• Military Logistics

  Cobham develops aerial refuelling coupling

  22nd September 2015

  Cobham Mission Systems has developed a new aerial refuelling reception coupling for new tanker aircraft platforms, the company announced on 16 September. The coupling is …

• Digital Battlespace

  DSEI 2015: New Giraffe AMBs for UK

  20th September 2015

  The first deliveries of the UK’s new Giraffe Agile Multi Beam (AMB) surveillance radar systems are set to commence in 2017 according to SAAB. The …

• Naval Warfare

  DSEI 2015: Turboprops better option for UK

  18th September 2015

  While many are placing their bets on the Boeing P-8 Poseidon as the future UK maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), others are calling for a competition …

• Defence Helicopter

  DSEI 2015: Taming the Wildcat (video)

  17th September 2015

  The Royal Navy has revealed more details about trials it is conducting in the Gulf region to expand the capabilities of its new AW159 Wildcat …

• Land Warfare

  Thales receives Thai StarStreak order

  17th September 2015

  Thales has signed a multi-million pound contract with DataGate in Thailand to supply the Royal Thai Army with the StarStreak air defence missile system.  This …

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2015: Training costs for British Army

  17th September 2015

  The costs of training for the British Army during FY14/15 have been revealed following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by Shephard to the UK MoD. …

• Defence Helicopter

  DSEI 2015: Australia mulls lessons of helicopter renewal (video)

  17th September 2015

  The Australian Defence Force has undergone a comprehensive renewal of its helicopter fleet in recent years, with mixed results. While the foreign military sale purchase …

• Military Logistics

  DSEI 2015: USVs boost MCM sonar capability

  17th September 2015

  The integration of Northrop Grumman’s upgraded AQS-24B mine hunting system with its Mine Hunting Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MHU) could offer improved capabilities for mine countermeasure …

• Defence Helicopter

  UK Merlin Mk2 fleet achieves FOC

  16th September 2015

  Merlin Mk2, the British Royal Navy’s anti-submarine warfare helicopter, has officially achieved Full Operating Capability (FOC) on schedule, the UK Department of Defence announced on …

• Digital Battlespace

  DSEI 2015: Geco land variant unveiled

  16th September 2015

  Inzpire has launched a land variant of its Geco (Graphical Electronic Cockpit Organiser) mission system at this year’s DSEI event in London. The company has …

• Military Logistics

  DSEI 2015: Milestone reached by UK A400M

  15th September 2015

  The Royal Air Force (RAF) has announced the in-service delivery of its seventh Airbus Defence and Space A400M Atlas, it was revealed at DSEI in …

• Naval Warfare

  Northrop demos AQS-24B mine hunting system

  15th September 2015

  Northrop Grumman has successfully demonstrated the AQS-24B mine hunting system’s ability to perform synthetic aperture sonar processing at 18 knots in real time in a …

• Defence Helicopter

  DSEI 2015: SW-4 flying solo for MoD (video)

  15th September 2015

  The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has concluded a two-year long study looking at unmanned rotary wing systems, including conducting simulated deck landings with a …

• Defence Helicopter

  Rockwell Collins to provide CRH avionics

  15th September 2015

  Sikorsky has selected Rockwell Collins to supply avionics for its Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH) programme, Rockwell Collins announced on 14 September. Under the contract, the …

• Defence Helicopter

  DSEI 2015: V-280 nears fuselage roll-out (video)

  15th September 2015

  At the Future of Rotorcraft conference in London, representatives from Bell Helicopter and Boeing briefed delegates on the progress of their contenders for the Pentagon’s …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow On

  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 - 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

  H145M [Ireland]

  Programme Background On 30 December 2024 Ireland announced a contract with Airbus for four new H145M helicopters to replace the Air Corps existing fleet of ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  TH-73 Advanced Helicopter Training System - AHTS (TH-57 Replacement)

  Contenders for the competition included the Leonardo single engine TH-119 – a military variant of the AW119Kx – and Bell’s newly upgraded single engine 407GXi. ...

