• Defence Notes

  Analysis: Mexican defence industry

  20th October 2016

  Mexico has been developing and producing its own weapon systems since the early 20th century and went through phases of building its own aircraft, armoured …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Osprey radar for MQ-8C Fire Scout

  19th October 2016

  The US Navy has selected Finmeccanica's Osprey AESA radar for its newly-upgraded Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter, the company announced on 17 October. Under the …

• Naval Warfare

  Euronaval 2016: DCNS states its naval case (video)

  18th October 2016

  DCNS has set its shipbuilding stall out on the first day of Euronaval on Monday detailing the scope of their current commitments and expectations for …

• Defence Notes

  South Korea gets first Taurus missiles

  18th October 2016

  The first lot of Taurus KEPD 350K stand–off missiles have been handed over to the Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF) by MBDA Deutschland-Saab Dynamics …

• Land Warfare

  Russian SAM digital upgrade on offer

  17th October 2016

  A new upgrade to Russia’s OSA-AKM (NATO SA-8 Gecko) mobile surface-to-air (SAM) missile system is now available. Russian company IEMZ Kupol, a company of Almaz-Antey …

• Digital Battlespace

  GPS OCX completes test milestone

  17th October 2016

  Raytheon has reached a new milestone in the development of the US Air Force's (USAF) Global Positioning System Next Generation Operational Control System (GPS OCX), …

• Digital Battlespace

  New mission for DSCS satellite

  13th October 2016

  A Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) satellite has embarked on a new mission supporting the National Science Foundation (NSF)’s Amundsen-Scott Station at the South Pole. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  USAF, Battelle target UAS ice protection

  13th October 2016

  The US Air Force (USAF) is exploring ice protection technology for UAS under a cooperative research and development agreement with Battelle Memorial Institute. The technology …

• Land Warfare

  Smerch MLRS replacement coming

  13th October 2016

  The production of Russia’s latest MLRS system dubbed Tornado-S is set to begin in 2017.  Yury Borisov, the Russian deputy defence minister, responsible for all …

• Digital Battlespace

  Qwaltec to support US Navy satellites

  12th October 2016

  Qwaltec is to provide support to the US Navy’s Navy Satellite Operations Center (NAVSOC) in Pt Mugu, California, under a five-year $19 million contract beginning this …

• Naval Warfare

  Euronaval 2016: Pansio minelayer handed back after refit

  12th October 2016

  Atlas Elektronik Finland (AEFI) has handed over the minelayer Pansio to the Finnish Navy this month following a full refit carried out with Uki Workboat …

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2016: DRS develops IR sensor for ground vehicles

  11th October 2016

  DRS Technologies is to develop a two-colour infrared sensor for ground combat vehicles under a $41.6 million cost-plus-incentive fee contract from the US Army. The …

• Digital Battlespace

  Lockheed to upgrade US Navy EW

  10th October 2016

  Lockheed Martin has been awarded a contract worth $148.9 million by the US Navy for full rate production of Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) …

• Digital Battlespace

  Taiwan offers new night vision scope

  10th October 2016

  Forever Plus Corp, a Taiwanese company, has begun marketing a new lightweight, multifunctional digital night vision scope.  The company describes the FPC-NVP300 as the ‘most …

• Land Warfare

  BAE Systems logs FWS-I production order

  7th October 2016

  BAE Systems is set to begin producing the new Family of Weapon Sights-Individual (FWS-I) thermal weapon sight under a $13.5 million low rate initial production …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Loitering munitions

  Medium-Range Loitering Munition with LEO Satellite Data Link [South Korea]

  Background New Project In April 2025, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) announced a new project titled “Development of Medium-Range ...

• Loitering munitions

  Long Range One-way Platforms [US]

  Solicitation In October 2024, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) released a solicitation for long-range, one-way platforms. The DIU noted recent conflicts highlighted the asymmetric impact of low-cost, ...

• Military UAS - small

  Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF) GUARD [Ireland]

  Background Problem As stated on the project’s website in 2022, Ireland is the “softest target in the EU for smugglers” due to its 3,171 km ...

