• Air Warfare

  Ireland receives second C295 MPA

  18th October 2023

  Ireland now has two Airbus Defence and Space C295 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) which have replaced two CN235-100 MPAs purchased for the Irish Air Corps in 1994.

• Air Warfare

  Teal snags USAF deal for sUAS and sets sights on Ukraine and domestic market

  10th August 2023

  UAV manufacturer Teal Drones believes the market is opening up for its Teal 2 quadcopter sUAS in the US and in Europe as approved status is confirmed for the system in the former and strong interest from the latter, particularly in Ukraine where it expects to begin shipping the Teal 2s this year.

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2023: GDLS introduces a new version of the Stryker armoured vehicle with robotic capabilities

  7th October 2023

  The StrykerQB has a hybrid diesel-electric power pack, has been designed to provide silent movement and watch, and has been developed with exportable electric power.

• Land Warfare

  Saab receives $104.9 million order from US for AT4 and Carl-Gustaf ammunition

  19th September 2023

  Saab has signed an expanded agreement with US DoD for AT4 personal anti-tank systems and Carl-Gustaf ammunition for US Army, US Special Operations Command and USMC and a new order has also been signed valued at $104.9 million with deliveries during 2024-2026.

• Naval Warfare

  NZ navy receives three Littoral Manoeuvre Craft

  25th October 2023

  New Zealand's navy has received three high-speed craft purchased specifically to support mine warfare and reconnaissance teams.

• Training

  Rheinmetall-led next-gen training solution wins EU backing

  19th October 2023

  The FEDERATES consortium will aim to create a distributed synthetic simulation environment, fostering collaboration in a networked digital ecosystem similar to NATO's MSaaS.

• Air Warfare

  Greece kicks off talks to buy Black Hawk helicopters

  11th October 2023

  Greece's request for the Black Hawks is currently in the process of evaluation by the US Defence Cooperation office and the delivery timeline is estimated to be around three years from the finalisation of the contract.

• Naval Warfare

  Is the end in sight for Canada’s painful Joint Support Ship procurement journey?

  1st November 2023

  The launch of the second of two new Joint Support Ships for the Royal Canadian Navy has represented steps forward on a project that has suffered huge delays due to supply chain issues and the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Canada's DND.

• Naval Warfare

  French Navy frigate gap closes as La Fayette-class upgrade programme nears completion

  17th October 2023

  The modernisation programme for three of the French Navy’s five La Fayette-class frigates will ensure the service maintains a minimum force of 15 frigates and destroyers ahead of the introduction of the new new Admiral Ronarc’h-class (FDI) frigates.

• Naval Warfare

  HII awarded contract to build UUVs for US Navy Lionfish programme

  12th October 2023

  HII (Huntington Ingalls Industries) is to supply nine small UUVs (SUUVs) for the US Navy’s Lionfish programme which could lead to acquisition of as many as 200 platforms with a potential value of $347 million.

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2023: Quantum Systems expands UAV family with Twister

  23rd October 2023

  The Twister UAV, which has a flight endurance of 75 minutes and a wingspan of 1.25m, was on display for the first time at AUSA in Washington earlier this month.

• Air Warfare

  Lockheed Martin's Next Generation Interceptor completes preliminary design review

  17th October 2023

  Lockheed Martin's Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) will offer a new, advanced interceptor to protect the US homeland against long-range ballistic missile threats.

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2023: Hanwha K9 Thunder becomes ‘best-selling’ 155mm SP artillery system

  18th October 2023

  Hanwha’s K9 Thunder customers are considering upgrading their equipment to the K9A2 following the South Korean Army’s example.

• Digital Battlespace

  Interoperability: The Vital Ingredient for NATO’s Future Success (Studio)

  10th October 2023

  The lens of multi-domain operations is sharpening, and software-driven communication choices, deeper integration, and innovative technology are increasingly crucial. Companies like L3Harris are enabling a new age of international collaboration by emphasising NATO-standardised interoperability.

• Land Warfare

  IVAS 1.2 receives ‘very positive’ feedback in initial trials, says US Army

  28th September 2023

  Delivered in July, the newest version of the system was tested at Fort Drum (New York).

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Puma 3 AE (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Military Aid - $300 Million On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine to "bolster Urkaine's capacity ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1165 Special Ops HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HHMWV, or Humvee, has been in US service since 1983. The M1165A1B3 is a special operations variant of the platform.  In 2015, the US ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 300 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Presidential Drawdown (16 March 2022 & 13 April 2022) On 16 March 2022, President Biden announced $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine through ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A Joint Strike Fighter - USAF

  According to the US FY2021 budget document, Turkey's removal from the JSF program and transition to the alternate supply chain sources may challenge to achieve ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank [US]

  Programme Background As IAI stated in a 19 January 2023 press release, it had been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract by the Irregular Warfare Technical Support ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A [US Navy]

  Background Previous Purchases The BQM-177A was designed for the USN and has been in service with the USN for many years. Indeed, in August 2022, Shephard reported ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 600 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background $300 Million USAI (1 April 2022) On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine following ...

