• Defence Notes

  Aero India 2019: Air platforms on display (Insight)

  20th February 2019

  Dark clouds loomed over the 12th edition of Aero India, at the Yelahanka air force in Bengaluru, following the mid-air collision of two Surya Kiran aircraft …

• Defence Notes

  Spain joins France and Germany on new combat fighter

  12th February 2019

  Spain will join a Franco-German project to build a new fighter plane to replace the Eurofighter and Rafale, the defence ministry said on 11 February …

• Military Logistics

  RFA Tidesurge enters service

  25th February 2019

  The Royal Navy’s third Tide-class tanker, Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Tidesurge, has entered the fleet with a dedication service at Greenock’s Ocean Terminal, the navy …

• Defence Helicopter

  NH90 MTT ready for the high seas

  8th February 2019

  Although there are numerous NH90 sub-variants, more than there are customer nations, there are currently two main variants, the Tactical Transport Helicopter (TTH) and NATO …

• Defence Helicopter

  Brazilian Army tests MX-10 camera on Fennec

  28th February 2019

  The Brazilian Army Aviation Command in early February tested the L3 Wescam MX-10 camera installed in a Helibras AS550A2 Fennec (H125M) helicopter. From the Army …

• Digital Battlespace

  European heavyweights Airbus, Altran targeted by cyberattacks

  31st January 2019

  European aerospace and defence group Airbus has launched an inquiry into the origin and targets of a cyberattack detected earlier in January 2019, the same …

• Digital Battlespace

  Raytheon to deliver ARC-231A radios

  19th February 2019

  Raytheon has received a $406 million IDIQ contract from the US Army to deliver its ARC-231A radio systems, the company announced on 14 February. The …

• Defence Helicopter

  GE told to freeze all EMD activity on ITEP contract (Updated)

  22nd February 2019

  The US Army has directed General Electric to indefinitely stop all work associated with its recently awarded $517 million EMD contract issued as part of …

• Naval Warfare

  MBDA unveils SPIMM

  20th February 2019

  MBDA has introduced the Self-Protection Integrated Mistral Module (SPIMM), an all-in-one air defence module designed for to equip all type of ships, the company announced …

• Military Logistics

  US services refine autonomous aerial resupply needs

  27th February 2019

  The US Army and marine corps have announced plans for a three-day industry event during which the two services will exchange data with industry regarding …

• Defence Helicopter

  Eight Mi-8 helicopters for Russian Army CMD

  11th February 2019

  The Russian Army’s aviation brigade stationed in the Chelyabinsk region of the Central Military District (CMD) has received eight new Mi-8 MTV-5 transport combat helicopters, …

• Defence Helicopter

  IDEX 2019: Helicopter issues hamper Jordanian air force

  13th February 2019

  According to the Royal Jordanian Air Force’s (RJAF) Brig Gen Pilot, Adham Belal Asendar, the service’s helicopters do not currently have weapons integrated with surveillance …

• Naval Warfare

  Iran announces 3-day navy drill from Gulf to Indian Ocean

  21st February 2019

  Iran is to launch a three-day annual navy drill from 22 February 2019 in a vast area of the Gulf and the Indian Ocean including …

• Defence Helicopter

  IDEX 2019: Middle Eastern nations strengthen air advantage (video)

  11th February 2019

  The order of 16 F-16 Block 70s aircraft and delivery of the first five MD 530F Cayuse Warrior helicopters in 2018 strengthened the respective air …

• Defence Helicopter

  Aero India 2019: Indian Air Force to receive Chinooks and Apaches soon

  22nd February 2019

  The first four CH-47F Chinooks arrived in India on 10 February 2019 and are expected to be received by the Indian Air Force in March. …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow On

  Programme Background In March 2019, Airbus stated that it expected orders from the US Army for between 12 and 15 UH-72A helicopters. In March 2020, ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M - France

  Programme Background In April 2021, the French government signed a deal for the purchase of eight H225M Airbus helicopters to replace its ageing fleet of SA330 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M [Ireland]

  Programme Background On 30 December 2024 Ireland announced a contract with Airbus for four new H145M helicopters to replace the Air Corps existing fleet of ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  TH-73 Advanced Helicopter Training System - AHTS (TH-57 Replacement)

  Contenders for the competition included the Leonardo single engine TH-119 – a military variant of the AW119Kx – and Bell’s newly upgraded single engine 407GXi. ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145 Helicopter [Honduras]

  Programme Background  The Honduran Government has purchased a total of four H145 Helicopters manufactured by Airbus to develop the armed forces preparedness against natural disasters ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  Maritime Operations Helicopters

