• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Australian Shadow nears full operational capability

  25th February 2013

  An ‘Australianised’ variant of the Shadow 200 unmanned air system (UAS) should achieve full operating capability by the end of this year. Speaking at the …

• Defence Notes

  AUSA Winter: US Army plans force transition

  25th February 2013

  The US Army plans to reduce its Active Component (AC) from 570,000 to 490,000 personnel by 2017, retain the strength of the Army National Guard …

• Defence Notes

  AUSA Winter: Army outlines potential budget impact on NIE process

  25th February 2013

  Service panelists speaking at this week’s Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Winter Symposium and Exposition in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, outlined potential impacts of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Triton set to make first flight this year

  25th February 2013

  Northrop Grumman’s Triton MQ-4C will fly for the first time before the middle of 2013, and two system development and demonstration (SDD) platforms will likely …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Australian Army chief calls for unmanned technology use reassessment

  25th February 2013

  There is no foreseeable alternative to close combat, and the issue of unmanned platforms in symmetric warfare needs to be addressed according to the Chief …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Elbit Systems announces new Hermes 900 delivery

  25th February 2013

  Elbit Systems has announced that it has delivered a Hermes 900 unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to an unnamed customer in the Americas. The order will …

• Land Warfare

  Navistar Defense receives Afghan vehicle order

  22nd February 2013

  Navistar Defense will retrofit 205 armoured cabs onto Navistar Medium Tactical Vehicles (MTV) designated for service with the Afghan National Security Forces. The company received …

• Land Warfare

  US Army becomes 'army of preparation'

  22nd February 2013

  After 12 years of conducting counter insurgency and stability operations in Afghanistan and Iraq the US Army will shift its focus in the future to …

• Military Logistics

  Dewey Electronics to expand military generator offerings

  22nd February 2013

  Dewey Electronics has announced that it will be expanding its military generator product lines with the acquisition of certain assets, rights of manufacture and intellectual …

• Defence Helicopter

  German CH-53 Mission Tactical Workstation operational debut

  22nd February 2013

  It has emerged that the German air force has recently commenced operations with the Mission Tactical Workstation from ESG Elektroniksystem & Logistik on board its …

• Naval Warfare

  3SDL supports Finnish Navy acceptance tests

  22nd February 2013

  3SDL has provided support to the Finnish Navy during the recent Sea Acceptance Testing onboard the 1,450 ton Minelayer FNS Uusimaa. The work was performed …

• Military Logistics

  A400M undergoes cold weather testing

  21st February 2013

  Airbus Military has announced that the A400M has successfully passed a renewed series of cold weather tests in a production-representative configuration. The testing is an …

• Land Warfare

  DAGR missile launched from JLTV prototype

  21st February 2013

  Lockheed Martin has demonstrated the ability of its DAGR missile to launch from a pedestal launcher mounted on in the bed of a ground vehicle. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MX-25 EO/IR imaging system evaluated by US Army

  21st February 2013

  L-3 Wescam has announced that the MX-25 electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) imaging system has been evaluated by the US Army’s Persistent Threat and Detection System (PTDS) Communications-Electronics …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  SMSS successfully operated via satellite control

  20th February 2013

  Lockheed Martin has successfully demonstrated the ability for the Squad Mission Support System (SMSS) to be operated via satellite at a distance of more than …

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 ...