• Military Logistics

  RFA Tidesurge enters service

  25th February 2019

  The Royal Navy’s third Tide-class tanker, Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Tidesurge, has entered the fleet with a dedication service at Greenock’s Ocean Terminal, the navy …

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy’s Large Surface Combatant to reflect DDG-1000 lessons

  20th February 2019

  The US Navy’s future Large Surface Combatant (LSC) will draw heavily on lessons learned from its tiny fleet of ‘extraordinarily expensive’ but cutting-edge DDG 1000 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Boeing PAV completes maiden flight

  28th January 2019

  Boeing’s autonomous passenger air vehicle (PAV) prototype, developed under the Boeing NeXt programme, has successfully completed its first test flight in Manassas, Virginia, the company …

• Training

  IDEX 2019: CAE ready to meet future RPAS training needs for UAE

  16th February 2019

  As countries in the GCC continue with a long programme of upgrades to their armed forces the demand for the provision of training for military …

• Military Logistics

  Moog to support F-35 MRO work in Australia

  22nd February 2019

  Moog Australia has been selected to support the repair, overhaul and upgrade of the F-35 aircraft components in Australia, the company announced on 20 February …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Global Hawk arrives Down Under in style

  28th February 2019

  After a 13h flight from Andersen Air Force Base on Guam, a USAF RQ-4B Block 40 Global Hawk touched down at Avalon near Melbourne. This marks the first …

• Defence Helicopter

  Airbus confirms FARA proposal but keeps platform under wrap

  20th February 2019

  Airbus Helicopters has confirmed its involvement in the US Army’s FARA (Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft) programme, having formally filed a proposal in December 2018 to meet …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Aero India 2019: SeaGuardians to India a test of endurance

  22nd February 2019

  Like most government to government deals, they are enduring for all parties involved as requirements are honed in on and ironed out to meet the …

• Special Operations

  Highnovate spotlights SOF rope access designs

  1st February 2019

  Israel-based Highnovate used its inaugural presence at the recent SHOT show in Las Vegas to highlight the company’s rope access products for military special operations …

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy to commission DDG 1001

  25th January 2019

  The US Navy is set to commission its second Zumwalt-class destroyer, USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001), at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California, on …

• Training

  Aero India 2019: Indian-Slovakian JV in military simulation

  22nd February 2019

  Bangalore-based Axiscades, with Slovakian company Virtual Reality Media (VRM), have announced a collaborative effort focused on the latter company’s Level D full flight simulators at …

• Defence Notes

  Avalon 2019: F-35 makes lightning start in Australia

  26th February 2019

  Two F-35A Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) are attending the Avalon Air Show. This pair of fighters is now …

• Training

  Australian Navy's communication sim delivered

  25th February 2019

  The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Defence Force School of Signals Maritime Wing at HMAS Cerberus in Victoria has recently received a new communication simulator. The device …

• Defence Helicopter

  Heli-Expo 2019: Airbus pleads autorotation defence ahead of US Navy trainer award

  26th February 2019

  The upcoming US Navy Advanced Helicopter Training System (AHTS) contract is one that Airbus is confident it can win, despite suggestions that expected costs of …

• Military Logistics

  LPD 17 Class Flight II ships to be fuel efficient

  15th February 2019

  The US Navy’s LPD 17 Flight II Class amphibious transport dock ships will have improved main propulsion diesel engine (MPDE) efficiency thanks to the installation …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

• Tiltrotors

  V-22 Osprey [Japan]

  Programme Background Procurement Contracts The Japanese government is the first export customer of the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey, having ordered 17 helicopters from the US across ...

• Loitering munitions

  Launched Effects - Short Range (LE-SR) [US]

  Background Air-launched effect (ALE) In 2022, the US sought a family of systems comprising an air vehicle, payload, mission systems applications and support equipment to ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  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 ...

• Military UAS - small

  Heavy Lift Capability (UASHLC) [UK]

  Programme Background Requirement & Objective The RN identified a requirement to acquire an RPAS to transport cargo and supplies between ships and personnel. When mature, it ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Heavy Lift UAV [Germany]

  Background  Victor U250 agreement On 10 June 2026, at ILA Berlin, Rheinmetall, ERC Systems, and the North Rhine-Westphalia state formed a strategic partnership to lay ...

• Loitering munitions

  Launched Effects - Medium Range (LE-MR) [US]

  Background Air-launched effect (ALE) In 2022, the US sought a family of systems comprising an air vehicle, payload, mission systems applications and support equipment to ...

