• Training

  Northrop wins Saudi JTE support contract

  13th February 2018

  Northrop Grumman has received a contract to deliver Joint Threat Emitter (JTE) support services to Saudi Arabia, the company announced on 8 February. The indefinite …

• Land Warfare

  Patriot missile contract mod issued

  13th February 2018

  Lockheed Martin has received a contract modification for the production and delivery of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) and PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) interceptors, …

• Defence Helicopter

  ​US Navy increases Saudi MH-60R support

  1st February 2018

  The USN has awarded Sikorsky a modified $19 million contract to support the service’s Saudi Arabia MH-60R Seahawk FMS work. A recent US Department of …

• Defence Helicopter

  Arnold prepares new rocket launcher for market

  5th February 2018

  The more precise a weapon is the less collateral damage and innocent casualties are affected by the technology. Companies are continually advancing their technologies to …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Singapore Airshow 2018: Wing Loong wings into Southeast Asia

  6th February 2018

  The Wing Loong UCAV from China made its Southeast Asian debut at Singapore Airshow 2018, with mock-ups of both an armed Wing Loong I and …

• Land Warfare

  Missile manufacturers eye hypersonic capability demand

  30th January 2018

  Two of the largest US-based manufacturers of guided missile systems have pointed to hypersonic missile capabilities as a growth opportunity in 2018. Raytheon and Lockheed …

• Defence Notes

  Russia dismisses evidence of Iran-made missiles to Yemen

  31st January 2018

  Russia on 31 January dismissed evidence presented by the US and UN experts that Iran had supplied missiles to Yemen's Houthi rebels as inconclusive, signalling …

• Land Warfare

  Qatar eyes Russian S-400 missile systems

  25th January 2018

  Qatar is finalising a deal to buy Russian S-400 air defence systems, the Gulf state's ambassador to Moscow announced on 25 January. Fahad bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah, …

• Defence Notes

  UAE air force told 'not to escalate' Qatar air dispute

  23rd January 2018

  The air force of the UAE has been ordered ‘not to escalate’ a civil aviation dispute with Qatar, a military official said on 23 January. …

• Naval Warfare

  G&C to support functional design of MMSC

  15th January 2018

  Gibbs & Cox (G&C;) has received a contract from Lockheed Martin to support the functional design of Saudi Arabia's Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC), the company …

• Defence Notes

  Qatar diversifies defence procurements amid GCC spat

  18th January 2018

  Qatar's ongoing diplomatic split from the Gulf Cooperation Council is pushing it to seek new defence suppliers, with the Gulf country now forging closer relations …

• Defence Helicopter

  Black Hawks soaring to Saudi Arabia

  12th January 2018

  Sikorsky has received the go ahead from the US Army to supply 17 UH-60M Black Hawk aircraft to Saudi Arabia under a four year contract worth …

• Training

  Qatar boosts Hawk trainer purchase

  17th January 2018

  Qatar intends to increase its purchase of Hawk training aircraft from BAE Systems, the country's defence minister has announced. Speaking at the Royal United Services …

• Defence Notes

  UN report says Iran violated Yemen arms embargo

  12th January 2018

  Iran has violated a UN arms embargo by failing to block supplies to Yemen's Huthi rebels of ballistic missiles that were fired at Saudi Arabia, …

• Land Warfare

  Saudi Patriot systems working overtime

  5th January 2018

  Saudi Arabia’s air defence capability, centred around the Patriot system, has been working overtime in recent months attempting to intercept a series of missile attacks …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Transport

  C-130 Replacement [Saudi Arabia]

  Background Requirement The Royal Saudi Air Force operates 33 C-130H, 7 KC-130H aircraft and two KC-130Js. The country has been seeking to replace its older ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  VAB MK III [Saudi Arabia]

  Background As part of a $3 billion aid package provided by Saudi Arabia to Lebanon, Saudi Arabia ordered 100 VAB MK III 6x6 IFVs from ...

• Main battle tanks

  M1A2S [Saudi Arabia]

  Background Saudi Arabia was the first export customer for the M1A2 Abrams. 315 were delivered between 1993 and 1994 as part of a $1.5 billion ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Kozak 5 [Saudi Arabia]

  Background  In 2021, Ukrainian firm Pracktika announced that they had fulfilled an export contract to deliver 60 Kozak-5 armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia. The contract ...

• Long Range Missile Defence Systems: > 90km range

  Patriot Upgrade [Greece]

  Background In September 2021, Saudi Arabia deployed a Greek battery near Riyadh under the Integrated Air Missile Defense Concept. The battery was used to intercept ...

