• Defence Helicopter

  Updated: UK New Medium Helicopter bidders ready to move as soon as MoD confirms timeline

  23rd June 2023

  The lack of clearly defined acquisition targets for the UK New Medium Helicopter programme continues to pose challenges to the timeline of introducing the new rotorcraft into service by 2025.

• Air Warfare

  Japan receives its full complement of Global Hawks

  4th July 2023

  All three of Japan's Global Hawk HALE UAVs have now come home to roost in the Asian nation.

• Land Warfare

  Demand for AFVs and artillery keeps South Korean firms busy

  28th June 2023

  Worldwide demand for military equipment is playing into South Korea's hands, as the country's defence industry makes deeper inroads into foreign markets.

• Land Warfare

  How the US Army is getting ready to succeed in contested multidomain scenarios

  24th July 2023

  The service has been working on the improvement of strategy, inventory and training in addition to conducting several acquisition, development and modernisation efforts.

• Air Warfare

  Malaysia signs contracts for light combat aircraft and MALE UAVs

  29th May 2023

  Malaysia announced several important aircraft contracts at LIMA 2023, including UAVs and light combat aircraft.

• Air Warfare

  Lockheed calls for ‘forward-looking approach’ on F-35 engine at Paris Air Show

  22nd June 2023

  Lockheed Martin emphasises the need for more power and cooling, suggesting a potential requirement for an Adaptive Engine Transition Program (AETP) performance-related improvement, a programme that was recently revived by the House Armed Services Committee.

• Land Warfare

  German Army to field Australian-made Boxer vehicles in export reversal

  12th July 2023

  Germany, the designer and builder of the Boxer, will turn to Australia for new 8x8 vehicles. Meanwhile, Hanwha continues to march forward with Australia's AS9 155mm SPHs.

• Air Warfare

  China’s J-20 fighter hits milestone with suspected first flight with WS15 engines

  7th July 2023

  The consensus amongst the open-source community is that China has test-flown a J-20 powered fully by WS15 engines for the first time.

• Defence Notes

  UK’s refreshed Defence Command Paper earns mixed reviews

  20th July 2023

  Having finally published a long-awaited refreshed Defence Command Paper on 18 July, experts have weighed in on the quality of the UK’s defence plans.

• Training

  Boeing ‘100% believes’ in T-7 jet despite critical GAO report and persisting programme delays

  31st May 2023

  Issues with the T-7A Red Hawk include risks of canopy fragmentation and high g-forces during ejection which have caused delays and require further design revisions. Boeing is working to address these concerns while emphasising the safety and performance improvements of the jet.

• Training

  Red 6 secures funding for augmented reality system for trainer jets

  15th June 2023

  Trainer jets that will receive Red 6's Advanced Tactical Augmented Reality System (ATARS) include the TF-50, the BAE Hawk T2 and T-7 Red Hawk.

• Land Warfare

  Why the British Army may be doomed to fail in high-intensity conflicts

  13th July 2023

  Former Chiefs of Defence Staff warn that capability gaps as well as budget and stockpile issues are putting the readiness of the UK armed forces in jeopardy.

• Training

  US Navy takes lead on Middle East maritime security training

  23rd May 2023

  The Bahrain-based Combined Maritime Forces partnership has stood up a USN-led task force to support multination training events in the region covering maritime awareness, law, interdiction, rescue and leadership development.

• Training

  Augmented reality integration on trainer aircraft progresses despite no official requirement

  27th June 2023

  Companies such as BAE Systems, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Korea Aerospace Industries are pushing forward with implementing the Red 6 augmented reality system onto jet trainers, despite the absence of formal interest from customer air forces so far.

• Defence Helicopter

  Bell expresses confidence in US Army FARA process at Paris Air Show, despite Congressional calls for scrutiny

  21st June 2023

  Bell highlighted the US Army's solid programme footing and clearly defined objectives for the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft amid calls for an analysis of alternatives from US lawmakers.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• AEW&C

  GlobalEye (1-3) [UAE]

  Programme Background The GlobalEye is a modification of Bombardier's Global 6000 jet aircraft fitted with the S-band Erieye Extended Range (ER) radar and mission system ...

• OPVs

  OPVs Procurement (1-2) [Greece]

  Programme Background Requirements According to the RFI issued in late 2022, the Hellenic Coast Guard is seeking to procure two new OPVs. The vessels are ...

• ISR/special mission

  MC-27J - Algeria

  Programme Background Algeria has a long standing ISR aircraft requirement to support its Beech 1900 fleet comprised of six aircraft. The new ISR fleet is ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Landing Platform Docks [India]

  Programme Background Requirements The LPD tender, although more akin to an LHD, specifies that the quartet of ships must be built within India, although collaboration ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Landing Platform Dock [Qatar]

  Programme Background Close to a €4 billion ($4.67 billion) contract was awarded to Fincantieri in June 2016 for the construction of seven surface vessels, including the four ...

