• Uncrewed Vehicles

  P.1HH Hammerhead prototype completes maiden flight

  25th February 2015

  The Piaggio Aerospace P.1HH Hammerhead Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) has completed its maiden flight, as announced by key programme partner Selex on 24 February. The …

• Defence Notes

  Avalon 2015: USAF confident F-35 will meet targets

  25th February 2015

  The re-baselining of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter programme has been successful and ongoing improvements in areas such as support and …

• Military Logistics

  CACI to support US NSWC weapon systems

  25th February 2015

  CACI International has been awarded a contract for providing weapon systems support to the US Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) division in Dahlgren, Virginia, the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Avalon 2015: IAI suggests new roles for Australian Herons

  25th February 2015

  Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) believes the expanded capabilities of the Heron 1 UAV operated by the Royal Australian Air Force can provide a way for …

• Digital Battlespace

  Avalon 2015: Australian Wedgetail fully operational by mid-year

  25th February 2015

  Full operating capability (FOC) is expected to be declared for the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) Wedgetail E-7A airborne early warning and control aircraft before …

• Land Warfare

  Australia releases RfT for combat reconnaissance vehicles

  25th February 2015

  Australia released its long-awaited request for tender (RfT) on 19 February for 225 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles (CRV) for the Australian Army under Land 400 Phase …

• Defence Helicopter

  IDEX 2015: DCI expands training offer

  25th February 2015

  The recently appointed CEO of the French training services enterprise DCI, Jean-Michel Palagos, has ambitious plans for the business and has set an annual growth …

• Military Logistics

  RuBee system takes part in pilot programme

  25th February 2015

  Lockheed Martin is hopeful that its new weapons maintenance system, developed with Visible Assets, will be expanded into a full programme following a pilot programme …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  RAAF trains aircrew on US Air Force MQ-9 UAS

  25th February 2015

  The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has started training aircrew and support staff on US Air Force (USAF) MQ-9 Reaper UAS operations in the US, …

• Military Logistics

  IDEX 2015 (video): RUBB advances in Middle East

  25th February 2015

  Andrew Know, the sales manager at Rubb Military Buildings, talks to Tim Fish, editor of Military Logistics International at the IDEX 2015 exhibition in Abu …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  IDEX 2015: Aerosonde wins oil and gas work

  25th February 2015

  Textron Systems has revealed that it has at least two customers in the Middle East for its Aerosonde M4.7 UAS, which is being used in …

• Land Warfare

  IDEX 2015: FNSS designing two ATGM vehicles

  25th February 2015

  FNSS has begun conceptual design and technical feasibility work on wheeled and tracked anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) carrier vehicles for the Turkish Army, the company has revealed. …

• Digital Battlespace

  Exelis on-the-move mission systems for US Army

  24th February 2015

  ADS has subcontracted Exelis to provide mission command on-the-move systems to the US military, as announced by Exelis on 23 February. The subcontract was valued …

• Military Logistics

  RAAF to start C-27J Spartan flight training

  24th February 2015

  Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) airborne flight training on the Alenia C-27J Spartan airlift aircraft is set to begin shortly in Texas, US, the Australian …

• Land Warfare

  General Dynamics to continue US Army LT2 work

  24th February 2015

  General Dynamics will continue to manage the US Army's Live Training Transformation (LT2) product line, the company announced on 23 February. A team led by …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-60M Black Hawk [Latvia]

  Programme Background In August 2018, the Latvian government approved the acquisition of four UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters. The UH-60Ms are intended for both military and ...

• Transport

  C-130J [USA]

  Programme Background The C-130J Super Hercules is a four-engine turboprop transport aircraft developed by Lockheed Martin to replace aging C-130 variants. The US and foreign ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A Joint Strike Fighter - USAF

  Background The programme’s early competitive phase included three different airframe designs. Boeing submitted one design, Lockheed Martin submitted another, and McDonnell Douglas submitted a third ...

• Transport

  King Air 360 [Nigeria]

  Programme Background On 7 October 2021, Nigeria’s Budget Office published its proposed budget details. The Nigerian Air Force requested 10.86 billion Nigerian Naira (US$26.4 million) ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  Light Attack/Trainer Aircraft - Ghana

  In 2013, the Chief of Ghana Air Force stated that A-29 is their preferred platform and this position was also submitted to the Government. In ...

• Bomber

  B-21 Raider [USA]

  Programme Background Development The US DoD is developing a new long-range bomber called the B-21 Raider, previously known as LRS-B. At least 100 units are ...

• Trainer

  Trainer Aircraft (1-12) [Vietnam]

  Programme Background After years of operating Russian-built military equipment, Vietnam is more willing to procure US-supplied equipment following the lifting of the arms embargo in ...

