• Digital Battlespace

  BACN demonstrated during US Army NIE

  24th February 2012

  Northrop Grumman has announced that the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) has been demonstrated during the US Army's Network Integration Evaluation (NIE) 12.1 at White …

• Defence Helicopter

  APKWS heading for Afghanistan

  24th February 2012

  The US Navy has completed operational testing of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) and the weapon will soon be deployed with US Marine …

• Defence Helicopter

  Wildcat completes shipboard trials

  24th February 2012

  The UK’s AgustaWestland Wildcat has completed shipboard trials on the HMS Iron Duke. One of the development aircraft, ZZ402, was subjected to 20 days of …

• Military Logistics

  Japan requests KC-130R support

  24th February 2012

  The Japanese government has made a request for the Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of $170 million worth of support for its KC-130R aircraft. The Defense …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Marine Corps retires CH-53D

  24th February 2012

  The US Marine Corps has retired the CH-53D Sea Stallion after 40 years of service in a 'sunset ceremony' held on 10 February at Pearl …

• Defence Helicopter

  AUSA 2012: Boeing outlines CH-47F second multiyear enhancements

  24th February 2012

  Boeing executives used AUSA Winter 2012 to provide an update on current production numbers for the CH-47F as well as recent activities surrounding the pending …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUSA 2012: US Army fields Minotaur robotic mine clearance system

  24th February 2012

  The US Army Rapid Equipping Force (REF) used AUSA Winter 2012 to spotlight its exploration of several unmanned vehicle designs. One of the systems highlighted …

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2012: US Army mulls force structure changes

  24th February 2012

  The US Army is studying potential changes to the structure and composition of its brigade combat teams (BCTs). Although still pre-decisional, a glimpse at some …

• Digital Battlespace

  AUSA 2012: DRS unveils new handheld device

  24th February 2012

  DRS Technologies used this week’s 2012 Association of the US Army (AUSA) Winter Symposium and Exhibition in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to unveil its latest handheld …

• Military Logistics

  AUSA 2012: Oshkosh spotlights potential FMTV recap design

  24th February 2012

  Reflective of the US Army’s shift from a vehicle procurement focus to the planning of potential recapitalisation of existing fleets, Oshkosh Defense used AUSA Winter …

• Military Logistics

  Boeing to support Korea F-15Ks

  23rd February 2012

  Boeing has announced that it has received a Performance Based Logistics (PBL) contract from the Republic of Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) to ensure …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Army receives first UTA

  23rd February 2012

  The Longbow Limited Liability Company has announced that it has delivered the first production Longbow UAS Tactical Common Data Link Assembly (UTA) for the Apache …

• Digital Battlespace

  AUSA 2012: First NIE 12.1 Procurement Targets Single Channel SRW Radios

  23rd February 2012

  In what appears to be the first procurement activity emerging from the US Army’s recent Network Integration Evaluation (NIE), the service has just released a …

• Naval Warfare

  Royal Navy to receive four new tankers

  23rd February 2012

  The Royal Navy (RN) is to receive a new generation of 37,000-tonne tankers to maintain its ability to refuel at sea and will provide fuel …

• Digital Battlespace

  AUSA 2012: US Army anxiously awaits finalisation of network technology baseline

  23rd February 2012

  With multiple iterations of its Network Integration Evaluation (NIE) events coming on the heels of several years of Future Combat Systems (FCS) and post-FCS system …

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 ...