• Defence Helicopter

  Pratt & Whitney's F135 propulsion system successfully tested

  10th November 2011

  The F-35B Lightning II has completed a three-week sea trial conducted aboard the USS Wasp, flying under the power of Pratt & Whitney's F135 propulsion …

• Defence Helicopter

  Apache controls Gray Eagle UAV

  10th November 2011

  An AH-64D Apache Block III attack helicopter has controlled an MQ-1C Gray Eagle UAV during flight using the Longbow Unmanned Aerial Systems Tactical Common Data …

• Defence Helicopter

  Wildcat puts to sea

  10th November 2011

  The AgustaWestland AW159 Lynx Wildcat has landed on a ship at sea for the first time. The landing on 7 November marks the beginning of …

• Defence Helicopter

  FIND 2011: UK helicopters prove their worth as ISTAR assets

  9th November 2011

  A UK helicopter chief has argued that rotary systems are the ideal choice for ISTAR operations rather than the unmanned systems that are routinely used. …

• Defence Helicopter

  Additional upgraded S-61 helicopters for US DOS

  9th November 2011

  Sikorsky Aerospace Services (SAS) has announced that it has been awarded a contract to deliver three additional upgraded S-61 utility helicopters to the US Department …

• Defence Helicopter

  HCR systems installed at RAF Shawbury and RAF Valley

  9th November 2011

  Virtalis has announced the installation of three of its new Helicopter Crew Reality (HCR) systems at RAF Shawbury and RAF Valley by the Defence Helicopter …

• Defence Helicopter

  Development of multi-role NH90 TTH complete

  8th November 2011

  Eurocopter has announced that the declaration of compliance for the NH90 TTH (Tactical Transport Helicopter) variant’s Final Operational Configuration has been issued by the NATO …

• Defence Helicopter

  EADS UH-72A LUH enters service

  8th November 2011

  EADS North America’s first UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) equipped with the Security and Support (S&S) Battalion Mission Equipment Package (MEP) has entered operational …

• Defence Helicopter

  India receives first Mi-17V-5 helicopters

  8th November 2011

  India has received its first batch of Mi-17V-5 helicopters manufactured by Kazan Helicopters, a subsidiary of the Russian Helicopters holding company. The order is part …

• Defence Notes

  Raytheon applies civil experience to military programmes

  7th November 2011

  Raytheon is making a series of moves to incorporate experience from the commercial aspect of its business to apply to military programmes, according to company …

• Defence Helicopter

  Germany outlines helicopter cuts

  7th November 2011

  The German government has revealed the planned changes to the armed forces, which sees a drastic reduction in helicopter numbers. Under the reforms plans outlined …

• Defence Helicopter

  US DoD spends $400 million on contracted helicopter services in Afghanistan

  4th November 2011

  The US Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded $417 million in task orders for contractor-provided helicopter services in Afghanistan, providing insight into its reliance on …

• Defence Helicopter

  Boeing submits Chinook multi-year contract proposal to US Army

  4th November 2011

  Boeing has submitted a proposal to the US Army for a multi-year contract for the production and delivery of 155 CH-47F helicopters. The H-47 programme …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Army receives first Block III Apache

  3rd November 2011

  Boeing delivered the first AH-64D Apache Block III multi-role attack helicopter to the US Army on 2 November. According to a statement by the company, …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Navy congratulated for reducing V-22 flight hour costs

  3rd November 2011

  The US Navy's PMA-275 has been awarded for reducing the cost-per-flight-hour (CPFH) for the V-22 Osprey fleet. The Packard Award was given to Naval Air …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530F -Kenya

  Crew transition training took place at the MD Helicopters headquarters in Mesa, Arizona, with field service support, armament, and gunnery training scheduled to occur at ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  MD 530G - Malaysia

  Procured for an urgent operational requirement for gunships to support Eastern Sabah Security Command operations, helicopter deliveries had to slip from a planned delivery of ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530G Lebanon

  The Armed MD 530G Scout Attack Helicopter features next-generation all-glass cockpit that includes: two Genesys Aerosystems IDU-680 6” x 9” LCD primary displays, Tek Fusion ...

