• Special Operations

  SOFIC 2018: ThunderDrone update

  26th May 2018

  The US Special Operations Command’s (USSOCOM’s) year-long ThunderDrone experimentation program will wrap up on 20th June 2018, SOFWERX officials have confirmed. Addressing delegates at the …

• Defence Notes

  US troop withdrawal not linked to Korean peace pact

  2nd May 2018

  South Korean President Moon Jae-in has dismissed claims that US troops stationed in the country would have to leave if a peace treaty was signed …

• Special Operations

  SOFIC 2018: General Dynamics pitches new TUV to SOF

  23rd May 2018

  General Dynamics has unveiled its Flyer 72 Tactical Utility Vehicle (TUV), a design it is pitching as a way to help US special forces transport …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  China parcels out deliveries to UAS

  1st June 2018

  Beihang Unmanned Aircraft System Technology is developing a new super-sized UAS for the transportation of cargo and parcels throughout Chinese airspace. The new UAS design …

• Defence Notes

  North Korea threatens to cancel US summit

  16th May 2018

  North Korea threatened on 16 May to cancel the forthcoming summit between leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump if Washington seeks to …

• Defence Helicopter

  Manila anticipates vanilla attack helicopters

  25th May 2018

  Jordan is expected to donate a pair of second-hand Bell AH-1F Cobra attack helicopters to the Philippine Air Force (PAF), according to the Philippine News …

• Training

  ITEC 2018: RAAF receives first F-35 trainers

  9th May 2018

  As part of a multi-million dollar investment in infrastructure and training equipment at Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Williamtown, New South Wales, the RAAF has now …

• Training

  Northrop delivers F-35 EW test environment

  10th May 2018

  Northrop Grumman has delivered an integrated electronic warfare (EW) simulation test environment to the US Navy for F-35 fighter aircraft, the company announced on 7 …

• Naval Warfare

  Russian presence near UK waters increases ‘tenfold’

  24th May 2018

  Despite the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) typically keeping mum on Russian activity near UK territorial waters the secretary of state for defence Gavin Williamson …

• Digital Battlespace

  Sea Giraffe breathes down Philippines neck

  23rd May 2018

  Saab announced on 21 May that it was supplying two Sea Giraffe AMB naval radars to the USN for eventual installation aboard two Gregorio del …

• Training

  ITEC 2018: US agrees FMS training deal with RNLAF

  9th May 2018

  The US State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract to the Dutch Government for $110 million for continued F-16 training for …

• Defence Notes

  Government change likely to impact Malaysian defence procurements

  23rd May 2018

  The discovery by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed’s newly elected government that Malaysia has a MYR1 trillion ($251.7 billion) debt is likely to impact ongoing and …

• Training

  Australia receives F-35A training equipment

  4th May 2018

  The Royal Australian Air Force has received F-35A training equipment for the F-35A Integrated Training Centre. This was the first delivery of Australia’s training equipment …

• Naval Warfare

  Will more ASW capabilities be added to UK naval fleet?

  23rd May 2018

  As the UK invests in ASW capabilities to meet the growing threats in the naval domain, queries from parliament are rising over the reduction in …

• Military Logistics

  Asia-Pacific is perfect testbed for USN’s EFP programme

  16th May 2018

  The USN is using the Pacific region to exploit the capabilities of the Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport (EFP) and to possibly develop a new concept …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Light attack, Trainer

  F-5E/F Adversary Trainer US Navy

  The F-5N is a single seat, dual engine supersonic land based fighter. It is designed to a service life of 9000 flight hours. The aircraft ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | F-16 Replacement [Portugal]

  On 12 April 2024, General João Cartaxo Alves, the Chief of Staff of the Portugese Air Force, revealed that Portugal would replace its fleet of F-16A/B ...

