• Training

  US Air Force AI-powered F-16 training jet takes the skies

  16th February 2023

  The reengineered artificial intelligence-driven, autonomous F-16 jet is fitted with an open system architecture and software that allows it to mimic the performance characteristic of other aircraft.

• Land Warfare

  L&T to build prototype of India’s light tank

  19th April 2023

  The Indian Army is desperate to get a light tank so as to improve its deployment of armour into mountainous border areas.

• Land Warfare

  French Army to equip new infantry regiments with 120mm mortars and loitering munitions by 2030

  3rd May 2023

  The 20 regiments of the French infantry will receive additional equipment to be able to generate more firepower independently within a radius of 8km.

• Training

  Poland signs support deal for M-346 jet trainer

  17th February 2023

  Leonardo and WZL1 will increase the Polish M-346 advanced trainer jet fleet's availability to meet combat pilot training requirements.

• Air Warfare

  RAF boss hopes for a return to a five-aircraft E-7 buy

  6th February 2023

  While the RAF may hope to return to its original plan for a five-strong E-7 AEW fleet, the service will still have to wait until 2024 to receive its first aircraft.

• Defence Helicopter

  US Coast Guard to upgrade radars for MH-60 and MH-65 helicopter fleets

  11th April 2023

  New Honeywell IntuVue RDR-7000 weather radars will be installed on USCG MH-60 and MH-65 helicopters.

• Air Warfare

  Turkish Air Force tanker modernisation effort completed ahead of schedule

  2nd February 2023

  US contractor Field Aerospace has finished upgrading the Turkish Air Force's Boeing KC-135R tanker fleet flight decks to Block 45 configuration.

• Air Warfare

  Hensoldt jammers outfox air defence radar in new trials

  10th February 2023

  Hensoldt has carried out live flight trials of its Kalaetron Attack airborne jamming system, following on from laboratory and ground tests.

• Training

  IT2EC 2023: BAE Systems kicks off second phase of OdySSEy, single synthetic environment programme

  24th April 2023

  PLEXYS has partnered with BAE Systems for Phase 2 of project OdySSEy where the partners will focus on introducing more complexity and allowing BAE to use the most advanced technologies.

• Air Warfare

  Electra develops eSTOL pre-production prototype for US Air Force

  31st January 2023

  The Virginia-based aerospace company has received a strategic funding injection of up to $85m to mature its eSTOL technology for the US Air Force.

• Naval Warfare

  Australia’s pathway to AUKUS submarines is attended by risk

  14th March 2023

  Australia's journey towards obtaining nuclear-powered attack submarines is fraught with financial, technical and political risk.

• Air Warfare

  India set to manufacture parts for GA-ASI UAVs

  16th February 2023

  India has been unable to conclude a deal for MQ-9B Reapers so far, but local companies hope to join in regardless.

• Land Warfare

  BAE Systems tests rocket laser guidance kits for anti-drone role

  31st March 2023

  BAE Systems' APKWS laser guidance kits have successfully undergone testing in a counter-UAS mission led by the US Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office.

• Training

  New Indian supersonic trainer jet to supplement PC-7 and Hawk fleets

  15th February 2023

  The Indian Air Force has abandoned plans to acquire a two-seat trainer variant of the Tejas Mk 1 Light Combat Aircraft, opting instead for the HAL HLFT-42 supersonic jet.

• Digital Battlespace

  IHSE’s mission-critical KVM solutions - When uncompromising security is required (Sponsored)

  27th April 2023

  In defense, government and other restricted information applications, security is imperative. Leakage of confidential information quickly becomes a serious threat and managers must ensure that their systems provide the highest level of protection against external and internal threats. IHSE’s Common Criteria certified KVM extenders offer a new level of security that helps to maintain complete data integrity and to prevent unauthorized access.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Data links

  Data links | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-390 [Brazil]

  Programme Background Requirement The aircraft deliveries were scheduled to start by the end of 2016 and continue over a period of ten years. However,  the first ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Hermes 900 [Chile]

  Methodology Unit cost In 2024, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) acquired one Hermes 900 for 50 million reais ($9.14 million), giving each drone an estimated ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  C-130H Replacement [Sweden]

  Programme Background Requirements Sweden has five C-130H aircraft (designated Tp-84) and one KC-130H. Two C-130Es bought in the 1960s have retired, but the six H ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  H145M [Brazil]

  Background  Brazilian leadership announced in February 2022 that the Sabre Mil Mi-35M Hind-E attack helicopters were being retired from active service. This decision came as a ...

