• Naval Warfare

  DSA 2016: First NGPV-LCS due in 2019

  20th April 2016

  The Next Generation Patrol Vessel - Littoral Combat Ship (NGPV-LCS) is destined to be an important platform for the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) once it …

• Naval Warfare

  HMAS Parramatta undocks for trials

  20th April 2016

  The sixth ANZAC class frigate, HMAS Parramatta, is set to begin its test and trials phase following the completion of 600,000 hours of complex systems …

• Defence Helicopter

  DSA 2016: Anka-S achieves milestones

  19th April 2016

  The Anka-S UAV from Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has clocked up a number of achievements as it heads towards first delivery to the Turkish Air …

• Defence Helicopter

  Brazil certifies weaponised Fennecs

  18th April 2016

  The Brazilian Army has completed qualification trials of a new integrated weapon system fitted to the service’s upgraded AS550 C3e (H125M) Fennec helicopters. Airbus Helicopters’ …

• Defence Helicopter

  FDR image capability progresses

  18th April 2016

  Curtiss-Wright is actively evaluating the image recording capabilities for its Fortress Next Generation flight data recorder, Shephard has learned. The crash recorders, which are ED-112A compliant, …

• Defence Notes

  DSA 2016: Triple strike options from MBDA

  16th April 2016

  The European missile house MBDA is promoting Sea Ceptor, Sea Venom and EMADS to the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN). With old Otomat and Aspide missile systems aboard the …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Army orders 117 AH-64Es

  15th April 2016

  Boeing has received a contract worth around $1.5 billion from the US Army to remanufacture 117 AH-64D Apache attack helicopters into the new AH-64E version, …

• Training

  US demonstrates new training technology

  14th April 2016

  The US Office of Naval Research (ONR) has demonstrated new training technology at the Fleet Integrated Synthetic Training/Testing Facility (FIST2FAC) on Ford Island, Hawaii, the …

• Training

  NZ opens SAS battle training facility

  14th April 2016

  The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) inaugurated its new Battle Training Facility (BTF) dedicated for special forces use, on 8 April.  It replaces what the NZDF …

• Land Warfare

  DSA 2016: Skyshield to monitor China

  14th April 2016

  Amidst growing concern in Jakarta about Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea, Indonesia will shift some Oerlikon Skyshield air defence systems to the Natuna Islands. …

• Defence Helicopter

  DSA 2016: Indonesian Panther ready to pounce

  13th April 2016

  Airbus Helicopters is looking to speed up deliveries of its new AS565 Panther MBe to launch customers Indonesia and Mexico, with deliveries now due to …

• Defence Helicopter

  President-S for Russian Helicopters

  13th April 2016

  Russian Helicopters will fit a number of its helicopter types with its new President-S on-board defence system, it was announced on 6 April. Types to …

• Defence Helicopter

  Two Mi-171MTPR-1s delivered to the Russian MoD

  12th April 2016

  On 6 April, the Russian MoD reported that it took delivery of two Mi-8MTPR-1 electronic warfare (EW) helicopters, equipped with the Rychag-AV active jammer system. …

• Defence Helicopter

  Airbus tests HFI concept for Germany

  8th April 2016

  Airbus Helicopters has conducted the first testing phase of a research and technology study for a Hostile Fire Indication (HFI) concept for the German armed …

• Defence Helicopter

  New weapons for Thai AS550 C3e

  8th April 2016

  Shephard recently witnessed new 12.7mm FN Herstal HMP400 gun pods and FZ220 70mm rocket launchers fitted to Airbus Helicopters AS550 C3e (since being renamed H125M) …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  MD 530G - Malaysia

  Procured for an urgent operational requirement for gunships to support Eastern Sabah Security Command operations, helicopter deliveries had to slip from a planned delivery of ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Uncrewed MD 500 Replacement [South Korea]

  Background Uncrewed Replacement of the MD 500 Throughout the 2010s, South Korea appeared interested in replacing its fleet of crewed MD 500 helicopters that were manufactured under licence ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  Project Land 2097 Phase 4 [Australia]

  Programme Background According to the RfI, under Project Land 2097 Phase 4, the selected helicopter must comprise a commercial or military off-the-shelf solution that is ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD-530G [Lebanon]

  Background Order context The Lebanese MD-530 order was placed during a visit of US Central Command Commander General Joseph Votel in December 2017.  MD 530F ...