• 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 ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  Maritime Operations Helicopters

  The three maritime operations helicopters will be used for logistics and personnel transport, alongside transportation of PASKAL naval special forces in operations in the area. ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  SW4 Puszczyk Replacement [Poland]

  Programme Background  In 2002, Poland order 47 SW4 training helicopters from Italian manufacturer Leonardo; as of Spring 2025, the Ministry of Defence is looking to ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  NH-90 [Spain]

  Programme Background Along with a range of other air programmes, the Spanish Government announced the nation has set aside 1 billion euros (USD$1.162 billion) to ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Future Aircrew Training Program (Helicopter Procurement) - Canada

  Programme Background The FAcT requires to graduate 120 pilots, 40 combat systems officers and 36 airborne electronic sensor operators per year with 15% fluctuation. Training services ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Bell 412EPI-Indonesia

  Programme Background PTDI is assembling Bell helicopters in its factory in Bandung.  The first Bell 412EPI was delivered to Indonesian Army on 29 December 2020 ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Spain HT-29 Caiman (NH90 TTH) - Army First Batch

  HT-29 Caiman GSPAs (NH90 TTH) will be assembled at Airbus Helicopters’ facility in Albacete and will replace AS332 Super Puma fleet in service. Even though ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  AW101 [Poland]

  According to the media reports, Airbus couldn't provide a competitive offer for the programme due to the offset requirements.  The deliveries were to be completed ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  AH-X [Japan]

  There is no mention of the AH-X in the 2019-2023 Medium Term Defence Plan, so it is possible that the requirement has quietly been postponed. ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M [Spain]

  Programme Background  In May 2025, Spain announced the National Helicopter Plan as part of the country's wider effort to rearm in response to American pressure. ...

• Military helicopters - light/training, Military helicopters - multirole

  H135M [Spain]

  Programme Background Spain announced the National Helicopter Plan in May 2025 culminating in five contracts awarded to Airbus on 18 December 2025, including procurement programmes ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - light/training

  H145

  The light, twin-engine EC145 began as an initiative to increase the cabin size of the BK 117 C1 aircraft, involving Kawasaki of Japan and Airbus ...

• Model 301 Fire Attack

  The Model 301 is a belly tank/refill hose system for Airbus Helicopters AS365-series helicopters.

• Military helicopters - light/training, Military helicopters - multirole

  H135M

  The H135M (formerly known as the EC635 and also designated as H135) is a light utility variant of the EC135 twin-engine, multipurpose 3t helicopter. In ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M

  The H145M (formerly known as the EC645 T2) is the military version of the H145 medium-sized (3.7t) helicopter (covered in a separate entry). It is ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M

  The medium-weight, 11t-class H225M (formerly known as the EC725) is the latest military Super Puma/Cougar family member.  Technical features include a modular design of mechanical ...

• Model 316 Fire Attack

  The Model 316 is a belly tank/refill hose system for Airbus Helicopters H225 and AS332 L-series helicopters.

• AC67 Airbus Helicopters H135 interior

  Bucher has developed the AC67 medical interior for the Airbus Helicopters H135 in cooperation with ADAC Luftrettung.The lightweight, modular design features a floor with integrated ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H215M

  The H215M (formerly the AS532 ALe) is the most recent addition to the Cougar family.  It is a medium-weight (9t-class), twin-engine helicopter, combining the AS532's ...

• Air: mission management systems

  Helionix

  The Helionix digital avionics suite was developed from the need for a more powerful avionics system with greater functions and computing capacity, alongside a user-friendly interface. ...

• Helicopter engines

  Arriel 2+/2D

  Unveiled in 2011, the Arriel 2+ is an upgrade of the Arriel 2 and is intended for single- and twin-engine helicopters. It incorporates a new ...

• Helicopter engines

  LTS101

  The LTS101 was first certified in 1975. Since then, over 2,100 engines have been delivered to customers worldwide, logging over 11 million service hours. The ...

• EO/IR systems

  Viviane

  Viviane is an out-of-production gyro-stabilised night and adverse weather observation system with missile sight.  Manufactured by Safran, it was fitted to French Army Gazelles. It contained a ...

• Air: mission management systems

  APM 2000

  The current generation of autopilots is the APM 2000 family, fitted on major worldwide platforms. The APM 2000 is based on an integrated digital computer. ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H175M

  The Airbus H175M is the military variant of the H175 and works to fill a gap in the H175 helicopter family, as well as offer ...

• H160

  Airbus Helicopters unveiled a full-scale model of the H160 medium twin rotorcraft on 3 March 2015 at Heli-Expo. The utility helicopter, the first to be ...