  The three maritime operations helicopters will be used for logistics and personnel transport, alongside transportation of PASKAL naval special forces in operations in the area. ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  SW4 Puszczyk Replacement [Poland]

  Programme Background  In 2002, Poland order 47 SW4 training helicopters from Italian manufacturer Leonardo; as of Spring 2025, the Ministry of Defence is looking to ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  NH-90 [Spain]

  Programme Background Along with a range of other air programmes, the Spanish Government announced the nation has set aside 1 billion euros (USD$1.162 billion) to ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Future Aircrew Training Program (Helicopter Procurement) - Canada

  Programme Background The FAcT requires to graduate 120 pilots, 40 combat systems officers and 36 airborne electronic sensor operators per year with 15% fluctuation. Training services ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Bell 412EPI-Indonesia

  Programme Background PTDI is assembling Bell helicopters in its factory in Bandung.  The first Bell 412EPI was delivered to Indonesian Army on 29 December 2020 ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Spain HT-29 Caiman (NH90 TTH) - Army First Batch

  HT-29 Caiman GSPAs (NH90 TTH) will be assembled at Airbus Helicopters’ facility in Albacete and will replace AS332 Super Puma fleet in service. Even though ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  AW101 [Poland]

  According to the media reports, Airbus couldn't provide a competitive offer for the programme due to the offset requirements.  The deliveries were to be completed ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  AH-X [Japan]

  There is no mention of the AH-X in the 2019-2023 Medium Term Defence Plan, so it is possible that the requirement has quietly been postponed. ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M [Spain]

  Programme Background  In May 2025, Spain announced the National Helicopter Plan as part of the country's wider effort to rearm in response to American pressure. ...

• Military helicopters - light/training, Military helicopters - multirole

  H135M [Spain]

  Programme Background Spain announced the National Helicopter Plan in May 2025 culminating in five contracts awarded to Airbus on 18 December 2025, including procurement programmes ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - light/training

  H145

  The light, twin-engine EC145 began as an initiative to increase the cabin size of the BK 117 C1 aircraft, involving Kawasaki of Japan and Airbus ...

• Model 301 Fire Attack

  The Model 301 is a belly tank/refill hose system for Airbus Helicopters AS365-series helicopters.

• Military helicopters - light/training, Military helicopters - multirole

  H135M

  The H135M (formerly known as the EC635 and also designated as H135) is a light utility variant of the EC135 twin-engine, multipurpose 3t helicopter. In ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M

  The H145M (formerly known as the EC645 T2) is the military version of the H145 medium-sized (3.7t) helicopter (covered in a separate entry). It is ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M

  The medium-weight, 11t-class H225M (formerly known as the EC725) is the latest military Super Puma/Cougar family member.  Technical features include a modular design of mechanical ...

• Model 316 Fire Attack

  The Model 316 is a belly tank/refill hose system for Airbus Helicopters H225 and AS332 L-series helicopters.

• AC67 Airbus Helicopters H135 interior

  Bucher has developed the AC67 medical interior for the Airbus Helicopters H135 in cooperation with ADAC Luftrettung.The lightweight, modular design features a floor with integrated ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H215M

  The H215M (formerly the AS532 ALe) is the most recent addition to the Cougar family.  It is a medium-weight (9t-class), twin-engine helicopter, combining the AS532's ...

• Air: mission management systems

  Helionix

  The Helionix digital avionics suite was developed from the need for a more powerful avionics system with greater functions and computing capacity, alongside a user-friendly interface. ...

• Helicopter engines

  Arriel 2+/2D

  Unveiled in 2011, the Arriel 2+ is an upgrade of the Arriel 2 and is intended for single- and twin-engine helicopters. It incorporates a new ...

• Helicopter engines

  LTS101

  The LTS101 was first certified in 1975. Since then, over 2,100 engines have been delivered to customers worldwide, logging over 11 million service hours. The ...

• EO/IR systems

  Viviane

  Viviane is an out-of-production gyro-stabilised night and adverse weather observation system with missile sight.  Manufactured by Safran, it was fitted to French Army Gazelles. It contained a ...

• Air: mission management systems

  APM 2000

  The current generation of autopilots is the APM 2000 family, fitted on major worldwide platforms. The APM 2000 is based on an integrated digital computer. ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H175M

  The Airbus H175M is the military variant of the H175 and works to fill a gap in the H175 helicopter family, as well as offer ...

• H160

  Airbus Helicopters unveiled a full-scale model of the H160 medium twin rotorcraft on 3 March 2015 at Heli-Expo. The utility helicopter, the first to be ...