• Digital Battlespace

  Paris Air Show: Hanwha Phasor gears up to launch new multi-orbit SATCOM solution

  19th June 2023

  Hanwha Phasor, a London-based subsidiary of South Korean defence giant Hanwha, is gearing up to launch a new SATCOM solution that offers militaries multi-orbit access from a single panel.

• Training

  Red 6 secures funding for augmented reality system for trainer jets

  15th June 2023

  Trainer jets that will receive Red 6's Advanced Tactical Augmented Reality System (ATARS) include the TF-50, the BAE Hawk T2 and T-7 Red Hawk.

• Training

  IBM joins Babcock-Leonardo bid team for Canada’s largest training contract

  1st June 2023

  The 25-year, $3.75 billion contract is currently in the evaluation phase and is expected to be awarded in the autumn of this year with only two remaining contenders.

• Defence Helicopter

  Canada to upgrade AW101 rescue helicopters in-country under Leonardo-IMP deal

  3rd May 2023

  Canada's IMP Aerospace will carry out upgrades on 13 of the 16 AW101 aircraft covered by the CMLU programme under a sub-contract from Leonardo Helicopters UK.

• Training

  Augmented reality integration on trainer aircraft progresses despite no official requirement

  27th June 2023

  Companies such as BAE Systems, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Korea Aerospace Industries are pushing forward with implementing the Red 6 augmented reality system onto jet trainers, despite the absence of formal interest from customer air forces so far.

• Defence Notes

  How the Chinese balloon incident will impact future US air threat detection

  16th March 2023

  Although the Pentagon claims that current systems can detect this type of threat, it has confirmed that measures will be taken in order to maintain the US's edge over its adversaries.

• Naval Warfare

  Hanwha Group’s acquisition of shipbuilder DSME is approved

  1st May 2023

  South Korea's naval shipbuilding industry has received a shakeup, with regulatory authorities green-lighting Hanwha's acquisition of debt-ridden DSME.

• Land Warfare

  Rafael ready to counter Iran’s hypersonic threats, says company at Paris Air Show

  20th June 2023

  Planning of flight tests and interception trials for the Sky Sonic counter-hypersonic missile system are under way, while Rafael hopes to start full-scale development in the coming months.

• Training

  Exosonic begins trials of UAS testbed for supersonic aerial target programme

  26th May 2023

  Exosonic has commenced trials of its EX-3M Trident UAV, a quarter-scale testbed for the EX-3 Revenant supersonic aerial target drone it is developing for the US Air Force.

• Air Warfare

  Indonesia orders GM400α radars to enhance its patchy air surveillance

  23rd June 2023

  Indonesia has inked a long-awaited deal for multiple air surveillance radars that will close gaps in the military's ability to monitor aircraft movements.

• Land Warfare

  Senior UK general says Ukraine war lessons should reshape defence priorities

  8th March 2023

  The UK's Assistant Chief of the General Staff has called for a re-focus on core ground combat capabilities and boots on the ground for the British Army.

• Air Warfare

  Raytheon upgrades KAI FA-50 combat aircraft with PhantomStrike radar

  16th May 2023

  Raytheon is to integrate its PhantomStrike fire control radar on the KAI FA-50 light attack aircraft.

• Air Warfare

  Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter upgrade moves ahead with first deliveries

  23rd May 2023

  The Ozgur upgrade to Turkish Air Force F-16 jets, carried out by Turkish Aerospace industries, claims to bring the aircraft up to a standard equivalent to the latest Block 70/72 model, using domestically developed avionics and subsystems.

• Air Warfare

  Bell awards subcontracts for Canadian Griffon helicopter modernisation

  27th April 2023

  Bell will complete modernisation work on the first nine Canadian Armed Forces CH-146s, with the remainder of the 85 aircraft upgraded by Alpine Aerotech and Heli-One Canada.

• Defence Notes

  Why delays in approving the FY2024 budget can widen the gap between Chinese and US capabilities

  19th May 2023

  Naval shipbuilding and restocking key munitions, as well as development projects, may be directly impacted by short-term funding measures.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Submarines: nuclear, attack

  Second Hand SSNs [Australia]

  Programme Background Timeline In September 2021, it was announced in a trilateral announcement between Australia, the US and the UK that Australia, in a shock ...

• ISR/special mission

  E-6 TACAMO Recapitalisation Programme (E-130J) [USN]

  Programme Background The E-6 Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) Recapitalisation Programme (E-XX) provides for air vehicle replacement and mission systems modernization to augment and eventually ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530F -Kenya

  Crew transition training took place at the MD Helicopters headquarters in Mesa, Arizona, with field service support, armament, and gunnery training scheduled to occur at ...

• Transport

  C295 [Serbia]

  Programme Background Serbia has completed the acquisition of two Airbus C295MW (Modernised, Winglets) transport aircraft, receiving the second plane on 14 November at Milenko Pavlović ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Global Combat Air Programme [UK]

  Programme Background The next-generation platform concept is part of the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, which sought to deliver a Future Combat Air System ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) [USA]

  Programme Background US Army's Future Vertical Lift Programme The FLRAA is one of three strands of a broader army programme. The others are the Future ...

