• Digital Battlespace

  Avalon 2017: First Growler screams into Australia

  28th February 2017

  The Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF) first pair of Boeing EA-18G Growler airborne electronic attack aircraft made their public debut on 28 February as the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Airbus Helicopters considers Polish helo options

  24th February 2017

  After the Polish government cancelled its original plan to acquire the H225M Caracal helicopter, Warsaw has launched new negotiations for the purchase of 16 multi-role …

• Special Operations

  NIMR looks to Europe

  23rd February 2017

  Nimr armoured vehicles will be marketed, distributed, produced and supported by VOP CZ in the Visegrád countries under a strategic collaboration agreement announced by Nimr …

• Land Warfare

  Indonesia hails CAESAR

  22nd February 2017

  In a vote of confidence for Nexter's truck-based CAESAR 155mm L/52 howitzer, the Indonesian Army has lodged a repeat order for 18 systems.In a press …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Avalon 2017: Team Reaper forms in Australia

  28th February 2017

  Team Reaper Australia, led by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI), was formally launched on 28 February, the opening day of the Avalon Air Show …

• Training

  King Air sim exceeds 5,000 hours

  24th February 2017

  The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) operates a fleet of 16 King Air 350 multi-role light aircraft to provide tactical air mobility, training for air …

• Special Operations

  ​Cameroon's reconnaissance unit takes on Boko Haram

  28th February 2017

  Cameroon's elite Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) is again on the offensive with Operation Thunder 2 launching on 26 February in Nigeria, targeting Boko Haram positions.Hours …

• Land Warfare

  Ammo consolidation in Russia

  10th February 2017

  A wealthy Russian businessman with close links to president Vladimir Putin has acquired a 46% stake in Tula Cartridge Works.Igor Rotenberg signed a deal with …

• Land Warfare

  Amphibious vehicles arriving for USMC

  27th February 2017

  The US Marine Corp's Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV 1.1) programme is gathering pace as more vehicles are delivered for testing.On 21 February it took delivery …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  IDEX 2017: Ukraine assesses armed ground robots

  20th February 2017

  The Ukrainian government is in the final evaluation stage for an armed unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) concept known as 'Fantom'.Developed by the company Spets Techno …

• Training

  Raytheon developing CCEWIF wargame tool

  20th February 2017

  Raytheon will develop an automated tool that assesses the effectiveness of using kinetic and non-kinetic weapons in wargames, the company announced on 16 February. The …

• Land Warfare

  K9 Thunder approved for Finnish Army

  17th February 2017

  Finland has approved the purchase of second-hand K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers from the Republic of Korea, the country's Ministry of Defence confirmed on 17 February.The …

• Military Logistics

  IDEX 2017: War reserve win for DynCorp

  14th February 2017

  DynCorp International has been awarded another contract to support the US military's War Reserve Materiel (WRM) programme in the Middle East, following a six-offer competitive …

• Defence Notes

  Analysis: War over Japanese rocks could drag in US

  12th February 2017

  The Trump administration's first defence secretary, retired general James Mattis, confirmed on 3 February in Tokyo that Article Five of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation …

• Land Warfare

  IDEX 2017: Cluster bombs removed from US missiles

  22nd February 2017

  Progress towards removing cluster munitions from the US Army's long-range MGM-140 Tactical Missile System (TACMS) is a step closer. Lockheed Martin announced at IDEX that …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Golden Eagle (Ukraine Aid) [NATO Member]

  Programme Background 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the usage and effectiveness of micro and mini UAV platforms ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 600 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background $300 Million USAI (1 April 2022) On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine following ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Drones (Ukraine Aid) [Norway]

  Programme Background September 2024 On 3 September 2024, the Norwegian government announced that "Ukraine will get more drones donated to their frontline, and more air ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Presidential Drawdown (21 April 2022) Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, on 21 April 2022, President Biden announced an $800 ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  RQ-35 Heidrun (Ukraine Aid) [Germany]

  Programme Background Early 2024 On 28 March 2024, the German Federal Government provided an update on the military aid it had given to Ukraine. In ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Drone40 (Ukraine Aid) [Australia]

  Programme Background In August 2022, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), a think tank, held a podcast with Ukraine's ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, in which ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  SkyRanger R70 (Ukraine Aid) [Canada]

  Programme Background On 19 February 2024, the Canadian Defence Minister, Bill Blair, announced that the country would donate more than 800 SkyRanger R70 UAVs to ...

• Tanks

  Leopard 2A8 [Croatia]

  Programme Background Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Croatia becomes the latest in a string of Eastern/Central European countries to bolster its ...

