• Defence Notes

  COVID-19 vaccine approved for trials, says Chinese military

  18th March 2020

  The Chinese Ministry of National Defense (MND) announced on 18 March that a vaccine for the COVID-19 coronavirus, developed by the Academy of Military Medical …

• Land Warfare

  Spanish Army procures small arms for SF and snipers

  9th March 2020

  The Spanish Army expects this year to receive new rifles, machine guns, submachine guns and shotguns for snipers and troops in its Special Operations Command …

• Training

  UK trials platoon collective VR - again

  12th March 2020

  Following last year’s VR in Land Training (VRLT) trials, conducted by the British Army between January and May in conjunction with BISim, the UK MoD …

• Naval Warfare

  Second Pakistani multirole frigate progresses, search for patrol aircraft commences

  2nd April 2020

  The Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai held a ceremony on 23 March to mark the keel laying of Pakistan’s second Type 054A/P multirole frigate. The Pakistan …

• Land Warfare

  China exports first HJ-12 ATGMs

  30th March 2020

  Norinco announced on its official WeChat account on 25 March that it had begun its first export deliveries of the man-portable HJ-12E ATGM to an …

• Land Warfare

  Russian Army carries out large-scale Caucasus drill

  17th March 2020

  Russia’s Southern Military District has held artillery drills at Krasnodar Region foothills in the North Caucasus region, which involved 2,000 personnel and 300 military vehicles. …

• Land Warfare

  Rheinmetall contracted for 9,640 VarioRay LLM by Swiss Army

  10th March 2020

  Rheinmetall has been contracted to deliver 9,640 VarioRay LLM (laser light modules) to the Swiss Army between May 2020 and Q4 2022. The contract also …

• Land Warfare

  Ireland places order for 4x4 personnel carriers

  16th March 2020

  The Irish Ministry of Defence has awarded Westward Scania a €24.6 million ($27.5 million) contract for 120 Troop Carrying Vehicles (TCVs). Scania will provide the …

• Land Warfare

  Hensoldt to supply German Army with 368 IR attachments

  9th March 2020

  Hensoldt has been contracted by the German Army to deliver 368 IR attachment IRV 900 A2 systems with an option for 34 attachments. The company did …

• Land Warfare

  North Korea hurls SRBM-style projectiles

  12th March 2020

  North Korean media publicised the latest firing tests of a ‘super-large multiple rocket launcher' (MRL) on 9 March. Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un supervised this strike drill …

• Training

  PLA pushes ahead with Cambodian drills despite COVID-19

  16th March 2020

  China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has sent 265 soldiers to take part in joint military exercises with 2,871 of their Cambodian counterparts at Techo Sen …

• Defence Helicopter

  Malaysia falls back in love with MD 530G

  11th March 2020

  Malaysia will take delivery of six MD 530G helicopters from the end of 2020, following a decision by the then Pakatan Harapan government, before its …

• Defence Notes

  DoD introduces domestic travel restrictions

  16th March 2020

  The US Department of Defense (DoD) on 15 March announced new domestic travel restrictions for service members and civilian personnel in response to the ongoing …

• Land Warfare

  PLA could be ready to adopt VP22 6x6 vehicle

  27th March 2020

  It is possible the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is adopting into service a 6x6 variant of the VP22 armour-protected truck, after one example appeared in …

• Training

  Singapore and Australia ink training area treaty

  24th March 2020

  The Singaporean and Australian defence ministries signed the ‘Treaty on Military Training and Training Area Development in Australia’ on 23 March, finalising a plan to …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Heavy Lift VTOL (HVTOL) (Forecast) [US Army]

  Background USMC In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, which had been specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  eLRV [US]

  Programme Background Purpose The US Army unveiled a new concept for a more deployable IBCT structure at AUSA in October 2014. Built around three main types ...

• Loitering munitions

  Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO) [US Army]

  Background Launch The Program Executive Office Soldier, a US Army organisation responsible for rapid prototyping, procurement, and equipment fielding, launched the effort in May 2023 and ...

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

  MQ-1 Gray Eagle [US Army]

  Programme 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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munitions [Czechia]

  Programme Background KVAČR Concept In February 2024, the Czech Army unveiled the Construction of the Army of the Czech Republic (KVAČR) concept, which outlined a ...

