• Training

  New trainer for the Royal School of Artillery

  21st September 2018

  Cubic Defence UK (CDUK) has delivered the first of six Artillery Mission Training Systems (AMST) to the Royal School of Artillery (RSA) at Larkhill. The …

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy orders more Independence-class ships

  21st September 2018

  Austal has received construction contracts from the US Navy to build two additional Independence-class Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), the company announced on 18 September. These …

• Military Logistics

  USS George Washington RCOH progresses

  27th September 2018

  Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division has completed around 25 percent of refuelling and complex overhaul (RCOH) work aboard the US Navy's nuclear-powered aircraft …

• Naval Warfare

  ADAS 2018: HHI cuts steel on second Philippine frigate

  26th September 2018

  Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) hosted a ceremony on 17 September to mark the cutting of steel for the second of two frigates for the Philippine …

• Special Operations

  Sharpening the claws of coalition SOF operations

  24th September 2018

  Special operations forces from a coalition of 10 nations initiated Exercise Night Hawk on 17th September, designed to develop skill sets associated with special missions …

• Defence Notes

  US coalition to block North Korean oil

  20th September 2018

  A US government effort to build a multinational coalition to monitor North Korean violations of fuel smuggling appears to be gaining steam. The Trump administration, …

• Naval Warfare

  JFD and US Navy introduce Shadow NAV

  25th September 2018

  JFD has partnered with the US Navy’s Naval Surface Warfare Centre – Panama City Division (NSWC PCD) to develop an advanced hands-free combat diver navigation …

• Digital Battlespace

  Thales looks to digitise Thai APCs

  18th September 2018

  Thales and its Thai partner Datagate have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the Thai Defence Technology Institute (DTI) to enhance digital communications for …

• Training

  Inzpire supports Exercise Typhoon Warrior

  4th September 2018

  Inzpire’s Collective Training Division has supported the Royal Air Force (RAF) during Exercise Typhoon Warrior, the company announced on 29 August. The exercise provides RAF …

• Military Logistics

  US Navy teaches partners small boat repair skills

  20th September 2018

  US Navy personnel are teaching partner nations the critical logistics skills necessary to repair and maintain small boat fleets to support special operations and other …

• Naval Warfare

  HMS Bangor returns to home port

  4th September 2018

  The Royal Navy’s mine hunter HMS Bangor has returned to its home port of HM Naval Base Clyde on 31 August following a three-year deployment …

• Training

  Singapore commissions LMV Simulator Centre

  26th September 2018

  The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) inaugurated a new Littoral Mission Vessel (LMV) simulation centre on 26 September at the same time as commissioning its …

• Defence Notes

  US B-52s fly over South and East China Seas

  27th September 2018

  US B-52 bombers have recently conducted transit operations in the South China Sea and East China Sea, the Pentagon said on 26 September, amid soaring …

• Naval Warfare

  Ukraine strengthens its naval power

  18th September 2018

  Ukraine continues to invest in its naval fleet development by taking delivery of new vessels while also planning the purchase of additional platforms. The first …

• Naval Warfare

  New naval vessel concepts appear in Taiwan

  2nd October 2018

  New designs appeared at the Kaohsiung International Maritime and Defense Expo from 27-30 September, including a multipurpose frigate cooperatively designed by the National Chung-Shan Institute …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munition (Royal Navy) [UK]

  Background Persistent Operational Deployment Systems (PODS) As the Royal Navy stated in 2022, Persistent Operational Deployment Systems (PODS) are “interchangeable modules that can be fitted to ...

• Directed energy weapons

  Project Dragonfire [UK]

  Background The UK Government's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) has been working with MBDA, Leonardo and QinetiQ to develop a LASER Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) called ...

• Military UAS - small

  T-150 (Royal Navy) [UK]

  Background Deployment On 7 April 2025, the Royal Navy announced that, for the first time, nine T-150 drones would be operated from the HMS Prince ...

• Land: air defence radar

  Lanza 3D Radar [Thailand]

  Background Thailand is procuring the LANZA 3D radar to strengthen surveillance and protection of Sattahip Naval Base. The radar will be deployed by the Royal ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Flexible Tactical Uncrewed Air System (FTUAS) [UK]

  Background Tender notice and timeline On 25 May 2021, the MoD published a tender notice for the urgent acquisition of a UAS and ancillaries under ...

• Military UAS - small

  Puma 3 AE (UK)

  Programme Background Testing The Royal Navy announced in October 2020 that the Puma was undergoing its first operational testing on HMS Albion's autumn deployment to ...

• Frigates

  Hamilton Class Cutter [Bahrain]

  Background Very little has been said about the transfer of an ex-Hamilton-class cutter to Bahrain, but it is one of the final two to leave ...