• Military UAS - micro

  Drones (Ukraine Aid) [Australia]

  Programme Background In April 2024, while in Lviv, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles announced a new AU$100 million military assistance package for Ukraine. This reaffirms ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2 (Aid & Discounted Units) [Ukraine]

  Programme Background Pre Invasion Units The Ukrainian Army purchased 12 TB2 units in January 2019 for a reported $69 million. Deliveries began in June 2019, ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2 (Pre-War) [Ukraine Navy]

  Programme Background Ukrainian Army The Ukraine Army purchased 12 TB2 units in January 2019 for a reported $69 million.  Contract According to Ukrainian Navy Commander ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  CV90 [Sweden]

  Programme Background As the domestic manufacturer and original operator of the CV90 IFV, Sweden has had a continuous fleet of CV90s in service since the ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Heavy Lift Helicopter [Philippines]

  Programme Background Procurement from Russia In November 2021, Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana confirmed that a contract had been signed to acquire 16 Mi-171 heavy ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Multi Role Combat Aircraft [Bangladesh]

  Programme Background The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) continues its quest to acquire a new multirole combat aircraft. Under the country’s Forces Goal 2030 plan, which ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Next Generation Fighter Aircraft (Vietnam)

  Programme Background Requirement The Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) operates an ageing fleet of Su-22 aircraft as well as Su-27s and Su-30s. According to expert commentary, ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  Il-78M

  Based on the Il-76 transport, the Il-78 convertible tanker/transport aircraft first entered service in 1974 and was followed three years later by the improved Il-78M ...

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

  Shark

  The Shark is a fixed-wing catapult launched ISR UAV developed by Ukrspecsystems. The Shark-D is the original variant; an improved Shark-M variant was unveiled in early ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2

  The Bayraktar TB2, or Bayraktar-2, is a medium-altitude long-endurance UAV developed and manufactured by Baykar. The platform can conduct ISR and armed attack missions and has a ...

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

  Orion / Orion-E

  The Orion, sometimes called the Inokhodets, is the first Russian-manufactured MALE UAV that has been designed to carry out a wide variety of military surveillance applications. Russia has ...

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

  Forpost / Forpost-R

  The Forpost was a variant of the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Searcher Mk II produced under license in Russia until 2016. Following US pressure, Israel refused to ...

• Land: battlefield and ground surveillance radar, Land: coastal surveillance radars

  SNAR-10M1

  The SNAR-10M1 is a mobile, armoured, self-propelled radar system manufactured by Almaz-Antey. It is designed with an automatic coordinate readout for locating moving ground and ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  BMP-1

  The BMP-1 (Bronevaya Maschina Piekhota-1) is a tracked amphibious IFV that was developed in the Soviet Union during the 1960s.  Entering service with the Soviet ...

• Land: air defence radar

  Nebo-SVU

  The Nebo-SVU is an air defence radar distributed by Rosoboronexport in Russia and is currently used by the Russian Army and the Iranian Army. It ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Eleron-3 (Series)

  The Eleron series comprises several variants, including Eleron-3 (T23E), Eleron-3SV, Eleron-B, Eleron-10 (T10D and 10E) and Eleron-10SV (T10). The Russian Armed Forces use Eleron-3 aircraft ...

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

  Orlan-10/10E

  Developed by the Russia-based Special Technology Center, the Orlan-10 is a medium-range UAS with many variants, such as the 10E, an export version introduced in 2017. The ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  KamAZ-43269 Vystrel

  The KamAZ-43269 Vystrel (originally known as the BPM-97) is a 4x4 armoured vehicle based on the proven KamAZ-4326 4x4 military truck chassis. Although development started in ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Mavic 3 (Series)

  The Mavic 3 is a rotary-wing UAV manufactured by DJI designed for commercial aerial photography and video capture. It has a Hasselblad L2D-20c two-camera payload, omnidirectional obstacle sensing, and ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Gerbera

  The Gerbera is a rudimentary Russian UAV manufactured by Gastello Design Bureau.  The drone's body is made of radar-absorbent foam, and the platform is reportedly available ...

• Tanks

  BMPT

  UVZ developed the BMPT Fire Support Combat Vehicle, nicknamed Terminator by the company, after studying the Russian Army's performance during the Chechen War. Designed to ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  BTR-70

  The BTR-70 is an amphibious 8x8 armoured personnel carrier originally developed for the Soviet Union's armed forces. Produced in the Soviet Union from 1972 until ...