• Military UAS - small

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 1) [USA]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Project Proteus [UK]

  Background Requirements The RN requires an uncrewed helicopter to test the viability of larger uncrewed aircraft, possibly providing an alternative to crewed aircraft such as the ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Heavy Lift VTOL (HVTOL) [US Army]

  Background USMC First, Army Second In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Medium Aerial Resupply Vehicle – Expeditionary ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Heavy-lift Helicopter STH [Germany]

  Background Requirement The German government issued a tender in March 2019 for the procurement of heavy-lift helicopters under the Schwerer Transporthubschrauber (STH) program, 60 units are ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) (MV-75 Cheyenne II) [USA]

  Programme Background US Army's Future Vertical Lift Programme The FLRAA is one of three strands of a broader army programme. The others are the Future ...

• Military UAS - small

  Intra-Theatre Lift [UK]

  Background  Relationship to the Heavy Lift Challenge The Royal Navy (RN) embarked on the Heavy Lift Challenge, now called the Heavy Lift Capability (UASHLC), to explore cargo-carrying ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  CH-47F CHINOOK [USA]

  Programme Background As the Army's only heavy-lift helicopter, the CH-47F Improved Cargo helicopter is an essential component of the Army's Multi-Domain Battle framework. The CH-47F ...

• Transport

  Large Transport Aircraft-II (LTA-II) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Requirements The aircraft are needed for peacetime, international peacekeeping, emergency and combat operations. They are especially required to ensure a strategic lift capacity ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - MALE

  Korean Future Vertical Lift (KFVL)

  Unveiled at KADEX 2024, the Korean Future Vertical Lift (KFVL) is a family of uncrewed helicopters from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). Despite being in the ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Aerosonde Mk 4.8 HQ FTUAS

  From the Texton family of Aerosonde UAS, the Aerosonde Mk 4.8 Hybrid Quad (HQ) FTUAS is a tactical drone purpose-built to meet the US Army's Future Vertical Lift ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  HQ-60

  Similarly to other platforms in the L3 Technologies Hybrid Quadrotor (HQ) and Fixed-Wing Rotator family (see separate entries) of VTOL fixed-wing UAVs, the HQ-60 has ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  SB-1 Defiant

  The SB-1 Defiant is a Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD) aircraft. Sikorsky and Boeing announced in February 2013 that they would submit a joint proposal ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  V-247 Vigilant

  The V-247 Vigilant is a tiltrotor UAV from Bell. Officially introduced in 2016, it features an open modular architecture and can host several payloads. These include ...

• Air: Displays

  F-15 Replacement Vertical Situation Display

  BAE Systems Replacement Vertical Situation Display (RVSD) replaces the legacy VSD units on F-15E aircraft. The AMLCD display offers a larger display size and is compatible ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  X-Sight

  Elbit X-Sight is a developmental helmet-mounted display system designed for helicopters. According to the manufacturer, it will offer a high field of view and colour binocular ...

• Military helicopters - multirole, Military UAS - tactical

  Hexa

  The Hexa, or LIFT Hexa, is a rotary-wing aircraft developed by LIFT Aircraft for military and commercial markets. Due to its configuration and triple redundant autopilot computer, ...

• Military UAS - small

  H6 Poseidon

  Manufactured by Swarmly, the H6 Poseidon is a fixed-wing VTOL-capable UAV. The second largest member of the Poseidon family, the vertical lift is provided through ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  DrN-600

  The DrN-600 is a medium-lift cargo UAV developed by Singapore-based manufacturer ST Engineering. The platform combines vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) with wing-borne forward flight and ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Victor U250

  The Victor U250 is a heavy lift drone in development by ERC Systems. The UAV has been developed by ERC for critical mission applications including ...

• Light UGVs

  Avenger

  In January 2017, Med-Eng announced the launch of a new bomb disposal and tactical robot, called the Avenger, at the SHOT Show in Las Vegas. ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Veloce-15

  The ST Engineering Veloce-15 (V-15) is a hybrid fixed-wing UAV with four rotors for vertical lift and a tail-mounted two-bladed pusher propeller for horizontal propulsion.  ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Loong 2

  The Loong 2 is a rotary-wing mini-UAV manufactured by LoongUAV. Designed for ISR missions, the UAV features a universal plug-and-play standardised interface, meaning a lot of different ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Proteus

  Proteus is a technology demonstrator that Leonardo is developing in collaboration with the UK MoD's Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S;) Future Capabilities Group and the ...