• Defence Helicopter

  Second CH-53K joins test programme

  16th March 2016

  Sikorsky’s second CH-53K King Stallion heavy lift helicopter has joined the flight test programme and completed its first flight, it was announced on 14 March. …

• Military Logistics

  ASV unveils new unmanned C-Worker

  16th March 2016

  UK-based unmanned surface vessel manufacturer ASV has unveiled the latest edition to its C-Worker product range at this year’s Oceanology International in London. Called the …

• Naval Warfare

  Irish Naval Service floats third OPV

  16th March 2016

  The third and last offshore patrol vessel (OPV) built as part of the Irish Naval Service’s ship replacement programme has been floated for the first …

• Land Warfare

  White Paper outlines Australian Army growth

  16th March 2016

  Australia’s Defence White Paper released on 25 February offered insights into the planned development of ‘land forces that have the mobility, firepower, protection and situational …

• Defence Helicopter

  HAL’s LCH prototype fires rockets

  15th March 2016

  A HAL Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) in TD-3 weaponised configuration has successfully fired 70mm rockets in testing, HAL announced on 14 March.  This marks the latest milestone in …

• Military Logistics

  KC-46 refuels Harrier II

  15th March 2016

  US Air Force’s (USAF) Boeing KC-46 Pegasus tanker has successfully refuelled a US Marine Corps (USMC) AV-8B Harrier II in flight, it was announced on …

• Land Warfare

  New USMC firefighting vehicle approaches

  15th March 2016

  The US Marine Corp will get improved aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) capabilities once its new vehicle enters service. Known as the P-19R, the 6x6 …

• Defence Notes

  FADA announces MOCHUELO project

  15th March 2016

  The Andalusian Foundation for Aerospace Development (FADA) has kicked off a new project to apply UAS technologies to agricultural and farm monitoring applications. The MOCHUELO …

• Defence Notes

  Brunei’s defence budget rises

  15th March 2016

  Brunei’s defence budget will grow nearly 5% in 2016-17, as announced by the Brunei Legislative Council last week. The total defence budget amounts to BN$564.7 …

• Defence Helicopter

  British Forces Brunei to get new heli services

  14th March 2016

  The ageing Bell 212 helicopters of British Army Air Corp’s 7 Flight will be replaced by new aircraft under plans to renew its outsourcing arrangement. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Boeing introduces Echo Voyager UUV

  14th March 2016

  Boeing has introduced the UUV Echo Voyager, it announced on 10 March. The 51ft long vehicle can operate autonomously for months at a stretch with …

• Military Logistics

  Saab to support Swedish Gripens

  11th March 2016

  Saab will perform support and maintenance work for Sweden’s Gripen aircraft under an order received from the Swedish Defence Material Administration (FMV), the company announced …

• Training

  UK meets Ukraine training target

  11th March 2016

  The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has already met its target of training 2,000 members of the Ukrainian armed forces in the financial year ending …

• Training

  US, Japan participate in Multi Sail 2016

  11th March 2016

  The US Navy’s Task Force (CTF) 72 and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15 and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) are currently participating in the annual …

• Military Logistics

  HMS Albion approaches refloat

  10th March 2016

  A milestone has been reached in the refurbishment of the British Royal Navy’s HMS Albion amphibious command ship with external hull work now almost complete, …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - mini

  Wolverine / Honeybadger [US]

  Programme Background During the Modern Day Marine (MDM) exhibition, held in Washington between 10-12 May 2022, XTEND announced it would supply hundreds of Wolverine platforms ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Embarked VTOL UAV [South Korea]

  Background VTOL Development In January 2024, South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced that it would commence development of a VTOL-capable rotary-wing UAV to be ...

• Military UAS - micro

  Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) (Tranche 2) / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) [USA]

  Background The Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) programme The RPUAS programme will provide the battalion and below-ground manoeuvre elements within the US Army with an organic, ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Short Range/Short Endurance (SR/SE) [USMC]

  Programme Background Force Design 2030 The USMC Force Design 2030 is a modernisation effort to create a lighter, more agile maritime force. The update to ...

• Loitering munitions

  Harop [Azerbaijan]

  Programme Background According to a December 2020 report by the Centre for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), Azerbaijan acquired an estimated 50 Harop loitering munitions ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  UH-60M Black Hawk [Mexico]

  Programme Background In April 2016, Mexico finalised an order for seven additional UH-60M platforms. At the time of procurement, the Mexican Air Force already had ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-16 Block 52 Pakistan

  Programme Background The 2016 FMS was proposed to the US Congress as a way to help increase Pakistan's ability to conduct counter-insurgency and counterterrorism operations. ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  AH-1Z [Romania]

  The Romanian MoD has a long-standing requirement for new rotary platforms, including troop transport, supply and attack configurations. According to the the Military Strategy document, ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Paraguay VAMTAC ST5

  Programme Background Paraguay's Joint Task Force is in need of new armoured vehicles that can provide sufficient protection against the small arms, mines and IEDs ...

