• Digital Battlespace

  Raytheon BBN Technologies wins force protection award

  8th May 2012

  Raytheon BBN Technologies has announced that it has been awarded a contract by the US Air Force Research Laboratory under the Force Protection programme. The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  SOFEX 2012: US Army to extend SMSS evaluation

  8th May 2012

  The US Army's Rapid Equipping Force (REF) is working through 'contractual obligations' to extend the evaluation of the Squad Mission Support System (SMSS) in Afghanistan, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  SOFEX 2012: KADDB debuts latest unmanned offering

  8th May 2012

  The King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau (KADDB) unveiled its first indigenous VTOL UAS at the Special Operations Forces Exhibition (SOFEX) on 8 May. …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sikorsky, Terma to explore additional potential collaborations

  8th May 2012

  Sikorsky Aircraft and Terma have announced that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in February 2010 is to be extended and broadened to explore additional …

• Land Warfare

  SOFEX 2012: USSOCOM deputy outlines global SOF vision

  7th May 2012

  The deputy commander of the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has called for a 'global network' of special forces to address the challenges of the …

• Land Warfare

  SOFEX 2012: German general warns of continued SOF need in Afghanistan

  7th May 2012

  NATO success in Afghanistan will be measured by the ability of indigenous forces to provide security for their country, the head of Germany's special operations …

• Military Logistics

  A400M receives EASA initial type certificate

  4th May 2012

  Airbus Military has announced that it has received the initial type certification for the A400M new generation airlifter, marking a key milestone on the road …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  ADF commences Shadow 200 UAV operations

  4th May 2012

  The Australian Defence Force has officially commenced operations with the Shadow 200 Tactical Unmanned Aerial System (TUAS) in Afghanistan, providing an enhanced capability to the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Eight more EC145s for Kazakhstan government

  4th May 2012

  Eurocopter has announced that the Kazakhstan government has placed additional orders for eight EC145 helicopters under a framework agreement covering 45 aircraft. The EC145s are …

• Military Logistics

  Thales INS and GPS selected for KC-390

  4th May 2012

  Thales has announced that it has been awarded a contract by Embraer Defence and Security to provide the Inertial Navigation System (INS) and the GPS …

• Defence Notes

  Germany accused of defence deficiencies by UK report

  4th May 2012

  The House of Lords EU Committee has warned that Europe’s member states must ‘pull their weight’ to align their defence capabilities in light of the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Chemring announces UK MOD award

  3rd May 2012

  Chemring has announced that its UK subsidiary, Chemring Countermeasures, has been awarded a five year long term partnering agreement to deliver a range of different …

• Digital Battlespace

  SAIC completes JAF C4I contract

  2nd May 2012

  Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) has announced that it has successfully completed its contract to provide command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I) support to …

• Defence Helicopter

  Royal Navy Sea Kings added to Olympic security build up

  2nd May 2012

  The Royal Navy's Sea King Mk7 airborne surveillance and control helicopters are set to play their role in the security operations surrounding this year's London …

• Digital Battlespace

  DARPA goes to market for ViSAR technology

  2nd May 2012

  The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is on the lookout for technology to aid the development of its Video Synthetic Aperture Radar (ViSAR) …

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 ...