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

  Parrot Anafi (Singapore)

  Programme Background On 7 February 2022, the Singapore Army posted photographs on Facebook that showed the Anafi UAV used as training devices in a five-day ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Viper (Nigeria)

  Programme Background Due to its ongoing campaign against Islamist insurgents in the north of Nigeria, the Nigerian Army has procured a wide range of mine-protected armoured ...

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

  FPV Drones [Czechia]

  Programme Background KVAČR Concept In February 2024, the Czech Army unveiled the Construction of the Army of the Czech Republic (KVAČR) concept, which outlined a mass ...

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munitions [Spain]

  Programme Background Fuerza 35 Project This project is a Spanish Army initiative to create and maintain an effective force by forming flexible and cohesive operational organisations, ...

• Military UAS - small

  Small UAS [Spain]

  Programme Background Fuerza 35 Project This project is a Spanish Army initiative to create and maintain an effective force by forming flexible and cohesive operational ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Titan-B

  Programme Background Colombia is understood to have a requirement for as many as 100 APCs capable of carrying up to 20 troops and protecting their ...

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

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 2) [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 intended to ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  AMPV (USA)

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

• Tanks

  NGCV: DLP

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

• MPVs - 4x4

  Kalyani M4 (India)

  Programme Background In the wake of border clashes with the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) in 2020, the Indian Army has accelerated several of its ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  SideHat

  The SideHat is a radio that attaches to existing US Army SINCGARS radio installations, providing interoperable wideband network communications for early IBCT deployments and other ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  Infantry Squad Vehicle

  The General Motors (GM) Defense Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) is a fully-integrated military platform based on the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 mid-sized truck chassis with Roll ...

• Loitering munitions

  Atlas

  The Atlas is a loitering munition that AEVEX Aerospace manufactures. The Group II aircraft is lightweight and can host a 3.6kg munition or an ISR ...

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

  Dominator

  The Dominator is a loitering munition and UAV manufactured by AEVEX Aerospace. It has a twin-boom continuation with an inverted v-shaped tailplane. It can be utilised ...

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

  Disruptor

  Publically unveiled at AUSA 2024, the Disruptor is a loitering munition and UAV manufactured by AEVEX Aerospace. The Group III aircraft utilises a pneumatic launcher or Rocket Assisted ...

• Land: battle management systems

  Comm@nder Army

  Comm@nder Army is an integrated C4I system suitable for use in command post operational environments (infrastructure, shelter-based), providing specialised application services from the HQ of ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  ALTIUS-600 / ALTIUS-600M

  Part of the ALTIUS family, the ALTIUS-600 is an air-launched, tube-integrated UAV that Area-I has designed to conduct ISR, SIGINT collection and electronic warfare missions.  At AUSA 2022, Anduril ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  German Army Aviation School

  CAE is the prime contractor for the German Army’s Night-Time Low-Level Flight Training Facility, commonly known as the German Army Aviation School, at Bückeburg. This ...

• 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 ...

• Tanks

  MPF Prototype

  In 1992, the US Army selected the M8 to meet its requirement for an air-transportable Armored Gun System, but the programme was cancelled for budgetary ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker

  In 2000, the US Army selected a variant of the GDLS-Canada 8x8 LAV III to meet its requirement for a Medium Interim Armored Vehicle to ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  British Army Apache Training Facilities

  Aviation Training International (ATIL) – a Leonardo Helicopters/Boeing joint venture formed in 1998 - was selected to provide the attack helicopter training service to the ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  ROC Army UH-60M OFT

  L3 Link (now L3Harris Technologies) gained ready-for-training certification in 2015 on two UH-60M OFT delivered to the Taiwan Army. These training devices are similar to ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  Australian Army S-70 Training System

  The Australian Army S-70A-9 Black Hawk is a turnkey programme including a full flight and mission simulator (FF&MS;), building, facilities and maintenance support. This CAE-built ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  German Army CH-53 Simulator Upgrades

  In 2011, CAE completed major upgrades on two CAE-built CH-53 full mission simulators operated at the German Army Aviation School at Bückeburg. Airbus Helicopters has ...