• Land Warfare

  India to produce AK-203 rifles, but Ka-226Ts remain elusive

  7th December 2021

  Military cooperation between India and Russia shows few signs of waning owing to American political pressure.

• Air Warfare

  India gives green light for Do 228 upgrade and light helicopter procurement

  3rd November 2021

  Hindustan Aeronautics will upgrade Indian maritime patrol aircraft and provide LUH rotary-wing platforms.

• Training

  Northrop Grumman in first AMC DTCN exercise

  7th October 2021

  Northrop Grumman has, for the first time, used the USAF's DTCN to link US and allied air mobility aircraft simulators allowing them to take part in a networked training exercise.

• Air Warfare

  Dubai Airshow 2021: All relatively quiet on the F-35 front

  19th November 2021

  A planned $23 billion FMS package for the UAE has still not been fully approved, 12 months after it was first proposed.

• Defence Notes

  AUSA 2021: Project Convergence accelerates and expands

  13th October 2021

  Project Convergence involves more than 5,000 military personnel in addition to over 70 different industry partners and 300 data collectors — and the DoD plans further expansion.

• Land Warfare

  Rheinmetall and Intracom Defense join forces

  3rd November 2021

  Rheinmetall and Intracom Defense agree to jointly develop a vehicle-based C4I system.

• Land Warfare

  UK MoD awards Roke £6.7 million contract under Land ISTAR programme

  8th October 2021

  Roke’s ZODIAC will act as the central nervous system for Land ISTAR. The award marks the start of an Alpha development phase to derisk delivery of the programme.

• Training

  Read the Military Training and Simulation Handbook

  27th October 2021

  The Military Training and Simulation Handbook Issue 17 covers the global T&S industry and provides detailed information on airborne, ground and naval equipment, devices and systems.

• Naval Warfare

  Now or never for Australia (Analysis)

  15th October 2021

  As the ramifications of AUKUS begin to become clearer, Australia must grapple with various practical, technological and economic factors if it is to achieve its ambitions.

• Air Warfare

  Safeguarding fleet readiness through sustainment innovation (Studio)

  15th December 2021

  As the US and its allies increasingly focus on the threat from peer and near-peer rivals, aircraft readiness is more important than ever.

• Defence Notes

  US Navy extends Sarcos Guardian testing

  13th October 2021

  Following a successful first phase of the Guardian DX contract, the US Navy has extended the testing of the platform.

• Defence Notes

  A Modern Approach to Cyber Security (Sponsored)

  16th December 2021

  Everybody knows the story of Troy. Battlefield tactics that create confusion and deception at all ranks and thereby provide serious advantages to attacking forces have been in use for thousands of years. Advantages are exacerbated when the confusion (fog of war) is generated in multiple domains.

• Land Warfare

  Rangers in focus as British Army transformation plans unveiled

  25th November 2021

  The British Army’s new Ranger Regiment was in the spotlight on 25 November as UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace detailed to Parliament plans to transform the structure of the service.

• Naval Warfare

  South Korea receives first enhanced minesweeper

  22nd November 2021

  South Korea is building three additional minesweepers, with the first recently handed over to the navy.

• Training

  Sundog partners with SimBlocks to boost Unity capabilities

  2nd November 2021

  New ocean simulation software from Sundog Software highlights the move towards games engines for maritime simulation.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Long Range/Long Endurance (LR/LE) [USMC]

  Programme Background Force Design 2030 The USMC Force Design 2030 is a modernisation effort to create a lighter, more agile maritime force. The update to ...

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

  MQ-8C Fire Scout (USA)

  Programme Background Timeline According to the Naval Air Systems Command, having first ordered the MQ-8B in 2009, the UAV has become a pillar of the ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Medium Landing Ship (9-18) [USMC]

  Programme Background Requirements As part of the US Marine Corps' future force structure, it is developing a new platform under the Medium Lading Ship programme ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Medium Landing Ship (1-8) [USMC]

  Programme Background Development As part of the US Marine Corps' future force structure, it is developing a new platform under the Medium Lading Ship programme ...

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

  Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Unmanned Expeditionary (MUX) (Increment 1) [USMC]

  Programme Background All-in-One UAV Since 2016, the USMC has wished to acquire a UAV that could be deployed from a vessel, be used for various missions, ...