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

  Anka-S (First Batch) [Turkey]

  Programme Background Orders In February 2018, TAI announced that it had delivered the first Anka-S UAVs to the Turkish Air Force. In late 2018, Savunmasanay ...

• Submarines: conventional, attack

  Isaac Peral Class (S-80A Plus) [Spain]

  Programme Background The S-80A SSK design for the Spanish Navy is based on the Franco-Spanish S-80 Scorpene design that both countries decided to cooperate on ...

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

  Anka-S [Chad]

  Programme Background Hurkus Trainer Aircraft On 10 July 2023, President General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno visited an air base to inspect the country's new Hurkus trainer ...

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

  Anka-S (Saudi Arabia)

  Programme Background Desired Procurement Saudi Arabia has reportedly been in negotiations to procure six Anka UAVs since 2013. It has not been disclosed which Anka ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  S-70i (Philippines)

  The Black Hawk is believed to have been the most expensive of the aircraft that had been shortlisted for the PAF project, others being the ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  EDA-S [France]

  Programme Background Following the announcement of the 14-ship contract, the DGA approved the design of the first two standard amphibious landing craft (EDA-S) in October 2019, ...

• Destroyers

  KDDX-S [South Korea]

  Programme Background Requirements During MADEX 2023, Naval News reported that there is an upcoming competition for new destroyers, namely the KDDX-S programme. According to the ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Camcopter S-100 [Greece]

  Programme Background Trails A 2 August 2021 Schiebel press release announced the company had demonstrated the Camcopter S-100's capabilities to the Hellenic Navy. The UAV was ...

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

  Anka-S [El Salvador]

  Programme Background As reported by InfoDefensa in September 2023, The Salvadoran Air Force (FAS) is considering purchasing the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) Anka-S and T625 Gokbey medium ...

• ISR/special mission

  E-6 TACAMO Recapitalisation Programme (E-130J) [USN]

  Programme Background The E-6 Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) Recapitalisation Programme (E-XX) provides for air vehicle replacement and mission systems modernization to augment and eventually ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Sea: commercial shipping radar

  FAR-21x7

  FAR-21x7 is a series of S-band and X-band radars with a 19in LCD display unit. The family consists of FAR-2117 and FAR-2127 X-band radars and ...

• Data links

  S-band TDMA Airborne Data Link

  Multiple-participant airborne S-band TDMA data link with up to 400 slots/s. Transmission rate is up to 625Kb/s. As an example, a data link built for ...

• Air: UAS radar

  Anka SATCOM Radome

  The Anka SATCOM Radome is a structural component specifically designed for the Anka-S UAV to protect satellite communication (SATCOM) antennas. Produced by Meteksan Defence, it ...

• Data links

  CMDL

  The Compact Multi-band Data Link (CMDL) operates in the Ku-, C-, L- or S-band, using both analogue and digital waveforms. It is interoperable with military ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  THPR1055

  Triad THPR1055 is a four-channel, S-Band radio system designed for long-distance uncrewed C2 and data link applications in particular.

• Land: weather radar

  Defender S-band Series

  Magnetron- and Klystron-powered Defender S-band series weather radars are designed and engineered with an output of 850kW to 1,000kW, which the company claims is the ...

• Major networking projects

  TST 111/X

  The TST 111/X X-band transportable satellite terminal provides voice and data communications through FDMA PAMA channels at 256kb/s (2Mb/s as an option) maximum. The outdoor ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar, Air: surveillance radar

  AN/APY-1/2

  The S-band AN/APY-1 radar is installed in a large rotodome above the fuselage of the Boeing KE-3A/E-3A/B Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft ...

• Data links

  TIGDL-II

  Tactical Interoperable Ground Data Link (TIGDL)-II is described as a transportable TDL surface terminal that supports military operations by providing a full duplex ground capability ...

• Land: air defence radar

  Giraffe 4A

  The Giraffe 4A is a multi-function S-band AESA radar system combining air surveillance, ground-based air defence, and weapon locating capabilities in a single platform.

• Land: weather radar

  Defender X200

  EEC’s shorter wavelength X-band weather radar is designed to be able to detect smaller particles such as high-altitude water droplets or light snow. The size ...

• Data links

  Naval TDMA Data Link Management Unit

  The multiple-participant naval TDMA data link updates a ship’s C2 via existing radios (HF, VHF, UHF, L- and S-band) and INMARSAT. The Data Link Update ...

• Naval: COMINT and ELINT systems

  C-Pearl-DV (S)

  The C-Pearl-DV (S) is a variant of the C-Pearl system adapted for submarines by integrating an antenna array with the submarine’s ESM mast, search periscope ...

• Land: air defence radar

  Series 320

  The Series 320 is a family of S-band air defence radars designed by ITT Gilfillan (now L3Harris) in the late 1970s.  It was used by ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  ULV MicroVSAT

  Ultra I&C;'s ULV MicroVSAT is a tri-band, lightweight SATCOM terminal that emphasises portability. First introduced in 2022, the modem-agnostic system supports WGS, Intelsat Flex, Inmarsat GX ...