• Training

  Afghan Air Force facing UH-60 training and recruitment headache

  5th February 2019

  A report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has made clear that the country's UH-60 Black Hawk programme is beset by pilot …

• Military Logistics

  Safran opens turbine blade research centre

  8th February 2019

  Safran has opened a new research centre for advanced turbine blades used on airplane and helicopter engines at its plant in Gennevilliers, France, the company …

• Defence Helicopter

  EDA awards medevac contracts

  8th February 2019

  The European Defence Agency (EDA) has awarded multiple framework contracts for the provision of fixed and rotary wing medical evacuation services. The contracts have gone …

• Defence Helicopter

  USAF’s new rescue helicopter hits a snag

  6th February 2019

  The USAF’s future HH-60W CRH has encountered a host of technical glitches in its development phase, causing a long delay in its first flight, according …

• Digital Battlespace

  Airbus to support DARPA’s Blackjack programme

  16th January 2019

  Airbus Defense and Space has received a contract from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop a satellite bus in support of …

• Defence Helicopter

  RCAF CH-146 Griffons to receive upgrades

  30th January 2019

  Bell Helicopter Textron Canada is to undertake design work for the upgrade of the Royal Canadian Air Force’s (RCAF's) CH-146 Griffon helicopters under the Griffon …

• Defence Notes

  IDEX 2019: Sudan adapts to Western allies over Yemen

  14th February 2019

  Trying to get Sudan’s Su-24Ms to work with the rest of the Saudi-led coalition during the Yemen War has led to the Sudanese Air Force …

• Defence Notes

  Indian defence budget to rise… but not by enough

  7th February 2019

  On 1 February, the Indian government announced a FY2019/20 interim defence budget amounting to INR3.019 trillion ($42.7 billion), excluding pensions, the highest ever figure in …

• Defence Notes

  Planes, tanks, subs: the Thai generals' shopping list

  14th February 2019

  Defence spending in Thailand has surged over the last decade, during which the military has seized power twice. The junta-picked National Legislative Assembly has proposed …

• Defence Helicopter

  V-280 Valor achieves 280kt cruise speed

  30th January 2019

  Bell Helicopter’s V-280 Valor tiltrotor achieved a cruise speed of 280kt on 23 January at the company’s Flight Research Center in Arlington, Texas, following a …

• Defence Helicopter

  Kazakhstan to begin Mi-8AMT and Mi-171 local assembly

  23rd January 2019

  Kazakhstan’s fledging aerospace and defence industry has received one of its largest ever deals, foreseeing the local assembly of Russian-made 13t helicopters for military and …

• Training

  ADECS 2019: HATSOFF anticipates more Indian military pilot training

  28th January 2019

  Training both military and civilian helicopter pilots, the Helicopter Academy for Training by Simulation of Flying (HATSOFF) facility in Bangalore is the only one of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Airbus Helicopters VSR700 flies unmanned

  2nd January 2019

  Airbus Helicopters’ VSR700 demonstrator UAS completed a fully unmanned autonomous flight at the military airbase in Istres in the south of France in December. During …

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy to commission DDG 1001

  25th January 2019

  The US Navy is set to commission its second Zumwalt-class destroyer, USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001), at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California, on …

• Defence Helicopter

  Textron to 'roll back' V-280 funding without renewed DoD investment

  24th January 2019

  The prospect of Textron reducing V-280 Valor funding is one certain to happen should the US president's forthcoming budget submission not offer the programme, or its …

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 ...