• Defence Helicopter

  More MD530F gunships headed to Afghanistan

  20th April 2015

  MD Helicopters is preparing to deliver six more MD530F light attack helicopters to the Afghan Air Force, following delivery of the initial six aircraft earlier …

• Defence Helicopter

  Peru receives three AB-412 helicopters

  20th April 2015

  The Navy of Peru has received three Agusta Bell AB-412 helicopters from the Royal Dutch Navy, the Peru Ministry of Defence announced on 14 April. …

• Defence Helicopter

  LAAD 2015: Brazilian H225M CSAR variant certification due

  17th April 2015

  Certification of the first operational CSAR variant of the Brazilian Air Force's H225M (H-36) Caracal is expected next month, according to Helibras officials. Walter Filho, head …

• Defence Helicopter

  Canadian CH-147F Chinook training facility opens

  17th April 2015

  The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and Boeing have opened a new training facility for the new CH-147F Chinook helicopter fleet, the company announced on …

• Defence Helicopter

  Industry team looks to develop helicopter training solution

  16th April 2015

  AgustaWestland North America, Bristow Group, Doss Aviation and Rockwell Collins are currently in discussions to develop a rotary-wing pilot training solution for the US military …

• Defence Helicopter

  Australian Tiger helicopter fires APKWS laser-guided rocket

  15th April 2015

  An Australian Defence Force (ADF) Tiger helicopter has fired the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) laser-guided rocket at a recent demonstration, BAE Systems announced …

• Defence Helicopter

  LAAD 2015: Bell pushes militarised commercial helicopters

  14th April 2015

  Bell Helicopter is hoping to draw on its recent success selling the 407GX aircraft to the Mexican Air Force with further orders from Latin American …

• Defence Notes

  India fast tracks Rafale purchase

  14th April 2015

  India’s new government has put its sluggish defense procurement on track by ordering two squadrons for 36 Dassault Rafales. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced …

• Defence Helicopter

  GA-ASI's Gen 3 HEL system evaluated

  13th April 2015

  General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' (GA ASI) Gen 3 High Energy Laser (HEL) system has undergone beam quality and power evaluations, the company announced on 8 …

• Defence Helicopter

  Egypt requests Hellfire II missiles

  13th April 2015

  The US State Department has approved a possible foreign military sale of AGM-114K/R3 Hellfire II missiles to Egypt, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced …

• Defence Helicopter

  Turf war intensifies over Mi-17s

  10th April 2015

  The first two of eight medium lift Mi-17 V5 helicopters were inducted by the Indian homeland Border Security Force (BSF) Air Wing on 9 April. …

• Naval Warfare

  SRSAM cleared for Indian Navy

  10th April 2015

  Following a seven-year wait India’s Defence Acquisition Council has cleared the way for production of the Short Range Surface-to-Air Missile (SRSAM) for the Indian Navy. …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Army receives 100th AH-64E Apache

  10th April 2015

  The US Army has reached a significant milestone in its AH-64E Apache helicopter programme, having taken delivery of the 100th aircraft in late March. The …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Navy adds digital rocket launchers to MH-60R

  10th April 2015

  The US Navy is equipping its MH-60R Seahawk helicopters with Digital Rocket Launchers (DRLs), US Naval Air Systems Command announced on 7 April 2015. The rocket …

• Defence Helicopter

  Pakistan enjoys attack helicopter choices – American, Chinese or Russian?

  10th April 2015

  Pakistan has several choices as it seeks to expand its army attack helicopter fleet – American, Chinese and Russian. On 6 April 2015 it emerged …

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 ...

• 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-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 - multirole

  Multirole Helicopters [Poland]

  Programme Background In 2020, Poland announced the launch of the Perkoz programme to acquire 32 support helicopters to replace its fleet of Mi-2 aircraft stationed ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  New Exploration and Escort Helicopter (NEES) (Phase II) [Italy]

  Programme Background Phase I In 2017, the Italian government signed a contract with Leonardo to replace its fleet of AW129 Mangusta attack helicopters with the ...

• 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 ...

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 ...

• 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 ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 500

  US-based MD Helicopters' 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 ...

• 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 helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530G

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

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MD-1366 EBEM

  The US government selected the MD-1366 Enhanced Bandwidth Efficient Modem (EBEM) from ViaSat to set the DoD standard for high-speed, high-performance,flexibility and compatibility in a ...

• EO/IR systems

  Wescam MX-10

  The Wescam MX-10 EO/IR low-weight imaging system is designed for low-altitude tactical surveillance and reconnaissance missions from crewed and uncrewed aircraft. The MX-10 has had a close ...

• Military UAS - MALE, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Night Intruder 600 Vertical Take-Off (NI-600VT)

  The Night Intruder 600 Vertical Take-Off (NI-600VT) is an in-development UAV from Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) based on an MD 500 twin-seat American commercial helicopter airframe. With the ...