• Naval Warfare

  Australia expands western shipbuilding precinct and sidelines Luerssen

  13th November 2024

  Australia’s investment in naval infrastructure will aim to support its expanding fleet and will focus on the Henderson naval shipbuilding precinct, but challenges remain as Luerssen exits the market due to delays in the Arafura-class project.

• Air Warfare

  Japan and South Korea upgrade F-15 fighters to keep them relevant

  24th December 2024

  Japan and South Korea plan major enhancements to their F-15 programmes.

• Defence Notes

  Unfolding the Golden Dome for America: Seven things you should know about the programme

  3rd June 2025

  Shephard talked to multiple experts about the most pressing concerns and considerations regarding the air defence system advocated by President Trump.

• Air Warfare

  T-6 Texan II trainers deepen their footprint in Asia

  20th December 2024

  Textron Aviation Defense has said it is confident it can continue to grow orders across Asia as Japan selects the T-6 Texan II to replace the Fuji T-7.

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2024: Uvision’s multi-launch system set for 2025 release

  16th October 2024

  UVision has been testing a new autonomous multi-launch loitering munition system, expected to be ready in 2025, while actively seeking new markets for deployment.

• Land Warfare

  What a Trump victory could mean for the defence industry

  6th November 2024

  Trump claimed that the US wanted “a strong and powerful military” in his victory speech.

• Naval Warfare

  Japan introduces new landing craft classes to transport army equipment

  12th November 2024

  Japan’s new Nihonbare-class landing craft has highlighted Tokyo’s strategic moves to secure its archipelagic regions. Their introduction could be of interest to Australia as it develops its own amphibious capabilities.

• Naval Warfare

  Australian Army enhances littoral reach with new landing craft

  30th July 2024

  The Australian Army is set to enhance its amphibious capabilities with the accelerated delivery of new, long-range Littoral Manoeuvre Vessels-Medium (LMV-M) by 2026, as announced by Pat Conroy, the country’s minister for defence industry, in response to the Defence Strategic Review.

• Land Warfare

  US Army makes moves on new artillery system to plug M109 gap

  17th October 2024

  Contracts have been awarded for the Self-Propelled Howitzer Performance Demonstration programme as the US Army attempts to address issues related to its 155mm field artillery capacity.

• Land Warfare

  EOS looks to improve CUAS capability as further development and deployment continue

  22nd October 2024

  EOS Defense Systems remote weapon stations (RWS) have been in service in Ukraine. The company has seen users deploy it for CUAS roles in a war where drones have been heavily used.

• Air Warfare

  Raytheon strikes deal with new rocket motor maker to secure supply chain

  26th July 2024

  Raytheon has seen increased demand for its missiles in the face of the Russia-Ukraine war where Kyiv has been using air-to-air missiles for ground-based air-defence.

• Training

  AI innovation set to revolutionise military training landscape

  16th October 2024

  Artificial intelligence offers unprecedented potential to revolutionise military training, enabling agile and decisive forces.

• Land Warfare

  Eurosatory day two: Images from across the show

  18th June 2024

  A selection of image highlights from across the exhibition floor at Eurosatory 2024.

• Naval Warfare

  Austal completes autonomy trials with former Royal Australian Navy patrol boat

  24th April 2024

  The work took place under the Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial (PBAT), which has been a collaboration between Austal, Greenroom Robotics, the Trusted Autonomous Systems Defence Cooperative Research Centre and the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) Warfare Innovation Navy Branch.

• Training

  US, Japan, Australia and the Philippines conduct major military exercise in South China Sea

  8th April 2024

  The countries conducted a Maritime Cooperative Activity (MCA) within the Philippine’s Exclusive Economic Zone on 7 April 2024.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) [USN]

  Programme Background Timeline Austal USA is building all the Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) vessels to the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) standards for the use ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Navajo Class (T-ATS)

  Programme Background Requirements The US Navy (USN) are replacing the ageing three remaining T-ATF 166 class tugboats and two remaining T-ARS 50 class ships with ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  Landing Craft Utility (LCU) 1700 [USN]

  Programme Background Timeline The US Navy LCU 1700 amphibious landing craft are being procured to replace the ageing LCU 1610 class, which has an average ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | Explorer Class / T-AGOS Surtass Ships (1-5) [USN]

  The US Navy, through the T-AGOS(X) programme, is looking to procure seven new Ocean Surveillance Ships. The new vessels are intended to replace five ageing TAGOS ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | Explorer Class / T-AGOS Surtass Ships (1-5) [USN]

  The US Navy, through the T-AGOS(X) programme, is looking to procure seven new Ocean Surveillance Ships. The new vessels are intended to replace five ageing TAGOS ...