• Patrol boats

  Evolved Cape Class (1-6) [Australia]

  Programme Background Austal was awarded a contract to build six 'Evolved' Cape-class patrol boats for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) on 1 May 2020. The contract ...

• Patrol boats

  Evolved Cape Class (7-8) [Australia]

  Programme Background Austal was awarded a contract to build six 'Evolved'Cape-class patrol boats for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) on 1 May 2020 (see separate ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Boraida Class replacement [Saudi Arabia]

  Background Requirements The Royal Saudi Navy urges the replacement of three Boraida-class minehunters. Based on the Durance-class design, the ships entered service in the mid-1980s ...

• Minehunters

  Lat Ya Class Replacement Programme [Thailand]

  Programme Background Requirements The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) currently operates two Lat Ya-class minehunters, commissioned in the late 1990s. The units are based on the ...

• Frigates

  Air Defence Frigates Procurement [Denmark]

  Background Requirements After focusing on the procurement of new highly capable patrol ships and new Arctic frigates as a replacement for the Thetis-class, Shephard had initially estimated ...

• Frigates

  Karel Dorman Class (Chile)

  Programme Background  Chile currently operates two ex-Karel Doorman-class frigates which were sold in 2004. The Royal Netherlands Navy are in the process of replacing the ...

• Military UAS - small

  V-Bat [Netherlands]

  Background Contract award On 9 July 2025, Shield AI announced that the Netherlands MoD had acquired eight V-Bat aircraft, specifically the V-Bat 400, to enhance the maritime ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Multi-Role Support Ship (MRSS) (3) [Malaysia]

  Programme Background Requirements The Royal Malaysian Navy are in the process of a fleet transformation plan known as the 15 to 5 Transformation Plan, which ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Submarine-launched torpedoes

  Mk 48 Mod 7AT CBASS

  The MK 48 MOD 7 Common Broadband Advanced Sonar System (CBASS) is the latest variant of the Mk 48 torpedo family manufactured by Lockheed Martin and ...

• Military - UUVs

  XV Excalibur

  XV Excalibur is an Extra Large Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle (XLUUV) built by UK-based MSubs, in conjunction with the Royal Navy. It is an experimental vessel ...

• Frigates

  Hunter Class (Type 26)

  The Hunter-class frigates for the Royal Australian Navy are based on the Type 26 design. The ships are set to replace the Anzac-class under the ...

• Sea: naval fire control radar

  Ceros 200

  The Ceros 200 is a radar and optronic tracking system designed for use on naval vessels. When interfaced with modern missile or gun systems, it ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  Royal Danish Navy MH-60R MOFT

  In January 2014, CAE was awarded an FMS contract by the USN to develop an MH-60R mission operational flight trainer (MOFT) for the Royal Danish ...

• Frigates

  Naresuan Class

  The Naresuan-class guided-missile frigates are a modified variant of the Chinese-built Type 053 frigate. The two ships-in-class were built by the China State Shipbuilding Corporation ...

• Destroyers

  River Class (Type 26)

  The Type 26 Anti-Submarine Warfare frigate has been designed for the UK Royal Navy, but with an emphasis on export. Both the Royal Canadian Navy ...

• Sea: naval surveillance radar

  AN/SPY-7(V)1

  The AN/SPY-7(V)1 is a solid-state naval surveillance radar produced and manufactured by Lockheed Martin. The system is expected to be fully integrated into programmes for ...

• Frigates

  Jacob Van Heemskerck Class

  The Jacob van Heemskerck class frigates were ex-Royal Netherlands Navy frigates that also served under the Chilean Navy, also known as the Latorre-class. Two anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Walrus

  The Walrus is a mini rotary-wing UAV manufactured by the Royal Navy's 700X Naval Air Squadron.  As stressed during the December 2022 announcement, Walrus has been ...

• Land: battlefield and ground surveillance radar

  RD-170BT

  The RD-170BT is a man-portable surveillance radar deployed ashore to protect moored patrol boats of the Royal Norwegian Navy. 

• Minehunters

  Sandown Class

  The Sandown class vessels are coastal minehunters and OPVs in service with the UK Royal Navy and Royal Saudi Naval Forces as the Al Jawf class. Additionally, ...

• Military - UUVs

  Mission Specialist Defender

  The Mission Specialist Defender is a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) developed by VideoRay, now part of BlueHalo's unmanned maritime systems. The ROV is known ...

• Frigates

  Type 22 (Batch 1)

  The Type 22 frigates were previously the Broadsword-class in service with the UK's Royal Navy. The vessels were built in three batches, with the first ...

• Sea: weapon training

  Inflatable Naval Gunnery Targets

  GeoData produces a range of Naval Gunnery Target Balloons (NavTGTs) for use by marine, navy, coast guard and army units to maintain target acquisition and ...