• Military Logistics

  US Navy receives USS Portland

  20th September 2017

  Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has delivered the amphibious transport dock USS Portland to the US Navy, the company announced on 18 September. To date, HII …

• Defence Helicopter

  Z-19 sprouts radar and set to achieve exports

  15th September 2017

  For the first time the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) publicly exhibited an example of its Z-19 attack helicopter fitted with a mast-mounted millimeter wave radar, …

• Defence Helicopter

  DSEI 2017: MAST System guides helicopters

  15th September 2017

  Curtiss-Wright is developing a manual aircraft securing and traversing (MAST) handling system, which is expected to be utilised by the more littoral-based navies around the …

• Defence Helicopter

  DSEI 2017: Vector modernises for government fleets

  15th September 2017

  First-time DSEI exhibitor Vector Aerospace is seeing multiple military opportunities as governments from around the world seek to extend the service life of their aircraft …

• Defence Helicopter

  H145M flies with HForce

  12th September 2017

  Airbus Helicopters’ H145M has performed its first flight with a complete HForce weapon system, the company announced on 8 September.HForce is a modular weapon system …

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2017: That's a wrap (video)

  15th September 2017

  DSEI 2017 brought news from the land, sea and air domains. Shephard's Land Warfare Editor, Grant Turnbull, reviews some of the highlights of the week. 

• Defence Helicopter

  Sino-Russian AHL grows in stature

  15th September 2017

  China and Russia are edging closer to a contract for the cooperative Advanced Heavy Lift (AHL) helicopter, with the proposed design more prominently presented at …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Kongsberg Geospatial wins EOAMS contract

  21st September 2017

  Kongsberg Geospatial has received a contract to produce an Emergency Operations Airspace Management System (EOAMS) for evaluation by Canadian government agencies for safely managing UAS …

• Digital Battlespace

  Kelvin Hughes INBS for RNZN

  20th September 2017

  Kelvin Hughes has received a contract from Hyundai Heavy Industries to supply an Integrated Navigation Bridge System (INBS) for the Maritime Sustainment Capability (MSC) vessel …

• Digital Battlespace

  Rockwell Collins demos new communication link

  19th September 2017

  Rockwell Collins has demonstrated a new directional communication link with longer range and anti-jamming capability for smaller applications such as UAS, radar systems and satellite …

• Digital Battlespace

  DSEI 2017: Atech showcases the Arkhe

  15th September 2017

  Atech, a Brazilian company of Embraer Group, took the opportunity to showcase its Arkhe family of products and services for the first time in the …

• Defence Helicopter

  DSEI 2017: FVL ready for flight (video)

  14th September 2017

  The FVL technology demonstrator aircraft being built for the US Army's Joint Multi-Role (JMR) programme are both progressing, although Bell Helicopter's V-280 Valor is now …

• Training

  Vixen 500E selected for IAR-99 TD

  31st August 2017

  The IAR-99 trainer technology demonstrator (TD) being built by Romania's National Institute for Aerospace Research (INCAS), will be fitted with Leonardo’s Vixen 500E AESA radar, the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DSEI 2017: Leonardo predicts unmanned rotary dominance

  13th September 2017

  Leonardo is well into Phase 2 of its Rotary Wing Unmanned Air System (RWAS) capability concept demonstrator (CCD) for the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) …

• Defence Helicopter

  DSEI 2017: European military helicopter review (video)

  8th September 2017

  Across Europe militaries have received a wide range of helicopters to bolster their fleets for different missions this year. Shephard  takes a closer look at orders …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530F -Kenya

  Crew transition training took place at the MD Helicopters headquarters in Mesa, Arizona, with field service support, armament, and gunnery training scheduled to occur at ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  MD 530G - Malaysia

  Procured for an urgent operational requirement for gunships to support Eastern Sabah Security Command operations, helicopter deliveries had to slip from a planned delivery of ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530G Lebanon

  The Armed MD 530G Scout Attack Helicopter features next-generation all-glass cockpit that includes: two Genesys Aerosystems IDU-680 6” x 9” LCD primary displays, Tek Fusion ...

