• Defence Helicopter

  Malta plans new helicopter purchase

  3rd September 2012

  The Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) is looking for a fleet of new helicopters to be used for border protection, it has emerged. Details of …

• Defence Helicopter

  Thailand orders four EC725s for SAR duties

  31st August 2012

  The Government of Thailand has reportedly ordered four EC725 helicopters for SAR duties, it has emerged. According to reports in the French media, the €100 …

• Military Logistics

  Turbomeca, Saab sign A109 LUH contract

  31st August 2012

  Turbomeca has announced that it has signed a contract with Saab for the repair and overhaul of Arrius 2K2 modules and engines installed on A109 …

• Defence Helicopter

  GE38 engine testing remains on schedule

  30th August 2012

  GE has reported that the GE38 turboshaft engine selected by Sikorsky for the US Marine Corps’ CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter is continuing to 'demonstrate maturity and …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Army Apache fleet reaches flight hour milestone

  28th August 2012

  The US Army's aviation programme office announced on 27 August 2012 that the US Army’s AH-64 Apache helicopter fleet has surpassed 3.5 million flight hours. …

• Defence Helicopter

  Royal Thai Army 480B deliveries complete

  24th August 2012

  Enstrom Helicopter has announced that it has completed delivery of 16 480B turbine training/utility helicopters for the Royal Thai Army (RTA).  The company said in …

• Defence Helicopter

  First NH90 arrives in Afghanistan

  24th August 2012

  The first NH90 to be deployed to Afghanistan has arrived in theatre. The Italian Army aircraft was flown into Herat in the west of Afghanistan …

• Defence Helicopter

  Marine Corps fly last CH-53D Sea Stallion sortie

  23rd August 2012

  The United States Marine Corps (USMC) has flown its last CH-53D Sea Stallion sorties in Afghanistan, marking the end of its Marine Corps service. The …

• Digital Battlespace

  Exelis confident in EnHCDR development

  21st August 2012

  ITT Exelis is confident its new enhanced variant of the High Capacity Data Radio (HCDR) is on schedule to be delivered to the UK MoD on …

• Defence Helicopter

  V-22 lands on USS Harry S Truman for carrier qualifications

  21st August 2012

  Naval Air Systems Command has announced that a V-22 Osprey from Marine Tiltrotor Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron (VMX) has landed for the first time …

• Defence Helicopter

  Lockheed Martin awarded JAGM contract

  20th August 2012

  Lockheed Martin has announced that it has received a contract from the US Army to extend the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) Technology Development programme. The …

• Defence Helicopter

  Kratos wins Black Hawk Avionics Trainer contract

  20th August 2012

  Kratos Defense & Security has announced that it has received a contract award to develop full-fidelity Black Hawk Avionics Trainers (BHAT-M) for the M model …

• Defence Helicopter

  Chinook programme reaches 50 year milestone

  17th August 2012

  Boeing has marked the 50th anniversary of delivering the first H-47 Chinook military helicopter, having delivered more than 1,200 Chinooks to 18 operators around the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Offshore helicopter boom forecast

  10th August 2012

  Eurocopter-subsidiary Helibras is eyeing a requirement from Brazil’s state-controlled oil company for 80 to 90 medium to heavy helicopters over the next decade. Petroleo Brasilero …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2012: LM demonstrates new small UAS

  9th August 2012

  Lockheed Martin is to demonstrate its Desert Hawk III, Desert Hawk Extended Endurance Range (EER) and new quadrotor UAV at the upcoming US Army Expeditionary …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530F -Kenya

  Crew transition training took place at the MD Helicopters headquarters in Mesa, Arizona, with field service support, armament, and gunnery training scheduled to occur at ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  MD 530G - Malaysia

  Procured for an urgent operational requirement for gunships to support Eastern Sabah Security Command operations, helicopter deliveries had to slip from a planned delivery of ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530G Lebanon

  The Armed MD 530G Scout Attack Helicopter features next-generation all-glass cockpit that includes: two Genesys Aerosystems IDU-680 6” x 9” LCD primary displays, Tek Fusion ...

