• Defence Helicopter

  Airbus Helicopters signs two HCare Smart contracts

  10th April 2018

  Airbus Helicopters has signed contracts with the Brazilian armed forces and the Mexican Air Force for its HCare maintenance programmes, the company announced on 5 …

• Defence Helicopter

  Quad A 2018: Raider two slated to fly this summer

  26th April 2018

  Sikorsky's second S-97 Raider — pitched as a lighter attack helicopter for the US military's Future Vertical Lift (FVL) programme — has rolled off the …

• Defence Helicopter

  US approves CH-47F helicopters sale to Spain

  9th April 2018

  The US State Department has made a determination approving a potential foreign military sale of CH-47F helicopters to Spain, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced …

• Digital Battlespace

  Curtiss-Wright to provide mission computers to Thales

  13th April 2018

  Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions has received a contract from Thales UK for its commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) Packaged COTS (PCOTS) mission computers, the company announced on 10 April. …

• Naval Warfare

  Royal Navy formally commissions HMS Forth

  17th April 2018

  The Royal Navy has formally commissioned the first of its next-generation OPVs, HMS Forth, the navy announced on 13 April. HMS Forth is the first …

• Defence Helicopter

  Qatar to receive AH-64E APKWS rockets

  14th April 2018

  In a deal approved by the US State Separtment, Qatar is set to weaponise its Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters with Advanced Precision Kill Weapon …

• Defence Helicopter

  Salt water blamed for multiple AH-64E Apache parts issues

  20th April 2018

  Salt water corrosion issues have forced the US Army to stop accepting deliveries of Boeing's AH-64E Apache attack helicopter. During a 20 April press conference, …

• Defence Helicopter

  DefExpo 2018: Boeing helicopter deliveries on track for India

  12th April 2018

  The first of 22 Boeing AH-64E Apaches for the Indian Air Force (IAF) entered the production line at the company’s Mesa facility in the US …

• Defence Helicopter

  CH-53K flies in Germany

  13th April 2018

  Sikorsky’s CH-53K heavy lift helicopter has flown outside of the US for the first time at Holzdorf Air Base in Germany, the company announced on …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Airbus outlines unmanned strategies

  12th April 2018

  As drones become more commonplace Airbus is continuing to explore the use of unmanned technologies throughout a variety of different applications. During the Commercial UAV …

• Defence Helicopter

  Leonardo’s DAS for UK’s new AH-64E helicopters

  5th April 2018

  Leonardo has received a contract from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to provide a defensive aids suite (DAS) for the British Army’s new fleet …

• Defence Helicopter

  Insight: Latin spirit for helicopter footprints

  4th April 2018

  The South American region is one as rich in opportunities as any other for helicopter manufacturers and while political disruptions can affect defence procurement, civil …

• Defence Helicopter

  Safran avionics systems for US Army Lakotas

  3rd April 2018

  Safran Electronics and Defense will supply avionics systems to Airbus Helicopters for the US Army’s new UH-72A Lakota helicopters, the company announced on 28 March. …

• Defence Helicopter

  Rockwell to support Brazilian helicopter avionics

  6th April 2018

  Rockwell Collins has signed a contract with the Brazilian Army Aviation Command to service avionics equipment installed on its fleet of Fennec and Panther helicopters, …

• Defence Helicopter

  One fatality confirmed in Italian navy helicopter crash

  6th April 2018

  An Italian Navy helicopter crashed in the Mediterranean during a night-time training exercise, killing one, the navy said on 6 April. Andrea Fazio, an experienced …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530F -Kenya

  Crew transition training took place at the MD Helicopters headquarters in Mesa, Arizona, with field service support, armament, and gunnery training scheduled to occur at ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  MD 530G - Malaysia

  Procured for an urgent operational requirement for gunships to support Eastern Sabah Security Command operations, helicopter deliveries had to slip from a planned delivery of ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530G Lebanon

  The Armed MD 530G Scout Attack Helicopter features next-generation all-glass cockpit that includes: two Genesys Aerosystems IDU-680 6” x 9” LCD primary displays, Tek Fusion ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Uncrewed MD 500 Replacement [South Korea]

  Background Uncrewed Replacement of the MD 500 Throughout the 2010s, South Korea appeared interested in replacing its fleet of crewed MD 500 helicopters that were manufactured under licence ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  Project Land 2097 Phase 4 [Australia]