• Hybrid effector systems

  US Air Force Air Base Defence Missile Defence [US]

  Background The US Air Force's (USAF) Air Base Air Defence Missile Defence (ABAD MD) programme is part of the Air Force Physical Security System and sits ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) First Batch (South Korea)

  Programme Background The LAH is the first time that the South Korean OEM has developed an armed helicopter. The project kicked off in June 2015, ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 505 (South Korea - Army)

  Programme Background Requirement South Korea operates an ageing fleet of Bell UH-1s and MD 500s for training purposes. The country has already replaced a part of ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 505 (South Korea - Navy)

  Programme Background Requirement South Korea operates an ageing fleet of Bell UH-1s and MD 500s for training purposes. The country has already replaced a part of ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Light Armed Helicopter (Second Batch) [South Korea]

  Programme Background The LAH is the first time that the South Korean OEM has developed an armed helicopter. The project kicked off in June 2015, ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton [Germany]

  Background Global Hawk Early in the development of the Global Hawk, the German MoD also expressed interest in procuring the aircraft as a replacement for ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow-On [USA]

  Programme Background In March 2019, Airbus stated that it expected orders from the US Army for between 12 and 15 UH-72A helicopters. In March 2020, ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Multirole Helicopters [Poland]

  Programme Background In 2020, Poland announced the launch of the Perkoz programme to acquire 32 support helicopters to replace its fleet of Mi-2 aircraft stationed ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145 Helicopter [Honduras]

  Programme Background  The Honduran Government has purchased a total of four H145 Helicopters manufactured by Airbus to develop the armed forces preparedness against natural disasters ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M [France]

  Background In April 2021, the French government signed a deal for the purchase of eight H225M Airbus helicopters to replace its ageing fleet of SA330 Puma ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530F Cayuse Warrior

  An evolution of the OH-6 Cayuse light observation helicopter, the MD 530F was initially Federal Aviation Administration-certified in July 1985 as the Model 369FF. It ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  MDHI Glass Cockpit

  The American aerospace manufacturer MD Helicopters Inc. (MDHI) has designed and developed a glass cockpit specifically for MD 500E AND MD 520N aircraft. It is ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 500

  US-based MD Helicopters' MD 500 is a single-engine light helicopter derived from the Hughes OH-6A Cayuse developed for the US Army in the early 1960s and ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  IDU-680

  The IDU-680 is Genesys Aerosystems’ 3D synthetic vision integrated Electronic Flight Instrument System. The system includes a Highway in the Sky navigation system, geo-referenced hover ...

• Helicopter guns

  FN HMP

  The FN HMP (Heavy Machine Gun Pod) is a self-contained airborne weapon system armed with a 50cal FN M3P heavy machine gun. It is available ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530G

  The MD 530G is the newest addition to the MD Helicopters (MDHI) line of light scout attack platforms. It has increased-capacity landing gear and a ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  KUS-VH

  The Korean Air Korean Air Unmanned System-Vertical Helicopter (KUS-VH) is a large, rotary-wing UAV based on the MD 500. The first flight of the platform ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  6XX

  Publicly unveiled at Heli-Expo in March 2017, the MD Helicopters 6XX is the next evolution in the MD 500 series and is a redesigned, single-engine ...

• Helicopter engines

  M250-C30

  The M250-C30 and -C30P are the exclusive powerplants for the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger and the MD Helicopters MD 530F and MD 530G. In addition, the AH-6i is ...

• EO/IR systems

  LEO-III

  The LEO-III, or LEO-III HD, was an airborne observation system with HD sensors and video outputs. It was a COTS, gyro-stabilised platform containing a multi-sensor HD ...

• Airborne rockets - unguided

  Aculeus MD-36 and MD-432

  The Aculeus MD-36 unguided multi-dart rocket provides 36 darts for the neutralisation of columns of light armoured vehicles. The Aculeus MD-432 provides 432 darts to ...

• Helicopter engines

  M250-C47E

  The C47E is the latest growth variant of the C47B/8 engine. In addition to a hot-and-high Value Improvement Package Kit, the C47E also includes dual-channel ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MD-1366 EBEM

  The US government selected the MD-1366 Enhanced Bandwidth Efficient Modem (EBEM) from ViaSat to set the DoD standard for high-speed, high-performance,flexibility and compatibility in a ...

• EO/IR systems

  Wescam MX-10

  The Wescam MX-10 EO/IR low-weight imaging system is designed for low-altitude tactical surveillance and reconnaissance missions from crewed and uncrewed aircraft. The MX-10 has had a close ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Night Intruder 600 Vertical Take-Off (NI-600VT)

  The Night Intruder 600 Vertical Take-Off (NI-600VT) is an in-development UAV from Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) based on an MD 500 twin-seat American commercial helicopter airframe. With the ...