• OPVs

  Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPC 5 to OPC 15) [USCG]

  Programme Background Timeline The Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) programme began in 2014 when the Coast Guard awarded $64 million in design contracts to Eastern. Bolliger ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Explorer Class / T-AGOS Surtass Ships (1-5) [USN]

  Programme Background Requirements The Auxiliary General Ocean Surveillance (T-AGOS) ships focus on gathering underwater acoustical data to support the mission of the Integrated Undersea Surveillance System ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | T-AGOS Surtass Ships (6-7) [USN]

  The US Navy, through the T-AGOS(X) programme, is looking to procure seven new Ocean Surveillance Ships. The new vessels are intended to replace five ageing ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | T-AGOS Surtass Ships (6-7) [USN]

  The US Navy, through the T-AGOS(X) programme, is looking to procure seven new Ocean Surveillance Ships. The new vessels are intended to replace five ageing ...

• Frigates

  Littoral Combat Ship (LCS)

  Programme Background The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) programme was developed in 2003 as a cheap and fast way to increase the size of the fleet ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | T-AGOS Surtass Ships (1-5) [USN]

  The US Navy, through the T-AGOS(X) programme, is looking to procure seven new Ocean Surveillance Ships. The new vessels are intended to replace five ageing TAGOS ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | T-AGOS Surtass Ships (1-5) [USN]

  The US Navy, through the T-AGOS(X) programme, is looking to procure seven new Ocean Surveillance Ships. The new vessels are intended to replace five ageing TAGOS ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Medium Landing Ship (9-18) [USMC]

  Programme Background Requirements As part of the US Marine Corps' future force structure, it is developing a new platform under the Medium Lading Ship programme ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  T-AGOS Surtass Ships (6-7) [USN]

  Programme Background Requirements The Auxiliary General Ocean Surveillance (T-AGOS) ships focus on gathering underwater acoustical data to support the mission of the Integrated Undersea Surveillance ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  LXX Procurement/Buques Nodriza [Spain]

  Programme Background Requirements In December 2024, the Spanish Navy released the "Armada 2050" plan, a strategic document that details the development and the long-term vision ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Spearhead Class EPF

  The Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) (formerly the Joint High-Speed Vessel – JHSV, redesignated in September 2015) can transport troops and their equipment, supporting humanitarian relief ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Navajo Class

  The Navajo-class is the USN's new class of towing, salvage, and rescue ships to replace the current T-ATF 166 and T-ARS 50 class ships. This ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  LCU 1700

  In 2018, Swiftships was awarded a contract for the Landing Craft Utility (LCU) 1700, which will replace the 32 ageing LCU 1610 class. The contract contains ...

• Military - USVs

  Overlord Uncrewed Surface Vessel

  The Overlord Uncrewed Surface Vessels (OUSV) are a fleet of US Navy (USN) Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs) consisting of four vessels under a programme named ...

• Frigates

  Independence Class (LCS)

  The USN’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) programme was originally envisaged to be 50 ships, which would provide a coastal platform that would take over from ...

• Military - USVs

  Surveyor

  Surveyor is a long-endurance, Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV) built by Saildrone in the US. Surveyor is designed for military and commercial purposes. Its primary mission ...

• OPVs

  Heritage Class

  The Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) is under construction for the USCG to bridge the capability gap between the National Security Cutter, which patrols the ...

• Patrol boats

  Cape Class

  The Cape-class patrol boat was contracted to Australian company Austal in 2011 as a replacement for the Australian Customs and Border Protection fleet of Bay-class ...

• Patrol boats

  Guardian Class

  The Guardian-class Pacific Patrol Boats are being manufactured under the Pacific Patrol Boats Replacement project by the Australian shipbuilding company Austal. The project is aimed ...

• OPVs

  Offshore Patrol 83

  Australian company Austal unveiled its proposed design for the Philippine Navy's OPV  requirement at Pacific 2019. The affordable steel hull design also features an aluminium ...

• OPVs

  OPV 60/Lethal Cape Class

  During the Indo-Pacific 2022, Austal unveiled the new OPV (Offshore Patrol Vessel) 60 design. Austal offers the platform in three different configurations: Patrol, Surveillance and ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  Caimen 500

  Developed by BMT, the Caimen 500 is designed to deliver heavy rolling and cargo payload directly to a beach, hard standing or port. The design ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  Littoral Manoeuvre Vessel - Medium (LMV-M)

  The Littoral Manoeuvre Vessel – Medium (LVM-M) is a medium landing craft design jointly developed by Birdon and Incat Crowther. The design has been selected ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  High-Speed Support Vessels (HSSV) 72

  The High-Speed Support Vessel (HSSV) is a multi-mission theatre support solution based on Austal’s high-speed catamaran platform. The all-aluminium HSSV offers a range of capabilities to ...

• Military - USVs

  Sentinel - Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial (PBAT)

  Sentinel is an autonomous uncrewed surface vessel (USV) built from the decommissioned HMAS Maitland , a former Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Armidale-class Patrol Boat.