• Land Warfare

  Challenger 3 programme promises capability upgrade as first delivery milestone approaches

  23rd August 2024

  The British Army’s Challenger 3 main battle tank (MBT) will replace existing Challenger 2s with a smaller but more capable fleet of vehicles with improved protection and notably a 120mm L55A1 smoothbore gun firing an Enhanced Kinetic Energy round. The programme is advancing rapidly with several hurdles cleared in the past year.

• Naval Warfare

  Thales secures new order from Saudi Arabia for CAPTAS family of sonars

  8th October 2024

  Riyadh has placed an order for five CAPTAS-1 to equip the Avante 2200 corvettes built by Navantia. The French company has also been discussing the supply of the CAPTAS-4 Compact for the future FREMM-EVOs of the Italian Navy.

• Naval Warfare

  HMS Glasgow gets its smart gun

  24th September 2024

  The first of the Type 26 frigates in the UK’s Royal Navy has been fitted with the Mk 45 naval gun by BAE Systems. The rest of the vessels in the fleet will follow suit in due course.

• Naval Warfare

  Hellenic Navy launches second multipurpose FDI frigate, confirms talks on fourth

  23rd September 2024

  The HS Nearchos will join its sister ship HS Kimon in a variety of roles once it has been fully equipped and passed its sea trials. The delivery timeline for the fourth frigate remains unclear due to its late confirmation.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Specialist solutions: the growing importance of niche UAS in defence

  31st July 2024

  DARPA and Northrop Grumman outline plans for the XRQ-73 uncrewed aerial system with hybrid-electric power, which will join the growing ranks of highly specialist UAV designs.

• Naval Warfare

  Palfinger Marine wins Singapore deals to supply Slipway Systems for MRCVs

  18th September 2024

  Slipway Systems were also supplied for Singapore’s eight Independence-class Littoral Mission Vessels.

• Air Warfare

  US Navy’s new jammer declared operational

  7th January 2025

  The Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) system, developed by Raytheon (RTX) is part of a larger system that will augment and ultimately replace the legacy ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System currently used on the EA-18G Growler.

• Naval Warfare

  Singapore commissions first pair of Type 218SG submarines

  26th September 2024

  Built by tkMS in Germany, Singapore’s Invincible-class Type 218SG submarines have a submerged weight of 2,200 tons and measure 70m.

• Air Warfare

  US Army and US Navy test common hypersonic missile in Hawaii

  2nd July 2024

  Data collected from the trial will enable the services to advance with the Conventional Prompt Strike and the Long Range Hypersonic Weapon All Up Round/Dark Eagle programmes.

• Naval Warfare

  Steel cutting begins on third Type 31 Inspiration-class frigate in UK

  9th October 2024

  HMS Formidable has begun steel cutting just 20 months after its predecessor vessel, HMS Active.

• Air Warfare

  Raytheon to develop Next-Gen Jammer upgrade for US navy under $192million deal

  2nd October 2024

  The development of the Next-Generation Jammer Mid-Band system and its expansion upgrade will be a joint effort between the Royal Australian Air Force and US Navy to meet emerging electronic warfare threats.

• Air Warfare

  Boeing delivers first production Grey Wolf to US Air Force

  6th August 2024

  Boeing announced in November last year that it was transitioning towards the low-rate initial production (LRIP) of the MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopter after delivering the sixth and final test aircraft to the US Air Force (USAF).

• Naval Warfare

  HII launches new San Antonio-class vessel

  9th October 2024

  The Harrisburg (LPD 30) will be the 14th vessel in the San Antonio-class.

• Defence Notes

  Saudi Arabia eyes large procurement spend as it boosts 2025 defence budget to $78 billion

  11th February 2025

  The new figure is an increase from US$75.8 billion in 2024 and showcases the country’s focus on its Saudi Vision 2030 to achieve a diversified and sustainable economy, reducing the Kingdom’s dependency on oil.

