• Naval Warfare

  Spirit starts production of RAAF P-8A

  24th November 2015

  Spirit AeroSystems commenced production of the first P-8A aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in October, the company announced on 20 November.  The first …

• Naval Warfare

  SDSR gives Royal Navy OPV boost

  23rd November 2015

  The UK will purchase a further two offshore patrol vessels for the Royal Navy (RN), it has been announced as part of the Strategic Defence …

• Naval Warfare

  RAN’s third AWD build underway

  23rd November 2015

  Construction on the third Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has begun, with the keel for the vessel laid by the …

• Military Logistics

  UK provides equipment aid to Ukraine

  23rd November 2015

  The UK has extended its support to the Ukraine armed forces, with a £1 million gift provision of non-lethal equipment, the UK Ministry of Defence …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Triton UAS starts testing

  20th November 2015

  The MQ-4C Triton UAS has entered operational assessment (OA) with the US Navy as it moves toward its Milestone C review and entry into low-rate initial …

• Training

  RAAF trainers set for upgrade

  20th November 2015

  DiSTI has been awarded a contract from Boeing to upgrade Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F/A-18E maintenance trainers, the company announced on 18 November. The …

• Land Warfare

  New VAB vehicle variant qualifies

  20th November 2015

  A new engineer variant of the VAB (Véhicule de l'avant blindé) Ultima APC for the French Army has passed qualification. This variant called the ‘Génie’ is on schedule …

• Defence Helicopter

  Robinson's R44 Cadet to debut in 2016

  19th November 2015

  Robinson Helicopter has announced that it plans to debut the R44 Cadet, a two-person R44 helicopter, in the first quarter of 2016.  The Cadet, designed …

• Military Logistics

  BAE to maintain DDG 98

  19th November 2015

  BAE Systems has won a maintenance contract for USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98) from the US Navy. The $25.2 million competitively awarded contract was announced …

• Land Warfare

  Australia goes IFV shopping

  19th November 2015

  Australia has issued an RfI for a new tracked infantry carrier for the Australian Defence Force (ADF).  Issued under Project Land 400 Phase 3 for …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Apache and Gray Eagle team up in Korea

  19th November 2015

  The US Army is able to conduct aerial manned-unmanned teaming missions in South Korea, according to an announcement from General Atomics on 18 November. In …

• Land Warfare

  IDF selects Mepro combat sight

  17th November 2015

  Meprolight has been selected to supply its Mepro M5 red dot sight to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the company announced on 17 November. The company …

• Naval Warfare

  Denmark orders more Millennium guns

  17th November 2015

  Rheinmetall has been awarded a follow-up contract from Danish procurement authorities to supply additional 35mm Oerlikon Millennium guns for Royal Danish Navy ships, the company …

• Naval Warfare

  India stands up first P-8I squadron

  17th November 2015

  The Indian Navy (IN) stood up its first P-8I squadron in a ceremony in southern India on 13 November. In attendance, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar …

• Defence Helicopter

  Additional UH-72A Lakotas for US Army

  13th November 2015

  The US Army has exercised contract options worth $65.8 million for 12 additional UH-72A Lakota helicopters and associated mission equipment packages, Airbus Helicopters announced on 12 November. …

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 ...