• Defence Notes

  North Korea blows up frontline bunkers

  20th November 2018

  Pyongyang blew up ten guard posts in the Demilitarized Zone on 20 November as the two Koreas pursue a reconciliation drive, even while denuclearisation talks …

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2018: ECEME uses constructive training system

  23rd November 2018

  The Brazilian Army’s Land Operations Command (COTER) has used the COMBATER constructive simulation system in an exercise for the Army Command and Headquarter Staff School …

• Training

  Simthetiq to support Brazilian armed forces’ training

  14th November 2018

  Simthetiq will provide an enterprise license of its high fidelity 3D simulation models for use in the Brazilian armed forces’ combat simulators. The contract will …

• Training

  FlightSafety to build USMC training devices

  8th November 2018

  FlightSafety International has been selected by the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division to design and manufacture flight training devices for the AH-1Z and …

• Digital Battlespace

  Harris’ AN/PRC-163 radio NSA Type-1 certified

  12th November 2018

  Harris Corporation has received National Security Agency Type-1 certification for its AN/PRC-163 multi-channel handheld networking radio, the company announced on 6 November. The Harris AN/PRC-163 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  ​AOC 2018: Blackbird detects among the Crows

  28th November 2018

  Software and hardware engineering company, TCI is promoting its Blackbird drone detection and geolocation system at the Association of Old Crows conference in Washington DC, …

• Naval Warfare

  Valiant name confirmed for second Dreadnought SSBN

  6th December 2018

  In keeping with the UK MoD’s penchant for batches of announcements or orders, its submarine industry was the recipient of two doses of good will …

• Digital Battlespace

  Augmented reality to set sail on UK Type 23s

  22nd November 2018

  Augmented reality (AR) glasses could be in action on the bridges of the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate within two years as the first step …

• Military Logistics

  Embraer completes KC-390 troop unloading test

  28th November 2018

  Embraer has completed troop unloading, evacuation by hatch and evacuation tests through the front and rear doors of the KC-390 military transport aircraft at Brasília …

• Digital Battlespace

  Finland, Bittium sign agreement

  9th November 2018

  Bittium Wireless and the Finnish Defence Forces have signed a framework agreement for Bittium's Tough Comnode terminals and related accessories, Bittium announced on 5 November. …

• Special Operations

  USSOCOM seeks enhanced SRSE capabilities

  5th December 2018

  The US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) is seeking enhanced stand-off capabilities for operators conducing Special Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Exploitation (SRSE) operations, according to new request …

• Defence Notes

  EDEX 2018: Egypt eyes JF-17 Thunder Block 3s

  5th December 2018

  The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) is currently reviewing the progress of the PAC/Chengdu JF-17 Thunder.  At EDEX 2018 in Cairo, Shephard has learnt that representatives …

• Land Warfare

  Saab to deliver Carl-Gustaf M4 to Slovenia

  27th November 2018

  Saab has received an order to deliver its Carl-Gustaf M4 multi-role weapon system to the Slovenian armed forces, the company announced on 22 November. The …

• Digital Battlespace

  AOC 2018: US Army looks to tactical edge encryption requirements

  21st November 2018

  As part of the Integrated Tactical Network (ITN) concept being explored by the US Army, planners are revising the encryption requirements at the tactical edge …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  EDEX 2018: China-Saudi Arabia unmanned presence in Egypt

  4th December 2018

  UAVs from Asia and the Middle East as well as indigenous offerings are being shown in Cairo at EDEX 2018, among them China National Aero-Technology …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-1Y [Romania]

  Programme Background The Romanian MoD has a long-standing requirement for new rotary platforms, including troop transport, supply and attack configurations. According to the the Romanian Military ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Next Tactical Aviation Capability Set (nTACS) [Canada]

  Programme Background The Royal Canadian Air Force has unveiled its new nTACS programme that aims to replace the RCAFs ageing fleet of CH-146 Griffon helicopters ...

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

  Class 2 Tactical UAS [Ireland]

  Background EU Tender On 13 March 2024, the Irish Department of Defence released a planning notice on the EU tenders website, confirming that the Irish ...

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

  Omen [UAE]

  Background Joint Venture In November 2025, EDGE Group and Anduril unveiled the EDGE-Anduril Production Alliance, a joint venture in which the two companies collaborated on ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Tracked Support Vehicle [Spain]

  Programme Background Requirement Spain has an inventory of ageing M113s in various configurations, at least 20 of which were transferred to Ukraine in 2022. According ...

