• Defence Helicopter

  US Army aviation takes the fight to Daesh

  15th August 2016

  The US Army’s deployment back to Iraq has given helicopter units the first operational experience of working as attack/reconnaissance units following the service’s recent restructure …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Army eyes new helo protection in 2020s

  12th August 2016

  The US Army has set a date of 2023 to begin equipping its helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft with new self-protection systems that can warn against …

• Defence Helicopter

  Between a rock and a hard place

  10th August 2016

  In the face of domestic insurgency and an increasingly belligerent China, updating or replacing military helicopter fleets in the Philippines has become a matter of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Heron crashes in Israel

  9th August 2016

  A Heron 1 has crashed over northern Israel during a test flight on 9 August, while Israeli media reported that a number of people on …

• Defence Helicopter

  Kuwait buys 30 H225M helicopters

  9th August 2016

  Kuwait has firmed up a commitment for 30 H225M Caracal medium helicopters, signing a €1 billion contract with France’s defence minister on 9 August. The …

• Digital Battlespace

  SharpEye for Singapore’s LMVs

  9th August 2016

  Kelvin Hughes confirmed on 8 August that its SharpEye navigation radar is being installed on Singapore’s class of eight Littoral Mission Vessels (LMV). The lead …

• Defence Helicopter

  FVL aims to avoid mistakes of the past

  8th August 2016

  The US military has been in no rush to decide whether it stays entirely with helicopters or adopts more tiltrotors from 2030, but next year …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sikorsky expands Black Hawk support

  8th August 2016

  Sikorsky is looking to expand its Latin American Black Hawk support services into Mexico, the company announced on 4 August. The company will leverage its Colombian …

• Military Logistics

  Malays support USMC Herc

  8th August 2016

  A Malaysian company has completed the overhaul of a first Lockheed Martin KC-130J Hercules aircraft on behalf of the USMC stationed in Japan. The aircraft …

• Training

  HMAS Ballarat fires at ex-USS Thatch

  5th August 2016

  HMAS Ballarat, an Anzac-class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy, has fired six missiles in a sinking exercise (SINKEX) during the Rim of the Pacific …

• Training

  NZDF plays leading role in RIMPAC exercise

  4th August 2016

  The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) played a leading role in an exercise during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2016, commanding Coalition Task Force …

• Digital Battlespace

  Rychag-AB jammer offered for export

  3rd August 2016

  Rostec company Kret has announced plans to target the export market with a variant of the airborne Rychag-AB active jammer. The Rychag-AB active jammer is …

• Defence Helicopter

  Mi-8 likely brought down by machine gun fire

  2nd August 2016

  Despite being equipped with the L370-5 ‘President-S’ countermeasures suite, Russian Air Force (RuAF) Mi-8AMT(Sh)-Vs remain vulnerable to large calibre machine guns. This was starkly illustrated …

• Defence Helicopter

  VH-92A passes critical design review

  2nd August 2016

  The VH-92A Presidential Helicopter Replacement programme has successfully completed its critical design review (CDR), Lockheed Martin announced on 28 July. Passing the in-depth design review …

• Defence Helicopter

  India to upgrade dilapidated Ka-28s

  2nd August 2016

  India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed a contract with Rosoboronexport on 29 July to upgrade ten of its Kamov Ka-28 helicopters, of which only four …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 - 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

  H145M [Ireland]

  Programme Background On 30 December 2024 Ireland announced a contract with Airbus for four new H145M helicopters to replace the Air Corps existing fleet of ...

• Military helicopters - attack, Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M / H145M Add-On [Romania]

  Methodology As part of a potential initial order for 12 H225M helicopters, Romania has included the option to acquire 30 additional helicopters from Airbus. Shephard estimates this ...

