• Air Warfare

  UK NMH programme will not see helicopters delivered to British Armed Forces until 2027

  1st March 2024

  Airbus, Leonardo and Lockheed Martin have progressed through to the Invitation to Negotiate phase of the New Medium Helicopter competition, but the initial goal of introducing new helicopters by 2025 remained unattainable.

• Land Warfare

  US Army explores sending ground robots underwater for logistics supply

  2nd January 2024

  The US Army is conducting research with commercially available solutions to assess their performance carrying diverse types of payloads.

• Defence Notes

  Boom time has arrived for South Korean defence exports (Opinion)

  9th October 2023

  The Asian country to make the most spectacular and stellar success in terms of arms exports is none other than South Korea, a nation of 51.7 million citizens.

• Land Warfare

  Sweden signs with Saab for MSHORAD

  18th January 2024

  The Mobile Short-Range Air Defence (MSHORAD) solution, which was unveiled at DSEI 2017 and comprises the Giraffe 1X, C2 and RBS 70 NG Remote Weapon System (RWS), was developed by Saab to meet the requirement of moving units to identify and counter air threats.

• Land Warfare

  BAE delivers first full-rate production amphibious C2 vehicle

  15th January 2024

  The Amphibious Combat Vehicle Command and Control (ACV-C) will provide the US Marine Corps with a mobile command centre to enable situational awareness and operations planning in the battlespace.

• Naval Warfare

  Europe plans progress on semi-autonomous modular naval vessel

  18th January 2024

  The pan-European project plans to develop a a new vessel architecture, create and test the physical prototype of the vessel by the end of 2027, and develop a data-centric autonomous ship architecture.

• Air Warfare

  Will air forces in the Middle East look to new sources for advanced equipment?

  29th December 2023

  Amid a tense strategic situation and the absence of advanced indigenous products, Gulf Cooperation Council states have come to be regarded as a priority export destination for most new air, land or sea systems.

• Air Warfare

  Canada commits $1.7 billion to CH-146 helicopter support

  18th January 2024

  The Royal Canadian Air Force has been operating 82 CH-146 Griffon helicopters out of 11 locations across Canada. In May 2022, C$800 million was awarded for the service life extension of the fleet which will keep the aircraft in service until at least the mid-2030s.

• Land Warfare

  Israel-Hamas War: Israel’s fleet of armoured vehicles set to get their metal tested

  20th October 2023

  Israel appears to be set for a ground war in northern Gaza in what the Israeli government argues is an effort to destroy the capability of Hamas to attack Israel. It is an environment the IDF has fought in before and the army’s vehicles will likely have a key role.

• Air Warfare

  Ukraine fields 5,000 homegrown drones amid Iran's debut of advanced Shahed-238 UAV

  24th November 2023

  Amid escalating tensions and technological advancements in drone warfare, Ukraine has reinforced its front lines with a delivery of 5,000 indigenous drones, paralleled by Iran's revelation of the new jet-powered Shahed-238.

• Air Warfare

  US to boost Iraqi forces and Peshmerga air defence against Iran-backed threats

  19th December 2023

  In response to persistent missile and drone attacks predominantly carried out by Iran and its allied militias, the US has embarked on a strategic initiative to bolster Iraqi forces' air defence capabilities.

• Land Warfare

  Polish forces to get new vehicles and more munitions under $370 million contracts

  12th October 2023

  Poland has signed four major contracts more than $349 million with Polish Armaments Group to supply bridging vehicles, 120mm high-explosive mortar ammunition and Jelcz 8x8 wheeled vehicles and with Rosoma for six command vehicles for the Polish Army.

• Land Warfare

  UK DragonFire laser weapon completes successful test

  19th January 2024

  DragonFire, a new laser weapon system built for the UK MoD, was first unveiled at DSEI 2017 in London during its design phase. For the development work, MBDA has grouped expertise from Leonardo, QinetiQ, MBDA, Arke, BAE Systems, Marshall and GKN.

• Naval Warfare

  BAE offers Australia guided missile variant of Hunter-class frigate

  7th November 2023

  The Australian Defence Strategic Review has called for a mix of Tier 1 and Tier 2 surface combatants amid speculation that the SEA 5000 Hunter-class frigate project would be cut back to pay for a potential new class of corvette – but BAE has returned fire with a new offering that could change Australian decision-making.

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2023: Scorpion 81mm mortar comes to USA

  11th October 2023

  Spain’s NTGS has teamed with the US company Global Military Products (GMP) to market their mortar system to the US and other potential customers.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Land 400 Phase 3 (Logistics, Ammunition Carrier and Mortar Carrier Variants) [Australia]

  Programme Background The Australian DoD released the initial RfI for the Land 400 Phase 3 programme in November 2015. Following consultations with local industry, the ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Land 400 Phase 3 (Amphibious Vehicles) [Australia]

  Programme Background The Australian DoD released the initial RfI for the Land 400 Phase 3 programme in November 2015. Following consultations with local industry, the ...

• Main battle tanks

  M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams [Poland]

  Background Requirement Since the early 2010s, Poland has wanted to upgrade its Soviet-era tank fleet due to modernisation requirements, the need to increase interoperability with NATO ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - micro

  Drone40 (Ukraine Aid) [Australia]

  Programme Background In August 2022, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), a think tank, held a podcast with Ukraine's ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, in which ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  Littoral Manoeuvre Vessel - Medium (Project Land 8710 Phase 1A) [Australia]

  Background Requirements Australia has set out requirements for a fleet of up to 18 Littoral Manoeuvre Vessels - Medium (LMV-M) with the release of a ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Land 400 Phase 2 - Boxer CRV [Australia]

  Programme Background History The Land 400 Phase 2 programme will procure a replacement for the ASLAV, a derivative of the General Dynamics Land Systems Light Armoured Vehicle ...

