• Defence Notes

  Analysis: Saudi Arabia - A close customer (part 3 - maritime)

  18th December 2016

  We come to the last part on Saudi Arabia's defence relationship with the West, the maritime domain. This is less high profile than the land …

• Defence Notes

  Analysis: Saudi Arabia - A close customer (part 2 - air)

  14th December 2016

  As we have already seen in Part 1 – Land, the close defence relationship between Saudi Arabia's ruling House of Saud and Western governments is …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Brimstone planned for Protector UAS

  13th December 2016

  Plans are underway for UK’s Protector UAS is to be armed with the Brimstone precision strike missile when it enters service with the Royal Air …

• Defence Helicopter

  Leonardo in frame for Bangladesh ASW helicopter order

  12th December 2016

  The Bangladesh Navy (BN) has launched a hunt for two anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters in the 2017 financial year. The desired platform must be a …

• Defence Notes

  BMD option touted for UK frigate

  1st December 2016

  Raytheon has called on the Royal Navy to consider adopting its SM-3 short- to intermediate-range ballistic missile defence (BMD) system, on its future Type 31 …

• Defence Helicopter

  FAB helis achieve flying milestone

  1st December 2016

  Força Aérea Brasileira (FAB) has reached 150,000 flight hours across its fleet of Airbus Helicopters, the Brazilian air force has announced. FAB operates 33 aircraft …

• Digital Battlespace

  MBDA laser in new testing

  16th November 2016

  A new high-energy laser effector developed by MBDA Deutschland has undergone successful testing at a military training facility on Germany’s North Sea coast, the company …

• Defence Helicopter

  Analysis: Brazilian beat to rumble on (Part 1)

  10th November 2016

  The growth of Brazilian helicopter manufacturer Helibras has been marred by political uncertainty which, in turn, has impacted military orders of aircraft and delivery schedules. Nevertheless, sale prospects with …

• Defence Notes

  Type 26 construction to begin in 2017

  8th November 2016

  Construction of the Royal Navy’s Type 26 Global Combat Ships will begin with first steel cut in summer 2017, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed on …

• Defence Notes

  Type 26 Sea Ceptor contract signed

  7th November 2016

  The British Royal Navy’s Type 26 Global Combat Ships are set to carry the Sea Ceptor air defence system, with a £100 million demonstration and …

• Naval Warfare

  Indo Defence 2016: Lundin rises from the ashes

  3rd November 2016

  Shipbuilder PT Lundin is on track to deliver a replacement vessel for the Indonesian Navy’s KRI Klewang that was completely destroyed in a fire four …

• Land Warfare

  Indo Defence 2016: Clouds gather on air defence

  2nd November 2016

  Suppliers of air defence equipment are heading towards a fight as contenders to provide Indonesia with a short-medium range system build up their bids. The …

• Defence Helicopter

  Five H225Ms with teeth headed to Brazilian Navy

  26th October 2016

  The first H225M configured as a naval combat variant is expected to be delivered to the Brazilian Navy in April 2018 after military certification trials, it …

• Naval Warfare

  Indo Defence 2016: Double happiness for SIGMA

  24th October 2016

  September was a milestone for the Indonesian Navy’s (TNI-AL) frigate programme, with the first SIGMA 10514-class frigate completing sea trials on 7 September. The sea trials included …

• Defence Notes

  Philippines seals deal for frigates

  22nd October 2016

  Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) announced on 24 October that it had won a contract to build two frigates for the Philippine Navy (PN). The lot …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Loitering munitions

  Deluge (First batch) [France]

  Background Unveiling MBDA unveiled a scale model of the One-Way Effector (OWE), later named the Deluge, at the Paris Air Show 2025. As Breaking Defence reported at the ...

• Loitering munitions

  Colibri: Short-range loitering munition (Uncontracted) [France]

  Background Origins French Ministry of Armed Forces spokesperson Hervé Grandjean stated at a press conference in May 2022 that the General Directorate for Armament (DGA) ...

• Loitering munitions

  Deluge (Additional batches) [France]

  Background Unveiling MBDA unveiled a scale model of the One-Way Effector (OWE), later named the Deluge, at the Paris Air Show 2025. As Breaking Defence reported at the ...

• Loitering munitions

  Larinae: Medium-range loitering munition [France]

  Background Origins French Ministry of Armed Forces spokesperson Hervé Grandjean stated at a press conference in May 2022 that the General Directorate for Armament (DGA) ...

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

  Remote Carrier (RC) [Germany]

  Programme Background FCAS Project As noted by Airbus, the FCAS project is a tri-nation effort which will be centred around a core Next-Generation Weapon System (NGWS), which ...

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

  Remote Carrier (RC) [France]

  Programme Background FCAS Project As noted by Airbus, the FCAS project is a tri-nation effort which will be centred around a core Next-Generation Weapon System ...

