• Digital Battlespace

  USAF long-range radar programme moves to next phase

  30th August 2013

  Following the completion of the evaluation and prototype demonstration phase for its new long-range radar programme, the US Air Force (USAF) is preparing for the …

• Defence Helicopter

  FLIR Systems awarded BRITE Star contract

  30th August 2013

  FLIR Systems will supply BRITE Star Block II Systems for the Naval Air Systems Command’s UH-1 programme and the Vertical Takeoff Unmanned Aerial Vehicle programme …

• Digital Battlespace

  US DoD announces shared IT architecture plans

  30th August 2013

  The US Air Force, Army and Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) have agreed new architecture-sharing and modernisation changes that will increase bandwidth and network security, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Global decline of military aircraft market forecast

  30th August 2013

  The production of military aircraft will decline over the next decade due to shrinking defence budgets, according to projections by Forecast International. Around 11,940 military …

• Defence Helicopter

  MAKS 2013: Ekran's DIRCM available for export

  30th August 2013

  The President-S laser directed IR counter measure system for helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft was displayed for the first time at the MAKS airshow near Moscow. …

• Land Warfare

  MAKS 2013: New S-350 air defence system unveiled

  29th August 2013

  Almaz-Antei displayed publicly for the first time its new S-350E Yityaz medium range air defence system at the MAKS 2013 air show near Moscow. If …

• Defence Helicopter

  Kamov, Sagem team for Ka-52 attack helicopter

  29th August 2013

  Sagem and Kamov have announced at the MAKS aviation and space salon that they will work together to develop an enhanced version of the Kamov-52 …

• Military Logistics

  Airbus Military marks A400M programme developments

  29th August 2013

  Recent weeks have seen a number of developments in the Airbus Military A400M airlifter programme, following the first delivery of the A400M Atlas to the …

• Defence Helicopter

  First NFH NH90 for Belgian SAR delivered

  29th August 2013

  The first of four NFH NH90 helicopters to meet the Belgian SAR requirement has arrived at Eurocopter’s Marignane, France facility with Belgian pilots set to …

• Defence Helicopter

  ViaSat to supply Link 16 STTs for US Army Apaches

  28th August 2013

  The US Army has selected ViaSat to supply the Small Tactical Terminal (STT) KOR-24A to satisfy its requirement for an Airborne and Maritime/Fixed Station (AMF) …

• Land Warfare

  AeroVironment wins US Army Switchblade award

  28th August 2013

  AeroVironment has received new orders that will see it supply the Switchblade tactical missile systems, ancillary equipment and support to the US Army. The five …

• Defence Helicopter

  Brazil and Turkey bolster defence ties

  28th August 2013

  Brazil and Turkey have agreed to strengthen defence cooperation through the creation of five workgroups that will enhance and promote bilateral defence projects. The establishment …

• Land Warfare

  Lockheed Martin receives counterfire radar order

  28th August 2013

  Lockheed Martin is to supply additional AN/TPQ-53 (Q-53) long-range counterfire radars to the US Army under a $206 million contract announced on 26 August. The …

• Naval Warfare

  F-35C fighter refueled in-flight by USAF KC-135

  27th August 2013

  Lockheed Martin has reported that an F-35 Lightning II carrier variant (CV) has been refuelled during flight by a US Air Force KC-135 for the …

• Land Warfare

  BAE Systems elects to test HED system for GCV programme

  27th August 2013

  The Hybrid Electric Drive (HED) system in development as part of BAE Systems’ Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) proposal has completed 2,000 miles of testing on …

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 ...