• Air Warfare

  Norway joins the MH-60 Seahawk fraternity

  27th October 2023

  Norway joins five operators of the MH-60 naval helicopter plus Spain, which ordered its first eight MH-60R aircraft earlier this month, and Greece, which is yet to receive its first example.

• Land Warfare

  BAE Systems receives $120 million for more Armoured Multi-Purpose Vehicles

  4th August 2023

  BAE Systems has received an LRIP contract award of $119.6 million for additional Armoured Multi-Purpose Vehicles (AMPVs) for the US Army as it awaits full-rate production (FRP) contract awards for a fleet predicted to eventually be 2,897 vehicles.

• Air Warfare

  US Marines’ XQ-58A Valkyrie UAS completes first test flight

  9th October 2023

  The XQ-58A Valkyrie, developed by Kratos and the US Air Force Research Laboratory (USAFRL), is designed for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions, with a total of six planned test flights for the USMC

• Air Warfare

  Polish FA-50 fighters to be equipped with Thales Scorpion HMD

  18th October 2023

  Thales Scorpion Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) will augment FA-50 pilots’ vision in real time through hybrid inertial optical tracking.

• 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.

• Land Warfare

  Oshkosh Defense receives $201 million order for FMTV A2 vehicles

  4th August 2023

  Oshkosh Defense has been awarded a $201 million contract for additional Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles A2 (FMTV A2) from the US Army, taking the total number of ordered platforms to 2,000.

• Land Warfare

  Senate wants $532 million boost for modernising US Abrams tank fleet

  1st August 2023

  The extra funds will enable the upgrading of 53 tanks on top of the 34 included in the US Army's FY2024 budget request.

• Air Warfare

  Australia receives its first UH-60M Black Hawks

  8th August 2023

  Sikorsky has been extremely rapid in delivering Black Hawks to Australia, with the first two already handed over.

• Land Warfare

  Mercury Systems delivers processing hardware for US Army's Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor radars

  11th August 2023

  Mercury Systems has completed delivery of processing hardware for the US Army's first six new Patriot radars, being built by Raytheon to provide air and missile defence capabilities against advanced lower-tier threats.

• Air Warfare

  Ukraine lessons: is bringing an attack helicopter to a missile fight too dangerous?

  15th September 2023

  According to multiple OSINT sources, Russian forces have lost possibly as many as 200 rotary-wing aircraft since February 2022. Some of these occurred in early high-profile operations, but most have been attrition casualties during the ongoing fighting. Shephard analyses the nature of these losses, and what lessons NATO attack helicopter operators should draw.

• 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.

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2023: Paramount to ramp up global armoured vehicle manufacturing at India-based hub

  14th September 2023

  UAE-headquartered Paramount has announced a broadening of its collaboration with partners Bharat Forge and Kalyani Strategic Systems to produce a wider range of armoured vehicles in India for Paramount’s global customers.

• Air Warfare

  China and Iran look beyond Russian market for UAS and precision weapon exports

  6th September 2023

  Chinese and Iranian firms unveiled new UAS and smart munitions at Army-2023, claiming they reflected lessons from the Russo-Ukrainian conflict and were attracting international interest.

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2023: ST Engineering shows latest mortar and announces UK partnership

  11th September 2023

  As ST Engineering's latest 120mm Ground Deployed Advanced Mortar System (GDAMS) makes its first appearance at DSEI 2023, the Singaporean company has announced a partnership with NP Aerospace to take on UK and NATO market opportunities.

• Land Warfare

  Elbit America to deliver gunner hand stations for Bradley fighting vehicles

  3rd August 2023

  Elbit America has secured a delivery order for gunner hand stations for the Bradley IFVs, part of contract placed in 2020.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-1 Gray Eagle [US Army]

  Background Required Quantity Although the US Army first envisioned a requirement for 132 MQ-1C Gray Eagles, the US Army's Army Acquisition Objective (AAO) was increased ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker DVH [USA]

  Background The US Army has been operating the Stryker since 2002. The Stryker DVH is an upgraded variant that has additional armour on its underside ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV (US Army) (Batch 1) [USA]

  Background As of January 2021, the US DoD had signed 15 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all branches ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Heavy Lift VTOL (HVTOL) [US Army]

  Background USMC First, Army Second In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial Resupply ...

