• Defence Notes

  ADECS 2018: South Korea harbours nuclear submarine ambitions

  31st January 2018

  South Korea is airing ambitions to form a nuclear-powered submarine (SSN) fleet and the eventual commissioning of such boats is being described as ‘politically inevitable’. …

• Defence Helicopter

  US military helicopter makes emergency landing in Okinawa

  23rd January 2018

  A US military helicopter made an emergency landing on a remote Japanese island on 23 January, police and news reports said. There were no immediate …

• Digital Battlespace

  ADECS 2018: Chinese SIGINT capabilities sound alarm bells

  31st January 2018

  The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) facility on Woody Island in the Paracel Islands is set to become a major SIGINT facility for its operations in …

• Defence Notes

  Trump's nuclear policy may spark arms race

  25th January 2018

  The US DoD is set to unveil US president Donald Trump's nuclear policy next week, and critics are already warning it could trigger another arms …

• Naval Warfare

  BAE systems to upgrade US Navy warships

  5th January 2018

  BAE Systems has been awarded a depot maintenance period (DMP) contract by the US Navy to modernise its guided missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin, (DDG 79), …

• Naval Warfare

  RAN awards frigate support contract to NSM

  4th January 2018

  Naval Ship Management (NSM), a joint venture between Babcock and UGL, has been awarded a five year agreement to provide maintenance support services to the …

• Naval Warfare

  Babcock strengthens UK Type 31 bid team

  8th January 2018

  In an effort to unsettle BAE Systems' decades-long monopoly over Royal Navy shipbuilding, Babcock and BMT have expanded their team for the UK's Type 31e …

• Digital Battlespace

  China pushing forward on weaponised AI

  12th January 2018

  China is not fooling around about becoming the world leader in weaponised artificial intelligence (AI), including killer robots and smart systems that can locate enemy troops without …

• Defence Helicopter

  Russia and India dominate helicopter orders

  31st December 2017

  Two nations that have dominated the military helicopter headlines in the latter half of 2017 are Russia and India. Russia saw numerous orders for new …

• Naval Warfare

  Korea opens fire on intruding Chinese fishing fleet

  22nd December 2017

  The Korea Coast Guard (KCG) was forced to take stringent measures against intruding Chinese fishing boats on 19 December.  In the confrontation, KCG personnel fired …

• Defence Notes

  Opinion: Learning the lessons of Gulf defence procurement

  17th November 2017

  The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced at the Dubai Air Show that it is keen to acquire the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. This is the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Milipol Paris 2017: Novadem unveils new NX70 drone variants

  22nd November 2017

  French UAV manufacturer Novadem unveiled three new variants of its NX70 micro drone, the NXWIRE, NXDROP and NXLIGHT, at the Milipol Paris internal security exhibition. The …

• Naval Warfare

  Analysis: Will China establish an ADIZ in South China Sea?

  24th November 2017

  A Chinese air defence identification zone (ADIZ) in the South China Sea would be arduous, but not an impossible task to enforce, according to a RAND …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MQ-9 shows off ASW capabilities

  15th November 2017

  General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has announced that its MQ-9 Predator B UAS has demonstrated the remote detection and tracking of submerged contacts, such as …

• Naval Warfare

  USCG commissions Oliver Berry in Hawaii

  8th November 2017

  The US Coast Guard (USCG) has commissioned Hawaii's first Sentinel-class cutter, Oliver Berry, into service at its base in Honolulu, US Pacific Command announced on …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Light attack, Trainer

  A-29 [Nigeria]

  Earlier on 3 August 2017, the US State Department announced that it has approved a possible FMS of 12 A-29 Super Tucanos to Nigeria for ...

• OPVs

  Viana do Castelo-class (Batch II - NPO3S) (5-10) [Portugal]

  Background Requirements The Viana do Castelo class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) are used for maritime patrol and surveillance, fisheries protection, SAR, anti-drug and anti-arms trafficking, illegal immigration ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  KUH-1 Surion [Iraq]

  Programme Background Iraq's purchase of two KUH-1 Surion helicopters from Korea Aerospace Industries represents another step in increased defence cooperation between Korea and Iraq after ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Navio Polivalente Logistico (NAVPOL) (Portugal)

  Programme Background Requirements The NAVPOL is expected to feature a flexible and modular LPD design capable of amphibious operations and HADR tasks. Timeline The plans for ...

• Medium Range Missile Defence Systems: 20-90km range

  NASAMS [Egypt]

  Background In July 2025, Egypt received US Government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) authorisation to import the NASAMS system and supporting equipment. Including four AN/MPQ-64F1 Sentinel radar systems, ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Camcopter S-100 [Greece]

  Background Trials On 2 August 2021, Schiebel's press release announced that the company had demonstrated the Camcopter S-100's capabilities to the Hellenic Navy. The UAV was ...