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

  MQ-25 Stingray (Contracted) [USA]

  Programme Background Initial Requirments -  Unmanned Carrier Launch Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) Despite the abovementioned goal, the programme did not begin with this in mind. ...

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

  MQ-25 Stingray (Selected) [USA]

  Programme Background Initial Requirments - Unmanned Carrier Launch Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) Despite the abovementioned goal, the programme did not begin with this in ...

• Transport

  Large Transport Aircraft-II (LTA-II) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Requirements The aircraft are needed for peacetime, international peacekeeping, emergency and combat operations. They are especially required to ensure a strategic lift capacity ...

• Fighter - multirole

  TF-X Kaan Next Generation Fighter [Türkiye]

  Programme Background Requirement Geopolitical factors have spurred aircraft development in Türkiye. With its removal from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter project following the Russian S-400 ...

• Maritime patrol

  MELTEM 3 MPA (Turkey)

  Turkey ordered ten ATR 72 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft in 2005 under the MELTEM-3 project. The original deal between Alenia (now part of Leonardo) and the ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  Jackal [Taiwan]

  Programme Background Contract Award On 14 September 2023, Jon Parker, CEO And Chief Examiner at Flyby Technology, announced on LinkedIn that the company had signed ...

• Trainer

  KT-1T - Turkey

  In 2007, Turkey bought 40 KT-1 aircraft under a $400 million deal that puts average unit cost estimate around $10 million per platform.The first five ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | FA-50 [Philippines]

  The Philippines Department of National Defence has decided to double the nation's fleet of FA-50s by purchasing twelve new aircraft from Korea Aerospace Industries for ...

• Data links

  Data links | FA-50 [Philippines]

  The Philippines Department of National Defence has decided to double the nation's fleet of FA-50s by purchasing twelve new aircraft from Korea Aerospace Industries for ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: Head-up displays

  Collins Aerospace HUD

  The Head-up Display (HUD) developed by Collins Aerospace, USA lets pilots fly seamlessly under all conditions. Compatible with night vision goggles, it can be utilized ...

• Air: Displays

  Collins Aerospace AMLCDs

  Collins Aerospace's display system includes four 6''X8'' coloured  Active Matrix Liquid Crystal Displays (AMLCDs). These AMLCDs are fully compatible with Night Vision Goggles (NVG) and ...

• EO/IR systems

  SYERS-2 (series)

  The Senior Year Electro-Optical Reconnaissance System (SYERS-2) is a multi-spectral, high-altitude ISR system. It has been installed on the US Army's fleet of U-2 Dragon Lady ...

• Loitering munitions

  Revenger

  The Revenger is a loitering munition developed by SRB Aerial Systems.  Not much is known about the platform; however, at IDEX 2023, two units were ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  AR-1500

  Designed for export markets, the TruNet AR-1500 delivers high-speed communication between aircraft and ground forces. Notably, the transceiver supports modern waveforms as well as country-specific encryption ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Zero-G HMDS+

  The Zero-G HMDS+ is a developmental helmet-mounted display system being developed by Collins Aerospace and Elbit Systems for sixth-generation higher aircraft. According to the company, ...

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

  Abqaiq M2DU

  The Abqaiq M2DU is a developmental fixed-wing UAV manufactured by SRB Aerial Systems. It is a highly modular platform powered by a COTS 2-strike piston engine.  ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  HITS-A

  Collins Aerospace is the prime contractor designing and developing the first integrated aircrew training systems for the E-2D, leading the Hawkeye Integrated Training System for ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  F-35 Gen III HMDS

  The F-35 Gen III helmet-mounted display system (HMDS) is provided by a joint venture between Elbit Systems of America and Rockwell Collins, developed for the F-35 ...

• Air: Displays

  FDS-255

  Rockwell Collins' (now Collins Aerospace) FDS-255 Multifunction Flight Display System is a Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) display package developed as a stand-alone replacement for electromechanical indicators. It ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS)

  Developed by Collins Aerospace, the Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS) is based on the Flight2 open system architecture design and includes an advanced hardware, software ...

• Air: Displays

  MFD-4068

  Produced by Collins Aerospace, the MFD-4068 is a colour AMLCD display with an optional touchscreen. It is designed to be integrated into trainer and transport aircraft ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  Piccolo Elite

  Produced by Collins Aerospace, the Piccolo Elite is an autopilot architecture solution for advanced UAS applications. Unveiled in 2019, it is provided in five configurations ...

• UAS: communication systems

  RT-2071C

  Produced by Collins Aerospace, RT-2071(C) Secure CDL ISR Radio is an NSA Type-1 certified radio transceiver that provides low-cost and low-SWaP wideband data link capability. 

• UAS: Integrated systems - uncrewed

  Athena 511

  The Athena 511 is a compact all-in-one GPS-aided INS air data system. The system’s integrated inertial sensing uses a tactical grade, ring-laser gyro IMU, with ...