• Military UAS - small

  Aerosonde Mk 4.7 [Qatar]

  Background Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) At DIMDEX 2016, a QAR 54.7 million ($14.97 million) MoU between the Qatar Armed Forces and the US company Textron Systems for ...

• Maritime patrol

  Fixed-Wing Search And Rescue Aircraft Replacement Project- Canada

  Background The fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft replacement project was launched to replace the Canadian CC-115 Buffalo and CC-130H Hercules aircraft.  The initial request for ...

• Loitering munitions

  Organic Precision Fire - Light (OPF-L) (Contracted) [USMC]

  Background Force Design 2030 The USMC Force Design 2030 is a modernisation effort to create a lighter, more agile maritime force. In May 2022, an ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  CH-4 [Jordan]

  Methodology PGO and programme status The CH-4Bs appear to have been delivered in 2016, meaning the programme is complete and has therefore been assigned a ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A [Denmark]

  Programme Background  Denmark joined the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program in 2002 during the System Development and Demonstration phase and has influenced technical elements ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  Tejas LCA - India Follow-On

  According to the HAL's chairman R Madhavan, 'apart from all the capabilities of IOC aircraft, the FOC variant additionally comes with an air-to-air refuelling capability, close-combat ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  BTR-MDM

  The BTR-MDM Rakushka is an amphibious tracked armoured vehicle developed by Kurganmashzavod to meet the Russian Airborne Forces' (VDV) need for a new air-droppable APC. ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MDM-HF

  The MDM-3001, MDM-2201 and MDM-2501 multi-mode HF data modems provide single-tone (serial) HF data communications capability in accordance with the requirements of MIL-STD-188-110A (para 5.3). ...

• Data links

  Link 11 DTS

  The programmable Data Terminal Set (DTS) uses real-time processor architectures and signal processing algorithms. It is designed for controlled network operation in a Link 11 ...

• Data links

  MDM-2X02N

  The MDM-2X02N is a tactical data link modem that combines the functionalities of a Link 11 DTS and Link 22 signal processor controller (SPC) into ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MDM-Q9604

  Collins Aerospace’s MDM-Q9604 high-speed, high-data-rate HF modem is capable of transmitting data over a standard 3KHz single sideband at 9,600b/s or a 6kHz ISB at ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  BMD-4M

  The BMD-4M is based on the BMD-4, which has been in the Russian Army's airborne forces (VDV) service since 2004. It was developed to provide an ...

• Military - USVs

  High-Speed Intercept Boat

  Poly Technologies displayed its High-Speed Intercept Boat at DSA in Malaysia in 2016. 

• MPVs - 4x4

  Bars-6

  Bogdan publicly unveiled the 7t Bars-6 (Panther) 4x4 light APC at IDEX 2015, and in July 2016, the company introduced an upgraded version ready for ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Mini UAV Fixed Wing I

  The Jordan Design and Development Bureau (JODDB) unveiled the hand-launched Mini UAS (also known as Mini UAV Fixed-Wing I) at SOFEX 2016, along with a wider family ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Mysterious Bee

  The Mysterious Bee hybrid, fixed-wing/quadcopter UAV was unveiled at the Zhuhai Airshow 2016. It is designed to operate from ships, small islands, mountainous areas and ...

• Self-propelled mortars

  2S42 Lotos

  The 2S42 Lotos (Lotus) is a self-propelled artillery system that is being developed by Rostec subsidiary TsNIITochMash to replace the Russian VDV airborne forces' and ...

• Land: RWS

  Asgard RCT

  The Asgard RCT (Remote Control Turret) is the unmanned member of the Asgard 127 modular one-person turret family introduced in 2016. It is suitable for ...

• Military - USVs

  SeaFly-01

  The SeaFly-01 USV, developed by Beijing Sifang Automation, was showcased at the 11th Zhuhai Airshow in China in November 2016. It is designed for various ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Phoenix

  The Phoenix UAV is a delta-wing platform designed largely for civilian applications such as policing, border patrol, coast guard, fire-fighting and surveillance, as well as ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  VN2C

  The VN2C 6x6 armoured vehicle was introduced at the Zhuhai Airshow in November 2016. Aimed at the export market, it appears to be an updated version ...