• Naval Warfare

  Netherlands to arm ships and submarines with Tomahawk missiles

  10th April 2023

  The Royal Netherlands Navy will equip submarines and some of its ships with American Tomahawk missiles to strengthen its maritime strike capabilities.

• Land Warfare

  Israel outlines next steps to improve its missile defence architecture

  5th June 2023

  The Israeli MoD is progressing with the Arrow 4 interceptor effort in addition to working on improvement of its in-service sensors, radars and C2 systems.

• Defence Notes

  How the Pentagon will use private capital to fund critical capabilities

  23rd March 2023

  The DoD has changed its structures and is been increasing efforts to facilitate access to loans by companies interested in working with artificial intelligence, advanced materials and semiconductors, biotechnology and quantum science.

• Air Warfare

  Georgia air force base set to host F-35 fighters as Congress debates A-10 Warthog retirement

  28th June 2023

  Amidst ongoing deliberations in Congress regarding the retirement of a portion of its A-10 Warthog fleet, the US Air Force has initiated the replacement of the A-10 with the F-35 at Moody AFB.

• Air Warfare

  Boeing kicks off US Air Force B-52 bomber radar upgrade

  5th June 2023

  The radar upgrade is part of the wider B-52 modernisation programme that aims to keep the Stratofortress in the air until 2050 and beyond.

• Training

  US Navy takes lead on Middle East maritime security training

  23rd May 2023

  The Bahrain-based Combined Maritime Forces partnership has stood up a USN-led task force to support multination training events in the region covering maritime awareness, law, interdiction, rescue and leadership development.

• Defence Helicopter

  BAE to adapt Archerfish mine disposal system for South Korea

  13th June 2023

  BAE Systems has won a contract to adapt its Archerfish mine disposal system for Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) as part of South Korea’s effort to develop a new anti-mine helicopter fleet.

• Defence Notes

  What has the US learned from the Ukraine war about missile defence?

  13th April 2023

  After analysing the conflict, the Pentagon intends to upgrade systems and accelerate both acquisition of new sensors and technologies and their integration with its equipment in addition to improving the procurement process.

• Air Warfare

  Supplying F-16 jets to Ukraine won't win the war, but adds new causes of concern for Russia

  1st June 2023

  While the question of which Western fighter jet will be ultimately sent to Ukraine now seems settled, how much effect will the F-16's presence have on the conflict?

• Training

  General Atomics helps train Marines for MQ-9A Reaper as service struggles to meet UAV operator requirements

  4th April 2023

  General Atomics is conducting high-level training exercises with the US Marine Corps using its MQ-9A Reaper as the service experiences training problems under arrangements that could lead to a potential long-term partnership.

• Land Warfare

  Taiwan expands its HIMARS order, amidst ongoing indigenous AFV production

  31st May 2023

  Taiwan continues to boost its inventory of artillery, tanks and armoured vehicles, in the face of a rising martial threat from China.

• Land Warfare

  UK plays host to inaugural AUKUS Pillar 2 AI and autonomy trial

  26th May 2023

  While for most part AUKUS is about submarines, under its Advanced Capabilities Pillar, known as Pillar 2, the UK, US and Australia are collaborating on other leading-edge technologies.

• Naval Warfare

  Buy more subs, urges Norwegian Defence Chief

  7th June 2023

  The Norwegian Chief of Defence has recommended the Scandinavian country procure more submarines in a report to the government about the future shape of its armed forces.

• Training

  India draws mixed lessons from multinational military exercises

  8th June 2023

  India is participating in an increasing number of military exercises with international partners, allowing exchanges of ideas and the opportunity to work with new equipment.

• Defence Helicopter

  CH-47F Chinook Block II reaches final assembly line as wider programme moves forward

  26th May 2023

  The Block II upgrade incorporates various enhancements to increase lift capability and commonality between US Army and allied fleets, reducing maintenance costs.

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

  M1165 Special Ops HMMWV [USA]

  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 US ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  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 million ...

• 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]

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

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawk (India)

  Programme Background On 25 February 2020, a letter of acceptance for 24 MH-60Rs, worth approximately $2.12 billion, was signed by India and the US in Delhi. ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS): Switchblade [US]

  Background DoD Contract On 27 August 2024, the US DoD announced that AeroVironment had been awarded a ceiling $990 million hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to provide “an ...

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

  Puma 2 AE [Estonia]

  Programme Background The US DoD announced that it had awarded AeroVironment an $8.868 million firm-fixed-price contract to supply an undisclosed number of RQ-20B Puma AE ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-46A (3-6) [Japan]

  On 30 October 2020, the US DoD announced that it awarded a $342 million contract to Boeing for two Japanese KC-46A tanker aircraft. Work will be performed ...

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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Weapon sights for day use

  CompM4/M4s

  The US DoD has bought over one million Aimpoint sights since 1997. The US Army is now fielding the CompM4s as the latest version of ...

• Heavy machine guns

  M2HB

  US Ordnance is one of two US M2HB heavy machine gun manufacturers which has received multi-year contracts to supply weapons to the US DoD. The ...