• Main battle tanks

  Viatura Blindada de Combate-Carro de Combate (VBC-CC) [Brazil]

  Programme Background Several key technical requirements have been outlined by the Brazilian MoD. Among the most important are that the platform should weigh less than ...

• Main battle tanks

  Leopard 2A4 [Czech Republic]

  Background  The Czech Republic currently operates a small fleet of T-72s, which, while undergoing upgrades and life extension programmes, are increasingly obsolete. In October 2022, ...

• Submarines: nuclear/attack

  Second Hand SSNs [Australia]

  Programme background Timeline In September 2021, it was announced in a trilateral announcement between Australia, the US and the UK that Australia, in a shock ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Chios class LST replacement [Greece]

  Background Requirements The Hellenic Navy’s Chios-class tank landing ship platforms have been in service for almost 30 years. Shephard estimates they will start reaching their out-of-service date (OSD) ...

• Self-propelled rocket launchers

  HIMARS (Batch 2) [Australia]

  Programme background Prior to selecting HIMARS in January 2023, Australia did not operate an MLRS system. However, the effectiveness of Ukrainian HIMARS convinced the Australian government ...

• Medium UGVs

  Mission Master (RPV Sprial 2) [UK]

  Background First announced in April 2017 and referred to in early MOD documents as the ‘last mile resupply’ initiative, the British Army is reportedly evaluating ...

• Military - USVs

  Bluebottle USV (16-55) [Australia]

  Programme Background Timeline The RAN purchased a number of the 6.8m-long Bluebottles, including five under an A$4.9 million ($3.3 million) contract signed in November 2022. ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Project Land 400 Phase 3 [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement: 2015 RfI The Land 400 Phase 3 programme will procure a new tracked IFV to replace the Australian Army's legacy fleet of ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Project Air 7003 [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement The Royal Australian Air Force has been without a UAS capability since the Heron was withdrawn in mid-2017. According to Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  Carl-Gustaf M3

  The Carl-Gustaf M3 is the third generation of the 84mm shoulder-fired recoilless antitank gun, first fielded by the Swedish Army in 1946. Since then, it ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  120mm KE DM63 / DM53 A1 Tank Ammunition

  The 120mm kinetic energy tank ammunition is manufactured by Rheinmetall. There are several variations of the ammunition, including the DM63, which can be fired from ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  120MM HEAT-TP F1A

  Franco-German KNDS-Nexter produce the 120mm High-Explosive Anti-Tank Training-Purpose F1A (HEAT-TP F1A) round to enable reduced-cost training for Main Battle Tank crews. 

• Main battle tanks

  M1/M1A1 Abrams

  The 105mm-armed M1 Abrams tracked MBT was introduced into US Army service in 1980 as a replacement for the 105mm-armed M60 MBT. In April 1991, ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  120mm PELE Tank Ammunition

  The 120mm Penetrator with Enhanced Lateral Effect (PELE) tank ammunition is an inert round produced by Rheinmetall. It is suitable for use against semi-hard targets ...

• Light mortars

  60mm Mortar Ammunition

  US-based LD Systems' 60mm Mortar ammunition fulfils the NATO standard for lightweight mortar ammunition.

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  120mm L55A1

  The 120mm L55A1 is a smoothbore high-pressure gun based on the L55 tank gun. The L55A1 has been qualified and in service since 2019. It ...

• Naval: RF/IR/acoustic decoys

  Nulka

  The Nulka is an active anti-ship missile decoy originally conceived in Australia, and developed under a joint Australian-US programme. BAE Systems Australia is prime contractor, while ...

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  120mm L55 Tank Gun

  The 120mm L55 is a smoothbore tank gun produced by Rheinmetall. It is designed for use on the Leopard main battle tank, to which it ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  M1147 Advanced Multi-Purpose (AMP)

  The M1147 Advanced Multi-Purpose (AMP) is a 120mm tank round developed by Northrop Grumman Defence Systems. Various customers, including Bahrain, Israel, and the US, use the tank ...

• Main battle tanks

  M1A2 SEPv3

  The M1A2 System Enhancement Package 3 (M1A2 SEPv3, also known as M1A2C) is the latest production-standard variant of the Abrams MBT. Designed primarily to address ...

• Land: RWS

  R400 Slinger

  The R400 Slinger is a counter-uncrewed aerial system (C-UAS) remote weapon system (RWS) being developed in Australia. The development is a response to growing international ...

• Unguided Medium Calibre Ammunition

  Next Generation Combat Vehicle Ammunition

  The Next Generation Combat Vehicle Ammunition (NGVA) is a family of ammunition being developed by the US Army's Armaments Center and manufactured by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems ...

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  CVTESS

  Saab's Combat Vehicle Tactical Engagement Simulation System (CVTESS) is a laser-based simulator which supports every version of the Abrams Main Battle Tank and the Bradley ...

• Submarines: nuclear/attack

  SSN AUKUS

  The SSN-AUKUS will be the submarine design resulting from the AUKUS trilateral pact between Australia, the US and the UK. Expected to incorporate technology from ...