• Digital Battlespace

  ADECS 2019: Japan plans new electronic attack aircraft

  22nd January 2019

  Japan has decided to develop its own EW aircraft to oppose China and Russia, countries that are already reinforcing their own EW capabilities. This goal …

• Training

  New trainers, old problems

  21st January 2019

  Boeing has been awarded a $91.72 million contract for the procurement of new aircrew and maintenance training systems, as well as upgrades and modifications to …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Ainstein launches K-79 imaging radar sensor

  16th January 2019

  Ainstein has launched the K-79 autonomous vehicle imaging radar sensor, which produces high-resolution, detailed point cloud of a vehicle’s surroundings for both moving and stationary …

• Digital Battlespace

  UltiSat to provide network services for US government

  10th January 2019

  UltiSat has received a $23 million, five-year contract to provide secure meshed/managed network services for the US government, the company announced on 9 January.   …

• Land Warfare

  Russian land forces to receive modern vehicles

  7th January 2019

  Russian land forces will receive more than 1,850 vehicles in 2019 along with special equipment, the Russian Ministry of Defence announced on 3 January. The …

• Defence Helicopter

  RUAG to upgrade Swiss transport helicopters

  10th January 2019

  RUAG is to upgrade eight Cougar transport helicopters of the Swiss Air Force, the company announced on 9 January. The Cougar's electronic flight control, navigation …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  InstantEye Robotics launches Mk-3 GEN4-D1 sUAS

  15th January 2019

  InstantEye Robotics is set to begin full rate production of its new InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 small UAS multiple capability system in March 2019, the company …

• Digital Battlespace

  US Army to experiment with MUM-T radio for NGCV

  23rd January 2019

  Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) will be one of the focuses for the US Army’s Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV) programme during 2019 with an experiment for …

• Digital Battlespace

  Harris awarded wideband SATCOM support work

  2nd January 2019

  Harris Corporation received a $218 million follow-on contract from the US Army in December to continue providing mission-essential wideband satellite communications support. Under the Wideband …

• Defence Notes

  French Air Force fighter jet missing in mountains

  9th January 2019

  A search was underway for an Air Force Mirage 2000 fighter and its two pilots who went missing Wednesday in a mountainous region of eastern …

• Naval Warfare

  Surface Navy 2019: CUSV looks to Milestone C and weaponisation

  16th January 2019

  Textron and Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is looking forward to a Milestone C decision in 2019 for the Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle (CUSV), part …

• Defence Notes

  Russia starts production of a new-generation strategic bomber

  17th January 2019

  The first production works on the Russian PAK-DA new-generation strategic bomber programme are set to be given a go-ahead this year. According to the Russian military …

• Naval Warfare

  Mistral missile in new demonstration

  11th January 2019

  MBDA has successfully demonstrated the anti-surface capabilities of the Mistral missile against fast inshore attack craft using a SIMBAD-RC automated naval turret, the company announced …

• Digital Battlespace

  A-50 early warning aircraft upgraded

  4th January 2019

  Rostec and the Beriev Aircraft Company have completed the upgrade of Russia's A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft to the A-50U version, Rostec announced …

• Digital Battlespace

  Russia bolsters its long-range EW capabilities

  18th January 2019

  The Russian MoD has reported the completion of the first deployment phase of a multi-level early warning (EW) radar network.  The four newly-commissioned long-range radar …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Loitering munitions

  Medium-Range Loitering Munition with LEO Satellite Data Link [South Korea]

  Background New Project In April 2025, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) announced a new project titled “Development of Medium-Range ...

• Loitering munitions

  Long Range One-way Platforms [US]

  Solicitation In October 2024, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) released a solicitation for long-range, one-way platforms. The DIU noted recent conflicts highlighted the asymmetric impact of low-cost, ...

• Military UAS - small

  Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF) GUARD [Ireland]

  Background Problem As stated on the project’s website in 2022, Ireland is the “softest target in the EU for smugglers” due to its 3171km of ...

• Military UAS - micro

  Micro UAV [Argentina]

  Background Tender The EA and MoD in April 2021 announced Public Tender 0090/2021 (UOC: 84/135), which saw the General Directorate of Material begin the process of ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  CH-4 (First Batch) [Pakistan]

  Programme Background First Batch According to the Pakistan Exim Trade Info website, five aircraft were delivered to the country on 15 January 2021. According to a ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  BZK-005 [Sudan]

  Methodology PGO and programme status Defence Insight has assigned this programme a PGO of 100% since it is complete. Units required Defence Insight estimates that ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Bayraktar TB2 [Pakistan]

  Programme Background Requirement Following a 2019 skirmish with India, Pakistan placed newfound importance on EW and ISR, primarily due to the significant advantage gained during that ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Seeker 400 (1-6) [UAE]