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

  Uncrewed MD 500 Replacement [South Korea]

  Background Uncrewed Replacement of the MD 500 Throughout the 2010s, South Korea appeared interested in replacing its fleet of crewed MD 500 helicopters that were manufactured under licence ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  Project Land 2097 Phase 4 [Australia]

  Programme Background According to the RfI, under Project Land 2097 Phase 4, the selected helicopter must comprise a commercial or military off-the-shelf solution that is ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) First Batch (South Korea)

  Programme Background The LAH is the first time that the South Korean OEM has developed an armed helicopter. The project kicked off in June 2015, ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 505 (South Korea - Army)

  Programme Background Requirement South Korea operates an ageing fleet of Bell UH-1s and MD 500s for training purposes. The country has already replaced a part of ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 505 (South Korea - Navy)

  Programme Background Requirement South Korea operates an ageing fleet of Bell UH-1s and MD 500s for training purposes. The country has already replaced a part of ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Light Armed Helicopter (Second Batch) [South Korea]

  Programme Background The LAH is the first time that the South Korean OEM has developed an armed helicopter. The project kicked off in June 2015, ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton - Germany (Cancelled)

  Programme Background Germany requested to buy four MQ-4C Triton HALE UAVs from Northrop Grumman. On 5 April 2018, the US State Department announced that it ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M - France

  Programme Background In April 2021, the French government signed a deal for the purchase of eight H225M Airbus helicopters to replace its ageing fleet of SA330 ...

• 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 helicopters - multirole

  Multirole Helicopters [Poland]

  Programme Background In 2020, Poland announced the launch of the Perkoz programme to acquire 32 support helicopters to replace its fleet of Mi-2 aircraft stationed ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  New Exploration and Escort Helicopter (NEES) (Phase II) [Italy]

  Programme Background Phase I In 2017, the Italian government signed a contract with Leonardo to replace its fleet of AW129 Mangusta attack helicopters with the ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145 Helicopter [Honduras]

  Programme Background  The Honduran Government has purchased a total of four H145 Helicopters manufactured by Airbus to develop the armed forces preparedness against natural disasters ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530F Cayuse Warrior

  An evolution of the OH-6 Cayuse light observation helicopter, the MD 530F was initially Federal Aviation Administration-certified in July 1985 as the Model 369FF. It ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  MDHI Glass Cockpit

  The American aerospace manufacturer MD Helicopters Inc. (MDHI) has designed and developed a glass cockpit specifically for MD 500E AND MD 520N aircraft. It is ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 500

  US-based MD Helicopters' MD 500 is a single-engine light helicopter derived from the Hughes OH-6A Cayuse developed for the US Army in the early 1960s and ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  IDU-680

  The IDU-680 is Genesys Aerosystems’ 3D synthetic vision integrated Electronic Flight Instrument System. The system includes a Highway in the Sky navigation system, geo-referenced hover ...

• Helicopter guns

  FN HMP

  The FN HMP (Heavy Machine Gun Pod) is a self-contained airborne weapon system armed with a 50cal FN M3P heavy machine gun. It is available ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530G

  The MD 530G is the newest addition to the MD Helicopters (MDHI) line of light scout attack platforms. It has increased-capacity landing gear and a ...

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

  KUS-VH

  The Korean Air Korean Air Unmanned System-Vertical Helicopter (KUS-VH) is a large, rotary-wing UAV based on the MD 500. The first flight of the platform ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  6XX

  Publicly unveiled at Heli-Expo in March 2017, the MD Helicopters 6XX is the next evolution in the MD 500 series and is a redesigned, single-engine ...

• Helicopter engines

  M250-C30

  The M250-C30 and -C30P are the exclusive powerplants for the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger and the MD Helicopters MD 530F and MD 530G. In addition, the AH-6i is ...

• EO/IR systems

  LEO-III

  The LEO-III, or LEO-III HD, was an airborne observation system with HD sensors and video outputs. It was a COTS, gyro-stabilised platform containing a multi-sensor HD ...

• Airborne rockets - unguided

  Aculeus MD-36 and MD-432

  The Aculeus MD-36 unguided multi-dart rocket provides 36 darts for the neutralisation of columns of light armoured vehicles. The Aculeus MD-432 provides 432 darts to ...

• Helicopter engines

  M250-C47E

  The C47E is the latest growth variant of the C47B/8 engine. In addition to a hot-and-high Value Improvement Package Kit, the C47E also includes dual-channel ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MD-1366 EBEM

  The US government selected the MD-1366 Enhanced Bandwidth Efficient Modem (EBEM) from ViaSat to set the DoD standard for high-speed, high-performance,flexibility and compatibility in a ...

• EO/IR systems

  Wescam MX-10

  The Wescam MX-10 EO/IR low-weight imaging system is designed for low-altitude tactical surveillance and reconnaissance missions from crewed and uncrewed aircraft. The MX-10 has had a close ...

• Military UAS - MALE, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Night Intruder 600 Vertical Take-Off (NI-600VT)

  The Night Intruder 600 Vertical Take-Off (NI-600VT) is an in-development UAV from Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) based on an MD 500 twin-seat American commercial helicopter airframe. With the ...