• Defence Helicopter

  Royal Navy Merlins mark ten years on the front line

  29th September 2011

  The Navy's largest and most powerful helicopter, the Merlin, is celebrating ten years on the front line. The four Merlin squadrons, all based at Royal …

• Defence Helicopter

  UH-1Y pilots fire first APKWS shots

  29th September 2011

  The Navy and Marine Corps recently fired the first shots of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II from a UH-1Y helicopter at Naval Air …

• Land Warfare

  Bundeswehr criticises 'old-fashioned' weaponry

  28th September 2011

  In light of current operations, the German Army is continuing to develop its weaponry in order to be able to contend with this 'very dangerous' …

• Land Warfare

  MDM 2011: M27 contract awarded by USMC

  28th September 2011

  The M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR) 5.56 mm machine gun, a variant of the Heckler & Koch (HK) HK416, has been officially selected by the …

• Military Logistics

  MDM 2011: USMC examines energy, waste and water efficiencies

  28th September 2011

  The USMC is continuing to look at ways to decrease its logistical footprint and become more environmentally sensitive according to Maj Sean Sadier, logistics analyst, …

• Land Warfare

  ATK receives $58.7m 20mm PGU Ammunition award

  28th September 2011

  ATK has received an order valued at more than $58.7 million from the US Army Contracting Command, Direct Fire Munitions Branch, Rock Island Contracting Center …

• Land Warfare

  Croatia continues testing of rifle system

  27th September 2011

  Evaluation of Croatia's under-slung 40x46mm grenade launcher for its VHS rifle is planned for November as the country furthers its efforts to develop NATO-supported weaponry. …

• Defence Helicopter

  MUSIC 2011 highlights manned-unmanned teaming

  23rd September 2011

  The US Army has continued to refine the teaming between helicopters and UAS platforms in its inaugural Manned Unmanned Systems Integration Capability (MUSIC) 2011 event. …

• Land Warfare

  ATK awarded UK MOD ammunition contract

  22nd September 2011

  ATK has been awarded a $37 million contract to provide lightweight (LW) 30mm ammunition - including the M788 TP (target practice) training round and the …

• Military Logistics

  A400M passes key certification tests

  22nd September 2011

  The Airbus Military A400M new generation airlifter has passed a series of key tests in the last week as the aircraft continues to progress towards …

• Defence Helicopter

  New MH-53E desktop trainer developed for Sea Dragon aviators

  21st September 2011

  Naval Aviation Training Systems program office (PMA-205), and industry partners have developed a portable, desktop trainer, or DTT, to assist Sea Dragon pilots with navigation, …

• Defence Helicopter

  MBDA advances FASGW/ANL programme

  16th September 2011

  Since being launched as a Joint Assessment Phase in 2009, MBDA has been successfully developing the technical maturity data of the main FASGW(H)/ANL (Future Anti …

• Land Warfare

  SELEX Galileo wins Royal Thai Army contract

  16th September 2011

  SELEX Galileo, a Finmeccanica company, has been awarded a contract by Update Development ltd worth around EUR 4.3M (£3.8M) to provide Thermal Sight Systems (TSS) …

• Defence Helicopter

  DSEi 2011: Wildcat progresses towards service entry

  15th September 2011

  AgustaWestland has flown more than half the hours associated with the flight test campaign of the AW159 Lynx Wildcat, it has been revealed. The three …

• Land Warfare

  DSEi 2011: Meprolight unveils wish-list for future optics family

  15th September 2011

  Israeli optics specialist Meprolight outlined its desires for the next-generation of weapon sights at DSEi on 14 September. Speaking to Shephard at the show on …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• CANSOFCOM Next Generation Fighting Vehicles [Canada]

  Several platforms are known to have been proposed for the NGFV programme. In 2015, it was reported that General Dynamics Land Systems - Canada (GDLS-C) ...

• Main battle tanks

  NGCV: DLP

  Programme Background Requirement The DLP is one of five vehicle families being developed for the US Army's NGCV programme. Expanded to include five programmes in ...

• OPVs

  Continental Defence Corvette [Canada]

  Programme Background Requirements Under the second pillar of its shipbuilding strategy, Canada is seeking to procure an undisclosed number of small vessels (below 1000t). Part ...

• Destroyers

  Next-Generation Large Surface Combatants (LSC) - DDG(X) [USN]

  Programme Background Requirements The US Navy (USN) is acknowledging a need to move away from the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer design, which is slowly outgrowing. Flight III ...

• Destroyers

  Type 83 Future Air Defence System (FADS) [UK]

  Programme Background Requirements The Daring-class (Type 45) consists of six ships, although the original plan was to have 12 destroyers. This was cut to eight in ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Multi-Role Strike Ship (MRSS) Programme [UK]

  Programme Background Requirements According to the UK MoD's March 2021 Defence Command Paper, entitled 'Defence in a Competitive Age', the RN will invest in six ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Combat Fighter Jet [Ireland]

  In February 2025, Simon Harris, the Irish Minister for Defence and Tánaiste, emphasised the importance of acquiring a new combat fighter jet to address aerial ...

