• Air Warfare

  UK MoD and Hypersonix commit to hypersonic missile deal

  16th July 2024

  Australia’s Hypersonix Launch Systems has signed a deal with the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) to help the UK develop hypersonic missiles for the Hypersonic Technologies and Capability Development Framework (HTCDF) initiative.

• Naval Warfare

  How bad management could put the US Navy’s cruiser fleet far behind Chinese capabilities

  27th December 2024

  While China has been rapidly advancing with the development of the Type 055 class, the US Navy has been struggling to progress with the modernisation of its cruiser fleet.

• Naval Warfare

  Horizon-class vessels complete critical design review in mid-life upgrade

  8th April 2025

  The critical design review puts the vessels on course to be fully upgraded by the end of 2030.

• Land Warfare

  QinetiQ awarded contract for further work on lasers, future systems and energy weapons

  6th May 2025

  Notable projects under the Weapons Sector Research Framework (WSRF) contract include the British Army determining the impact of a vehicle-mounted laser weapon on drones and testing a vehicle-mounted Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon (RFDEW).

• Air Warfare

  US Navy to explore integration of LRASMs on F-15E and F-15EX aircraft

  13th January 2025

  The contract opportunity, spearheaded by Naval Air Systems Command, intends to integrate and test the AGM-158C missile on the aircraft platform.

• Naval Warfare

  Russian vessels exercise in English Channel and off Irish coast

  15th November 2024

  One of the vessels present in both cases was armed with hypersonic cruise missiles.

• Land Warfare

  Long-range strike: US announces European hypersonic missile deployment

  8th August 2024

  The US plans to deploy a suite of long-range precision strike missiles, including developmental hypersonics, to counter the advanced precision strike systems of Russia and China. It will form part of the US Army’s Multi Domain Task Force (MDTF) to enhance European long-range fires capabilities and include SM-6 air defence, Tomahawk cruise missiles and HIMARS batteries.

• Air Warfare

  US Army and US Navy test common hypersonic missile in Hawaii

  2nd July 2024

  Data collected from the trial will enable the services to advance with the Conventional Prompt Strike and the Long Range Hypersonic Weapon All Up Round/Dark Eagle programmes.

• Naval Warfare

  North Korea claims to have its first nuclear submarine

  17th March 2025

  If its claims are true, the submarine could have a significant impact on other navies in the region and potentially on US foreign policy.

• Air Warfare

  Updated US Air Force doctrine emphasises the need for multi-domain capabilities

  28th January 2025

  Modifications in the US Air Force (USAF) doctrine aim to prepare the service for tomorrow’s warfare.

• Land Warfare

  Lockheed Martin awarded $756 million for long-range hypersonic weapon

  20th May 2024

  Lockheed Martin delivered equipment for the first Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LTHW) battery, referred to as Dark Eagle, to US soldiers in 2021. The system has been designed to deliver additional capability for the nation’s ground-based hypersonic weapon system.

• Digital Battlespace

  China turns to US-made AI chips to boost hypersonic weapon performance

  17th May 2024

  Chinese researchers have been using a US-designed AI semiconductor chip to enhance the performance of a hypersonic weapon’s scramjet engine, significantly improving computational tasks and suggesting potential integration into future missile systems.

• Land Warfare

  Romania acquires additional Patriot air defence systems

  7th January 2025

  The third Patriot order from the country comprised radars, control stations and missiles.

• Air Warfare

  OCCAR contracts MBDA for hypersonic interceptor phase

  15th May 2024

  The objective of HYDIS² will be to study various interceptor concepts and bring to maturity the associated critical technologies to deliver the counter-hypersonic and anti-ballistic interception solutions.

• Naval Warfare

  SEA teams up with Terma for international countermeasures sales

  7th November 2024

  International teaming has bought trainable anti-electronic warfare technology to a global market.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Destroyers

  Future Destroyers - ASEV (1-2) [Japan]

  Programme Background Requirements Following the Maya-class destroyers, the JMSDF will not just maintain the destroyer units they operate already but will receive two new destroyer platforms. ...

