• Defence Helicopter

  Oil and gas saga hits Airbus orders

  26th January 2016

  The flatlining oil price continues to depress the helicopter market, Airbus Helicopters reporting a mere two orders for its H225 heavy-lift aircraft in 2015, a …

• Defence Helicopter

  Mi-8/17 after sales support to expand

  25th January 2016

  Russian Helicopters is considering strengthening its in-country after sales support capabilities in Serbia, the company announced on 20 January. The company is assessing whether the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Textron Aviation expands MRO offering

  25th January 2016

  Textron Aviation has aquired Able Engineering & Component Services and Able Aerospace, strengthening its offerings in the after sales support sector, the company announced on …

• Defence Helicopter

  Belgium to invest €9.2 billion in defence

  22nd January 2016

  The new strategic defence plan for 2030 agreed by the Belgian government on 22 December foresees 9.2 billion euros being invested in its armed forces. …

• Defence Helicopter

  Canada extends life of Griffon, Cormorant

  20th January 2016

  As it contemplates not having a fully-operational CH-148 Cyclone maritime patrol helicopter until ‘sometime in the next decade’, Canada is moving ahead with life extensions …

• Defence Helicopter

  TH-67s heading to new home in South America

  20th January 2016

  Thirty of the US Army’s divested TH-67 Creek helicopters are heading to South America to provide initial helicopter training for allied militaries across the region.  …

• Defence Helicopter

  Lithuania assigns AS365 N3+ for SAR

  18th January 2016

  Three new AS365 N3+ helicopters have now entered service with the Lithuanian armed forces, Airbus Helicopters announced on 15 January. The aircraft have been assigned to 24/7 …

• Defence Helicopter

  Russian Helicopters slated for partial privatisation

  15th January 2016

  The Russian government has revealed it is still considering selling a proportion of the shares in Russian Helicopters to a strategic investor or the holding’s …

• Defence Helicopter

  Afghanistan orders more MD 530Fs

  13th January 2016

  The Afghan Air Force (AAF) will add a dozen new armed light helicopters with enhanced mission equipment to its fleet under an award by the …

• Defence Helicopter

  China goes old-tech with gyrocopters

  12th January 2016

  The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has begun operating and flying camouflage-painted gyrocopters, pictures to recently emerge on Chinese internet websites have revealed. The gyrocopters, christened …

• Defence Helicopter

  USAF joins race to clear DVE

  11th January 2016

  The US Air Force is looking to enhance the capabilities of its Sikorsky HH-60G Pave Hawk fleet so it can operate more safely and effectively …

• Defence Helicopter

  France orders more NH90 TTHs

  8th January 2016

  The French Army Aviation has opted to increase its NH90 tactical troop helicopter (TTH) helicopter fleet to 74 units, with a new order for six …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Army begins Apache sensor upgrades

  7th January 2016

  The US Army has begun the process of upgrading the electro-optical sensors on its Apache AH-64E aircraft, allowing crews to see daytime colour imagery for …

• Defence Helicopter

  Lockheed to sustain Apache M-TADS/PNVS

  7th January 2016

  Lockheed Martin has been awarded a contract by the US Army to sustain the AH-64D/E Apache’s targeting and pilotage system, the Modernized Target Acquisition Designation …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AirMule UAS takes flight

  6th January 2016

  Tactical Robotics’ AirMule VTOL UAS has successfully completed its first untethered flight at the Megiddo airfield in northern Israel. The flight was conducted as part …

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 helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530G Lebanon

  The Armed MD 530G Scout Attack Helicopter features next-generation all-glass cockpit that includes: two Genesys Aerosystems IDU-680 6” x 9” LCD primary displays, Tek Fusion ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, 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 - 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 (Cancelled)

  Programme Background Germany requested to buy four MQ-4C Triton HALE UAVs from Northrop Grumman. On 5 April 2018, the US State Department announced that it ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8, Main battle tanks

  Tracked & Wheeled Light Tank (Philippines)

  Programme Background The decision to split the programme into a wheeled and a tracked element follows the belief of the Philippine Army that this will ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M - France

  Programme 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 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-60A [Portugal]

  Programme Background At the end of February 2025, the Portuguese Minister of National Defence said that as part of the Portuguese Army's Support, Protection & ...

• 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 - multirole

  H145M (Contracted) [Germany]

  Programme Background Previous Usage The German Armed Forces ordered 15 H145M helicopters, with the initial two delivered in December 2015, for the Kommando Spezialkräfte. These ...

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 ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530G

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

• 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 ...

• 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 UAS - rotary-wing, 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 ...

• Helicopter Armour

  Armor of America (AoA) produces custom armour kits for any rotary-wing aircraft. AoA helicopter armour protects areas such as the cockpit floor and doors, cabin ...

• 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 ...

• HEMS Completions

  RSG has been providing modification, retrofit, completion services and component overhaul to the air medical industry for over 38 years on aircraft produced by Airbus ...

• HS-16600

  Breeze-Eastern's HS-16600 external electric hoist system is operational on the Leonardo Helicopters AW109 and AW119, Bell Helicopter 206 and 222, and MD 500. It is ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 500

  The 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 the ...

• 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 ...