• Training

  Saab awarded contract for T-7A aft section, while US Air Force tests ejection seat

  29th January 2024

  Saab has secured a contract from Boeing to manufacture vital components for the T-7A Red Hawk trainer jet amid ongoing ejection seat tests and undisclosed delivery timelines.

• Air Warfare

  US Air Force strategic programmes to be affected by budgetary uncertainty

  15th November 2023

  The operation under continuing resolutions can impact the schedule of several US Air Force efforts including the B-21, AMRAAM and C3BM.

• Air Warfare

  Second known test flight of B-21 confirmed by US Air Force

  19th January 2024

  US Air Force awarded the B-21 Engineering and Manufacturing Development contract to Northrop Grumman in 2015. The design was unveiled to the public in February 2016 under the LRS-B programme and has been scheduled to enter service within the next few years.

• Defence Notes

  Industry and procurement are up to the challenge of a manufacturing surge, says US Army acquisition boss

  26th January 2024

  US large vehicle defence programmes will have companies extremely busy towards the end of this decade with XM30, M1E3, M10 Booker and robotic combat vehicle likely to be rolling off production this decade and possibly simultaneously. The question is, can industry and the acquisition model handle the surge?

• Land Warfare

  World Defense Show 2024: More details revealed on Allen-Vanguard Scorpion ECM deal

  6th February 2024

  Allen-Vanguard will supply 68 Scorpion Electronic Counter Measure (ECM) systems to a NATO ally under a deal which will also include support and training.

• Air Warfare

  Dubai Airshow 2023: GA-ASI and Edge forge MQ-9B weapon integration partnership on future UAE drones

  13th November 2023

  The partnership between Edge and General Atomics aims to concentrate on incorporating precision-guided munitions and guided-glide weapon systems onto forthcoming MQ-9Bs, provided that the Gulf Country gains access to the platform.

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2023: US military to progress ‘aggressively’ with the development of C-sUAS solutions

  12th October 2023

  The Pentagon plans to accelerate its development and field efforts as well as improve soldiers’ training to operate the new solutions.

• Air Warfare

  GAO report reveals critical F-35 maintenance challenges impacting US fighter readiness

  3rd October 2023

  The US DoD is facing significant obstacles in achieving its sustainment goals for the fleet of approximately 450 F-35 fighters despite plans to expand the fleet to 2,000 over the next two decades.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Iranian UAV threat leaves Israel’s defence industry searching for answers

  11th March 2024

  Iran has continued to invest heavily in its drone-building capacity, supplying Russia and Iranian proxies throughout the Middle East, leading defence experts in Israel to call for more defensive solutions be developed to deter the threat from UAVs.

• Training

  Babcock wins British Army armoured vehicle training deal

  7th February 2024

  Babcock has signed a contract to provide a range of training including driving, maintenance, gunnery, communications and information systems training to British Army fighting vehicle operators.

• Land Warfare

  Lockheed Martin awarded contract to support rocket system manufacture in Australia

  16th January 2024

  Australia received approval from the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) in 2023 to buy 60 M30A1 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) Alternative Warhead (AW) pods and 40 M31A1 GMLRS Unitary (GMLRS-U) high-explosive (HE) pods.

• Training

  The Netherlands buys immersive Stinger missile trainer

  8th January 2024

  The Advanced Stinger Trainer has been selected to furnish Dutch Stinger missile operators with an advanced training platform, promoting operational proficiency and tactical expertise.

• Air Warfare

  Raytheon awarded $345 million for StormBreaker missile

  5th January 2024

  The StormBreaker winged munition autonomously can detect and classify moving targets in poor visibility situations caused by darkness, bad weather, smoke or obscured environmental conditions.

• Land Warfare

  UAE awards contract to Edge for C-UAS system

  30th January 2024

  Skyshield consists of sensors, 3D radars, EO cameras, direction finders and effectors that have been networked into Edge’s unified C2 system to provide real-time situational awareness, with the ability to automatically detect and engage with drone threats and defeat them using spoofing and jamming solutions, among other key countermeasures.

• Air Warfare

  RAF Typhoon fitted with Leonardo radar designed to enhance capabilities

  17th January 2024

  The ECRS Mk 2 radar set to take the Royal Air Force Typhoon's capabilities beyond traditional radar functions has been fitted onto an aircraft in preparation for flight tests.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Puma 3 AE (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Military Aid - $300 Million On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine to "bolster Urkaine's capacity ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1165 Special Ops HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HHMWV, or Humvee, has been in US service since 1983. The M1165A1B3 is a special operations variant of the platform.  In 2015, the US ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 300 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Presidential Drawdown (16 March 2022 & 13 April 2022) On 16 March 2022, President Biden announced $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine through ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A Joint Strike Fighter - USAF

  According to the US FY2021 budget document, Turkey's removal from the JSF program and transition to the alternate supply chain sources may challenge to achieve ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank [US]

  Programme Background As IAI stated in a 19 January 2023 press release, it had been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract by the Irregular Warfare Technical Support ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A [US Navy]

  Background Previous Purchases The BQM-177A was designed for the USN and has been in service with the USN for many years. Indeed, in August 2022, Shephard reported ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 600 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background $300 Million USAI (1 April 2022) On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine following ...

