• Naval Warfare

  IMDEX 2023: Trio of naval programmes bolster Singaporean naval capabilities

  2nd May 2023

  The Singaporean Navy will be bolstered over the next decade with programmes for three new classes of vessels, including multi-role combat vessels, multi-mission ships and new submarines.

• Air Warfare

  Poland to arm AW149 helicopters with Hellfire missiles

  21st March 2023

  The 800 Hellfire missiles requested by Poland via a US Foreign Military Sale will equip the country's AW149 helicopter fleet, with a follow-on request likely to arm Apache helicopters and potentially other platforms.

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy solicits Raytheon and Lockheed for carrier-suitable hypersonic weapon

  29th March 2023

  The USN has awarded two contracts to Raytheon Missiles and Defence and Lockheed Martin for initial development of a carrier-suitable long-range, high-speed weapon known as Hypersonic Air Launched Offensive Anti-Surface (HALO).

• Air Warfare

  Boeing kicks off MH-139A Grey Wolf production for US Air Force

  9th March 2023

  Deliveries of the first batch of MH-139 Grey Wolf helicopters will begin next year.

• Air Warfare

  US finalises $30 billion F-35 deal for nearly 400 jets

  5th January 2023

  The new contract includes aircraft for the US and a number of allies with the first jets to feature the latest hardware that powers Block 4 capabilities.

• Land Warfare

  The five most significant land stories of 2022

  2nd January 2023

  The war in Ukraine has been showing how land capabilities will remain crucial on the current and future battlefield. The conflict boomed the defence market in 2022 resulting in advancements in development and acquisition programmes. At the same time, it brought serious concerns.

• Digital Battlespace

  New US developer LightRidge to take on air and space sensor markets

  23rd March 2023

  The private-equity backed firm combines the businesses of space payloads specialist GEOST and airborne sensor manufacturer Ophir.

• Land Warfare

  How the US Army is applying lessons learned from the Ukraine war

  6th March 2023

  The conflict in Ukraine has been heavily impacting ground warfare planning and leading the US Army in some new directions.

• Land Warfare

  Oshkosh challenges US Army's JLTV contract decision with GAO protest

  7th March 2023

  According to an analysis by Shephard Defence Insight, AM General’s bid could have reduced the JLTV unit cost by as much as $30,000.

• Defence Notes

  Why cybersecurity must be a priority for Latin American militaries

  21st March 2023

  The main obstacles to overcoming risks in the region are a lack of a strong cybersecurity culture and inadequate funds to invest in this domain given a widespread Chinese presence in the region.

• Air Warfare

  Poland to send MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine within days

  16th March 2023

  Poland has pledged to deliver four MiG-29 jets to Ukraine in full working order, becoming the first NATO member to supply fighters to Ukraine. The Polish Air Force will replace them with FA-50 and F-35 jets.

• Land Warfare

  Greece confirms amphibious assault vehicle plan with FMS request

  21st March 2023

  Greece has moved ahead with plans to acquire a fleet of Assault Amphibious Vehicles from US Marine Corps surplus stocks.

• Naval Warfare

  TMKS seeks to leverage Wismar shipyard for F127 bid

  14th March 2023

  German shipbuilder TKMS plans to leverage its new Wismar shipyard for its proposal for the F127 anti-air warfare frigates for the German Navy, using the proven MEKO family design.

• Training

  Lockheed Martin wins contract for F-16 training and sustainment

  23rd March 2023

  Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $25 million contract to provide F-16 operational capability and maintenance training for international partner nations.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Aeronautics inks agreement for producing Orbiter 4 UAVs in Thailand

  22nd March 2023

  Aeronautics has expanded its Asia-Pacific operations, signing a collaboration agreement with RV Connex to produce the Orbiter 4 UAV in Thailand.

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

  JLTV Oshkosh Contract (US Navy) [US]

  As of November 2020, the US DoD had signed 14 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all branches of ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1165 Special Ops HMMWV [USA]

  Programme 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Fighter - naval

  F-35B STOVL - US Navy

  The JSF programme will develop and field a family of aircraft that meets the needs of the US DoD and US allies with the F-35A ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV Oshkosh Contract [US Air Force]

  As of November 2020, the US DoD had signed 14 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all branches of ...

• 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 ...

• Fighter - naval

  F-35C Carrier Variant

  The US Navy is planning to order 130 F-35Cs between FY2026 and FY2030 under the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. The purchase is estimated be ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme 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 ...

• 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]

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

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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Autonomous GPADS

  Airborne Systems has developed a family of smart systems ranging in payload capacity from 90-4,536kg. Utilising the technology developed and used in ram-air canopies, Guided ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Data links, Land: Radio and SATCOM, UAS: communication systems

  QNT-200

  The Collins QNT-200 is a dual-channel software-defined radio (SDR) designed for size, weight and power-constrained platforms. Using IP-based mesh networks, it offers high-bandwidth mobile networking ...