• Defence Notes

  Rheinmetall buys Expal Systems to expand ammunition production to meet booming orders

  1st August 2023

  Rheinmetall has finalised its acquisition of Expal Systems, significantly boosting its ammunition production capacity and strengthening Rheinmetall's position as a NATO supplier and enhancing its product portfolio.

• Air Warfare

  Rheinmetall breaks ground on F-35 fuselage plant

  1st August 2023

  The Rheinmetall F-35A factory is set to produce at least 400 fighter jet fuselages for Germany and other NATO operators.

• Air Warfare

  Chinese balloon affair prompts lawmakers' push on Pentagon to improve air and sea detection

  7th August 2023

  The US Senate Committee on Appropriations has proposed an additional $293.5 million for new and upgraded radars plus communications equipment to protect the US homeland.

• Training

  Smaller nations under threat – finding the right training focus

  2nd August 2023

  It is inevitable that a country’s military training policy will be driven by its situation in the world, and also by its society.

• Naval Warfare

  Keel laid for first Polish SIGINT ship

  31st July 2023

  The keel laying for the first of two new signals intelligence (SIGINT) ships for the Polish Navy was completed on 27 July 2023.

• Air Warfare

  Indonesia orders Anka UAVs from Turkiye

  3rd August 2023

  Indonesia becomes the eighth customer for the Anka, as Turkiye further cements its positions as a major supplier of UAVs.

• Naval Warfare

  Fleet support vessels are approved for the Indian Navy

  22nd August 2023

  India is set to proceed with the construction of five indigenously built replenishment vessels.

• Training

  US Navy upgrades its red air aggressor F-16 Vipers

  4th August 2023

  Amentum will maintain US Navy adversary F-16 aircraft and provide full system maintenance and supply chain support to ensure seamless flight operations in all naval bases.

• Land Warfare

  Dedicated recon model of Otokar Akrep II vehicle ready for export

  28th July 2023

  Otokar has introduced a reconnaissance variant of the Akrep II 4x4 armoured vehicle, equipped with a remote weapon station and advanced surveillance features. The export-ready vehicle offers adaptable weapon systems and hybrid electric drive options.

• Naval Warfare

  Second Suffren-class nuclear submarine delivered to French Navy

  10th August 2023

  The second Suffren-class SSN for the French Navy, Duguay-Trouin, has been officially delivered after months of sea trials.

• Air Warfare

  Delays in TR-3 software pushes out Belgian F-35A delivery timeline

  11th August 2023

  Belgium's plans to integrate F-35A fighter jets from Lockheed Martin hit a roadblock due to persistent delays in the deployment of the Technology Refresher 3 (TR-3) software.

• Training

  UK trains hundreds of Ukrainian marines

  14th August 2023

  Ukrainian marines were trained by Royal Marines and British Army Commandos to conduct small boat amphibious operations, including beach raids.

• Air Warfare

  US approves sale of JASSM-ER missiles to Japan

  29th August 2023

  The US State Department has approved a Foreign Military Sale of AGM-158B Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles-Extended Range (JASSM-ER) to Japan.

• Land Warfare

  Lockheed Martin unveils plans to develop new class of 500kW laser weapon

  31st July 2023

  Lockheed Martin will scale its technology to a 500kW-class laser under a new contract, aiming to optimize efficiency and size while increasing power for high-powered directed energy weapon systems.

• Land Warfare

  Arma II gets more firepower with Aselsan turret

  26th July 2023

  At IDEF 2023, the private venture Otokar Arma II (8x8) vehicle is being shown fitted with the Aselsan Korhan remote-controlled turret (RCT) armed with a locally manufactured 35 mm dual-feed cannon that can also fire locally developed Air Bursting Munitions (ABM) originally designed for air defence applications.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 1) [USA]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was ...

• 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 ...

• OPVs

  Continental Defence Corvette [Canada]

  Programme Background Requirements Under the second pillar of its shipbuilding strategy, Canada is seeking to procure an undisclosed number of small vessels (below 1000t). Part ...

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

  MQ-9B SkyGuardian (3) [Belgium]

  Background Strategic Vision 2030 In 2016, the Belgian MoD published its Strategic Vision 2030 report. This report highlighted the need for MALE reconnaissance drones to ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  KT-1B Woongbi - Indonesia

  The programme value is estimates as $30 million for the purchase of three KT-1B aircraft. The deliveries are planned to be completed in 2021. The KT-1B ...