• Data links

  Data links | F-16 Replacement [Portugal]

  On 12 April 2024, General João Cartaxo Alves, the Chief of Staff of the Portugese Air Force, revealed that Portugal would replace its fleet of F-16A/B ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | F-16 Replacement [Portugal]

  On 12 April 2024, General João Cartaxo Alves, the Chief of Staff of the Portugese Air Force, revealed that Portugal would replace its fleet of F-16A/B ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | F-16 Replacement [Portugal]

  On 12 April 2024, General João Cartaxo Alves, the Chief of Staff of the Portugese Air Force, revealed that Portugal would replace its fleet of F-16A/B ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | F-16 Replacement [Portugal]

  On 12 April 2024, General João Cartaxo Alves, the Chief of Staff of the Portugese Air Force, revealed that Portugal would replace its fleet of F-16A/B ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-16 Replacement [Portugal]

  Programme Background At the Portuguese National Defense Conference on April 22, 2025, General João Cartaxo Alves reaffirmed that the F-35A remains the sole viable successor ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  Hawk Mk 165 Advanced Jet Trainer- Saudi Arabia

  The fleet will be used to train Saudi pilots before they transition to the Eurofighter Typhoon and F-15 in service with RSAF.  Under the Saudi-British Defence Cooperation Programme, ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Next Generation Fighter Aircraft (Vietnam)

  Programme Background Requirement The Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) operates an ageing fleet of Su-22 aircraft as well as Su-27s and Su-30s. According to expert commentary, ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) [Japan]

  Programme Background Shephard notes that GCAP's Japanese, British and Italian components are tracked in separate entries. Programme Timeline 2020: The Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency of Japan issued ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-16V [Türkiye]

  Programme Background Requirement Turkish Air Force ordered 100 F-35A aircraft as a partner nation, however, the country was removed from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) [USA]

  Programme 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 ...

• Tiltrotors

  V-22 Osprey (USN)

  Programme Background Requirement According to USN FY2023 Budget Estimate documentation, the V-22 programme provides an aircraft to meet the amphibious and vertical assault needs of ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Presidential Drawdown (21 April 2022) Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, on 21 April 2022, President Biden announced an $800 ...

• Tiltrotors

  V-22 Osprey [Japan]

  Programme Background Procurement Contracts The Japanese government is the first export customer of the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey, having ordered 17 helicopters from the US across ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: air combat simulators

  Air Combat Training

  Boeing has experience in delivering training for fixed-wing air combat platforms including F-15C/E, F-16, F/A-18E/F, EA-18G, F-22 and MV/CV-22.

• Training Services

  Boeing’s training systems and services provide a full range of training activities, including mission planning systems; aircrew and maintenance training devices; training centres; and training ...

• Fighter - air superiority

  F-22A Raptor

  F-22A Raptor is a fifth-generation stealth air superiority fighter with air-to-ground attack capability. It was developed by Lockheed Martin to meet the requirement of the USAF ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  Collective Training

  Boeing has delivered and operates three USAF F-15C Mission Training Centers (MTCs), three F-15E MTCs and three F-16 MTCs. The F-22 platform was added into ...

• Subsystems: hardware

  Flight Simulation Products

  Bugeye Technologies (BT) manufactures simulated-grade flight grips, controls and avionic displays for fixed-wing, rotary-wing and unmanned crafts. BT's full line of products includes replicated control ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  DACTS

  The DRS Air Combat Training System (DACTS) has been delivered to military customers worldwide. Customised versions have supported coalition training for the US government and ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-77

  The AN/APG-77 is a low-probability-of-intercept fire control radar for the F-22 Raptor. It is designed to significantly improve capability in air-to-air combat, allowing the pilot ...

• Air: chaff, flare and decoy systems

  IRCM Flares

  Kilgore develops and manufactures a range of airborne IR decoy flares. These are compatible with most available dispenser systems. Standard flare products manufactured include: MJU-7A/B, ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-81

  AN/APG-81 is operating in the X-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) fire control radar designed by Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems for the F-35 “Lightning” all-weather ...

• EW test systems

  CRIIS

  The Common Range Integrated Instrumentation System (CRIIS) provides time, space and position information (TSPI) as well as systems evaluation data to support testing for a ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-83 SABR

  The AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) is an active electronically scanned array (AESA) fire control radar being developed by Northrop Grumman using its own ...

• Data links

  Multifunction Advanced Data Link

  Multifunction Advanced Data Link (MADL) is a Ku-band data link designed for fifth-generation aircraft. The directional, interflight system is integrated into all F-35 variants, allowing ...

• 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.

• Fixed wing aircraft engines

  F100-PW-229

  The F100 family of engines, selected by 23 air forces globally, power all of the USAF's F-15 Eagles and a substantial proportion of the global ...

• Subsystems: visual

  SpectraView Front Projection Display System

  Designed to support a variety of training requirements, SpectraView systems provide cost-effective, scalable and flexible options for single, tandem and side-by-side seating configurations. Standard and ...