• Naval Warfare

  Russia’s newest frigate travels to Baltic Sea for final trial

  10th April 2020

  The newest frigate to join the Russian Navy’s Northern Fleet, Project 22350 Admiral Kasatonov (pictured), has passed through the Great Belt Strait as it travels …

• Air Warfare

  AVIC test flies AG600 amphibious aircraft over sea

  15th April 2020

  The Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) has completed tests of its AG600 large amphibious aircraft over sea. The company confirmed the development on 14 …

• Defence Helicopter

  GE Aviation supporting H-53E Engine Reliability Improvement

  9th April 2020

  General Electric Aviation has secured a $9.7 million modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. The modification procures non-recurring engineering services and support for the …

• Naval Warfare

  Audacious sets out for home base

  7th April 2020

  HMS Audacious, the fourth of seven Astute-class nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) for the Royal Navy, departed the BAE Systems facility at Barrow-in-Furness on 6 April, en route to …

• Air Warfare

  Australian Rheinmetall facility to make US F-35 FAP munitions

  25th March 2020

  Australian JV Rheinmetall NIOA Munitions (RNM) will supply the US F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme with medium-calibre ammunition. Production of the 25mm Frangible Armoured Piercing …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sikorsky demonstrates air-to-air refuelling of CH-53K

  14th April 2020

  Sikorsky has reported that a CH-53K King Stallion naval helicopter has completed an air-to-air refuelling test which took place above the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia with …

• Naval Warfare

  Ultra Electronics installs S2150 sonar on RN frigate

  6th April 2020

  Ultra Electronics has installed the first S2150 Hull Mount Sonar on a RN Type 23 frigate HMS Portland according to a 6 April statement. The …

• Naval Warfare

  Russia to carry out second test-firing of hypersonic missile

  6th April 2020

  Russia is planning to carry out the second test-firing of its Tsirkon hypersonic missile in April or May 2020 according to Defence Ministry sources. The …

• Digital Battlespace

  US continues effort to harden UAVs against electromagnetic attack

  25th March 2020

  DARPA is bringing its Collaborative Operations in Denied Environments (CODE) initiative to a conclusion, with the programme transitioning to the USN. CODE was one of …

• Defence Helicopter

  Raytheon receives order for H-53 aircraft electronic modules

  18th March 2020

  Raytheon has received a $9.31 million delivery order for H-53 Sea Stallion aircraft electronic modules. The expected completion date of the contract is 7 March …

• Naval Warfare

  HII gains submarine research contract

  5th March 2020

  The USN on 4 March awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) a $7.5 million modification to an earlier contract for engineering and technical design efforts on …

• Naval Warfare

  Shutdown impacts launch of second Italian PPA patrol vessel

  7th April 2020

  As widely expected, the scheduled launch of the second-in-class PPA (Pattugliatori Polivalenti d'Altura) patrol vessel Francesco Morosini has slipped due to the COVID-19 pandemic and …

• Naval Warfare

  Germany says submarine code talks are part of design and safety plans

  16th March 2020

  The German MoD has informed Shephard that its discussions with Norway on implementing aspects of the Naval Submarine Code have to date not resulted in any …

• Naval Warfare

  South Korea installs HUSS to protect ports

  3rd April 2020

  South Korea has finished installing a new indigenously developed surveillance system that can monitor ports against threats such as surface vessels, submarines, submersibles, divers or …

• Air Warfare

  Boeing gets advanced contract modification for Poseidon delivery

  9th March 2020

  Boeing was awarded an $800 million advanced contract modification to procure long-lead materials and support for P-8A Poseidon production and delivery. The contract was confirmed …

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, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  MQ-8C Fire Scout (USA)

  Programme Background Timeline According to the Naval Air Systems Command, having first ordered the MQ-8B in 2009, the UAV has become a pillar of the ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Global Fast Sealift [USN]

  Background Requirements At Sea Air Space 2026, Hanwha Ocean and Gibbs and Cox displayed the Global Fast Sealift concept design. The vessel is intended as a ...

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

  MQ-25 Stingray (13-76) [USN]

  Background Initial Requirements - Unmanned Carrier Launch Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) The programme looked different when it began. In 2013, the USN awarded four ...

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

  MQ-25 Stingray (10-12) [USN]

  Background Initial Requirements -  Unmanned Carrier Launch Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) The programme looked different when it began. In 2013, the USN awarded four Preliminary ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawk (India)

  Programme Background On 25 February 2020, a letter of acceptance for 24 MH-60Rs, worth approximately $2.12 billion, was signed by India and the US in Delhi. ...

