• Land Warfare

  Sky Sabre begins to rattle as air defence market heats up

  17th January 2020

  As the ground-based air defence (GBAD) market sees a spike of investment, one new next-generation system is on the verge of entering service. Although the British Army’s …

• Land Warfare

  German Armed Forces extends the service life of the Marder IFV

  20th January 2020

  The German Armed Forces has contracted Rheinmetall to extend the service life of Germany's Marder IFV, the OEM has announced. Under the contract, which is worth approximately …

• Land Warfare

  US Army orders more self-propelled howitzers

  7th January 2020

  BAE Systems has been awarded a $249 million contract modification by the US Army to complete an additional 60 M109A7 self-propelled howitzers. The award exercises …

• Land Warfare

  Dstl, QinetiQ complete APS trials

  16th January 2020

  Trials of an Active Protection System (APS) for Dstl’s Medusa Technology Assessment Programme (TAP) by a QinetiQ-led industry team are now complete. Part of Dstl’s …

• Land Warfare

  New weapons for Philippine marines

  18th January 2020

  New weapons are on their way to the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) following the recent award of two contracts for RPGs and 81mm mortars. With …

• Land Warfare

  China deploys its longest-range rocket launcher

  11th December 2019

  During China’s 70th anniversary parade through Tiananmen Square in Beijing on 1 October, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) exhibited a new type of multiple-launch rocket …

• Land Warfare

  Poland receives first high-mobility vehicles

  20th January 2020

  Poland’s air cavalry and airborne brigades will soon be operating new high-mobility vehicles, after the country’s MoD took delivery of the first batch of the …

• Land Warfare

  Russia moves to further enhance armoured vehicle fleet

  15th January 2020

  The Russian MoD has provided a major boost to the Russian Ground Forces, officially announcing the signing of a fresh contract for the supply of BMP-3 IFVs. …

• Land Warfare

  Rheinmetall receives Puma spares order

  9th January 2020

  Rheinmetall has received orders for additional equipment for the German Army’s Puma infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) fleet, the company announced on 8 January. The orders …

• Defence Notes

  Poland takes over NATO VJTF lead

  13th January 2020

  On 1 January 2020 the Polish Army took over the lead of NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) from Germany.The core of the …

• Naval Warfare

  China doubles the size of its carrier fleet

  17th December 2019

  The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) commissioned its second conventional aircraft carrier, and the first to be built indigenously, at Sanya-Yulin Naval Base on Hainan …

• Special Operations

  Malaysian Army calls for special forces vehicles

  13th January 2020

  Malaysia issued two tenders on 9 January inviting Finance Ministry-registered companies to supply special operations vehicles (SOV) for the Malaysian Army’s Gerakhas special forces unit. …

• Defence Helicopter

  Malaysia decides to retire Nuri helicopter fleet

  9th January 2020

  The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) will phase out its Sikorsky S-61A Nuri fleet, said its newly appointed chief Gen Ackbal Samad on 7 January. …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Army funds Apache remanufacture work

  30th December 2019

  Boeing has received a contract modification worth $564.5 million for the remanufacture of AH-64E Apacheaircraft, the US Department of Defense announced on 18 December. The …

• Defence Helicopter

  Boeing signs Apache FMS contracts

  6th January 2020

  Boeing has confirmed contracts with the US Army to remanufacture AH-64D Apaches for three nations under US FMS programmes. The contracts cover the remanufacture of …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Fighter - multirole

  J-10 [China]

  Programme Background The aircraft performed its maiden flight in 1998 and entered service with the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) in 2004. According to ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Data links

  Data links | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Corvettes

  Jiangdao Class (Type 056)

  Programme Background The Type 056 corvette is referred to by the Chinese as the new-generation light guided-missile frigates. They have been built for the People's Liberation ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  Rapid Minelayers Procurement (1-4) [Taiwan]

  Development and Procurement Four new rapid minelayers are being built for the Taiwanese Navy in a bid to counter the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  Rapid Minelayers Procurement (5-10) [Taiwan]

  Programme Background Requirements The revelation of a Chinese bridge-barge landing system for amphibious operations, designed for a Taiwan invasion, has underscored the need for Taipei ...