• Military UAS - mini

  RemoEye-006A [Bolivia]

  Background Ceremony In June 2013, the Bolivian air force inducted its first two UAVs into service, with the models, FAB 0001 and FAB 0002, being ...

• Long Range Missile Defence Systems: > 90km range

  Barak MX [Thailand]

  Background Thailand is procuring the Barak MX air defence system, which will be operated by the Anti-Aircraft Regiment of the Security Force Command. The system ...

• CUAS - jammers

  Airbase Air Defence Systems CUAS [US]

  Background The US Air Force's Budget Documentation for FY 2027 included $1.529 billion for Air Base Air Defence, part of which was to be used for ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 505 [Jordan]

  Background Requirement The Jordanian Air Force has a requirement for training helicopters that are to be used in the King Hussein Air College. The country currently ...

• Hybrid effector systems

  US Air Force Air Base Defence Missile Defence [US]

  Background The US Air Force's (USAF) Air Base Air Defence Missile Defence (ABAD MD) programme is part of the Air Force Physical Security System and sits ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Tornado Replacement (F-35A) [Germany]

  Background Requirement In March 2020, it emerged that the German government was considering  30 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets to replace 45 nuclear-capable Tornados. The remaining 40 Tornados ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-16V (1-8) [Bulgaria]

  Programme Background Requirement Bulgarian MoD plans to procure 16 new-built fighter aircraft to replace its fleet of 15 Russian-manufactured MiG-29 fighters. Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Block ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-47 Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) [USA]

  Background Requirement Originally conceived as a replacement for the F-22, the PCA was designed to counter various air threats, including integrated air defence systems and ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: EO/IR – Jamming Systems

  AN/AAQ-45

  Leonardo’s AN/AAQ-45 Distributed Aperture Infrared Countermeasures is designed to equip rotorcraft. The system is being installed on Sikorsky HH-60G Pave Hawk medium-lift utility helicopters used ...

• Air: Electronic Attack - Jamming

  J/ALQ-8

  Like Israel, Japan elected to outfit its McDonnell Douglas/Boeing F-15J/DJ combat aircraft with an indigenous self-protection system. This takes the form of Mitsubishi Electric’s J/ALQ-8 ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  FAB-T Force Element Terminal

  The Family of Advanced Beyond Line-of-Sight Terminals - Force Element Terminal (FAB-T FET) is a nuclear-hardened SATCOM solution designed for airborne applications. Produced by Raytheon, ...

• Unguided Medium Calibre Ammunition

  25mm PGU-48/B

  The 25mm PGU-48/B is a medium-calibre armour-penetrating round manufactured by American Rheinmetall. The US Air Force uses the PGU-48/B with its F-35 aircraft.

• Unguided Medium Calibre Ammunition

  25mm PGU-23/U

  The 25mm PGU-23/U is a medium-calibre training round manufactured by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems. The US Air Force utilises it with its AC-130 and ...

• Land: soldier modernisation systems - industry programmes

  Warrior Systems

  General Dynamics Mission Systems is prime contractor and system integrator for the US Army’s Warrior soldier systems, which include Air Warrior, Future Force Warrior, Land Warrior ...

• Air: mission management systems

  TBMCS

  Theater Battle Management Core Systems (TBMCS) is a US joint C2 integrated BMS used to plan and execute air campaigns in theatres of operations worldwide. ...

• Fighter - air superiority

  F-5E/F Tiger II

  The F-5E (single-seat)/F (twin-seat) Tiger II is an air superiority fighter developed by Northrop Grumman based on the original F-5 Freedom Fighter. Production of the ...

• Unguided Medium Calibre Ammunition

  30mm PGU-13B High Explosive Incendiary

  The 30mm 30mm PGU-13B High Explosive Incendiary (HEI) is a medium-calibre munition manufactured by Northrop Grumman. The US Air Force uses the PGU-13B HEI with ...

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  CLS-200

  The CLS-200 is part of the Yates Electrospace Corporation Silent Arrow family. It is a powered cargo-carrying one-use UAV, based on the company's GD-2000 glider.  In ...

• Trainer

  T-6A/B Texan II

  The T-6 Texan II is a single-engine trainer aircraft, which was developed from the Pilatus PC-9 to meet the training requirements of USAF and USN ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-4 Phantom II family

  The F-4 Phantom II is a two-seat multirole fighter developed originally by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) to meet USN interceptor requirements. It soon became a unified ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  EMB-312 Tucano

  The EMB-312 Tucano (Brazilian designation T-27) is a trainer and light attack aircraft developed by Embraer to meet the training requirements of the Brazilian Air ...

• Loitering munitions

  Sureshastra

  The Sureshastra, or Smart Unmanned Munitions System (S-UMS), is a jet-powered, catapult-launched loitering munition manufactured by Veda Aeronautics.  In 2023, the Indian Air Force (IAF) acquired ...