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

  Remote Carrier (RC) [Spain]

  Programme Background FCAS Project As noted by Airbus, the FCAS project is a tri-nation effort which will be centred around a core Next-Generation Weapon System ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Rafale Follow-On (Egypt)

  Programme Background Egypt was reported to request 12 Rafale fighters following an earlier contract in 2015. However, this deal fell into limbo after the Pentagon blocked ...

• Self-propelled rocket launchers

  Long-Range Ground Strike (FLP-T) [France]

  Background The French Army currently operates the M270 as its only MLRS. France previously procured a total of 55, though this number had reduced to ...

• Loitering munitions

  Colibri: Short-range loitering munition (Contracted) [France]

  Background Origins French Ministry of Armed Forces spokesperson Hervé Grandjean stated at a press conference in May 2022 that the General Directorate for Armament (DGA) ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Rafale [France]

  Programme Background Rafale F4 is the latest configuration of the Rafale fighter jet family. New functions will also be developed to improve the aircraft’s capabilities ...

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

  Remote Carrier [French Navy]

  Background Carrier Air Wing Plan The French Navy presented a broad plan for its carrier air wing for the future decades at a briefing at ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Global Combat Air Programme [Italy]

  Programme Background Shephard notes that the Italian, British and Japanese components of GCAP are tracked in separate entries. Programme Timeline 2019: In September 2019, the UK and Italian ...

• Frigates

  Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC) [Saudi Arabia]

  Programme Background The US State Department approved a possible $11.25 billion Foreign Military Sale to the KSA for MMCS ships and associated equipment, parts and ...

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

  Nauru 1000C [Brazil]

  Background Contract award The Logistics Command (COLOG) of the Brazilian Army purchased three Nauru 1000C UAVs, training, 36-month integrated logistics support, two EO/MWIR XSIS 222A gimbals, ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Guided munitions

  SmartGlider Light

  The SmartGlider Light is a precision-guided air-to-ground munition developed by MBDA, designed to enhance the strike capabilities of modern combat aircraft. MBDA anticipates that the ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  VL MICA RF

  The VL MICA missile is derived from the original MICA air-to-air missile developed by MBDA. The VL MICA system's first iteration was developed for naval ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  VL MICA IR

  The VL MICA missile is derived from the original MICA air-to-air missile developed by MBDA. The VL MICA system's first iteration was developed for naval ...

• Loitering munitions

  Akeron RCH 170

  Unveiled in April 2025, the Akeron RCH 170 is a fixed-wing loitering munition from MBDA. Similar in design to the Switchblade 300, the catapult launched system ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  Aster 30

  The ASTER-30 is a vertically launched surface-to-air missile produced by Eurosam, a joint venture between MBDA France, MBDA Italy, and the Thales Group. Its basic ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  CAMM

  The Common Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM) is a short-range, anti-aircraft and anti-missile surface-to-air missile. Developed to be launched from maritime platforms, land-based platforms and aircraft, ...

• Loitering munitions

  Akeron RCX 50

  Unveiled in April 2025, the Akeron RCX 50 is a rotary-wing loitering munition from MBDA. The NX70 is designed to support infantry units by conducting battlefield ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  SHARCS

  The SHARCS is a flying testbed UAV from MBDA Deutschland, which supports the testing of various sub-systems, including avionics, sensor technology, algorithms, networking, and data links. MBDA ...

• Loitering munitions

  Deluge

  Unveiled at the Paris Air Show 2025, Deluge, formally known as the One-Way Effector (OWE), is a loitering munition and low-cost cruise missile from MBDA. The ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  Italian LDEW (Leonardo/MBDA)

  As announced in December 2024, Leonardo and MBDA are collaborating to produce a Fire Unit Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) for the Italian Navy. The ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  DragonFire

  DragonFire is a laser weapon system built for the UK MoD and manufactured by a consortium of manufacturers. The primary manufacturer is MBDA, though they ...

• Air: chaff/flare/decoy systems

  SAPHIR-M

  SAPHIR-M is a chaff and flare dispensing system for the Tiger and NH90, and is also offered for other helicopters. It offers a high decoy ...

• Loitering munitions

  Crossbow

  MBDA unveiled Crossbow, a ground-launched One Way Effector Heavy (OWE(H)) at DSEI 2025. Equipped to carry kinetic or non-kinetic payloads up to 300kg, the turbojet-powered OWE(H) ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  MPCV

  The Multi-Purpose Combat Vehicle (MPCV) is a 4x4 armoured vehicle developed by Soframe on the Mercedes-Benz Unimog 5000 truck chassis. Able to accommodate between four ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  German LDEW (Rheinmetall/MBDA)

  Rheinmetall and MBDA Germany's collaborative work on laser-directed energy weapon (LDEW) technology has resulted in a German laser weapon system that is close to being ...