• Defence Notes

  US lifts Vietnam arms embargo

  26th May 2016

  The first order of business during US President Barack Obama’s state visit to Vietnam was to lift a long-standing arms embargo on lethal weapons on …

• Land Warfare

  New power pack packs a punch

  25th May 2016

  Today’s soldiers, including special forces, are burdened with an excess of batteries to power the increasing number of electronic items they carry.  The UK arm …

• Defence Notes

  UDT 2016: DCNS eyes Ula replacement

  25th May 2016

  French defence company DCNS has their eyes on the proposed plan by the Norwegian MoD to replace their Ula-class diesel electric boats with new boats. …

• Naval Warfare

  Raytheon delivers Railgun containers

  25th May 2016

  Raytheon has started deliveries of pulse power containers for the US Navy Railgun programme, it announced on 23 May. The containers have multiple pulsed power …

• Land Warfare

  Thales thermal cameras for Indian T90s

  24th May 2016

  Thales has been awarded a contract from Beltech to provide its Catherine thermal imaging cameras for installation in Indian T90 main battle tanks (MBTs), it …

• Naval Warfare

  Saab bags Swedish torpedo order

  24th May 2016

  Saab has been awarded an order from the Swedish Defence Material Administration (FMV) to develop and produce a New Lightweight Torpedo system, it announced on …

• Military Logistics

  General Dynamics to support NAVSUP WSS

  24th May 2016

  General Dynamics Information Technology has been awarded a 48-month, $46.7 million contract to provide security and IT services support to the US Naval Supply Systems …

• Defence Notes

  UK awards F-35 missile contract

  23rd May 2016

  The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded a £411 million contract to MBDA for developing a new missile for its F-35B future supersonic stealth …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  SAS 2016: Liquid pushes Wave Glider

  23rd May 2016

  The latest version of California-based Liquid Robotics’ Wave Glider unmanned surface vessel – the SV3 is the company’s new flagship product. Speaking at the Navy …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Zephyr S to get solar sheets

  23rd May 2016

  Airbus Defence and Space has issued a production contract to MicroLink Devices for its epitaxial liftoff (ELO)-based multi-junction solar sheets to use for the former's …

• Digital Battlespace

  Orbital bags proximity sensor order

  23rd May 2016

  Orbital ATK has been awarded a $16 million order for its DSU-33D/B proximity sensors, with deliveries to begin in mid-2016, it announced on 19 May. …

• Training

  ITEC 2016: Saab shows new capabilities

  20th May 2016

  Saab has used ITEC 2016 to announce a number of new contracts and highlight their participation in Exercise Arrow, the first time that the US and …

• Naval Warfare

  SAS 2016: US Navy expands patrol boat forward presence

  20th May 2016

  With a pending deployment of two craft to Guam, the US Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) is expanding the forward presence of its new Mk …

• Naval Warfare

  SAS 2016: LCS gets Harpoon missile

  19th May 2016

  ‘If it floats, it needs to fight’, Capt Jaime Engdahl, programme manager for Precision Strike Weapons and the LRASM Deployment Office told the Sea-Air-Space exhibition …

• Training

  ITEC 2016: Helo gunner training goes virtual (video)

  18th May 2016

  Australian company Virtual Simulation Systems is displaying its complete aircrew training system (CATS) at this year's ITEC exhibition in London. The system is designed for …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Destroyers

  Type 83 Future Air Defence System (FADS) [UK]

  Programme Background Requirements The Daring-class (Type 45) consists of six ships, although the original plan was to have 12 destroyers. This was cut to eight in ...

• Destroyers

  Next-Generation Large Surface Combatants (LSC) - DDG(X) [USN]

  Programme Background Requirements The US Navy (USN) is acknowledging a need to move away from the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer design, which is slowly outgrowing. Flight III ...

• Frigates

  European Combat Vessel [Spain]

  Programme Background Requirements The European Combat Vessel (ECV) is currently a conceptual project that seeks to design a European collaborative multi-mission, modular warship. As of ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Combat Fighter Jet [Ireland]

  In February 2025, Simon Harris, the Irish Minister for Defence and Tánaiste, emphasised the importance of acquiring a new combat fighter jet to address aerial ...

