• Air Warfare

  US approves possible C-17 Globemaster III sustainment support sale to UK

  27th August 2025

  The potential sustainment contract will help support the Royal Air Force (RAF) fleet, amid renewed interest from countries in the heavy-lift strategic aircraft.

• Air Warfare

  Norway cleared for possible $2.6 billion HH-60W helicopter FMS

  14th July 2025

  The possible sale for nine HH-60W by the US government could make Norway the first Foreign Military Sale customer for the rescue and combat helicopter and add to the country’s ongoing acquisition of Sikorsky-made helicopters.

• Defence Notes

  European Council to deliver at “pace and scale” on European defence readiness 2030 roadmap

  27th October 2025

  Two of the concrete projects outlined in the readiness report, the European Air Shield and Space Shield, will aim to be launched by Q2 2026.

• Defence Notes

  NATO experiments with solutions to integrate networks, AI and uncrewed systems

  2nd December 2025

  During the latest edition of the NATO DiBaX, the alliance tested multiple capabilities to inform requirements for future efforts.

• Air Warfare

  NATO needs to plug its drone gap to meet modern warfare requirements

  28th October 2025

  Despite shared goals, NATO’s counter-uncrewed aerial system efforts remain fragmented, with parallel initiatives lacking a unified doctrine or integrated deployment strategy.

• Air Warfare

  German Armed Forces’ H145s get L3Harris sensor system upgrade

  10th December 2024

  L3Harris Technologies has provided its WESCAM MX-15D electro-optical/infrared sensor systems to the German Armed Forces’ new H145 helicopters.

• Air Warfare

  DSEI 2025: UK’s new Air Chief Marshal outlines nuclear, space and IAMD as three key priorities for RAF

  16th September 2025

  Aiming to field a more integrated, agile force, the military leader said in a keynote speech that focus on these core areas would be increased to help the RAF deter and meet challenges in the new threat landscape.

• Air Warfare

  Spain earmarks $1.6 billion for Hurjet trainer aircraft acquisition

  1st July 2025

  Spain’s Defence Minister told the Senate Defense Commission on 27 June of the decision to acquire Turkish Aerospace Industries’ (TAI) trainers as the country seeks to replace its Northrop F-5M aircraft.

• Air Warfare

  Paris Air Show 2025: Boeing confirms “very early infancy” C-17 Globemaster III production restart discussions as European market opportunity looms

  17th June 2025

  The discussion of the C-17 comes off the back of Boeing’s focus on a growing European demand for defence equipment amid a growing threat on the continent.

• Air Warfare

  German Armed Forces receive first of 82 H145M helicopters

  18th November 2024

  The H145s have been named “Leichter Kampfhubschrauber” (light combat helicopter), or LKH for short, by the German Armed Forces.

• Land Warfare

  UK artillery factory opens as defence review inches forward

  13th June 2025

  The new artillery and howitzer factory pre-dates the emphasis on this capability from this month’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR). The first joint industry-government meeting outlined in the review took place this week.

• Air Warfare

  Airbus to further work on France’s A321XLR maritime patrol aircraft programme

  5th February 2025

  The two-year contract on the A321 militarised maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) will look to risk-assess the programme ahead of its development phase in 2026.

• Air Warfare

  Poland reassesses equipment priorities as S-70i Black Hawk acquisition stopped

  9th June 2025

  The country first entered negotiations for the procurement of Black Hawk helicopters in 2023. Now, the reassessment marks a shift in the country’s military equipment and strategic needs in light of the Ukraine conflict.

• Air Warfare

  Hunt begins for drone to team with British Army Apaches

  6th November 2025

  Known as Project Nyx, the flagship opportunity would look to award up to four contracts for initial development of the ACP concept demonstrator by 2026.

• Air Warfare

  South Korea considers cancellation of second AH-64E Apache helicopter purchase

  8th July 2025

  The likely scrapping of Boeing’s Apache helicopter comes after a huge budget cut approved by the South Korean National Assembly. The helicopter procurement had already been reconsidered by the country’s Joint Chiefs of Staff earlier in the year.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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

  H145M [Ireland]

  Programme Background On 30 December 2024 Ireland announced a contract with Airbus for four new H145M helicopters to replace the Air Corps existing fleet of ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

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

  Contenders for the competition included the Leonardo single engine TH-119 – a military variant of the AW119Kx – and Bell’s newly upgraded single engine 407GXi. ...

