• Air Warfare

  Airbus wins US Army UH-72A Lakota upgrade contract

  22nd August 2023

  The US Army has awarded Airbus a $27.8 million contract to modernise the Army National Guard Security & Support Battalion Mission Equipment Package (MEP).

• Air Warfare

  India receives first C295 transport aircraft from Airbus

  18th September 2023

  India has received its first C295 transporter, and efforts at home continue for AEW, special mission and tanker platforms to be converted from pre-owned airliners.

• Air Warfare

  TAI delivers first Nigerian T-129 Atak helicopters

  7th November 2023

  The delivery of the first two T129 attack helicopters has marked a milestone in a deal announced during the 2022 Farnborough Air Show between Nigeria and Turkish Aerospace Industries.

• Training

  Dubai Airshow 2023: First Bell 505 training helicopters delivered to Royal Jordanian Air Force

  17th November 2023

  Jordan ordered ten helicopters 12 months ago and joins Montenegro and the army and navy of South Korea as military operators of the 505.

• Air Warfare

  Boeing shifts towards low-rate MH-139A Grey Wolf production

  21st November 2023

  Boeing's progress in the MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopter programme have marked a milestone in the transition toward low-rate initial production, following the delivery of the final test aircraft to the US Air Force.

• Air Warfare

  First Nigerian Air Force T-129 Atak helicopters spotted on X ahead of delivery

  1st November 2023

  Social media posts claim to show the Nigerian Air Force's upcoming Turkish Aerospace Industries T129 Atak helicopter ahead of delivery and coincide with Nigerian officials' visit to Turkey.

• Air Warfare

  GKN Aerospace to help Airbus to deliver Dutch H225M multirole helicopters

  3rd August 2023

  GKN Aerospace has signed an MoU with Airbus Helicopters to provide support for the H225M helicopters intended for Dutch special forces.

• Air Warfare

  US to accelerate UH-60M Black Hawk delivery to Australia

  3rd November 2023

  Following recent discussions between representatives from both countries, the US DoD is expediting the delivery of UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters to Australia.

• Training

  German airmobile forces to get new NH90 helicopter crew trainer

  22nd November 2023

  Reiser Simulation and Training has secured a deal to develop and deliver specialised NH90 helicopter rear-cabin trainer for the German airmobile forces.

• Air Warfare

  Turkey eyes up Eurofighter purchase amid German blockade concerns

  16th November 2023

  Turkey has once more expressed interest in purchasing Eurofighter Typhoon jets, but a potential German arms embargo looms, as tensions rise over arms export constraints.

• Naval Warfare

  Norway to renew naval forces within a decade

  23rd May 2024

  The Royal Norwegian Navy (RNoN) will be almost completely overhauled and replaced with new ships and submarines in a timeframe of about 10 years.

• Naval Warfare

  Spain signs for Kongsberg naval strike missiles

  15th December 2023

  The Naval Strike Missile, a subsonic, sea-skimming, anti-ship and land-attack missile, has been designed to strike heavily defended land and sea targets.

• Air Warfare

  Dubai Airshow 2023: EDGE Group acquires majority stake in Swiss VTOL company

  6th November 2023

  The announcement came ahead of Dubai Airshow 2023 where EDGE will showcase ANAVIA's VTOL solutions brought into its portfolio through the acquisition of a majority shareholding in the Swiss company.

• Defence Helicopter

  Boeing secures $271 million to advance modernisation of US Special Operations' MH-47G Chinook

  11th December 2023

  Boeing has clinched a major contract modification to further its backing of the US Special Operations Command’s MH-47G Chinook aircraft modernisation effort.

• Naval Warfare

  US forces sink dhow transporting Iranian missile parts for Houthi rebels

  16th January 2024

  The sinking marked the first seizure of lethal, Iranian-supplied advanced conventional weapons to the non-state military group since the beginning of Houthi attacks against merchant ships in November 2023.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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

  H145M [Ireland]

  Programme Background On 30 December 2024 Ireland announced a contract with Airbus for four new H145M helicopters to replace the Air Corps existing fleet of ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  TH-73 Advanced Helicopter Training System - AHTS (TH-57 Replacement)

  Contenders for the competition included the Leonardo single engine TH-119 – a military variant of the AW119Kx – and Bell’s newly upgraded single engine 407GXi. ...