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

  Multidomian Micro Drones [USSOCOM]

  Background Special Notice On 14 November 2024, a Special Notice was released that informed the industry that the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) was looking for ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-X III Phase II (F-35) [South Korea]

  Programme Background On 14 September 2014, South Korea signed an FMS contract under the first phase of F-X III programme to supply 40 F-35As for ...

• Loitering munitions

  Medium Range Precision Strike (MRPS) [UK]

  Background Prior Information Notice (PIN) On 21 October 2024, the MoD published a PIN in collaboration with the Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S;). The notice announced ...

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

  Project Corvus [UK]

  Programme Background Retirement In November 2024, speaking in the House of Commons, Defence Secretary John Healey stated that the WK 450 Watchkeeper was to be retired ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35B (1-12) [Singapore]

  Programme Background Singapore is renowned as a discerning and demanding customer, so its selection of the F-35 must be seen as a vote of confidence ...

• Maritime patrol

  P-8A Poseidon [UK]

  Programme Background In July 2016, the UK government announced that it had ordered nine aircraft for service with the RAF. Under this frame, in January ...

• 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 ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A Japan Follow On

  The F-35 full-rate production is expected to be further delayed following an October 2020 US DoD announcement that postponed the simulation tests, originally planned for 2017 ...

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

  Tactical Drone System (SDT) (1-14) [France]

  Background Tactical Drone System (SDT) programme The French Army launched the SDT programme to replace the Sagem (now Safran) Sperwer Intermediate Tactical Drone System (SDTI) ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A (1-60) [Italy]

  The 2019 and 2020 budget contained significant funding for the F-35 programme: €690 million ($775 million) in 2019 and €859 million ($962 million) in 2020, ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  Field Artillery Training Systems

  The ICE Field Artillery Training Systems for the M109A6 Paladin and M270/M270A1 MLRS provides instrumented real-time data and performance monitoring during training and live-fire missions. ...

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  ITAS-TESS

  The Improved Target Acquisition System – Tactical Engagement Simulation System (ITAS-TESS) is a laser-based system designed to conduct simulated weapons engagement during crew and collective ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  TESS

  The Tactical Engagement Simulation System (TESS) is a transparent training instrumentation system designed for the AH-64 Apache Longbow Force-on-Force collective training for live aerial gunnery ...

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  I-HITS

  The Initial Homestation Instrumentation Training System (I-HITS), developed for the US Army, provides high-fidelity, scalable CTC training capabilities for missions including force-on-force, urban operations, joint ...

• Subsystems: software

  Tactical Simulation Tool Suite

  Saab's Tactical Simulation Tool Suite is a software package for creating entity simulations and complex tactical scenarios. The software can be used as a standalone ...

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  Area Weapons Effects Simulation

  Cubic’s indirect fire and Area Weapons Effects Simulators (AWES) determine the extent of simulated injuries and damage sustained by soldiers and vehicles in a combat ...

• Air: chaff/flare/decoy systems

  BriteCloud

  Leonardo's BriteCloud is a digital radio frequency memory (DRFM) expendable active decoy (EAD). The device is designed to disrupt incoming missiles' RF tracking systems and ...

• Subsystems: visual

  G10 Image Generator

  Incorporating multiple CPU and GPU processing cores, the latest Generation10 (G10) Image Generators offer 54 billion textured pixels-per-second (peak) per channel. Using leading-edge graphics technologies, ...

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  CATS CTC

  The CATS Combat Training Centre (CTC) trains armed forces in simulated opposition. Features: direct-fire weapon effect simulation with laser engagement systems; area weapon effect simulation ...

• Subsystems: software

  Simulation

  From physics-based dynamics and intelligent entity behaviours to tactical and operational missions, Presagis simulation software tools address the rigorous challenges of M&S; applications. Its simulation ...

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  MANWORN II DPU

  The MANWORN II Dismounted Player Unit (DPU) is a flexible position location tracking system suitable for individual through brigade-level training. MANWORN II DPU features GPS ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  Helicopter Cabin/Door Gun Trainer

  The airborne cabin/door gun training system was jointly developed with Saab. It uses existing weapon installations enabling any flight to be used as a training ...

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  Magnet

  Magnet is an infantry micro-tactical weapon training system with AAR capability. It is based on a control system and laser engagement technology, which enables the ...

• Naval: COMINT and ELINT systems

  Q CIEW

  Q CIEW is a family of COMINT and EW (CIEW) systems focused on counter-terror and counter-insurgency operations in a land environment, supported by naval, air ...

• Land: vehicle simulators

  LETS

  The US Army maintains a large fleet of locomotives and rail vehicles throughout the US to facilitate the movement of equipment and supplies and provides ...