  Background Long history The UAE has a long history of transactions with Denel Dynamics. The country has been purchasing various Seeker systems from as far ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  CH-4 (Second Batch) [Pakistan]

  Background First Batch According to the Pakistan Exim Trade Info website, five CH-4 aircraft were delivered to the country on 15 January 2021. According to a satellite ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Wing Loong II [Pakistan]

  Background Original Effort On 6 October 2018, the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) announced on social media that it would acquire 48 Wing Loong II UAVs. ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  NH90 - NFH [Italy]

  Background  Programme history The Italian Navy took delivery of its first NH90 NFH helicopter in Full Operational Capability (or Step B) configuration in 2011. The ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-9A Reaper [Spain]

  Programme Background First Contract The US State Department approved a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of MQ-9 Block 5 aircraft and associated parts, equipment, and logistical ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Turkish UCAV [Saudi Arabia]

  Background Desired Procurement Saudi Arabia reportedly began negotiations to procure six Anka UAVs in 2013. It had not been disclosed which Anka variant was requested, ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-60M Black Hawk (Second Contract) [Croatia]

  Programme Background Western Technology With the help of the US, Croatia has attempted to improve its military technology, replacing Soviet equipment, such as the Mi-8/Mi-17. ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  Long-Endurance UAV [US AFRICOM]

  Programme Background Ageing MQ-9A Reapers In November 2022, Shephard reported that GA-ASI would continue supporting contractor SMX with its MQ-9A after winning a $2.3 billion task ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Space: radar systems

  RISAT-1

  Radar Satellite-1 (RISAT-1) is a microwave remote-sensing satellite carrying an SAR payload operating in C band (5.35GHz), which enables imaging of surface features during both ...

• Naval: Radio and SATCOM

  OceanTRx 4MIL

  The OceanTRx 4MIL is a ruggedised maritime SATCOM solution featuring simultaneous multi-band communication and advanced antenna management capabilities.  It was introduced at the Euronaval 2022 ...

• Major networking projects

  Skynet 6 SATCOM

  Skynet 6 is designed to replace Skynet 5. The PFI contract for Skynet 5,  held by Paradigm Secure Communications and Airbus DS, ends in 2022. As ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Osprey u8 HGL

  Launched in 2023, Kymeta Osprey u8 HGL is a hybrid Geostationary/Low-Earth Orbit terminal that provides satellite communications on the move. Notably, it can be mounted ...

• Naval: Radio and SATCOM, UAS: communication systems

  Multi-Purpose Terminal (MPT)

  Orbit's Multi-Purpose Terminal (MPT) is a family of stabilised VSAT systems suitable for installation on smaller vessels and airborne platforms including uncrewed vehicles. 

• Military Satellites - ISR

  Radarsat-2

  Owned and operated by MDA, Radarsat-2 was launched in late 2007 as a follow-on radar satellite to Canada’s Radarsat-1. The satellite's resolution ranges from a ...

• Naval: Radio and SATCOM

  SURFSAT-L

  Produced by Thales, SURFSAT-L is a SATCOM terminal designed for medium to large surface vessels. According to the manufacturer, it is designed to achieve a ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MONDO Satellite Terminal

  The Multi Orbit Network, Dual Operation (MONDO) Satellite Terminal is a developmental SATCOM solution that provides continuous communication links on GEO, LEO and MEO networks. ...

• Military Satellites - ISR

  Helios

  The Helios system consists of the Helios 2A and Helios 2B satellites, the latter of which was launched in December 2009, five years after Helios ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Multi-Orbit Tactical Terminal

  Intelsat Multi-Orbit Tactical Terminal (MOTT) is a ruggedised terminal with a low-profile design. The vehicle-mountable terminal features an electronically steered array antenna, edge computing capabilities ...

• Data links

  GSNC

  Global Secure Network Connection (GSNC) provides a global data communications solution for military aircraft, including bomber, refuelling and transport aircraft. The GSNC system uses Iridium ...

• Space: radar systems

  ESA Sentinel-1

  Sentinel-1 is a planned constellation of four satellites with two already in orbit and two on order. They carry a payload of a C-band SAR ...

• Space: radar systems

  NISAR

  The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) is a joint programme between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to build and launch an observation ...

• Space: radar systems

  TerraSAR-X and ​TanDEM-X

  TerraSAR-X and the more advanced TanDEM-X (TerraSAR-X add-on for digital elevation measurement) are designed to operate closely together to generate an accurate 3D image of ...

• Military - USVs

  USV-12

  The USV-12 is an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) developed by HAVELSAN and VN Maritime Technologies. The modular platform is designed for defence, maritime security, and search ...