• Defence Notes

  UK's fairy land equipment budget

  14th January 2015

  The UK Ministry of Defence’s equipment budget is based on a dream world of accounting where they think their reduced cost forecasts will be met. …

• Land Warfare

  AmSafe to supply Tarian RPG Armour system to Denmark

  12th January 2015

  On 7 January, AmSafe Bridport announced that the Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO) has selected it for its Tarian Rocket-Propelled Grenade (RPG) Armour …

• Military Logistics

  UK fleet management trial fails

  9th January 2015

  Plans to bring British Army armoured vehicles out of long-term storage for an exercise in Poland have not worked as planned. The exercise was designed …

• Military Logistics

  RAF begins A400M base proving flights

  9th January 2015

  The Royal Air Force (RAF) has announced that it has begun base proving flights for its new transport aircraft, the A400M Atlas. The RAF's first …

• Military Logistics

  UK MoD awards Babcock army vehicle contract

  8th January 2015

  According to a UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) release on 6 January 2015, Babcock has been awarded a contract for maintaining, repairing and storing army …

• Naval Warfare

  Terma SCANTER radars selected for RN OPVs

  5th January 2015

  BAE Systems has selected the Terma SCANTER 4100 radar system for the three River Class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) currently under construction for the Royal …

• Land Warfare

  BAE wins US Army AMPV

  2nd January 2015

  The US Army’s Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) programme has gone to BAE Systems after a long fought campaign against rival General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS). …

• Digital Battlespace

  OSI awarded UK ECPINS-W Sub upgrade contract

  23rd December 2014

  OSI Maritime Systems (OSI) will upgrade the Royal Navy’s Electronic Chart Precise Integrated Navigation System – Warship (ECPINS-W) Sub to add additional capabilities under a …

• Land Warfare

  Thales test man-portable LMM

  23rd December 2014

  Thales UK Advanced Weapons Systems (ADW) is developing its Lightweight Multi-Role Missile (LMM) for the land environment. In early December Thales conducted preliminary verification firings …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AR5 Life Ray Evolution to be used for maritime surveillance

  19th December 2014

  A TWO year project is about to start that will use Tekever’s AR5 Life Ray tactical UAV for maritime surveillance. The project is called 'Rapsody' …

• Military Logistics

  QE class carrier engineering support contract issued

  18th December 2014

  A new contract issued by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) will see a BAE Systems and Babcock team design the engineering support solution for …

• Land Warfare

  More UK-built content possible for Scout

  18th December 2014

  General Dynamics UK (GDUK) is updating its ‘on-shore proposal’ for the MoD that will include more UK-built content for the British Army’s new Scout SV …

• Naval Warfare

  Upgraded Spearfish torpedo can be ‘directed’ after launch

  18th December 2014

  OPERATORS firing a Spearfish torpedo from a Royal Navy submarine in the future will be able to direct it to its target. While the Spearfish …

• Naval Warfare

  UK MoD contracts Babcock for Phalanx work

  17th December 2014

  Babcock has been awarded a contract by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to deliver four Phalanx 1B kits and convert four land Phalanx Weapons …

• Land Warfare

  Pearson to assess Challenger 2

  17th December 2014

  Pearson Engineering has been selected by the UK Ministry of Defence to assess up to 60 of the British Army’s Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H135 (UK)

  Programme BackgroundAirbus Helicopters UK announced on 2 February 2022 that it has won an order to provide five additional H135 twin-engine helicopters for the MoD. The ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Global Combat Air Programme [UK]

  Programme Background The next-generation platform concept is part of the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, which sought to deliver a Future Combat Air System ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing

  FPV & Attack Drones (Ukraine Aid) [UK & Norway]

  Background £450 million On 11 April 2025, the UK MoD announced a £450 million package for Ukraine, which included £350 million from the UK from this ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Fleet Solid Support (FSS) (1-3) [UK]

  Programme Background Requirement The 2015 Strategic Defence & Security Review (SDSR) highlighted the requirement for three Military Afloat Reach & Sustainability (MARS) Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Magni-X (UK)

  Programme Background On 12 January 2022, Elbit Systems UK announced it had been awarded a contract from the UK MoD's Defence Equipment & Support's Future Capability ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Typhoon Tranche 3A - Qatar

  As a part of the agreement to sell Typhoon, the UK is establishing a ‘Joint Operations Squadron’ (to be known as 12 Squadron) with the ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Mobile Fires Platform [UK]

  Programme Background Post-Cold War Requirements Following the end of the Cold War, the UK operated a single 155mm artillery system, the AS90. The UK procured ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  Ukraine - UK supplied Fast Inshore Attack Craft (FIAC)

  Programme Background It was first reported in late September 2020 that the UK could provide eight Barzan-class fast attack craft to Ukraine. The platform has been ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  AR3 (Ukraine Aid) [UK]

  Background £270 Million investment On 15 September 2025, the UK MoD noted that, since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the UK ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Multi-Role Vehicle (Protected) (MRV-P) Package 1 (UK)

  Programme Background Requirement The MRV-P programme was intended to procure replacements for a diverse fleet of 4x4 and 6x6 vehicles purchased during the wars in Iraq ...