  Programme Background According to the RfI, under Project Land 2097 Phase 4, the selected helicopter must comprise a commercial or military off-the-shelf solution that is ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) First Batch (South Korea)

  Programme Background The LAH is the first time that the South Korean OEM has developed an armed helicopter. The project kicked off in June 2015, ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 505 (South Korea - Army)

  Programme Background Requirement South Korea operates an ageing fleet of Bell UH-1s and MD 500s for training purposes. The country has already replaced a part of ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 505 (South Korea - Navy)

  Programme Background Requirement South Korea operates an ageing fleet of Bell UH-1s and MD 500s for training purposes. The country has already replaced a part of ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Light Armed Helicopter (Second Batch) [South Korea]

  Programme Background The LAH is the first time that the South Korean OEM has developed an armed helicopter. The project kicked off in June 2015, ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton - Germany (Cancelled)

  Programme Background Germany requested to buy four MQ-4C Triton HALE UAVs from Northrop Grumman. On 5 April 2018, the US State Department announced that it ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8, Main battle tanks

  Tracked & Wheeled Light Tank (Philippines)

  Programme Background The decision to split the programme into a wheeled and a tracked element follows the belief of the Philippine Army that this will ...

• 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

  UH-60A [Portugal]

  Programme Background At the end of February 2025, the Portuguese Minister of National Defence said that as part of the Portuguese Army's Support, Protection & ...

• 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 - 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 ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530F Cayuse Warrior

  An evolution of the OH-6 Cayuse light observation helicopter, the MD 530F was initially Federal Aviation Administration-certified in July 1985 as the Model 369FF. It ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530G

  The MD 530G is the newest addition to the MD Helicopters line of light scout attack platforms. It has increased-capacity landing gear and a mission-configurable ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  MDHI Glass Cockpit

  The American aerospace manufacturer MD Helicopters Inc. (MDHI) has designed and developed a glass cockpit specifically for MD 500E AND MD 520N aircraft. It is ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  IDU-680

  The IDU-680 is Genesys Aerosystems’ 3D synthetic vision integrated Electronic Flight Instrument System. The system includes a Highway in the Sky navigation system, geo-referenced hover ...

• Helicopter guns

  FN HMP

  The FN HMP (Heavy Machine Gun Pod) is a self-contained airborne weapon system armed with a 50cal FN M3P heavy machine gun. It is available ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  KUS-VH

  The Korean Air Korean Air Unmanned System-Vertical Helicopter (KUS-VH) is a large, rotary-wing UAV based on the MD 500. The first flight of the platform ...

• Helicopter Armour

  Armor of America (AoA) produces custom armour kits for any rotary-wing aircraft. AoA helicopter armour protects areas such as the cockpit floor and doors, cabin ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  6XX

  Publicly unveiled at Heli-Expo in March 2017, the MD Helicopters 6XX is the next evolution in the MD 500 series and is a redesigned, single-engine ...

• Helicopter engines

  M250-C30

  The M250-C30 and -C30P are the exclusive powerplants for the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger and the MD Helicopters MD 530F and MD 530G. In addition, the AH-6i is ...

• HEMS Completions

  RSG has been providing modification, retrofit, completion services and component overhaul to the air medical industry for over 38 years on aircraft produced by Airbus ...

• HS-16600

  Breeze-Eastern's HS-16600 external electric hoist system is operational on the Leonardo Helicopters AW109 and AW119, Bell Helicopter 206 and 222, and MD 500. It is ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 500

  The MD 500 is a single-engine light helicopter derived from the Hughes OH-6A Cayuse developed for the US Army in the early 1960s and the ...

• EO/IR systems

  LEO-III

  The LEO-III, or LEO-III HD, was an airborne observation system with HD sensors and video outputs. It was a COTS, gyro-stabilised platform containing a multi-sensor HD ...

• Airborne rockets - unguided

  Aculeus MD-36 and MD-432

  The Aculeus MD-36 unguided multi-dart rocket provides 36 darts for the neutralisation of columns of light armoured vehicles. The Aculeus MD-432 provides 432 darts to ...

• Helicopter engines

  M250-C47E

  The C47E is the latest growth variant of the C47B/8 engine. In addition to a hot-and-high Value Improvement Package Kit, the C47E also includes dual-channel ...