• OPVs

  Additional OPVs (2-3) [Philippines]

  Programme Background The Philippine Coast Guard has set its sights on having a fleet of five new OPVs in its quest to sustain monitoring of ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  New Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (NWJFAC) (1-31) [India]

  Programme Background Requirements The Indian Navy is seeking replacements for a large proportion of its 19 46-49m-long waterjet-powered fast attack craft, several of which are approaching ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-S (Nigeria)

  Programme Background Domestic Production Possibility As reported by TurDef, a defence news outlet focussing on Turkey, in March 2023, İsmail Yusuf Abba, Nigeria's ambassador to Ankara, stated at ...

• Maritime patrol

  Maritime Patrol Aircraft [Singapore]

  Programme Background Deployed from Changi West airbase, and jointly operated by the RSAF and Republic of Singapore Navy, the ageing Fokker 50 fleet is primarily ...

• Frigates

  Daegu Class (FFX Batch II) [South Korea]

  Programme Background The Incheon and Daegu classes are part of a re-capitalisation effort to replace the older Pohang-class corvettes and Ulsan-class frigates with a new FFX class ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Bayraktar TB2 [Nigeria]

  Programme Background Rumours On 11 October 2021, Bello Matawalle, the Governor of Zamfara State, stated that several companies had signed an MoU with the Nigerian Government. ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Tracked APC replacement [Mexico]

  Background The Mexican army currently uses a wide variety of armoured vehicles, with a mixture of domestically produced and imported platforms. The overwhelming majority of ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  LAV Replacement [Japan]

  Programme Background The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) and Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) received 1,937 Light Armoured Vehicles (LAVs) from Komatsu between 2001 and ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  Manoeuvrable Boats (1-4) [Japan]

  Programme Background Requirements According to the 2022 Defence Buildup Programme, Japan will procure new manoeuvrable boats for the Japan Ground Self-Defence Force (JGSDF). The boats ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  RF-300H

  The Falcon III RF-300H is Harris’s next-generation Falcon radio. The manpack solution was first presented at the AFCEA West conference on 21 February 2017. The ...

• Military - UUVs

  Lamprey MMAUV

  The Lamprey Multi-Mission Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (MMAUV) is a UUV designed by Lockheed Martin. The UUV is intended as an autonomous companion submersible to a ...

• OPVs

  Kingston Class

  The Kingston-class undertakes a minehunter and coastal patrol roles with the Royal Canadian Navy. A total of 12 were built by Halifax Shipyards and commissioned ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Bo 105

  The Bo 105 was developed in West Germany by manufacturer Messershmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB). MBB has since been incorporated into Eurocopter/Airbus Helicopters. The helicopter was the first light ...

• OPVs

  Viana do Castelo Class

  The Viana do Castelo class currently consists of four OPVs in service with the Portuguese Navy. The vessels entered service between 2011 and 2019, while ...

• Sea: procedural training

  IMAT

  DAS supports the development and deployment of the Interactive Multisensor Analysis Training (IMAT) system for the US Navy, used at navy schoolhouse and training centres, ...

• Fighter - electronic warfare

  Tornado ECR EW

  The Panavia Tornado Electronic Combat Reconnaissance Aircraft (ECR) is a twin-engine, multi-role combat aircraft developed and manufactured jointly by the governments and industry bases of Italy, ...

• Naval guns

  RPK-8/ RBU-6000

  RPK-8, also known as Zapad (West), is a rocket launcher system designated to provide protection against surface ships, enemy submarines and torpedoes. At the core ...

• Main battle tanks

  Leopard 1

  The Leopard 1 was developed from 1956-65 to meet the requirement of the West Germany Army for a new MBT to replace the US-supplied M47s ...

• Submachine guns

  MP5

  The MP5 is one of the most prolific 9mm SMGs in production, with more than 100 variants developed to meet the requirements of military, paramilitary ...

• Land: fire control systems

  Fieldguard

  Fieldguard is an active all-weather fire control system used to improve the accuracy of field artillery and multiple rocket launchers. Originally developed by Oerlikon Contraves ...

• Helicopter engines

  T58

  The T58 is a US turboshaft helicopter engine. Development commenced with a 1953 USN requirement for a helicopter turboshaft to weigh under 180kg while delivering ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  UH-60 Black Hawk Training Devices

  FlightSafety offers UH-60A/L pilot training on their Black Hawk Level D simulator at West Palm Beach, Florida. The UH-60A/L pilot training features the company’s exclusive ...

• Patrol boats

  RPB 33

  The RPB 33 offshore patrol boat from France's Raidco Marine is designed for the use of naval forces to enhance maritime surveillance capabilities. This new ...

• OPVs

  OPV 190 MKII

  The OCEA OPV 190 MKII is descended from the OCEA OPVs range. This multipurpose vessel is designed for law enforcement and surveillance operations, anti-smuggling and illegal ...