• Digital Battlespace

  UK awards F-ADAPT contract to Thales

  1st November 2018

  The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded a contract to Thales UK to modernise the British Army and Royal Marines’ very short-range air defence capability. …

• Defence Helicopter

  AW119Kx for Portuguese Air Force

  24th October 2018

  Leonardo’s AW119Kx helicopter has been selected by the Portuguese Ministry of Defence for the Portuguese Air Force, the company announced on 18 October. The company …

• Defence Helicopter

  De-risking phase for Tiger upgrade launched

  1st October 2018

  OCCAR-EA has awarded two contracts to a consortium consisting of Airbus Helicopters, Thales and MBDA for de-risk work for the planned mid-life upgrade of current …

• Naval Warfare

  HMAS Canberra conducts FOCFT for Tigers

  25th October 2018

  The Royal Australian Navy’s landing helicopter dock ship HMAS Canberra has conducted first of class flight trials (FOCFT) for the Tiger ARH helicopter, the navy …

• Digital Battlespace

  Airbus tests stratospheric 4G/5G defence comms

  1st October 2018

  Airbus has successfully tested stratospheric 4G/5G defence applications with a high-altitude balloon demonstration, the company announced on 25 September. Supported by the French and Canadian …

• Defence Helicopter

  Afghan Air Force struggling to operate MD 530 fleet

  26th October 2018

  Afghanistan's air force is still consistently reliant on contractor intervention ‘to perform the majority of maintenance and sustainment activities’ on MD 530 light attack helicopters, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Brazilian Army scouting for Fennec and Panther weapons

  1st November 2018

  The Brazilian Army Aviation is at the selection phase of suppliers to modernise its fleet of AS550 A2 Fennec and AS365 K2 Panther with a …

• Defence Helicopter

  Insight: On safari for a Puma or on the hunt for a Rooivalk?

  26th October 2018

  Defence spending in South Africa has increased by 14% in the last couple of years. Will this growth stabilisation be reflected in the upgrading of …

• Defence Helicopter

  UK requests H-47 Chinooks

  24th October 2018

  The US State Department has made a determination approving a potential foreign military sale of H-47 Chinook Extended Range helicopters to the UK, the Defense …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Airbus conducts MUT test flights

  4th October 2018

  Airbus has carried out a series of manned-unmanned teaming (MUT) test flight campaigns to demonstrate the ability to control unmanned systems from a manned aircraft. …

• Defence Helicopter

  NAVAIR calls for industry's help on CH-53K supply issue

  2nd November 2018

  The US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) intends to issue an industry-wide solicitation to address and overcome supply problems associated with thin wall casting of the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Compensation cap blocking Norwegian NH90 deliveries

  5th November 2018

  The long running delays to delivery of Norwegian Navy NH90 NFH helicopters can be explained by the country’s Defense Materiel Agency having already paid out a …

• Defence Helicopter

  Philippines narrows combat utility helicopter hunt

  3rd October 2018

  During a Senate hearing concerning the 2019 budget for the Department of National Defense (DND), the commanding general of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) Lt …

• Defence Helicopter

  Thailand orders additional H225Ms

  25th September 2018

  Airbus Helicopters has received an additional order from the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) for the supply of four H225M multirole utility helicopters, the company …

• Defence Helicopter

  Power of the purse equals power to platforms

  25th October 2018

  In September, the US Congress passed an $854 billion spending bill that has ramped up military funding and this is likely to increase the finances …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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

  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 - maritime

  Kondor Naval Helicopters (Poland)

  Programme Background In 2018, the Polish MoD announced its requirement to purchase up to eight naval helicopters to replace in-service SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopters. Polish ...

• 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

  H135 (UK)

  Programme BackgroundAirbus Helicopters UK announced on 2 February 2022 that it has won an order to provide five additional H135 twin-engine helicopters for the MoD. The ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Ka-226T-India-Air Force

  An official contract announcement is expected during the Aero India 2021 exhibition in Bangalore, although negotiations have dragged on for more than five years and ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M (Contracted) [Germany]

  Programme Background Previous Usage The German Armed Forces ordered 15 H145M helicopters, with the initial two delivered in December 2015, for the Kommando Spezialkräfte. These ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  Naval Utility Helicopters (India)

  Programme Background The program will witness the formation of a joint venture between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and another local or foreign manufacturer. In June ...

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 ...

• 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 ...

• Model 301 Fire Attack

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

• Model 316 Fire Attack

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

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H175M

  The Airbus H175M is the military variant of the H175, a seven-tonne class aircraft powered by twin PT6C 67E engines. The civilian variants produced by Airbus ...

• 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. ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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. ...

• Air: Defensive Systems - Radar Warning Receivers

  EWR-99

  Dassault is not traditionally associated with electronic warfare subsystems, instead being equated with the manufacture of combat aircraft and business jets. Nonetheless, the company did, ...