• Defence Notes

  Raytheon and Northrop Grumman set out 'overmatch' blueprint for hypersonic cruise missile

  27th September 2022

  After jointly receiving a new hypersonic missile prototype contract, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman are confident the weapon can be developed and designed to provide USAF with overmatch capabilities.

• Land Warfare

  Poland advances plans for new armoured vehicles from South Korea

  8th August 2022

  Poland has released further details of its ambitious plans to stock up rapidly on new tanks and self-propelled howitzers of South Korean design, involving over 1,000 K2 MBTs and 600 K9 SPHs. Some will replace equipment supplied to Ukraine, but the bulk of production will be for expansion of the army.

• Naval Warfare

  Foreign Military Sale funding arms Ukrainian patrol boats

  16th September 2022

  Safe Boats International is providing four gun systems for Ukrainian Mark VI patrol boats under an FMS contract modification.

• Land Warfare

  US Army places major artillery fuze order

  28th July 2022

  The US Army has placed an order worth more than $533 million for the M782 Multi-Option Artillery Fuze.

• Naval Warfare

  UK commits to two new survey ships, the first to be procured this year

  4th October 2022

  Galvanised by the recent damage to the Nordstream pipelines, the UK is procuring new ships for keeping tabs on critical undersea infrastructure.

• Land Warfare

  Merkava-based AVLBs reach the Philippines

  15th July 2022

  Israel has delivered two bridge-laying vehicles to the Philippines, these based on an Israeli Merkava tank hull.

• Digital Battlespace

  The technologies that will define the future battlefield (podcast)

  5th August 2022

  In this bonus episode of the Shephard Defence Podcast, we bring you the third episode from the latest series of the Five Eyes Connectivity podcast.

• Defence Notes

  Rafael eyes US production of Ice Breaker

  3rd August 2022

  If Rafael can seal a production partnership in the US for Ice Breaker, Israel could use Foreign Military Financing to buy the missile rather than dipping into its own defence budget.

• Naval Warfare

  South Korea launches first KDX-III Batch 2 destroyer

  29th July 2022

  A new batch of Aegis-equipped destroyers is on the way for the ROKN, with the first launched by HHI.

• Defence Notes

  When the shoe fits: Greece looks to US and Israel for UAV and counter-drone solutions

  5th September 2022

  Greece aims to buy Israeli C-UAS equipment and it also plans to acquire the MQ-9B SeaGuardian — albeit for a hefty price.

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy retires USS Coronado

  15th September 2022

  The Littoral Combat Ship USS Coronado was decommissioned on 14 September after a short service life.

• Digital Battlespace

  US issues electromagnetic battle management system contract

  16th September 2022

  The US hopes that combining electromagnetic warfare capabilities in the sea, air, and land domains would generate enhanced combat effects.

• Air Warfare

  Farnborough 2022: Lockheed Martin delivers LANCE airborne directed-energy weapon to US Air Force Research Laboratory

  18th July 2022

  The new LANCE airborne directed-energy weapon features far better SWaP characteristics than a solution Lockheed Martin provided for the US Army five years ago.

• Land Warfare

  Brazilian Army releases RfP for 8x8 armoured reconnaissance vehicles

  21st July 2022

  The Brazilian Army is seeking a platform that can provide advanced communication systems, mobility and firepower to replace part of its Cascavel fleet.

• Naval Warfare

  Sri Lanka’s second ex-USCG cutter sails for home

  7th September 2022

  Sri Lanka's second Hamilton-class cutter from the US will arrive home in about two months' time, whilst an Indian shipbuilder is constructing a dry dock for the SLN.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  The Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  The Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement The FVL-MS programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft utilised ...

• Loitering munitions

  Launched Effects - Short Range (LE-SR) [US]

  Background Air-launched effect (ALE) In 2022, the US sought a family of systems comprising an air vehicle, payload, mission systems applications and support equipment to ...

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

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 1) [USA]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was ...

• Loitering munitions

  Launched Effects - Medium Range (LE-MR) [US]

  Background Air-launched effect (ALE) In 2022, the US sought a family of systems comprising an air vehicle, payload, mission systems applications and support equipment to ...

