• Defence Notes

  Thales pulls up stakes in Hanwha

  16th August 2016

  Hanwha Techwin will take over Thales’ 50% stake in the Hanwha Thales joint venture, according to a filing to the Korea Exchange on 29 July. …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Army aviation takes the fight to Daesh

  15th August 2016

  The US Army’s deployment back to Iraq has given helicopter units the first operational experience of working as attack/reconnaissance units following the service’s recent restructure …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Army eyes new helo protection in 2020s

  12th August 2016

  The US Army has set a date of 2023 to begin equipping its helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft with new self-protection systems that can warn against …

• Defence Helicopter

  Between a rock and a hard place

  10th August 2016

  In the face of domestic insurgency and an increasingly belligerent China, updating or replacing military helicopter fleets in the Philippines has become a matter of …

• Defence Helicopter

  Kuwait buys 30 H225M helicopters

  9th August 2016

  Kuwait has firmed up a commitment for 30 H225M Caracal medium helicopters, signing a €1 billion contract with France’s defence minister on 9 August. The …

• Digital Battlespace

  SharpEye for Singapore’s LMVs

  9th August 2016

  Kelvin Hughes confirmed on 8 August that its SharpEye navigation radar is being installed on Singapore’s class of eight Littoral Mission Vessels (LMV). The lead …

• Defence Helicopter

  FVL aims to avoid mistakes of the past

  8th August 2016

  The US military has been in no rush to decide whether it stays entirely with helicopters or adopts more tiltrotors from 2030, but next year …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sikorsky expands Black Hawk support

  8th August 2016

  Sikorsky is looking to expand its Latin American Black Hawk support services into Mexico, the company announced on 4 August. The company will leverage its Colombian …

• Military Logistics

  Malays support USMC Herc

  8th August 2016

  A Malaysian company has completed the overhaul of a first Lockheed Martin KC-130J Hercules aircraft on behalf of the USMC stationed in Japan. The aircraft …

• Training

  HMAS Ballarat fires at ex-USS Thatch

  5th August 2016

  HMAS Ballarat, an Anzac-class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy, has fired six missiles in a sinking exercise (SINKEX) during the Rim of the Pacific …

• Training

  NZDF plays leading role in RIMPAC exercise

  4th August 2016

  The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) played a leading role in an exercise during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2016, commanding Coalition Task Force …

• Digital Battlespace

  Rychag-AB jammer offered for export

  3rd August 2016

  Rostec company Kret has announced plans to target the export market with a variant of the airborne Rychag-AB active jammer. The Rychag-AB active jammer is …

• Defence Helicopter

  Mi-8 likely brought down by machine gun fire

  2nd August 2016

  Despite being equipped with the L370-5 ‘President-S’ countermeasures suite, Russian Air Force (RuAF) Mi-8AMT(Sh)-Vs remain vulnerable to large calibre machine guns. This was starkly illustrated …

• Defence Helicopter

  VH-92A passes critical design review

  2nd August 2016

  The VH-92A Presidential Helicopter Replacement programme has successfully completed its critical design review (CDR), Lockheed Martin announced on 28 July. Passing the in-depth design review …

• Defence Helicopter

  India to upgrade dilapidated Ka-28s

  2nd August 2016

  India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed a contract with Rosoboronexport on 29 July to upgrade ten of its Kamov Ka-28 helicopters, of which only four …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - attack

  Mi-28UB - Russia

  Programme BackgroundThe Russian MoD plans to acquire up to 60 Mi-28UB aircraft for the Russian Air Force by mid-2020s. Moscow signed a contract with Russian Helicopters ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Mi-28UB - Forecast [Russia]

  Programme Background The Russian MoD plans to acquire up to 60 Mi-28UB aircraft for the Russian Air Force by mid-2020s. Moscow signed a contract with Russian ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  Ka-52K Katran [Russia]

  Programme Background The Ka-52K Katran is a navalised version of the Ka-52 Alligator reconnaissance and attack helicopter.  The history of the Ka-52K is aligned with ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-60A [Portugal]

  Programme Background At the end of February 2025, the Portuguese Minister of National Defence said that as part of the Portuguese Army's Support, Protection & ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  AW119Kx [Bosnia and Herzegovina]

  Programme Background  In May 2025, the U.S. State Department approved an FMS to Bosnia and Herzegovina for approximately $100 million including 8 AW119Kx helicopters and a ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Mi-26T2 Halo [Russia]

  Programme Background The original Mi-26 was initially revealed to the West at the Paris airshow in June 1981. In terms of carrying capacity (weight and ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-1Y Venom (Czechia)