• Data links

  Data links | Combat Fighter Jet [Ireland]

  In February 2025, Simon Harris, the Irish Minister for Defence and Tánaiste, emphasised the importance of acquiring a new combat fighter jet to address aerial ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | Combat Fighter Jet [Ireland]

  In February 2025, Simon Harris, the Irish Minister for Defence and Tánaiste, emphasised the importance of acquiring a new combat fighter jet to address aerial ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | Combat Fighter Jet [Ireland]

  In February 2025, Simon Harris, the Irish Minister for Defence and Tánaiste, emphasised the importance of acquiring a new combat fighter jet to address aerial ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | Combat Fighter Jet [Ireland]

  In February 2025, Simon Harris, the Irish Minister for Defence and Tánaiste, emphasised the importance of acquiring a new combat fighter jet to address aerial ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Multi-Role Strike Ship (MRSS) Programme [UK]

  Programme Background Requirements According to the UK MoD's March 2021 Defence Command Paper, entitled 'Defence in a Competitive Age', the RN will invest in six ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A400M [Germany]

  Programme Background Germany originally said it would but 60 A400Ms, but when the program was re-baselined in 2010 reduced its planed off take to 53, ...

• Destroyers

  Sejong the Great Class (KDX-III) Batch 2 (1-3) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Requirements The Sejong the Great class (KDX-III) Batch 2 will consist of three improved Sejong the Great-class (KDX-III) batch 1 guided-missile destroyers, which ...

• Military UAS - mini

  U&C reconnaissance drones [US Army]

  Methodology PGO The programme has been assigned a PGO of 100%, as a contract has been awarded. Unit cost It has not been clarified what ...

• Corvettes

  Continental Defence Corvette [Canada]

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

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  Alpha 900 [Uruguay]

  Background Acqustiion In October 2022, the Alpha 900 from Alpha Unmanned Systems was reportedly jointly purchased by the Uruguayan state energy company UTE and the ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  Fractl:2

  Fractl:2, developed and manufactured by AIM Defence, is an Australian laser directed energy weapon (LDEW). The high-powered portable system is Australia's first acquisition of a directed ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  Apollo

  Apollo is a High-Energy Laser Weapon System manufactured by Electro Optic Systems (EOS). Apollo's laser utilises directed energy to disable or destroy aerial targets without ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  DIAL

  The Laser Weapon Instrumental Demonstrator (DIAL), in joint development with Indra and Escribano Mechanical Engineering, is a Spanish laser directed energy weapon (LDEW). The system ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  Minotaur

  Minotaur, developed by Soukos Robots, is a Greek laser directed energy weapon (LDEW). Minotaur is an anti-drone platform with the ability to shoot down unmanned ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  Italian LDEW (Leonardo/MBDA)

  As announced in December 2024, Leonardo and MBDA are collaborating to produce a Fire Unit Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) for the Italian Navy. The ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons, Self-propelled guns, Self-propelled missile systems

  SkyRanger 30

  SkyRanger 30 is a mobile ground-based air defence (GBAD) laser directed energy weapon (LDEW) system designed by Rheinmetall. The system comprises automatic cannons, guided missiles, and a ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  CROSSBOW MINI

  CROSSBOW MINI, developed by IPG Photonics, is a laser-directed energy weapon (LDEW). The LDEW has multiple deployable configurations and is a part of the manufacturers ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  Archimedes

  Archimedes, developed by Aurelius Systems, is a laser-directed energy weapon designed to stop drones at scale. The system is still in development, though Aurelius received ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  ALKA-KAPLAN

  ALKA-KAPLAN is a collaborative effort between Turkish manufacturers ROKETSAN and FNSS. The system is a mobile armoured anti-drone system, which integrates the ALKA directed energy-weapon ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  German LDEW (Rheinmetall/MBDA)

  Rheinmetall and MBDA Germany's collaborative work on laser-directed energy weapon (LDEW) technology has resulted in a German laser weapon system that is close to being ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  Guorong-1 Anti Drone System

  Guorong-1 is an anti-drone system developed by China. The system is jointly developed by the Chinese Electronics Technology Group (CETG), Guorong Technology, and the Chinese public ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  DroneDefender

  DroneDefender is a directed-energy UAS countermeasure that disrupts the adversary's control of the aircraft, neutralising it so that no remote action (including detonation) can occur, ...

• Destroyers

  Flight III Destroyer

  During Indo Pacific 2023, Navantia Australia unveiled a 10200t destroyer design. Dubbed as Flight III Destroyer, the Spanish shipbuilder is pitching the ship for the ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  MEHEL 2.0

  The Mobile Expeditionary High-Energy Laser (MEHEL) is a C-UAS-capable vehicle that employs directed energy to neutralise targets. MEHEL 2.0 was first seen at AUSA 2016, ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  SCATA Mk1

  The SCATA Mk1 is the first military vehicle developed by Finland's SCATA.