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

  Uncrewed MD 500 Replacement [South Korea]

  Background Uncrewed Replacement of the MD 500 Throughout the 2010s, South Korea appeared interested in replacing its fleet of crewed MD 500 helicopters that were manufactured under licence ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  Project Land 2097 Phase 4 [Australia]

  Programme Background According to the RfI, under Project Land 2097 Phase 4, the selected helicopter must comprise a commercial or military off-the-shelf solution that is ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) First Batch (South Korea)

  Programme Background The LAH is the first time that the South Korean OEM has developed an armed helicopter. The project kicked off in June 2015, ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 505 (South Korea - Army)

  Programme Background Requirement South Korea operates an ageing fleet of Bell UH-1s and MD 500s for training purposes. The country has already replaced a part of ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 505 (South Korea - Navy)

  Programme Background Requirement South Korea operates an ageing fleet of Bell UH-1s and MD 500s for training purposes. The country has already replaced a part of ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Light Armed Helicopter (Second Batch) [South Korea]

  Programme Background The LAH is the first time that the South Korean OEM has developed an armed helicopter. The project kicked off in June 2015, ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton - Germany (Cancelled)

  Programme Background Germany requested to buy four MQ-4C Triton HALE UAVs from Northrop Grumman. On 5 April 2018, the US State Department announced that it ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M - France

  Programme Background In April 2021, the French government signed a deal for the purchase of eight H225M Airbus helicopters to replace its ageing fleet of SA330 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow-On [USA]

  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, ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Multirole Helicopters [Poland]

  Programme Background In 2020, Poland announced the launch of the Perkoz programme to acquire 32 support helicopters to replace its fleet of Mi-2 aircraft stationed ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  New Exploration and Escort Helicopter (NEES) (Phase II) [Italy]

  Programme Background Phase I In 2017, the Italian government signed a contract with Leonardo to replace its fleet of AW129 Mangusta attack helicopters with the ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145 Helicopter [Honduras]

  Programme Background  The Honduran Government has purchased a total of four H145 Helicopters manufactured by Airbus to develop the armed forces preparedness against natural disasters ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530F Cayuse Warrior

  An evolution of the OH-6 Cayuse light observation helicopter, the MD 530F was initially Federal Aviation Administration-certified in July 1985 as the Model 369FF. It ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  MDHI Glass Cockpit

  The American aerospace manufacturer MD Helicopters Inc. (MDHI) has designed and developed a glass cockpit specifically for MD 500E AND MD 520N aircraft. It is ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 500

  US-based MD Helicopters' MD 500 is a single-engine light helicopter derived from the Hughes OH-6A Cayuse developed for the US Army in the early 1960s and ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  IDU-680

  The IDU-680 is Genesys Aerosystems’ 3D synthetic vision integrated Electronic Flight Instrument System. The system includes a Highway in the Sky navigation system, geo-referenced hover ...

• Helicopter guns

  FN HMP

  The FN HMP (Heavy Machine Gun Pod) is a self-contained airborne weapon system armed with a 50cal FN M3P heavy machine gun. It is available ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530G

  The MD 530G is the newest addition to the MD Helicopters (MDHI) line of light scout attack platforms. It has increased-capacity landing gear and a ...

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

  KUS-VH

  The Korean Air Korean Air Unmanned System-Vertical Helicopter (KUS-VH) is a large, rotary-wing UAV based on the MD 500. The first flight of the platform ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  6XX

  Publicly unveiled at Heli-Expo in March 2017, the MD Helicopters 6XX is the next evolution in the MD 500 series and is a redesigned, single-engine ...

• Helicopter engines

  M250-C30

  The M250-C30 and -C30P are the exclusive powerplants for the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger and the MD Helicopters MD 530F and MD 530G. In addition, the AH-6i is ...

• EO/IR systems

  LEO-III

  The LEO-III, or LEO-III HD, was an airborne observation system with HD sensors and video outputs. It was a COTS, gyro-stabilised platform containing a multi-sensor HD ...

• Airborne rockets - unguided

  Aculeus MD-36 and MD-432

  The Aculeus MD-36 unguided multi-dart rocket provides 36 darts for the neutralisation of columns of light armoured vehicles. The Aculeus MD-432 provides 432 darts to ...

• Helicopter engines

  M250-C47E

  The C47E is the latest growth variant of the C47B/8 engine. In addition to a hot-and-high Value Improvement Package Kit, the C47E also includes dual-channel ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MD-1366 EBEM

  The US government selected the MD-1366 Enhanced Bandwidth Efficient Modem (EBEM) from ViaSat to set the DoD standard for high-speed, high-performance,flexibility and compatibility in a ...

• EO/IR systems

  Wescam MX-10

  The Wescam MX-10 EO/IR low-weight imaging system is designed for low-altitude tactical surveillance and reconnaissance missions from crewed and uncrewed aircraft. The MX-10 has had a close ...

• Military UAS - MALE, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Night Intruder 600 Vertical Take-Off (NI-600VT)

  The Night Intruder 600 Vertical Take-Off (NI-600VT) is an in-development UAV from Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) based on an MD 500 twin-seat American commercial helicopter airframe. With the ...