  Programme Background Czech Armed Forces intended to use the UH-1Y Venom helicopters in various missions including utility, search and rescue, aerial reconnaissance, air-to-ground support and ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  CH-47D Replacement [Thailand]

  Programme Background The RTA divested its six Boeing CH-47D Chinooks after failing to sell the 25-year-old aircraft on the second-hand market. Thailand found Chinook maintenance ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Ka-226T- Air Force [India]

  Programme Background India had operated a diverse and antiquated fleet of helicopters to support its high-altitude operations along contested borders with China and Pakistan. Reducing ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  T129 (Nigeria)

  Programme Background Requirement The Nigerian Air Force has an ongoing requirement for attack helicopters in order to assist the country's ongoing counter-insurgency operations. Nigeria already ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Ka-226T - Army [India]

  Programme Background India had operated a diverse and antiquated fleet of helicopters to support its high-altitude operations along contested borders with China and Pakistan. Reducing ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  Naval Utility Helicopters [India]

  Programme Background The programme would have involved the formation of a joint venture between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and another local or foreign manufacturer. In June ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  AH-1Z Viper [Czech Republic]

  Programme Background On 3 May 2019, it was announced that the US State Department had approved a possible FMS of four AH-1Z Vipers to the Czech ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Heavy-lift Helicopter STH [Germany]

  Programme Background The German government issued a tender in March 2019 for the procurement of heavy-lift helicopters under the Schwerer Transporthubschrauber (STH) program, 60 units are ...

• 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 ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - attack

  Mi-28UB

  Russian Helicopters unveiled the Mi-28UB rotorcraft at the International Aviation and Space Salon (MAKS 2013) exhibition. As the combat training modification of the Mi-28NE Night ...

• Model 327 Fire Attack

  The Model 327 is a belly tank/refill hose system designed for the Russian Helicopters Ansat.

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Mi-38

  Russian Helicopters' Mi-38 medium-lift helicopter is designed to compete with the Leonardo AW101 and Sikorsky S-92 in both the civil and military markets. The first ...

• Model 328 Fire Attack

  The Model 328 is a belly tank/refill hose system designed for the Russian Helicopters Ka-32.

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

  BAS-750

  The BAS-750, or БАС-750, is a rotary-wing UAS unveiled at Army 2022 by Russian Helicopters. Described as a multifunctional UAV, it can host various payloads to complete several mission ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  NSTsI-V

  Developed by KRET, the NSTsI-V is a helmet-mounted targeting and display system for pilots. The system projects an image onto the transparent screen in front of ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Mi-28N/Mi-28NM

  The Mi-28N is a Russian attack helicopter manufactured by Russian Helicopters for use by the Russian Armed Forces. The helicopter is twin-engined with tandem seating ...

• Helicopter guns

  YAK-B

  The YAK-B is a four-barrel 12.7x108mm Gatling gun. The system is remotely controlled, using a gas-operated mechanism, and offers a high rate of fire. It ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Mi-171Sh

  The Mi-8AMTSh (domestic)/Mi-171Sh (export) is a civil and military transport helicopter that was developed from the Mi-8MT/Mi-17 by the Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant. The type is built ...

• Air: Electronic Attack - Jamming

  Rychag-AVM

  KRET’s Rychag-AVM radio frequency jammer is designed to perform electronic attack against hostile communications and radar systems. The Rychag-AVM ensemble is mounted onboard dedicated Mil ...

• Land: RWS

  Nanuk Russian

  Rheinmetall Canada's Nanuk RWS family includes this variant for non-NATO weapons, which combines full stabilisation, long-range day/night all-weather sights and a versatile weapon cradle that ...

• Land: RWS

  Qimek Russian

  Rheinmetall's Qimek single-weapon RWS family includes a variant for non-NATO weapons, which combines full stabilisation, long-range day/night all-weather sights and a versatile weapon cradle for ...

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar

  Kopyo-A

  The Kopyo-A is a Russian, multipurpose radar intended for deployment on helicopters. It is designed for coastal monitoring, search and detection of sea surface and ground ...

• Military helicopters - attack, Military helicopters - multirole

  Mi-35M

  The Mi-35M is a multirole combat helicopter used for ground attack, assault and cargo transport. It is the current production version of Rostvertol's Mi-24/35. Designed ...

• Helicopter guns

  GSh-23L

  The GSh-23 is a 23mm double-barrelled aircraft gun designed by KBP Instrument Design Bureau. The gun is designed to fire fragmentation mines, armour-piercing explosives and ...