff/flare/decoy systems

  118 Mk 3 Type 1

  The Chemring CM118 Mk.3 Type-1 is a spectral flare intended to defeat infrared-guided, surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles. The flare is designed to equip rotorcraft and ...

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

  FL-1

  The FL-1, sometimes called the Feilong-1 or Flying Dragon-1, is an unmanned, long-endurance platform under development for civilian and military use. Its design is aimed towards ...