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

  Heavy Lift VTOL (HVTOL) [US Army]

  Background USMC First, Army Second In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial Resupply ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) (MV-75 Cheyenne II) [USA]

  Programme Background US Army's Future Vertical Lift Programme The FLRAA is one of three strands of a broader army programme. The others are the Future ...

• Tiltrotors

  V-22 Osprey [Japan]

  Programme Background Procurement Contracts The Japanese government is the first export customer of the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey, having ordered 17 helicopters from the US across ...

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

  Large ULS-A / Aerial Logistics Connector (ALC) [USMC]

  Background US Marine ULS-A programmes The US Marines are seeking a family of Unmanned Logistics Systems-Air (ULS-A), which will provide logistics and ground units with their ...

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

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 2) [US Army]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was intended to ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  CH-47F CHINOOK [USA]

  Programme Background As the Army's only heavy-lift helicopter, the CH-47F Improved Cargo helicopter is an essential component of the Army's Multi-Domain Battle framework. The CH-47F ...

• 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 ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

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

  V-247 Vigilant

  The V-247 Vigilant is a tiltrotor UAV from Bell. Officially introduced in 2016, it features an open modular architecture and can host several payloads. These include ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  SB-1 Defiant

  The SB-1 Defiant is a Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD) aircraft. Sikorsky and Boeing announced in February 2013 that they would submit a joint proposal ...

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

  Aerosonde Mk 4.8 HQ FTUAS

  From the Texton family of Aerosonde UAS, the Aerosonde Mk 4.8 Hybrid Quad (HQ) FTUAS is a tactical drone purpose-built to meet the US Army's Future Vertical Lift ...

• Military UAS - MALE, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Korean Future Vertical Lift (KFVL)

  Unveiled at KADEX 2024, the Korean Future Vertical Lift (KFVL) is a family of uncrewed helicopters from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). Despite being in the ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  S-97 Raider

  The S-97 Raider helicopter is based on the five-year, company-funded X2 Technology Demonstrator project. Like the X2, the S-97 Raider will feature twin coaxial, counter-rotating ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  AVX JMR

  AVX Aircraft proposed a compound helicopter with coaxial rotors, small wings and dual ducted-fan propulsors for the US Army’s JMR-TD FVL programme. In April 2015, ...

• Air: Defensive Systems - Radar Warning Receivers

  APR-39E(V)2

  The AN/APR-39E(V)2 is a digital radar warning receiver manufactured by Northrop Grumman. The receiver is a modernised version of the AN/APR-39 radar warning receiver and ...

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

  HQ-60

  Similarly to other platforms in the L3 Technologies Hybrid Quadrotor (HQ) and Fixed-Wing Rotator family (see separate entries) of VTOL fixed-wing UAVs, the HQ-60 has ...

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

  H6 Poseidon

  Manufactured by Swarmly, the H6 Poseidon is a fixed-wing VTOL-capable UAV. The second largest member of the Poseidon family, the vertical lift is provided through ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  X-Sight

  Elbit X-Sight is a developmental helmet-mounted display system designed for helicopters. According to the manufacturer, it will offer a high field of view and colour binocular ...

• Military UAS - MALE, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Kargo II

  The Kargo II is a cargo-carrying rotary-wing UAV from Piasecki. It has a cargo capacity of 1,300 lbs, 500 lbs more than the original Kargo ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Bell 360 Invictus

  The Bell 360 Invictus was the company's prototype for the US Army's Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) programme.  The helicopter features retractable weapon bays, two ...

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

  Veloce-15

  The ST Engineering Veloce-15 (V-15) is a hybrid fixed-wing UAV with four rotors for vertical lift and a tail-mounted two-bladed pusher propeller for horizontal propulsion.  ...

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

  Hexa

  The Hexa, or LIFT Hexa, is a rotary-wing aircraft developed by LIFT Aircraft for military and commercial markets. Due to its configuration and triple redundant autopilot computer, ...

• Land: soldier modernisation systems - industry programmes

  Warrior Systems

  General Dynamics Mission Systems is prime contractor and system integrator for the US Army’s Warrior soldier systems, which include Air Warrior, Future Force Warrior, Land Warrior ...