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

  Uncrewed MD 500 Replacement [South Korea]

  Background Uncrewed Replacement of the MD 500 Throughout the 2010s, South Korea appeared interested in replacing its fleet of crewed MD 500 helicopters that were manufactured under licence ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  Project Land 2097 Phase 4 [Australia]

  Programme Background According to the RfI, under Project Land 2097 Phase 4, the selected helicopter must comprise a commercial or military off-the-shelf solution that is ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) First Batch (South Korea)

  Programme Background The LAH is the first time that the South Korean OEM has developed an armed helicopter. The project kicked off in June 2015, ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 505 (South Korea - Army)

  Programme Background Requirement South Korea operates an ageing fleet of Bell UH-1s and MD 500s for training purposes. The country has already replaced a part of ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 505 (South Korea - Navy)

  Programme Background Requirement South Korea operates an ageing fleet of Bell UH-1s and MD 500s for training purposes. The country has already replaced a part of ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Light Armed Helicopter (Second Batch) [South Korea]

  Programme Background The LAH is the first time that the South Korean OEM has developed an armed helicopter. The project kicked off in June 2015, ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton - Germany (Cancelled)

  Programme Background Germany requested to buy four MQ-4C Triton HALE UAVs from Northrop Grumman. On 5 April 2018, the US State Department announced that it ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M - France

  Programme Background In April 2021, the French government signed a deal for the purchase of eight H225M Airbus helicopters to replace its ageing fleet of SA330 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow-On [USA]

  Programme Background In March 2019, Airbus stated that it expected orders from the US Army for between 12 and 15 UH-72A helicopters. In March 2020, ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Multirole Helicopters [Poland]

  Programme Background In 2020, Poland announced the launch of the Perkoz programme to acquire 32 support helicopters to replace its fleet of Mi-2 aircraft stationed ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  New Exploration and Escort Helicopter (NEES) (Phase II) [Italy]

  Programme Background Phase I In 2017, the Italian government signed a contract with Leonardo to replace its fleet of AW129 Mangusta attack helicopters with the ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145 Helicopter [Honduras]

  Programme Background  The Honduran Government has purchased a total of four H145 Helicopters manufactured by Airbus to develop the armed forces preparedness against natural disasters ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530F Cayuse Warrior

  An evolution of the OH-6 Cayuse light observation helicopter, the MD 530F was initially Federal Aviation Administration-certified in July 1985 as the Model 369FF. It ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  MDHI Glass Cockpit

  The American aerospace manufacturer MD Helicopters Inc. (MDHI) has designed and developed a glass cockpit specifically for MD 500E AND MD 520N aircraft. It is ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 500

  US-based MD Helicopters' MD 500 is a single-engine light helicopter derived from the Hughes OH-6A Cayuse developed for the US Army in the early 1960s and ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  IDU-680

  The IDU-680 is Genesys Aerosystems’ 3D synthetic vision integrated Electronic Flight Instrument System. The system includes a Highway in the Sky navigation system, geo-referenced hover ...

• Helicopter guns

  FN HMP

  The FN HMP (Heavy Machine Gun Pod) is a self-contained airborne weapon system armed with a 50cal FN M3P heavy machine gun. It is available ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530G

  The MD 530G is the newest addition to the MD Helicopters (MDHI) line of light scout attack platforms. It has increased-capacity landing gear and a ...

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

  KUS-VH

  The Korean Air Korean Air Unmanned System-Vertical Helicopter (KUS-VH) is a large, rotary-wing UAV based on the MD 500. The first flight of the platform ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  6XX

  Publicly unveiled at Heli-Expo in March 2017, the MD Helicopters 6XX is the next evolution in the MD 500 series and is a redesigned, single-engine ...

• Helicopter engines

  M250-C30

  The M250-C30 and -C30P are the exclusive powerplants for the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger and the MD Helicopters MD 530F and MD 530G. In addition, the AH-6i is ...

• EO/IR systems

  LEO-III

  The LEO-III, or LEO-III HD, was an airborne observation system with HD sensors and video outputs. It was a COTS, gyro-stabilised platform containing a multi-sensor HD ...

• Airborne rockets - unguided

  Aculeus MD-36 and MD-432

  The Aculeus MD-36 unguided multi-dart rocket provides 36 darts for the neutralisation of columns of light armoured vehicles. The Aculeus MD-432 provides 432 darts to ...

• Helicopter engines

  M250-C47E

  The C47E is the latest growth variant of the C47B/8 engine. In addition to a hot-and-high Value Improvement Package Kit, the C47E also includes dual-channel ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MD-1366 EBEM

  The US government selected the MD-1366 Enhanced Bandwidth Efficient Modem (EBEM) from ViaSat to set the DoD standard for high-speed, high-performance,flexibility and compatibility in a ...

• EO/IR systems

  Wescam MX-10

  The Wescam MX-10 EO/IR low-weight imaging system is designed for low-altitude tactical surveillance and reconnaissance missions from crewed and uncrewed aircraft. The MX-10 has had a close ...

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

  Night Intruder 600 Vertical Take-Off (NI-600VT)

  The Night Intruder 600 Vertical Take-Off (NI-600VT) is an in-development UAV from Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) based on an MD 500 twin-seat American commercial helicopter airframe. With the ...