• 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 ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  Maritime Operations Helicopters

  The three maritime operations helicopters will be used for logistics and personnel transport, alongside transportation of PASKAL naval special forces in operations in the area. ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  SW4 Puszczyk Replacement [Poland]

  Programme Background  In 2002, Poland order 47 SW4 training helicopters from Italian manufacturer Leonardo; as of Spring 2025, the Ministry of Defence is looking to ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Bell 412EPI-Indonesia

  Programme Background PTDI is assembling Bell helicopters in its factory in Bandung.  The first Bell 412EPI was delivered to Indonesian Army on 29 December 2020 ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  Kondor Naval Helicopters (Poland)

  Programme Background In 2018, the Polish MoD announced its requirement to purchase up to eight naval helicopters to replace in-service SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopters. Polish ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Spain HT-29 Caiman (NH90 TTH) - Army First Batch

  HT-29 Caiman GSPAs (NH90 TTH) will be assembled at Airbus Helicopters’ facility in Albacete and will replace AS332 Super Puma fleet in service. Even though ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  AW101 [Poland]

  According to the media reports, Airbus couldn't provide a competitive offer for the programme due to the offset requirements.  The deliveries were to be completed ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  AH-X [Japan]

  There is no mention of the AH-X in the 2019-2023 Medium Term Defence Plan, so it is possible that the requirement has quietly been postponed. ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H135 (UK)

  Programme BackgroundAirbus Helicopters UK announced on 2 February 2022 that it has won an order to provide five additional H135 twin-engine helicopters for the MoD. The ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  NH-90 [Spain]

  Programme Background Along with a range of other air programmes, the Spanish Government announced the nation has set aside 1 billion euros (USD$1.162 billion) to ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Ka-226T-India-Air Force

  An official contract announcement is expected during the Aero India 2021 exhibition in Bangalore, although negotiations have dragged on for more than five years and ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M (Contracted) [Germany]

  Programme Background Previous Usage The German Armed Forces ordered 15 H145M helicopters, with the initial two delivered in December 2015, for the Kommando Spezialkräfte. These ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - light/training

  H145

  The light, twin-engine EC145 began as an initiative to increase the cabin size of the BK 117 C1 aircraft, involving Kawasaki of Japan and Airbus ...

• Model 301 Fire Attack

  The Model 301 is a belly tank/refill hose system for Airbus Helicopters AS365-series helicopters.

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M

  The H145M (formerly known as the EC645 T2) is the military version of the H145 medium-sized (3.7t) helicopter (covered in a separate entry). It is ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M

  The medium-weight, 11t-class H225M (formerly known as the EC725) is the latest military Super Puma/Cougar family member.  Technical features include a modular design of mechanical ...

• Military helicopters - light/training, Military helicopters - multirole

  H135M

  The H135M (formerly known as the EC635 and also designated as H135) is a light utility variant of the EC135 twin-engine, multipurpose 3t helicopter. In ...

• Model 316 Fire Attack

  The Model 316 is a belly tank/refill hose system for Airbus Helicopters H225 and AS332 L-series helicopters.

• AC67 Airbus Helicopters H135 interior

  Bucher has developed the AC67 medical interior for the Airbus Helicopters H135 in cooperation with ADAC Luftrettung.The lightweight, modular design features a floor with integrated ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H215M

  The H215M (formerly the AS532 ALe) is the most recent addition to the Cougar family.  It is a medium-weight (9t-class), twin-engine helicopter, combining the AS532's ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H175M

  The Airbus H175M is the military variant of the H175, a seven-tonne class aircraft powered by twin PT6C 67E engines. The civilian variants produced by Airbus ...

• Air: mission management systems

  Helionix

  The Helionix digital avionics suite was developed from the need for a more powerful avionics system with greater functions and computing capacity, alongside a user-friendly interface. ...

• Helicopter engines

  Arriel 2+/2D

  Unveiled in 2011, the Arriel 2+ is an upgrade of the Arriel 2 and is intended for single- and twin-engine helicopters. It incorporates a new ...

• Helicopter engines

  LTS101

  The LTS101 was first certified in 1975. Since then, over 2,100 engines have been delivered to customers worldwide, logging over 11 million service hours. The ...

• EO/IR systems

  Viviane

  Viviane is an out-of-production gyro-stabilised night and adverse weather observation system with missile sight.  Manufactured by Safran, it was fitted to French Army Gazelles. It contained a ...

• Air: mission management systems

  APM 2000

  The current generation of autopilots is the APM 2000 family, fitted on major worldwide platforms. The APM 2000 is based on an integrated digital computer. ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  H125M

  The H125M (formerly the AS550 B3e Fennec) is a military version of the civil H125. The helicopter has a reduced radar signature due to the use ...