• Defence Notes

  AUSA 2021: UVision and Rheinmetall sign loitering munitions partnership

  12th October 2021

  Pact could see Hero loitering munitions integrated with the Lynx IFV.

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2021: NP Aerospace pushes vehicle integration

  15th September 2021

  UK company seeks to enhance British Army vehicle performance and sustainability.

• Defence Notes

  DSEI 2021: The story so far and what’s coming on Day 1

  14th September 2021

  Shephard Media is delighted to be back on the live show news circuit this week at DSEI 2021 — and our team of journalists have …

• Digital Battlespace

  Leonardo and Northrop Grumman sign CIRCM deal

  23rd August 2021

  Leonardo and Northrop Grumman are to collaborate on countermeasures technology.

• Land Warfare

  Brazilian Army receives the last batch of IA2 assault rifles

  3rd September 2021

  New rifles for the Brazilian Army will replace part of the FAL M962 inventory that has been in service with the army for over 50 years. The ground force has procured 5,308 units of IA2 under a deal with state-owned company Imbel.

• Defence Notes

  Latest SBIRS missile warning satellite ready for 2022 launch

  7th October 2021

  Lockheed Martin’s SBIRS GEO-6 missile warning satellite for the US Space Force was completed in September 2021.

• Naval Warfare

  Ultra nets contract for lightweight torpedo components

  29th September 2021

  The latest contract modification awards reflects an exercised option to provide several militaries with MK 54 lightweight torpedo array kits.

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2021: EOS expands offering of RWS capabilities

  10th October 2021

  Electro Optic Systems (EOS) recently started production of its R400 remote weapon station (RWS), and began pre-production of its heavier weight R600MC missile carrier system.

• Air Warfare

  Enhanced V-Bat spreads its wings

  1st September 2021

  V-Bat small UAS demonstrates GPS-denied navigation and target designation capabilities.

• Digital Battlespace

  New cyber threat offers potentially useful tool for militaries

  28th October 2021

  A novel method of data exfiltration could enable undetectable long-range communications in hostile battle zones.

• Air Warfare

  NAVAIR orders Lot 15 F-35s

  27th September 2021

  USAF will receive ten new Lot 15 production F-35As and the USMC will receive six F-35Bs.

• Land Warfare

  Spanish Army buys tracer ammo for target practice

  2nd September 2021

  Nammo Palencia is providing 9,500 rounds of 30x173mm target practice ammunition.

• Air Warfare

  South Korea shows off aerospace prowess at Seoul ADEX

  21st October 2021

  Future basic trainers, modern fighters and manned-unmanned teaming concepts were centre stage at Seoul ADEX 2021.

• Defence Notes

  AUSA 2021: Smart Shooter receives new USMC contract

  6th October 2021

  The US Marine Corps is trialling SMASH 2000 systems to counter drone threats at land and sea.

• Air Warfare

  DSEI 2021: Airbus pitches H175M UK production for RAF’s New Medium Helicopter acquisition

  10th September 2021

  As competition intensifies across industry to fight it out for the RAF's New Medium Helicopter acquisition, Airbus has announced a compelling production plan.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  MQ-1 Gray Eagle [US Army]

  Background Required Quantity Although the US Army first envisioned a requirement for 132 MQ-1C Gray Eagles, the US Army's Army Acquisition Objective (AAO) was increased ...

• 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 ...

• AGMV 1.1

  Programme Background The US Army has been seeking a lightweight, air-droppable, high mobility vehicle since as early as 2014, when it initiated its Ultra Light ...