• 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 ...

• Frigates

  Jiangkai II Class (Type 054A)

  Built by Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard and Huangpu shipyards the frigates were first seen being constructed from 2005. The class is referred to as the workhorses of China's ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  VP1/Type 89 (Nigeria)

  Programme Background The Nigerian Army has an ongoing need for new armoured vehicles to replace losses incurred in its conflict with extremist organisations operating within ...

• Corvettes

  Shadhinota Class (Type C13B)

  The Shadhinota class (Type C13B) corvettes are a platform based on the Type 056 Jiangdao class used by the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), built by the ...

• Submarines: conventional, attack

  S26T [Thailand]

  Programme Background The Royal Thai Navy has been in the process of acquiring a new submarine for a number of years. They formally selected China's ...

• Frigates

  Jiangkai III Class (Type 054B / Type 057)

  Following the rapid production and relative success of the Type 054A Jiangkai II class frigates, the Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) are developing a successor to ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• AEW&C, Transport

  Y-8

  The Y-8 (Yunshuji-8) medium-sized transport and multirole aircraft was developed by Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation and is based on the Soviet Antonov An-12. More than 36 ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Z-8

  Developed by Changhe Aircraft Industry Group, the Z-8 (known also as Z-18) is a derivative of the AC313 civil helicopter, which is itself a copy of ...

• Submachine guns

  CS/LS2

  Norinco’s CS/LS2 is a 9mm bullpup SMG designed for use with a suppressor. It has been in service with the People's Liberation Army since about ...

• Fighter - multirole

  J-8

  The J-8 (NATO reporting name Finback) is a multirole fighter domestically developed by China. It has design similarities with Soviet MiG-21 and Su-15 aircraft.  The ...

• Air: COMINT and ELINT systems

  KZ-800

  China National Electronics Import and Export’s (CEIEC) KZ-800 is an airborne Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) gathering system believed to be in widespread use onboard People’s Liberation ...

• Fighter - multirole

  J-10

  The J-10 (NATO reporting name Firebird) is a multirole fighter developed by China to replace second-generation J-7 and Q-5 aircraft. The aircraft is also known ...

• Armoured engineer vehicles

  Type GCZ110

  Norinco announced in 2014 that it had completed development of the Type GCZ110 armoured engineer vehicle based on a modified Type 79 tank chassis equipped ...

• Tanks

  VT2

  The 125mm-armed VT2 tracked MBT, which was unveiled at DSA 2012, is the export version of the People's Liberation Army Type 96A. As of early ...

• Fighter - ground attack

  J-16

  The J-16 is a multirole fighter developed by China. It is based on the J-11 air superiority fighter, itself a licence-built version of the Russian ...

• EO/IR systems

  Loong Eye LE380

  The Loong Eye (Dragon's Eye) LE380 is a two-axis stabilised gimbal incorporating EO/IR sensors, laser designators, and laser rangefinders. Originally developed by the Luoyang Opto-Electro ...

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

  Sky Saker FX400A

  The Sky Saker FX400A is a fixed-wing drone manufactured by Norinco. Capable of hosting both ISR and attack payloads, such as the Blue Arrow 7 ...

• Air-to-air missiles, Surface-to-air missiles

  TY-90

  TY-90 is a multi-purpose, short-range, IR-guided, tactical surface-to-air missile developed by China to defend against helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft and cruise missiles at low and super-low ...

• Medium/general-purpose machine guns

  Type 80

  The Type 80 is a general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) manufactured by Norinco in China, based on the Soviet PKM. Certified in 1980, it entered PLA ...

• Air-launched ASW torpedoes, Ship-launched torpedoes

  Yu-11 lightweight torpedo

  Yu-11 is a Chinese-made surface and air-launched lightweight torpedo to repel submarine threats from long distances.

• Tanks

  Type 62

  The Type 62 light tank entered production for the Chinese People's Liberation Army in 1963. Essentially a smaller, lighter clone of the Type 59 MBT, it is ...