• 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 - maritime

  Maritime Operations Helicopters

  The three maritime operations helicopters will be used for logistics and personnel transport, alongside transportation of PASKAL naval special forces in operations in the area. ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  SW4 Puszczyk Replacement [Poland]

  Programme Background  In 2002, Poland order 47 SW4 training helicopters from Italian manufacturer Leonardo; as of Spring 2025, the Ministry of Defence is looking to ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  NH-90 [Spain]

  Programme Background Along with a range of other air programmes, the Spanish Government announced the nation has set aside 1 billion euros (USD$1.162 billion) to ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Future Aircrew Training Program (Helicopter Procurement) - Canada

  Programme Background The FAcT requires to graduate 120 pilots, 40 combat systems officers and 36 airborne electronic sensor operators per year with 15% fluctuation. Training services ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Bell 412EPI-Indonesia

  Programme Background PTDI is assembling Bell helicopters in its factory in Bandung.  The first Bell 412EPI was delivered to Indonesian Army on 29 December 2020 ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Spain HT-29 Caiman (NH90 TTH) - Army First Batch

  HT-29 Caiman GSPAs (NH90 TTH) will be assembled at Airbus Helicopters’ facility in Albacete and will replace AS332 Super Puma fleet in service. Even though ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  TH-73 Advanced Helicopter Training System (AHTS) (TH-57 Replacement)

  Programme Background Contenders for the competition included the Leonardo single engine TH-119 – a military variant of the AW119Kx – and Bell’s newly upgraded single ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  AW101 [Poland]

  According to the media reports, Airbus couldn't provide a competitive offer for the programme due to the offset requirements.  The deliveries were to be completed ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  AH-X [Japan]

  There is no mention of the AH-X in the 2019-2023 Medium Term Defence Plan, so it is possible that the requirement has quietly been postponed. ...

• Military helicopters - light/training, Military helicopters - multirole

  H135M [Spain]

  Programme Background Spain announced the National Helicopter Plan in May 2025 culminating in five contracts awarded to Airbus on 18 December 2025, including procurement programmes ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - light/training

  H145

  The light, twin-engine EC145 began as an initiative to increase the cabin size of the BK 117 C1 aircraft, involving Kawasaki of Japan and Airbus ...

• 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 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M

  The H145M (formerly known as the EC645 T2) is the military version of the H145 medium-sized (3.7t) helicopter (covered in a separate entry). It is ...

• Military helicopters - light/training, Military helicopters - multirole

  H135M

  The H135M (formerly known as the EC635 and also designated as H135) is a light utility variant of the EC135 twin-engine, multipurpose 3t helicopter. In ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H215M

  The H215M (formerly the AS532 ALe) is the most recent addition to the Cougar family.  It is a medium-weight (9t-class), twin-engine helicopter, combining the AS532's ...

• Air: mission management systems

  Helionix

  The Helionix digital avionics suite was developed from the need for a more powerful avionics system with greater functions and computing capacity, alongside a user-friendly interface. ...

• Helicopter engines

  Arriel 2+/2D

  Unveiled in 2011, the Arriel 2+ is an upgrade of the Arriel 2 and is intended for single- and twin-engine helicopters. It incorporates a new ...

• Helicopter engines

  LTS101

  The LTS101 was first certified in 1975. Since then, over 2,100 engines have been delivered to customers worldwide, logging over 11 million service hours. The ...

• EO/IR systems

  Viviane

  Viviane is an out-of-production gyro-stabilised night and adverse weather observation system with missile sight.  Manufactured by Safran, it was fitted to French Army Gazelles. It contained a ...

• Air: mission management systems

  APM 2000

  The current generation of autopilots is the APM 2000 family, fitted on major worldwide platforms. The APM 2000 is based on an integrated digital computer. ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H175M

  The Airbus H175M is the military variant of the H175 and works to fill a gap in the H175 helicopter family, as well as offer ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  Light Armed Helicopter

  The South Korean government selected Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in July 2014 to develop the Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) and the related Light Civil Helicopter ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  AS365 N3+ Dauphin

  The AS365 N3+, manufactured by Airbus Helicopters (formerly Eurocopter), was developed from the Dauphin series of medium, twin-turboshaft rotorcraft. The AS365 N3+ was launched at the 2009 ...

• Military UAS - small

  Flexrotor

  Flexrotor, or U030 Flexrotor, is a VTOL small UAS manufactured by Aerovel. It can integrate different types of payloads, including electro-optical systems and advanced sensors, to suit ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  NH90 TTH

  Developed as a multinational programme between France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, the European NH90 was designed to meet NATO requirements for multirole capability from ...