• Defence Helicopter

  AUSA 2014: Round Up

  15th October 2014

  Shephard's Land & Support Editor, Tim Fish, rounds up the AUSA exhibition in Washington, DC.

• Defence Helicopter

  AUSA 2014: Apache E exceed op readiness levels

  14th October 2014

  The performance of the Apache AH-64E model has exceeded expectations on operations in Afghanistan. Speaking at the AUSA Annual exhibition in Washington DC Colonel Jeff …

• Defence Helicopter

  FN Herstal expands airborne pintle mounted systems portfolio

  14th October 2014

  The Dillon Aero M134D Gatling Gun will be offered by FN Herstal as an additional option to its airborne pintle mounted systems under a teaming …

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2014: Bulgaria acquires 10 more Commando vehicles

  14th October 2014

  Textron Systems has won a contract from Bulgaria to supply 10 of its 4x4 Commando armoured vehicles valued at $15.2 million. The contract was secured …

• Defence Helicopter

  AUSA 2014: Sikorsky details US Army Raider bid (Video)

  14th October 2014

  Speaking to Shephard at the AUSA exhibition, executives at Sikorsky decribed moves to secure US Army rotary wing programmes for its Raider platform.

• Defence Helicopter

  Lockheed Martin to produce M-TADS/PNVS for Qatar

  14th October 2014

  Lockheed Martin will supply Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (M-TADS/PNVS) for the Qatar Emiri Air Force’s Apache helicopter fleet. The company was …

• Defence Helicopter

  AUSA 2014: LM’s JAGM ready for EMD

  13th October 2014

  Lockheed Martin has completed component qualification testing on the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) and is ready for the next stage of development. Speaking at the …

• Naval Warfare

  Royal Navy OPV construction underway

  13th October 2014

  Construction on the Royal Navy’s (RN’s) new Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) has begun at BAE Systems in Glasgow, with first steel cut on 10 October. …

• Defence Helicopter

  AUSA 2014: First APKWS test on non-Hydra rocket

  13th October 2014

  BAE Systems has tested its Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) on a Forges de Zeebrugge (FZ) rocket for the first time with the Australian …

• Defence Helicopter

  MD Helicopter awarded Afghan MD 530F contracts

  10th October 2014

  MD Helicopters will build and deliver 12 MD 530F helicopters for the Afghan Air Force (AAF) under a contract from the US Non-Standard Rotary Wing …

• Defence Helicopter

  Black Hawk fuel tank inerting system undergoes testing

  10th October 2014

  The development of a new fuel tank inerting system for the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter is underway, with Phyre Technologies successfully completing the prototype testing …

• Defence Helicopter

  AUSA 2014: NG supports new Saudi aviation brigade

  8th October 2014

  Over the past two years Northrop Grumman has expanded its rotary services to the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG) in anticipation of the standing up …

• Defence Helicopter

  AUSA 2014: Sikorsky unveils S-97 prototypes

  8th October 2014

  The first two S-97 Raider helicopter prototypes have been unveiled by Sikorsky, ahead of commencement of the programme’s test flight activities. The aircraft has been …

• Defence Helicopter

  Northrop Grumman outlines UH-60V cockpit upgrade plans

  8th October 2014

  Northrop Grumman will develop a next-generation Black Hawk helicopter cockpit display that leverages ANSYS system and software simulation solutions, the company announced on 8 October. …

• Military Logistics

  MSC extends AAR’s naval replenishment contract

  6th October 2014

  AAR’s naval replenishment contract with the US Navy Military Sealift Command (MSC) has been extended for one year, at a value of approximately $15 million. …

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 ...