• Loitering munitions

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  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 million ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Puma LE [Kosovo]

  Background Contract Award On 21 January 2022, the US Department of Defence (DoD) announced that AeroVironment had been awarded an $11.01 million firm-fixed contract for Puma ...

• Loitering munitions

  ALTIUS-600M (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background On 24 February 2023, the US DoD announced that the Biden Administration had released an additional aid package under the Ukraine Security Assistance ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1152A1B2/M1165A1B3 HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HMMWV has been in US service since the 1980s. Despite the introduction of newer platforms, the US DoD continues to utilise the platform ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawk (India)

  Programme Background On 25 February 2020, a letter of acceptance for 24 MH-60Rs, worth approximately $2.12 billion, was signed by India and the US in Delhi. ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS): Switchblade [US]

  Background DoD Contract On 27 August 2024, the US DoD announced that AeroVironment had been awarded a ceiling $990 million hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to provide “an ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Puma 2 AE [Estonia]

  Programme Background The US DoD announced that it had awarded AeroVironment an $8.868 million firm-fixed-price contract to supply an undisclosed number of RQ-20B Puma AE ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-46A (3-6) [Japan]

  On 30 October 2020, the US DoD announced that it awarded a $342 million contract to Boeing for two Japanese KC-46A tanker aircraft. Work will be performed ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Pistols

  M9

  M9 is the US DoD designation for the military-specification 9mm Beretta 92FS, selected in 1985 to replace the 45cal M1911A1 in US service. Sales to ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  Igla/SA-18

  The 9K38 Igla (US DoD designation SA-18, NATO reporting name Grouse ) IR-homing MANPADS was developed by KBM and entered service in 1983 to meet the requirements ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  ScanEagle 3

  Insitu unveiled the ScanEagle 3 at the Xponential exhibition in Denver in May 2018. The platform has twice the payload capacity of its ScanEagle predecessor ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank

  Point Blank Weapon System is a hand-launched electro-optical VTOL-capable loitering munition developed by Isreal Aerospace Industries (IAI). IAI has been awarded a contract by the US ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  BAT-850

  Pathfinder's BAT-850 VSAT is a carbon fibre, tri-band terminal with auto-acquisition capability. Suitable for flyaway (case-based) and vehicle-mounted applications, it is in service with the ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  URC-300

  The URC-300 is a software-defined radio designed for line-of-sight, ground-to-air communications in particular. Introduced in 2020, it adheres to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards as well ...

• Air: aerial targets, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A/i

  The BQM-177A subsonic aerial target (SSAT) was designed for the USN, and the BQM-177i is the export variant. The BQM-177 provides realistic threat emulation for ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Banshee Tactical Radio

  Developed by Fenix Group, the Banshee Tactical Radio (BTR) is a communications system that uses 4G/LTE connectivity to provide secure mesh networking capability on the ...

• Crew-served grenade launchers

  Striker 40/MK47

  General Dynamics is systems integrator for the Striker 40 (MK47 AGL in US service). The complete system comprises the weapon, AN/PWG-1 Lightweight Video Sight and ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  AN/ARC-231 Skyfire

  The AN/ARC-231 Skyfire is an airborne VHF/UHF/LOS and DAMA SATCOM system. This system supports US DoD requirements for airborne, multi-band, multi-mission, secure anti-jam voice, data ...

• Air-to-air missiles

  9M39 Igla-V

  The 9M39 Igla-V (‘needle’) is a Russian IR homing SAM adapted for helicopter use. It is an air-launched version of the Igla MANPADS, which the ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Global Observer

  The AeroVironment Global Observer HALE UAV was a developmental HALE UAV designed for various civil, commercial and government applications.  Development of the platform began in 2007 ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  CLWS

  Developed by Boeing, Compact Laser Weapon System (CLWS or CLaWS) is a medium-range, low-power laser C-UAS system. According to the reports, the CLWS prototype has ...

• Weapon sights for day use

  CompM4/M4s

  The US DoD has bought over one million Aimpoint sights since 1997. The US Army is now fielding the CompM4s as the latest version of ...

• Heavy machine guns

  M2HB

  US Ordnance is one of two US M2HB heavy machine gun manufacturers which has received multi-year contracts to supply weapons to the US DoD. The ...