• Defence Helicopter

  DSEI 2023: Lockheed to produce about 40% of Black Hawks on UK soil if it wins NMH contest

  13th September 2023

  Lockheed Martin promises a boost to the British job market and export opportunities, while strengthening ties with Poland and positioning the UK for a future in rotorcraft technology in the event of a New Medium Helicopter competition triumph.

• Naval Warfare

  Frigate building in South America – the fleet renewal challenge

  2nd April 2024

  South America has become something of a retirement village warships where the average age of major surface combatants is 40 years, some of which should probably be in a museum. Peru, however, has joined Brazil and Colombia in a group of three countries that have been attempting to modernise their fleets with new frigates and corvettes built in local shipyards.

• Air Warfare

  Dubai Airshow 2023: Paramount completes first test phase for new composite rotor blades

  16th November 2023

  The composite rotor blades for Mil Mi-type helicopters have been developed by global aerospace and technology company Paramount and partner AAL Group.

• Defence Notes

  Ireland commits to major equipment procurement schedules

  23rd November 2023

  The Irish Defence Forces has a range of challenges to overcome including discontent in sections of the forces, a need for cultural change, pay rates and equipment shortfalls. An implementation plan released 21 November has, however, provided projected timelines for change and procurement.

• Air Warfare

  Germany selects consortium to develop key SCAF technologies and ‘remote carriers’

  1st November 2023

  A signed contract between Airbus, FCMS and MBDA will focus on technology maturation, with an emphasis on complementary basic technologies for NGWS and the Future Combat Air System use from 2040.

• Defence Notes

  Ireland outlines short-term defence equipment targets

  3rd October 2023

  Irish government introduces strategic plans for its Defence Forces to tackle aging equipment, personnel issues and continuing threats.

• Defence Helicopter

  Hungary receives first two H225M multipurpose helicopters from Airbus

  25th July 2023

  The Hungarian Defence Forces have taken delivery of the first two H225M multi-purpose helicopters from Airbus.

• Naval Warfare

  Italy finally funds naval missile projects

  17th November 2023

  The Italian MoD’s multi-year programme documents (DPP) detailing its current and planned acquisition projects has provided new details of funding for its 2023–25 naval missile programmes.

• Air Warfare

  Spanish Navy orders eight Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk helicopters

  13th October 2023

  The delivery of eight Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk maritime helicopters to the Spanish Navy has been slated for completion by March 2027.

• Air Warfare

  Apache AH-64E fires Spike long-range missiles

  8th December 2023

  The Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Spike, a multi-purpose EO missile system, can attack targets at ranges up to 25km and has been test-fired from an Apache AH-64E attack helicopter.

• Land Warfare

  Poland signs $782.5 million deal for long-range air defence radars

  20th December 2023

  Poland has been investing heavily in new defence equipment including billions-of-dollars in air defence systems such as P-18PL, NAREW and Wisła to provide multi-tier coverage, as well as in in C2 systems.

• 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.

• Air Warfare

  Germany green-lights Israel’s use of Heron TP combat UAV on Hamas

  12th October 2023

  The Heron TP UAVs Germany is leasing from Israel's IAI are likely equipped with precision-guided missiles designed for rapid and spatially limited effect against vehicles or positions.

• Land Warfare

  Latvia makes its largest defence investment in air defence system

  13th December 2023

  Latvia and Estonia have committed to purchasing Diehl IRIS-T SLM medium-range air defence systems with the system set to provide a substantial boost to Latvia’s air defence capabilities.

• Defence Helicopter

  Argentina shops for new helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft

  14th July 2023

  While Argentina’s combat aviation fleet remains weak, the armed forces are acquiring new search and rescue (SAR) helicopters and a fixed-wing surveillance aircraft with SAR capabilities.

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, ...