• Fighter - naval

  F-35B [United Kingdom]

  Programme Background The total cost of the currently funded programme as reported through the UK Major Projects Report is expected to be £10.5 billion ($13.5 ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  30,000 FPV Drones (Ukraine Aid) [UK]

  Programme Background IDCC On 9 January 2025, the UK MoD announced that 30,000 FPV drones would be sent to Ukraine after the awarding of £45 million ...

• Maritime patrol

  P-8A Poseidon [UK]

  Programme Background In July 2016, the UK government announced that it had ordered nine aircraft for service with the RAF. Under this frame, in January ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  CATV [UK]

  Programme Background CATV The CATV programme was initiated in 2019, when the UK, Germany, Netherlands and Sweden signed an MoU to share acquisition costs for ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  New Medium Helicopter (NMH) [UK]

  Programme Background NMH Market Interest Day On 11 November 2021, the MoD communicated the requirements of the £1 billion ($1.34 billion) New Medium Helicopter (NMH) ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: fixed-wing flight simulators

  UK MFTS

  The Military Flying Training System (MFTS) programme, is a private finance initiative involving the MoD and Ascent, a JV of Lockheed Martin and Babcock, which was ...

• Trainer

  Phenom 100

  Phenom 100 is a very light jet originally developed for single owner-pilot operation but later gained popularity as a jet trainer aircraft. The platform first ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  CAE 700MR

  The CAE 700MR FTD is a full mission simulator platform for military helicopter-specific flight and mission training. It is a fixed-base system based on CAE's ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  UK MSHATF

  The Medium Support Helicopter Aircrew Training Facility (MSHATF) opened for training at RAF Benson, England in July 1999. It provides training services to personnel from ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  UK/ARC341 (ADRA)

  The Advanced Digital Radio Airborne (ADRA) provides a Bowman VHF radio capability to helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. It is fully compatible with the Bowman VHF ...

• Submarines: nuclear, attack

  AUKUS SSN

  The AUKUS-SSN will be the submarine design resulting from the AUKUS trilateral pact between Australia, the US and the UK. Expected to incorporate technology from ...

• Major networking projects

  Project Marshall

  The Joint Military Air Traffic Services project was initiated by the UK MoD in November 2005 to identify and evaluate options for the future delivery ...

• Air: fixed-wing flight simulators

  ASTOR FBFCT

  The Fixed Base Flight Crew Trainer (FBFCT) is a Level 5+ FTD for the UK RAF’s Airborne Standoff Radar (ASTOR) platform. The ASTOR FBFCT is ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  BvS10 Beowulf

  BAE Systems Hägglunds launched the BvS10 Beowulf articulated tracked ATV at the September 2015 DSEI exhibition in the UK. The Beowulf is an unarmoured variant ...

• Light UGVs

  T7

  The T7 is a multi-mission robotic system designed for military, police and hazardous missions. At DSEI 2017, the UK MoD awarded the Harris Corporation a ...

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

  CAPSTONE

  CAPSTONE is a rotary-wing UAV manufactured by Certe Aerospace, which collaborates with various UK-based defence companies.  Described as a sovereign, scalable, air power capability, CAPSTONE performed ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Sparta

  Unveiled in mid-2025, the Sparta is a fixed-wing small UAV from Quantum Systems. It is a mothership that can host and launch smaller drones, such ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  ADR+ Bowman VHF/Centaur

  The ADR+ is the VHF vehicle and manpack radio member of the ADR family of VHF radios developed initially for the UK Bowman programme. The ...

• Air: chaff, flare and decoy systems

  Vicon 78

  Thales’ Vicon-78 is a lightweight countermeasures dispensing system. The system is featured in several integrated defence systems, and is capable of firing both chaff and ...

• Air-to-surface missiles

  Storm Shadow/SCALP EG

  The Storm Shadow is an air-launched cruise missile developed by France, Italy and the UK. It is known as the Storm Shadow in the UK ...