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

  Heavy Lift VTOL (HVTOL) (Forecast) [US Army]

  Background USMC In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, which had been specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  AMPV [USA]

  Programme Background Platform Development The US Army initiated the AMPV programme to acquire a replacement for several variants of the M113 tracked APC, which has ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV Oshkosh Contract [US Army]

  Programme Background As of January 2021, the US DoD had signed 15 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 2) [US Army]

  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 intended to ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, 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 helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow On

  Programme Background In March 2019, Airbus stated that it expected orders from the US Army for between 12 and 15 UH-72A helicopters. In March 2020, ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker (Sergeant Stout) [USA]

  Programme Background As part of the Army Transformation Initiative the US DoD is fundamentally reorganising the structure of the US Army. As part of this all Infantry ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System (LMAMS) [US Army]

  Background First Contract In June 2011, the US awarded AeroVironment a $4.9 million series-production contract for the loitering munition, satisfying the US Army's Lethal Miniature ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Switchblade 300 (USA)

  Programme Background AeroVironment has been providing the Switchblade 300 loitering munition to the US Army under the long-standing Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile Systems (LMAMS) programme ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) [Tranche 1] / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) (USA)

  Programme Background The Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) Programme The RPUAS programme will provide the Battalion and below-ground manoeuvre elements within the US Army with an ...

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

  Group 4/5 UAV [US Army]

  Background Request for Information (RfI) On 5 June 2024, the American DoD published an RfI with an original response date of 19 July 2024. The ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  US Army Maneuver Support Vessel Light (MSVL)

  Programme BackgroundThe Maneuver Support Vessel (Light) or MSV(L) contract was awarded by the US Army to Vigor in 2017 and are being built to replace ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  US Army AVCATT PDSS

  L3Harris Technologies is the prime contractor for the US Army’s Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer (AVCATT) Post Deployment Software Support (PDSS) programme. L3Harris Technologies is ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  US Army Flight School XXI OFT/RCTD

  L3Harris Technologies is a major subcontractor to CSC on the US Army’s Flight School XXI (FSXXI) programme. L3Harris Technologies has built or is under contract ...

• Maritime patrol

  US-2

  The ShinMaywa US-2 is an amphibious short take-off and landing aircraft used primarily by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) for SAR. 

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  OH-58 Kiowa

  The single-engine OH-58 Kiowa, derived from the Bell 206, entered US Army service in 1969 as a light observation helicopter. More than 2,200 were built for ...

• Towed guns

  M198

  The US Army developed the M198 155mm towed howitzer from 1969 to replace the M114 155mm howitzer. From 1978, 1,600 weapons were built by Rock ...

• Towed mortars

  M120/M120A1

  The M120/M120A1 120 mm Towed Mortar System is a US-built version of the Soltam K6 mortar that was accepted into US Army service in 1990.

• Light tanks

  M10 Booker

  The US Army awarded General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) a contract worth US$1.14 billion to supply 96 light tanks under the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) ...

• JPT

  Designed for military applications, the Joint Platform Tablet (JPT) features a rugged design, including a military-grade aluminium case, dual-core processor, 128GB removable hard drive and ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72A/B Lakota

  In 2006, the US Army selected a version of the medium-sized, twin-engine H145, designated the UH-72A Lakota,  to meet its requirement for a new Light ...

• Armoured engineer vehicles

  M1150 ABV

  The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) project, launched by the USMC in 2002, is a joint programme to meet the requirements of both the US ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  RQ-7 Shadow 200

  The Shadow 200, designated RQ-7B by the US Army, is flown by the army brigade combat teams and combat aviation brigades along with the UAV ...

• REBS

  The Rapidly Emplaced Bridge System (REBS) is a 13m dry-gap bridge. It was designed by GDELS to meet a US Army requirement to provide a ...

• Land: Electronic Attack - Jamming

  AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III

  Sierra Nevada’s AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III is the standard Counter Improvised Explosive Device (CIED) manpack system in service with the US Army and US Marine Corps (USMC). ...

• DSB

  WFEL was selected in 1996 to develop the M18 Dry Support Bridge (DSB) for the US Army. The company designed, manufactured and integrated the DSB ...

• Individual grenade launchers

  M320 GLM

  The M320 Grenade Launcher Module (GLM) is a further development of the HK AG36 (see separate entry) to meet a US Army requirement. The M320 ...