• Fighter - multirole

  JAS 39E/F Gripen [Brazil]

  Background In 2016, Gripen’s Project and Development Center was opened in Sao Paulo to allow Sweedish and Brazillian engineers to work together in the Gripen ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Hermes 900 [Colombia]

  Methodology Unit cost In 2024, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) acquired one Hermes 900 for 50 million reais ($9.14 million), giving each drone an estimated gross ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Hermes 900 (5) [Brazil]

  Background First three batches (2014-2024) Across three purchases, Defence Insight estimates that Brazil has acquired five Hermes 900 UAVs. In 2014, Elbit reported supplying one ...

• Long Range Missile Defence Systems: > 90km range

  Long Range Air Defence [Brazil]

  Background Brazil is in the process of expanding its medium-range air defence capabilities and is known to be interested in acquiring a long-range air defence ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Hermes 900 (1-4) [Brazil]

  Background First batch (2014) In 2014, Elbit reported supplying one Hermes 900 UAV to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB). The drone is called the RQ-900 in Brazilian ...

• Maritime patrol

  C295 add-on [Brazil]

  Programme Background  In 2014 Brazil signed a contracted for two additional C-295 SAR platforms with the option to acquire one additional platform. In 2018, reports ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air-to-surface missiles

  MAR-1

  The MAR-1 is a Brazilian air-to-surface anti-radiation missile (ARM) developed by Mectron in collaboration with the Aerospace Technology and Science Department (DCTA) of the Brazilian ...

• Military UAS - small

  Harpia

  Described as the UAV with the most onboard technology in Latin America, Harpia is a multifunctional fixed-wing Brazilian drone developed by Advanced Technologies Security & Defence.  The Uruguayan ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  EMB-312 Tucano

  The EMB-312 Tucano (Brazilian designation T-27) is a trainer and light attack aircraft developed by Embraer to meet the training requirements of the Brazilian Air ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  TPTS

  Tactical Procedures Training Simulators (TPTS), operating with SWARM software, can be used to provide most core training elements to pilots or offload training tasks from ...

• Guided munitions

  SMKB (Smart-MK-Bomb)

  The Smart-MK-Bomb, or the SMKB, is a precision guidance kit developed by Mectron and designed to turn Mk 82 and Mk 83 bombs into guided munitions.

• Military UAS - tactical

  Albatroz Vortex

  The Albatroz Vortex from Stella Tecnologia is a development of the company's Albatroz UAV.  The key differentiator is that the Vortex is fitted with an ATJR ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Condor

  The Condor, or Atobá XR, is an in-development MALE-class UAV from Stella Technologia.  The development of the multi-role is tied to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), which has ...

• Trainer, Transport

  EMB-121 Xingu

  The EMB-121 Xingu is a twin-turboprop light transport and advanced multi-engine trainer aircraft developed by Embraer based on the EMB-110 Bandeirante. Its maiden flight was ...

• Land: battle management systems

  Arkhe Mission & Combat

  Launched in 2017, Atech's Arkhe Mission & Combat solutions offer a variety of solutions enabling operator to conduct missions from planning to execution and debriefing. It ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-390/C-390 Millennium

  The KC-390 is a high-wing, twin-turbofan, T-tail design intended to meet the needs of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) for a tanker/transport aircraft. Developed and ...

• Fighter - air superiority

  F-5E/F Tiger II

  The F-5E (single-seat)/F (twin-seat) Tiger II is an air superiority fighter developed by Northrop Grumman based on the original F-5 Freedom Fighter. Production of the ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M

  The medium-weight, 11t-class H225M (formerly known as the EC725) is the latest military Super Puma/Cougar family member.  Technical features include a modular design of mechanical ...

• EO/IR systems

  Skyward

  The SkyWard system is an advanced Infrared Search and Track (IRST) solution developed for next-generation airborne platforms, including 5th-generation fighter aircraft.  Designed with modularity in ...

• Land: air defence radar

  Saber M60

  The Saber M60 is a low-altitude air-defence radar developed by the Brazilian Army's CTEx (Army Technology Centre) in collaboration with Bradar, part of Embraer Defence ...

• Trainer

  Phenom 100

  Phenom 100 is a very light jet originally developed for single owner-pilot operation but later gained popularity as a jet trainer aircraft. The platform first ...