• Military UAS - micro

  Micro UAV [Argentina]

  Background Tender The EA and MoD in April 2021 announced Public Tender 0090/2021 (UOC: 84/135), which saw the General Directorate of Material begin the process of ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  CH-4 (First Batch) [Pakistan]

  Programme Background First Batch According to the Pakistan Exim Trade Info website, five aircraft were delivered to the country on 15 January 2021. According to a ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  BZK-005 [Sudan]

  Methodology PGO and programme status Defence Insight has assigned this programme a PGO of 100% since it is complete. Units required Defence Insight estimates that ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Bayraktar TB2 [Pakistan]

  Programme Background Requirement Following a 2019 skirmish with India, Pakistan placed newfound importance on EW and ISR, primarily due to the significant advantage gained during that ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Seeker 400 (1-6) [UAE]

  Background Long history The UAE has a long history of transactions with Denel Dynamics. The country has been purchasing various Seeker systems from as far ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  CH-4 (Second Batch) [Pakistan]

  Background First Batch According to the Pakistan Exim Trade Info website, five CH-4 aircraft were delivered to the country on 15 January 2021. According to a satellite ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Wing Loong II [Pakistan]

  Background Original Effort On 6 October 2018, the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) announced on social media that it would acquire 48 Wing Loong II UAVs. ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  NH90 - NFH [Italy]

  Background  Programme history The Italian Navy took delivery of its first NH90 NFH helicopter in Full Operational Capability (or Step B) configuration in 2011. The ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-9A Reaper [Spain]

  Programme Background First Contract The US State Department approved a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of MQ-9 Block 5 aircraft and associated parts, equipment, and logistical ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Turkish UCAV [Saudi Arabia]

  Background Desired Procurement Saudi Arabia reportedly began negotiations to procure six Anka UAVs in 2013. It had not been disclosed which Anka variant was requested, ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-60M Black Hawk (Second Contract) [Croatia]

  Programme Background Western Technology With the help of the US, Croatia has attempted to improve its military technology, replacing Soviet equipment, such as the Mi-8/Mi-17. ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  Long-Endurance UAV [US AFRICOM]

  Programme Background Ageing MQ-9A Reapers In November 2022, Shephard reported that GA-ASI would continue supporting contractor SMX with its MQ-9A after winning a $2.3 billion task ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Space: radar systems

  RISAT-1

  Radar Satellite-1 (RISAT-1) is a microwave remote-sensing satellite carrying an SAR payload operating in C band (5.35GHz), which enables imaging of surface features during both ...

• Naval: Radio and SATCOM

  OceanTRx 4MIL

  The OceanTRx 4MIL is a ruggedised maritime SATCOM solution featuring simultaneous multi-band communication and advanced antenna management capabilities.  It was introduced at the Euronaval 2022 ...

• Major networking projects

  Skynet 6 SATCOM

  Skynet 6 is designed to replace Skynet 5. The PFI contract for Skynet 5,  held by Paradigm Secure Communications and Airbus DS, ends in 2022. As ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Osprey u8 HGL

  Launched in 2023, Kymeta Osprey u8 HGL is a hybrid Geostationary/Low-Earth Orbit terminal that provides satellite communications on the move. Notably, it can be mounted ...

• Naval: Radio and SATCOM, UAS: communication systems

  Multi-Purpose Terminal (MPT)

  Orbit's Multi-Purpose Terminal (MPT) is a family of stabilised VSAT systems suitable for installation on smaller vessels and airborne platforms including uncrewed vehicles. 

• Military Satellites - ISR

  Radarsat-2

  Owned and operated by MDA, Radarsat-2 was launched in late 2007 as a follow-on radar satellite to Canada’s Radarsat-1. The satellite's resolution ranges from a ...

• Naval: Radio and SATCOM

  SURFSAT-L

  Produced by Thales, SURFSAT-L is a SATCOM terminal designed for medium to large surface vessels. According to the manufacturer, it is designed to achieve a ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MONDO Satellite Terminal

  The Multi Orbit Network, Dual Operation (MONDO) Satellite Terminal is a developmental SATCOM solution that provides continuous communication links on GEO, LEO and MEO networks. ...

• Military Satellites - ISR

  Helios

  The Helios system consists of the Helios 2A and Helios 2B satellites, the latter of which was launched in December 2009, five years after Helios ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Multi-Orbit Tactical Terminal

  Intelsat Multi-Orbit Tactical Terminal (MOTT) is a ruggedised terminal with a low-profile design. The vehicle-mountable terminal features an electronically steered array antenna, edge computing capabilities ...

• Data links

  GSNC

  Global Secure Network Connection (GSNC) provides a global data communications solution for military aircraft, including bomber, refuelling and transport aircraft. The GSNC system uses Iridium ...

• Space: radar systems

  ESA Sentinel-1

  Sentinel-1 is a planned constellation of four satellites with two already in orbit and two on order. They carry a payload of a C-band SAR ...

• Space: radar systems

  NISAR

  The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) is a joint programme between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to build and launch an observation ...

• Space: radar systems

  TerraSAR-X and ​TanDEM-X

  TerraSAR-X and the more advanced TanDEM-X (TerraSAR-X add-on for digital elevation measurement) are designed to operate closely together to generate an accurate 3D image of ...

• Military - USVs

  USV-12

  The USV-12 is an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) developed by HAVELSAN and VN Maritime Technologies. The modular platform is designed for defence, maritime security, and search ...