• Loitering munitions

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Background Presidential Drawdown (21 April 2022) Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, on 21 April 2022, President Biden announced an $800 million ...

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

  Puma LE [Kosovo]

  Background Contract Award On 21 January 2022, the US Department of Defence (DoD) announced that AeroVironment had been awarded an $11.01 million firm-fixed contract for Puma ...

• Loitering munitions

  ALTIUS-600M (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background On 24 February 2023, the US DoD announced that the Biden Administration had released an additional aid package under the Ukraine Security Assistance ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1152A1B2/M1165A1B3 HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HMMWV has been in US service since the 1980s. Despite the introduction of newer platforms, the US DoD continues to utilise the platform ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawk (India)

  Programme Background On 25 February 2020, a letter of acceptance for 24 MH-60Rs, worth approximately $2.12 billion, was signed by India and the US in Delhi. ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS): Switchblade [US]

  Background DoD Contract On 27 August 2024, the US DoD announced that AeroVironment had been awarded a ceiling $990 million hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to provide “an ...

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

  Puma 2 AE [Estonia]

  Programme Background The US DoD announced that it had awarded AeroVironment an $8.868 million firm-fixed-price contract to supply an undisclosed number of RQ-20B Puma AE ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-46A (3-6) [Japan]

  On 30 October 2020, the US DoD announced that it awarded a $342 million contract to Boeing for two Japanese KC-46A tanker aircraft. Work will be performed ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Pistols

  M9

  M9 is the US DoD designation for the military-specification 9mm Beretta 92FS, selected in 1985 to replace the 45cal M1911A1 in US service. Sales to ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  Igla/SA-18

  The 9K38 Igla (US DoD designation SA-18, NATO reporting name Grouse ) IR-homing MANPADS was developed by KBM and entered service in 1983 to meet the requirements ...

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

  ScanEagle 3

  Insitu unveiled the ScanEagle 3 at the Xponential exhibition in Denver in May 2018. The platform has twice the payload capacity of its ScanEagle predecessor ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank

  Point Blank Weapon System is a hand-launched electro-optical VTOL-capable loitering munition developed by Isreal Aerospace Industries (IAI). IAI has been awarded a contract by the US ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  BAT-850

  Pathfinder's BAT-850 VSAT is a carbon fibre, tri-band terminal with auto-acquisition capability. Suitable for flyaway (case-based) and vehicle-mounted applications, it is in service with the ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  URC-300

  The URC-300 is a software-defined radio designed for line-of-sight, ground-to-air communications in particular. Introduced in 2020, it adheres to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards as well ...

• Air: aerial targets, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A/i

  The BQM-177A subsonic aerial target (SSAT) was designed for the USN, and the BQM-177i is the export variant. The BQM-177 provides realistic threat emulation for ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Banshee Tactical Radio

  Developed by Fenix Group, the Banshee Tactical Radio (BTR) is a communications system that uses 4G/LTE connectivity to provide secure mesh networking capability on the ...

• Crew-served grenade launchers

  Striker 40/MK47

  General Dynamics is systems integrator for the Striker 40 (MK47 AGL in US service). The complete system comprises the weapon, AN/PWG-1 Lightweight Video Sight and ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  AN/ARC-231 Skyfire

  The AN/ARC-231 Skyfire is an airborne VHF/UHF/LOS and DAMA SATCOM system. This system supports US DoD requirements for airborne, multi-band, multi-mission, secure anti-jam voice, data ...

• Air-to-air missiles

  9M39 Igla-V

  The 9M39 Igla-V (‘needle’) is a Russian IR homing SAM adapted for helicopter use. It is an air-launched version of the Igla MANPADS, which the ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Global Observer

  The AeroVironment Global Observer HALE UAV was a developmental HALE UAV designed for various civil, commercial and government applications.  Development of the platform began in 2007 ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  CLWS

  Developed by Boeing, Compact Laser Weapon System (CLWS or CLaWS) is a medium-range, low-power laser C-UAS system. According to the reports, the CLWS prototype has ...

• Weapon sights for day use

  CompM4/M4s

  The US DoD has bought over one million Aimpoint sights since 1997. The US Army is now fielding the CompM4s as the latest version of ...

• Heavy machine guns

  M2HB

  US Ordnance is one of two US M2HB heavy machine gun manufacturers which has received multi-year contracts to supply weapons to the US DoD. The ...