• AEW&C

  E-2D [USA]

  Programme Background The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye (AHE) is an all-weather, twin engine, carrier-based, Airborne Command, Control and Surveillance aircraft designed to extend task force defence ...

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) [USN]

  Background Requirement The USN wants to acquire carrier-capable loyal wingman drones. These drones will have a high level of autonomy, allowing them to work alongside crewed aircraft.  ...

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

  MQ-25 Stingray (1-9) [USN]

  Background Initial Requirements - Unmanned Carrier Launch Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) The programme looked different when it began. In 2013, the USN awarded four ...

• Military - USVs

  MUSV [USN]

  Programme Background Requirements In March 2026, the US announced it would be replacing its Modular Attack Surface Craft (MASC) programme with a Medium Uncrewed Surface ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton (28-68) [USN]

  Background Requirement The MQ-4C Triton programme, developed under the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) programme, required an uncrewed system to provide persistent, broad-area intelligence, surveillance ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  TH-73 Advanced Helicopter Training System (AHTS) (TH-57 Replacement)

  Programme Background Contenders for the competition included the Leonardo single engine TH-119 – a military variant of the AW119Kx – and Bell’s newly upgraded single ...

• OPVs

  Hisar Class (1-2) [Turkey]

  Background Requirements The thoughts behind the acquisition of this type of OPV, which comes in a baseline and a convertible variant, is an OPV that ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Anti-ship missiles

  Naval Strike Missile (NSM)

  The Naval Strike Missile (NSM) is a subsonic, sea-skimming, anti-ship and land-attack missile. The original name was the Nytt sjømålsmissil, but this was later dropped ...

• Frigates

  FF(X) Frigate

  The FF(X) frigate is a vessel derived from Huntington Ingalls Industries' (HHI) National Security Cutter (NSC). It was designed in response to the cancellation of ...

• Land: Integrated Defensive Systems

  Low Band Transmitter

  The Low Band Transmitter-Antenna Group (LBT-AG), developed by Cobham, has been in production since 2005. The LBT is designed to protect strike aircraft, ships and ...

• Air-to-surface missiles, Anti-ship missiles

  JSM

  The Joint Strike Missile (JSM) is a multi-role version of the Naval Strike Missile. Norway funded the programme to develop and produce the JSM for the ...

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

  MQ-8B Fire Scout

  The MQ-8B Fire Scout is a rotary-wing UAV that provides situational awareness and precision targeting support for the US Armed Forces. The MQ-8B Fire Scout, ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F/A-18E/F Super Hornet

  The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet was developed to perform naval strike missions for the USN. The primary mission for the F/A-18E/F is a strike fighter that ...

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

  MQ-8C Fire Scout

  The MQ-8C is a newer version of the Fire Scout and is based on a Bell 407 commercial helicopter. It offers a greater range, endurance and ...

• Frigates

  Independence Class (LCS)

  The USN’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) programme was originally envisaged to be 50 ships, which would provide a coastal platform that would take over from ...

• Destroyers

  Zumwalt Class

  The DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class is formed by a series of next-generation multi-role destroyers 21st century. They were designed to host the latest in sensors and weapons ...

• Frigates

  Hunter Class Guided Missile Frigate

  During Indo Pacific 2023, BAE Systems Australia unveiled a Guided Missile variant of the Hunter-class frigate (ASW). Compared to the baseline ASW configuration, the proposed ...

• Frigates

  Constellation Class (FFG)

  The USN has selected Fincantieri Marinette Marine to build up to ten frigates under the FFG(X) next-generation future guided-missile frigate programme. The new Constellation-class will replace ...

• OPVs

  Hisar Class

  Turkish Military Factory and Shipyard Management company ASFAT has built two Hisar-class OPVs at Istanbul Naval Shipyard for the Turkish Navy. Four more platforms are on order, but the ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  SCOTT

  The Synthetic Cognition for Operational Team Training (SCOTT) system was developed for the USN to train teamwork and communication skills for E-2C flight crews interfacing ...

• Air: aerial targets

  GQM-163A Coyote SSST

  The GQM-163A Coyote Supersonic Sea Skimming Target (SSST) was developed for the USN to emulate two-stage anti-ship cruise missiles in support of air defence weapon/combat ...

• Trainer

  Saab 340 trainer

  The Saab 340 trainer aircraft is based on the Saab 340 regional airliner. It is used by the USN for pilot training. The aircraft replaced ...