• Main battle tanks

  T-90S [Saudi Arabia]

  Background.  It is possible that Saudi Arabia may have sought the T-90S to replace stocks of legacy equipment. In addition to its modern M1A2S tanks, Saudi Arabia ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Typhoon Tranche 3A [Saudi Arabia]

  In June 2018, Saudi Arabia agreed to procure 48 Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter aircraft from BAE. The total procurement cost for 48 aircraft is estimated at ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | Typhoon Tranche 3A [Saudi Arabia]

  In June 2018, Saudi Arabia agreed to procure 48 Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter aircraft from BAE. The total procurement cost for 48 aircraft is estimated at ...

• Data links

  Data links | Typhoon Tranche 3A [Saudi Arabia]

  In June 2018, Saudi Arabia agreed to procure 48 Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter aircraft from BAE. The total procurement cost for 48 aircraft is estimated at ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | Typhoon Tranche 3A [Saudi Arabia]

  In June 2018, Saudi Arabia agreed to procure 48 Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter aircraft from BAE. The total procurement cost for 48 aircraft is estimated at ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | Typhoon Tranche 3A [Saudi Arabia]

  In June 2018, Saudi Arabia agreed to procure 48 Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter aircraft from BAE. The total procurement cost for 48 aircraft is estimated at ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  LAV 700 [Saudi Arabia]

  Background In 2014, the Saudi Arabian government signed a contract worth approximately C$15 billion (US$11 billion) to procure the LAV 700 8x8 platform from General ...

• Military UAS - mini

  RQ-11 Raven [Saudi Arabia]

  Background Small UAS family In June 2012, AeroVironment confirmed that Saudi Arabia was among the customers that had acquired aircraft from its small UAS family, ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Seeker 400 [Saudi Arabia]

  Methodology PGO and programme status The PGO has been set to 100% due to the programme being completed. Units required Across a first-batch and second-batch ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | P-8 Poseidon [Saudi Arabia]

  Saudi Arabia is planning to procure new P-8 Poseidon aircraft to set up its maritime patrol squadron as a part of wider naval plans under ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Hazem

  Produced by SAMI Navantia, Hazem is a combat management system designed for the Royal Saudi Naval Forces. Based on the Cadiz CMS, it is integrated ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 2 (Block 8, 8A, 9, 10, 10C, 11, 11C, 15, 15C)

  Under the Typhoon Tranche 2 procurement,  the four European partner nations of Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and the export customer Saudi Arabia took delivery ...

• Transport

  An-132

  The An-132 is a multipurpose transport aircraft based on the Soviet-era An-32. It is being jointly developed by Antonov and Saudi Arabia's Technology Development and ...

• Ship-launched torpedoes, Submarine-launched torpedoes

  F17

  The F17 is a wire-guided anti-surface ship torpedo developed for the French Navy and purchased by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The latest version is the F17 ...

• Air: helicopter radar, Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar

  Agrion

  The Agrion is a surveillance and missile targeting pulse radar manufactured by Thomson-CSF (now Thales). It is designed to work alongside the AS-15TT anti-ship missiles ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  THAAD missile

  THAAD missile is one of the most important components of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system. The THAAD missile starts to intercept incoming ...

• Land: air defence radar

  Shahine

  The Shahine radar is a key component of the Shahine self-propelled surface-to-air missile system, developed by Thomson-CSF (now Thales) for Saudi Arabia in the 1970s. ...

• Loitering munitions

  SKYWASP

  SKYWASP, developed by Vector Defence and SR2 Defence Systems, is a one-way attack drone modelled after the Iranian Shahed drone. The aircraft is in the ...

• Data links

  TTR

  Offered through Data Link Solutions (DLS) – Rockwell Collins' joint venture with BAE Systems – TacNet Tactical Radio (TTR) is claimed to be the smallest ...

• Directed energy weapons

  Silent Hunter

  Silent Hunter, also known as the low-altitude laser defence system (LASS), is a Chinese laser energy weapon believed to have been developed by the China Electronics ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  Interceptor HSI32

  The Interceptor HSI32 was designed by French shipbuilder CMN to meet the needs of modern navies and coastguards. The vessel's primary missions are sea policing ...

• Sea: sonar systems

  Captas-1

  CAPTAS-1 is a low-frequency Variable Depth Sonar (VDS) developed by Thales. It is the smallest member of the CAPTAS family optimised for littoral and shallow water ...

• Loitering munitions

  Jaser

  The Jaser is an electronically powered loitering munition manufactured by Serb Advanced Industries. It is pneumatically launched and is equipped with both day and thermal imaging cameras. At ...

• Land: battlefield and ground surveillance radar

  Cymbeline

  The Cymbeline is a phased-array, mortar-locating radar that detects the flight path of a mortar bomb at two points in its trajectory as it passes ...

• Naval: COMINT and ELINT systems

  ALTESSE

  Thales' Alert and Surface Ship Evaluation (ALTESSE) provides alerts on communication signals, tactical situation development and COMINT capabilities. Its wideband instantaneous bandwidth and processing capacities ...