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

  Medium Range/Medium Endurance (MR/ME) [USMC]

  Programme Background Force Design 2030 The USMC Force Design 2030 is a modernisation effort to create a lighter, more agile maritime force. The update to ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  The Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  The Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  HH-60W - Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH)

  According to the FY2021 Base funding, the HH-60W helicopter unit cost is $43.2 million. The HH-60W will be capable of employment day or night, in ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement The FVL-MS programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft utilised ...

• Destroyers

  Next-Generation Large Surface Combatants (LSC) - DDG(X) [USN]

  Programme Background Requirements The US Navy (USN) is acknowledging a need to move away from the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer design, which is slowly outgrowing. Flight III ...

• Military UAS - small

  RQ-21A Blackjack / STUASLO - Replacement Units (USN)

  Programme Background Joint USN and USMC Procurment The RQ-21 Blackjack, or STUALSO, was a combined United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) programme ...

• Military UAS - small

  RQ-21A Blackjack / STUASLO - Replacement Units (USMC)

  Programme Background Joint USN and USMC Procurment The RQ-21 Blackjack, or STUALSO, was a combined United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) programme ...

• 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 UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  V-Bat [USN]

  Background Core Requirement Fundamentally, the USN requires a UAV that can be flown from its ships in austere environments without dedicated launch or recovery equipment.  ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  SECAT

  In 2022, Textron Systems unveiled its new Surface Effect Cargo Amphibious Transport (SECAT) craft, designed to support logistics behind the US Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations and ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-53E Sea Dragon

  Sikorsky developed the MH-53E (S-80) Sea Dragon variant of its CH-53E to provide the USN with a dedicated airborne mine countermeasures helicopter. Equipped with enlarged ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  Tactical Mission System for Helicopter Applications

  The Saab tactical mission system is a system for transport, utility, C2 and combat helicopters intended to operate in a net-centric environment. It is designed ...

• Major networking projects

  CANES

  The Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) programme is a USN-wide effort to rationalise shipboard computing assets. It is designed to create a common ...

• Air: UAV simulators

  MQ-9 MTD

  SDS’s ROVATTS-based MQ-9 Mission Training Device (MTD) was developed to provide high-fidelity simulation to support US Air National Guard operational Reaper crew training. The PC-based ...

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

  MQ-8C Fire Scout

  The MQ-8C is a newer version of the Fire Scout and is based on a Bell 407 commercial helicopter. It offers a greater range, endurance and ...

• Land: soldier modernisation systems - national programmes

  MERS

  The Marine Expeditionary Rifle Squad (MERS) takes a systems engineering approach to equipping the USMC’s fundamental fighting unit. The integration and configuration management of all ...

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

  MQ-8B Fire Scout

  The MQ-8B Fire Scout is a rotary-wing UAV that provides situational awareness and precision targeting support for the US Armed Forces. The MQ-8B Fire Scout, ...

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar

  AN/ZPY-1 STARLite

  The AN/ZPY-1 Small Tactical Radar-Lightweight (STARLite) is a synthetic aperture radar and GMTI sensor for UAVs, manufactured by Northrop Grumman. It offers strip and spot synthetic ...

• Military - UUVs

  Mission Specialist Defender

  The Mission Specialist Defender is a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) developed by VideoRay, now part of BlueHalo's unmanned maritime systems. The ROV is known ...

• Trainer

  Saab 340 trainer

  The Saab 340 trainer aircraft is based on the Saab 340 regional airliner. It is used by the USN for pilot training. The aircraft replaced ...

• Air: mission management systems

  Air Operations Systems of Systems

  Air Operations System of Systems is designed to enable management of airspaces across large states and/or regions focusing on strategic planning. The system integration approach ...

• Subsystems: software

  LiteFlite II Simulators

  The LiteFlite II was designed to provide a high-fidelity, laptop-based system with white-force/man-in-the-loop capabilities for use with a variety of simulation systems. LiteFlite II represents ...

• Major networking projects

  DIB 1.3

  The Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) Integration Backbone (DIB) is a key element of the US DoD strategy to build a net-centric capability, enabling service DCGS elements ...

• Military - UUVs

  RMMV

  The Remote Multi-Mission Vehicle (RMMV) was a semi-submersible AUV developed as part of the AN/WLD-1(V) Remote Minehunting System (RMS) for the USN’s Littoral Combat Ship ...