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

  MQ-9B SkyGuardian (1-2) [Belgium]

  Background Strategic Vision 2030 In 2016, the Belgian MoD published its Strategic Vision 2030 report. This report highlighted the need for MALE reconnaissance drones to ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Fleet Solid Support (FSS) (1-3) [UK]

  Programme Background Requirement The 2015 Strategic Defence & Security Review (SDSR) highlighted the requirement for three Military Afloat Reach & Sustainability (MARS) Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ...

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

  Large ULS-A / Aerial Logistics Connector (ALC) [USMC]

  Background US Marine ULS-A programmes The US Marines are seeking a family of Unmanned Logistics Systems-Air (ULS-A), which will provide logistics and ground units with their ...

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

  Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) [Canada]

  Programme Background Programme Inception The Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) Joint Unmanned Surveillance and Target Acquisition System (JUSTAS) project was established to procure a UAS for ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  T-X / T-7A Red Hawk [USAF]

  Programme Background Goal The T-X programme aims to acquire a two-seat jet trainer aircraft to replace its Northrop Grumman T-38 Talon. The programme could be worth ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Micro VTOL [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 ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Project Land 400 Phase 3 [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement: 2015 RfI The Land 400 Phase 3 programme will procure a new tracked IFV to replace the Australian Army's legacy fleet of ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | Kingston Class Replacement [Canada]

  Under the second pillar of its shipbuilding strategy, Ottawa is seeking a replacement for its Kingston-class OPVs. The programme is still in the very early stages of project ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Helicopter engines

  T900

  The Improved Turbine Engine Program is the US Army's effort to build a 50% more powerful and 25% more fuel-efficient engine for its Black Hawk ...

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

  V-247 Vigilant

  The V-247 Vigilant is a tiltrotor UAV from Bell. Officially introduced in 2016, it features an open modular architecture and can host several payloads. These include ...

• Helicopter engines

  T901

  The Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP) is the US Army's effort to build a 50% more powerful and 25% more fuel-efficient engine for its Black ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  AVX JMR

  AVX Aircraft proposed a compound helicopter with coaxial rotors, small wings and dual ducted-fan propulsors for the US Army’s JMR-TD FVL programme. In April 2015, ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  SB-1 Defiant

  The SB-1 Defiant is a Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD) aircraft. Sikorsky and Boeing announced in February 2013 that they would submit a joint proposal ...

• ISR/special mission

  E-4B Nightwatch

  Developed by Boeing based on the 747-200 airliner, the E-4B Nightwatch is a special mission aircraft used as the US National Airborne Operations Centre and is ...

• SARAH

  Flying-Cam’s Special Aerial Response Automatic Helicopter (SARAH) has been designed for applications such as LIDAR, photogrammetry and surveying. Features include five flight modes, dual GPS antenna, ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  S-97 Raider

  The S-97 Raider helicopter is based on the five-year, company-funded X2 Technology Demonstrator project. Like the X2, the S-97 Raider will feature twin coaxial, counter-rotating ...

• Sea: tactical training

  Proteus Surface Warship CTT

  In addition to the generic Proteus Action Speed Tactical Trainer (ASTT), Kongsberg can also provide Command Team Trainers (CTT) tailored to the specific needs of ...

• Subsystems: visual

  VTTS

  The Virtual Reality Team Training System (VTTS) allows team members to interact together in one common virtual world. Every trainee uses a workstation consisting of ...

• SARAH 4.0

  Flying-Cam’s Special Aerial Response Automatic Helicopter (SARAH) 4.0 has been designed for applications such as LIDAR, photogrammetry and surveying. Features include dual GPS antenna, RIEGL LIDAR, ...

• Tiltrotors

  V-280 Valor

  Bell Helicopter Textron is developing the V-280 Valor tiltrotor for the JMR-TD FVL project. The US Army announced in August 2014 that Bell would be ...

• Sea: tactical training

  SCTT

  The Submarine Combat Team Trainer (SCTT) prepares the submarine combat information centre team for its duties with the aid of simulated combat situations and environmental ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  LTMPAV Dino 519

  The Dino 519 is a light tactical multi-purpose armored vehicle (LTMPAV) developed by Team Concept, a Poland-based armored vehicle manufacturer. 

• Major networking projects

  Project Marshall

  The Joint Military Air Traffic Services project was initiated by the UK MoD in November 2005 to identify and evaluate options for the future delivery ...