• Naval Warfare

  Israel-based Orbit sells quad-band satcom system into a NATO fleet

  31st October 2024

  The system is set to be installed on vessels across the course of 2025.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Bandit (US)

  Programme Background Goal As stated by Alyson Turri, the AFRL Bandit programme manager, the goal is to "develop an unmanned platform that looks like a fifth-generation ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Data links

  Data links | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | Light Replenishment Oiler (T-AOL) [USN]

  The US Navy wants to procure a new class of medium-sized supply ships aimed at refuelling, rearming, and resupplying naval assets. The Navy’s proposed FY2025 budget requests $7.7 ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | Light Replenishment Oiler (T-AOL) [USN]

  The US Navy wants to procure a new class of medium-sized supply ships aimed at refuelling, rearming, and resupplying naval assets. The Navy’s proposed FY2025 budget requests $7.7 ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Polar Support Vessel [Brazil]

  Programme Background Requirements In June 2020, the Brazilian Navy released a Request for Proposal (RfP) to procure a new Antarctic vessel to be manufactured in Brazil. The ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  Command Insertion Craft (CIC) [UK]

  Programme Background Requirements The Royal Navy is seeking a replacement for its fleet of LVPs Mk5 amphibious landing craft. The vessels entered service in the ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Naval Collaborative Combat Air Vehicle (N-CCAV) [India]

  Programme Background CATS Warrior The Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) is a planned, uncrewed and crewed family of aircraft in development by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Project Mosquito [UK]

  Programme Background Inception and Capabilities In 2019, in collaboration with the RAF, the UK's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) released details of its new UAS ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  High-Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS) [Thailand]

  Programme Background Roadmap In February 2024, the RTAF unveiled its White Paper 2024. Incorporating lessons from the Russo-Ukrainian War, the Israel-Hamas War, and other events ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Air Launched Effects (ALE) [UK]

  Programme Background Acquisition Pipeline First published on 13 June 2022, the Acquisition Pipeline is a forward look at potential procurement activity undertaken by the UK MoD.  ...

• Aircraft carriers

  CVX (South Korea)

  Programme Background Requirements HHI was awarded a contract for the conceptual design of the LPX-II in October 2019. The project now aims to build a ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

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

  Hybrid Tiger

  Manufactured by the Naval Research Laboratory, the Hybrid Tiger is an electric UAV. As its name suggests, the platform features a hybrid power generation unit. ...

• Air: UAS radar

  RASAR

  The real-time, autonomous, synthetic aperture radar (RASAR) is a self-contained radar designed for installation under the wing of UAS for counter-IED and FOPEN (Foliage Penetration) missions. It is ...

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

  SA-400 Jackal

  The SA-400 Jackal is a heavy-payload-capability, long-endurance VTOL UAS that had its first flight in 2013. It is an optionally piloted vehicle, so it can ...

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

  Outlaw SeaHunter

  Outlaw UAVs are used by military and research agencies for training, testing, data collection and system development. In the 114-137kg maximum take-off weight class, SeaHunter ...

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

  ShadowHawk

  The ShadowHawk is a VTOL UAV that can be transported and launched/recovered within a small area. The ShadowHawk is able to maintain aerial surveillance at ...

• Air-launched ASW torpedoes, Ship-launched torpedoes

  Shyena/TAL

  Shyena, also known as TAL (The Advanced Light Torpedo), is an Indian lightweight anti-submarine torpedo developed by the Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (affiliated to ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Havoc

  Havoc is a MALE modular payload UAS designed for customers with varying missions and payload requirements. Features include tool-less assembly, rolling take-off and landing and ...

• Military - USVs

  MAST

  The Maritime Autonomy Surface Testbed (MAST) was developed by ASV Global and Roke Manor Research under funding from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. It ...

• Subsystems: software

  SWARM

  CHI Systems worked with Lockheed Martin on a programme for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to build software models that imitate human behaviour, and ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Bat

  Northrop Grumman is developing the Bat family of medium-altitude, multi-mission UAS. The company announced two variants of the UAS (3.7m and 4.3m) and a rotary-wing ...

• Military UGVs

  Dragon Runner

  The Dragon Runner UGV, manufactured by QinitiQ, has two versions: the Dragon Runner 10 (DR10) and the slightly larger Dragon Runner 20 (DR20). All Dragon ...

• Military UGVs

  Jackal

  Launched in September 2014, Clearpath Robotics' Jackal is a small, portable, integrated and weatherproof UGV. It has been built on a metal chassis and has four wheels ...

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

  Skate

  The Skate is a small, man-packable VTOL UAV designed for performing short-range ISR at the tactical level. A thrust-vectoring system provides a near-VTOL capability, enabling ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  XQ-67A

  In February 2024, GA-ASI first released images of the XQ-67A, a drone developed as part of a contract to support the USAF's Off-Board Sensing Station ...

• Infrastructure - shelters/accommodation

  Medical Shelter System

  The Medical Shelter System has a modular and scalable design and is available in two standard sizes. Field hospital configurations allow for medical systems with ...