• Destroyers

  Type 83 Future Air Defence System (FADS) [UK]

  Programme Background Requirements The Daring-class (Type 45) consists of six ships, although the original plan was to have 12 destroyers. This was cut to eight in ...

• Frigates

  De Zeven Provinciën Class Replacement/LC Frigates [Netherlands]

  Programme Background Replacements The De Zeven Provinciën-class air defence and command platforms, which are in service with the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN), are expected to be ...

• Frigates

  F124 Frigate Replacement Programme (F127) [Germany]

  Programme Background Requirements The German Navy gave Shephard an update on the programme in October 2021. Germany expects to introduce the next-generation F127 frigate into ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Anti-ship missiles

  Brahmos II

  The BrahMos-II is the hypersonic version of the BrahMos cruise missile family currently under joint development by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia's ...

• Anti-ship missiles, Surface-to-surface missiles

  3M22 Zircon

  The 3M22 Zircon, developed by Russia, is a hypersonic cruise missile representing a significant technological milestone in missile design and capability. According to the information ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  SkySonic

  The SkySonic is an advanced hypersonic missile interceptor developed by Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. Unveiled in June 2023, it is designed to counter the ...

• Sea: naval surveillance radar

  Sea Giraffe 4A Fixed Face (FF)

  The Sea Giraffe 4A FF (Fixed Face) is the fixed panel radar version of the Sea Giraffe 4A rotating radar. The system is produced by ...

• Surface-to-air missiles, Surface-to-surface missiles

  SM-6 Block IB

  The SM-6 Block IB is an advanced iteration of the Standard Missile series, designed to enhance US Navy missile defence capabilities. Slated to be operational ...

• Air-to-surface missiles

  Mako

  Mako is an air-launched hypersonic missile developed by Lockheed Martin in collaboration with CoAspire. The missile was unveiled to the public for the first time ...

• Data links

  P1350

  P1350 are airborne-qualified IP data links that can operate at hypersonic speeds. Produced by BERTEN DSP, it provides ruggedised, low-SWaP tactical communications in electronic warfare environments. 

• Data links

  P4700

  The P4700 is an airborne-qualified IP data link produced by BERTEN. Suitable for hypersonic and high-attitude applications, it can be integrated into various platforms, including ...

• Data links

  P6000

  BERTEN P6000 are defence-grade IP data links that provide a light, compact, robust, and affordable solution for airborne, maritime, and ground communications.

• Surface-to-air missiles

  Medium-range Surface-to-Air Missile Block III (M-SAM III)

  The Surface-to-Air Missile Block III (M-SAM Block III) is an advanced iteration of South Korea's medium-range air defence system. It is designed to enhance interception ...

• UAS: Integrated systems - uncrewed

  NavStorm-M

  BAE Systems' NavStorm-M is a gun-hardened, integrated anti-jamming and Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver for artillery rounds, bombs, missiles, and uncrewed systems. It was revealed ...

• Sea: naval surveillance radar

  SPY-6(V)4

  The SPY-6(V)4 Air and Missile Defence Radar is a surveillance radar manufactured by Raytheon. It is designed to defend against ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles, ...

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

  MD-22

  The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) unveiled the near-space hypersonic technology testbed MD-22 at the Zhuhai Airshow in 2022. Capable of speeds of Mach 7, the ...

• Sea: naval surveillance radar

  SPY-6(V)1

  The SPY-6(V)1 is a naval surveillance radar manufactured by Raytheon. The system is designed to simultaneously defend against ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles, cruise missiles, anti-surface ...

• Destroyers

  ASEV Destroyers

  Japan is set to procure two new destroyers instead of the Aegis Ashore system. The ships, which will have superior capacities than the existing Aegis ...