• Main battle tanks

  Decisive Lethality Platform [USA]

  Background The DLP is one of five vehicle families being developed for the US Army's NGCV programme. Expanded to include five programmes in October 2018, ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  AMPV [USA]

  Background Platform development The US Army initiated the AMPV programme to acquire a replacement for several variants of the M113 tracked APC, which has been ...

• Military UAS - micro

  eBee Vision [US]

  Background Multiple orders In November 2025, the US Army acquired three eBee Vision systems to enhance training operations at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Germany. A ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker (Sergeant Stout) (Batch 2) [USA]

  Background As part of the Army Transformation Initiative, the US DoD is fundamentally reorganising the structure of the US Army. The development of the Sergeant ...

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

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 2) [US Army]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was intended to ...

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

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 1) [USA]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker (Sergeant Stout) [USA]

  Background As part of the Army Transformation Initiative, the US DoD is fundamentally reorganising the structure of the US Army. As part of this all Infantry Brigade ...

• Self-propelled guns

  Mobile Tactical Cannon [USA]

  Background The US Army began using the M777 in 1995. Since then, it has served as a field artillery piece providing fire support for American ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow-On [USA]

  Programme Background In March 2019, Airbus stated that it expected orders from the US Army for between 12 and 15 UH-72A helicopters. In March 2020, ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Group 4/5 UAV [US Army]

  Background Request for Information (RFI) On 5 June 2024, the American DoD published an RfI with an original response date of 19 July 2024. The ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) [Tranche 1] / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) (USA)

  Programme 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 ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  US Army AVCATT PDSS

  L3Harris Technologies is the prime contractor for the US Army’s Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer (AVCATT) Post Deployment Software Support (PDSS) programme. L3Harris Technologies is ...

• Maritime patrol

  US-2

  The ShinMaywa US-2 is an amphibious short take-off and landing aircraft used primarily by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) for SAR. 

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  US Army Flight School XXI OFT/RCTD

  L3Harris Technologies is a major subcontractor to CSC on the US Army’s Flight School XXI (FSXXI) programme. L3Harris Technologies has built or is under contract ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  OH-58 Kiowa

  The single-engine OH-58 Kiowa, derived from the Bell 206, entered US Army service in 1969 as a light observation helicopter. More than 2,200 were built for ...

• Towed guns

  M198

  The US Army developed the M198 155mm towed howitzer from 1969 to replace the M114 155mm howitzer. From 1978, 1,600 weapons were built by Rock ...

• Towed mortars

  M120/M120A1

  The M120/M120A1 120 mm Towed Mortar System is a US-built version of the Soltam K6 mortar that was accepted into US Army service in 1990.

• Light tanks

  M10 Booker

  The US Army awarded General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) a contract worth US$1.14 billion to supply 96 light tanks under the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72A/B Lakota

  In 2006, the US Army selected a version of the medium-sized, twin-engine H145, designated the UH-72A Lakota,  to meet its requirement for a new Light ...

• Armoured engineer vehicles

  M1150 ABV

  The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) project, launched by the USMC in 2002, is a joint programme to meet the requirements of both the US ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  RQ-7 Shadow 200

  The Shadow 200, designated RQ-7B by the US Army, is flown by the army brigade combat teams and combat aviation brigades along with the UAV ...

• Land: Electronic Attack - Jamming

  AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III

  Sierra Nevada’s AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III is the standard Counter Improvised Explosive Device (CIED) manpack system in service with the US Army and US Marine Corps (USMC). ...

• Individual grenade launchers

  M320 GLM

  The M320 Grenade Launcher Module (GLM) is a further development of the HK AG36 (see separate entry) to meet a US Army requirement. The M320 ...

• Unguided Mortar Ammunition

  M821A3 High Explosive Mortar Round

  The M821A3 High Explosive Mortar Round is an 81mm mortar round manufactured by Day & Zimmerman for the US Army.

• Unguided Mortar Ammunition

  M933A1 High Explosive Mortar Round

  The M933A1 High Explosive Mortar Round is a 120mm mortar round manufactured by Day & Zimmermann for the US Army.

• Unguided Mortar Ammunition

  M934A1 High Explosive Mortar Round

  The M934A1 High Explosive Mortar Round is a 120mm mortar round produced by Day & Zimmermann for the US Army.