• Data links

  Data links | Combat Fighter Jet [Ireland]

  In February 2025, Simon Harris, the Irish Minister for Defence and Tánaiste, emphasised the importance of acquiring a new combat fighter jet to address aerial ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | Combat Fighter Jet [Ireland]

  In February 2025, Simon Harris, the Irish Minister for Defence and Tánaiste, emphasised the importance of acquiring a new combat fighter jet to address aerial ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | Combat Fighter Jet [Ireland]

  In February 2025, Simon Harris, the Irish Minister for Defence and Tánaiste, emphasised the importance of acquiring a new combat fighter jet to address aerial ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | Combat Fighter Jet [Ireland]

  In February 2025, Simon Harris, the Irish Minister for Defence and Tánaiste, emphasised the importance of acquiring a new combat fighter jet to address aerial ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A400M [Germany]

  Programme Background Germany originally said it would but 60 A400Ms, but when the program was re-baselined in 2010 reduced its planed off take to 53, ...

• Destroyers

  Sejong the Great Class (KDX-III) Batch 2 (1-3) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Requirements The Sejong the Great class (KDX-III) Batch 2 will consist of three improved Sejong the Great-class (KDX-III) batch 1 guided-missile destroyers, which ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Landing Platform Docks [India]

  Programme Background Requirements The LPD tender, although more akin to an LHD, specifies that the quartet of ships must be built within India, although collaboration ...

• Medium UGVs

  Mission Master (RPV Sprial 2) [UK]

  Programme Background First announced in April 2017 and referred to in early MOD documents as the ‘last mile resupply’ initiative, the British Army is reportedly ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  Fractl:2

  Fractl:2, developed and manufactured by AIM Defence, is an Australian laser directed energy weapon (LDEW). The high-powered portable system is Australia's first acquisition of a directed ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  Apollo

  Apollo is a High-Energy Laser Weapon System manufactured by Electro Optic Systems (EOS). Apollo's laser utilises directed energy to disable or destroy aerial targets without ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  DIAL

  The Laser Weapon Instrumental Demonstrator (DIAL), in joint development with Indra and Escribano Mechanical Engineering, is a Spanish laser directed energy weapon (LDEW). The system ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  Minotaur

  Minotaur, developed by Soukos Robots, is a Greek laser directed energy weapon (LDEW). Minotaur is an anti-drone platform with the ability to shoot down unmanned ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  Italian LDEW (Leonardo/MBDA)

  As announced in December 2024, Leonardo and MBDA are collaborating to produce a Fire Unit Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) for the Italian Navy. The ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons, Self-propelled guns, Self-propelled missile systems

  SkyRanger 30

  SkyRanger 30 is a mobile ground-based air defence (GBAD) laser directed energy weapon (LDEW) system designed by Rheinmetall. The system comprises automatic cannons, guided missiles, and a ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  CROSSBOW MINI

  CROSSBOW MINI, developed by IPG Photonics, is a laser-directed energy weapon (LDEW). The LDEW has multiple deployable configurations and is a part of the manufacturers ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  Archimedes

  Archimedes, developed by Aurelius Systems, is a laser-directed energy weapon designed to stop drones at scale. The system is still in development, though Aurelius received ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  ALKA-KAPLAN

  ALKA-KAPLAN is a collaborative effort between Turkish manufacturers ROKETSAN and FNSS. The system is a mobile armoured anti-drone system, which integrates the ALKA directed energy-weapon ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  German LDEW (Rheinmetall/MBDA)

  Rheinmetall and MBDA Germany's collaborative work on laser-directed energy weapon (LDEW) technology has resulted in a German laser weapon system that is close to being ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  Guorong-1 Anti Drone System

  Guorong-1 is an anti-drone system developed by China. The system is jointly developed by the Chinese Electronics Technology Group (CETG), Guorong Technology, and the Chinese public ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  DroneDefender

  DroneDefender is a directed-energy UAS countermeasure that disrupts the adversary's control of the aircraft, neutralising it so that no remote action (including detonation) can occur, ...

• Destroyers

  Flight III Destroyer

  During Indo Pacific 2023, Navantia Australia unveiled a 10200t destroyer design. Dubbed as Flight III Destroyer, the Spanish shipbuilder is pitching the ship for the ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  MEHEL 2.0

  The Mobile Expeditionary High-Energy Laser (MEHEL) is a C-UAS-capable vehicle that employs directed energy to neutralise targets. MEHEL 2.0 was first seen at AUSA 2016, ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Kaplan Hybrid Carrier Platform

  Unveiled at IDEF 2025, the Kaplan Hybrid Carrier Platform (HCP) is a tracked vehicle with a hybrid propulsion system manufactured by FNSS. It is designed ...