• 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 ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  Maritime Operations Helicopters

  The three maritime operations helicopters will be used for logistics and personnel transport, alongside transportation of PASKAL naval special forces in operations in the area. ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Bell 412EPI-Indonesia

  Programme Background PTDI is assembling Bell helicopters in its factory in Bandung.  The first Bell 412EPI was delivered to Indonesian Army on 29 December 2020 ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  Kondor Naval Helicopters (Poland)

  Programme Background In 2018, the Polish MoD announced its requirement to purchase up to eight naval helicopters to replace in-service SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopters. Polish ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Spain HT-29 Caiman (NH90 TTH) - Army First Batch

  HT-29 Caiman GSPAs (NH90 TTH) will be assembled at Airbus Helicopters’ facility in Albacete and will replace AS332 Super Puma fleet in service. Even though ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  AW101 [Poland]

  According to the media reports, Airbus couldn't provide a competitive offer for the programme due to the offset requirements.  The deliveries were to be completed ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  AH-X [Japan]

  There is no mention of the AH-X in the 2019-2023 Medium Term Defence Plan, so it is possible that the requirement has quietly been postponed. ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H135 (UK)

  Programme BackgroundAirbus Helicopters UK announced on 2 February 2022 that it has won an order to provide five additional H135 twin-engine helicopters for the MoD. The ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Ka-226T-India-Air Force

  An official contract announcement is expected during the Aero India 2021 exhibition in Bangalore, although negotiations have dragged on for more than five years and ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M (Contracted) [Germany]

  Programme Background Previous Usage The German Armed Forces ordered 15 H145M helicopters, with the initial two delivered in December 2015, for the Kommando Spezialkräfte. These ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  Naval Utility Helicopters (India)

  Programme Background The program will witness the formation of a joint venture between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and another local or foreign manufacturer. In June ...

• 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, ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - light/training

  H145

  The light, twin-engine EC145 began as an initiative to increase the cabin size of the BK 117 C1 aircraft, involving Kawasaki of Japan and Airbus ...

• Military helicopters - light/training, Military helicopters - multirole

  H135M

  The H135M (formerly known as the EC635 and also designated as H135) is a light utility variant of the EC135 twin-engine, multipurpose 3t helicopter. In ...

• Model 301 Fire Attack

  The Model 301 is a belly tank/refill hose system for Airbus Helicopters AS365-series helicopters.

• Model 316 Fire Attack

  The Model 316 is a belly tank/refill hose system for Airbus Helicopters H225 and AS332 L-series helicopters.

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M

  The H145M (formerly known as the EC645 T2) is the military version of the H145 medium-sized (3.7t) helicopter (covered in a separate entry). It is ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H175M

  The Airbus H175M is the military variant of the H175, a seven-tonne class aircraft powered by twin PT6C 67E engines. The civilian variants produced by Airbus ...

• Air: mission management systems

  Helionix

  The Helionix digital avionics suite was developed from the need for a more powerful avionics system with greater functions and computing capacity, alongside a user-friendly interface. ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M

  The medium-weight, 11t-class H225M (formerly known as the EC725) is the latest military Super Puma/Cougar family member.  Technical features include a modular design of mechanical ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H215M

  The H215M (formerly the AS532 ALe) is the most recent addition to the Cougar family.  It is a medium-weight (9t-class), twin-engine helicopter, combining the AS532's ...

• AC67 Airbus Helicopters H135 interior

  Bucher has developed the AC67 medical interior for the Airbus Helicopters H135 in cooperation with ADAC Luftrettung.The lightweight, modular design features a floor with integrated ...

• Helicopter engines

  Arriel 2+/2D

  Unveiled in 2011, the Arriel 2+ is an upgrade of the Arriel 2 and is intended for single- and twin-engine helicopters. It incorporates a new ...

• Helicopter engines

  LTS101

  The LTS101 was first certified in 1975. Since then, over 2,100 engines have been delivered to customers worldwide, logging over 11 million service hours. The ...

• EO/IR systems

  Viviane

  Viviane is an out-of-production gyro-stabilised night and adverse weather observation system with missile sight.  Manufactured by Safran, it was fitted to French Army Gazelles. It contained a ...

• Air: mission management systems

  APM 2000

  The current generation of autopilots is the APM 2000 family, fitted on major worldwide platforms. The APM 2000 is based on an integrated digital computer. ...

• Air: Defensive Systems - Radar Warning Receivers

  EWR-99

  Dassault is not traditionally associated with electronic warfare subsystems, instead being equated with the manufacture of combat aircraft and business jets. Nonetheless, the company did, ...