• Defence Notes

  Ireland to increase defence capital spending by more than half to $2 billion

  23rd July 2025

  Ireland has struggled to meet its defence needs in the face of historical underinvestment, current limited funding and its status as a neutral country. Flush with bonus but possibly unreliable tax receipts, the government has committed additional defence capital spending for the rest of the decade.

• 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.

• Naval Warfare

  UK’s Fleet Solid Support ship programme deemed on track despite steel supply concerns

  30th January 2026

  Shipbuilders are saying the programme is going ahead on time as the government estimates 7.7 million tonnes of steel are needed for 2026 infrastructure projects.

• Air Warfare

  US Air Force seeks capabilities to improve C3 for aircraft fleet and warfighters

  17th March 2026

  The USAF published RFIs for enhancing its C3 capabilities after losing, in Operation Epic Fury, four aircraft in non-confrontational, unclear situations that could have been related to command, control and communication failures.

• Land Warfare

  World Defense Show 2026: Large vehicles and counter-drone systems take the limelight

  17th February 2026

  Visitors who attended the first World Defense Show four years ago continue to speak of the difficulties they faced with poor facilities and power problems. This year’s event emphasised its status as one of the major defence expositions and as a place where regional players and those less welcome at other shows could take centre stage.

• Air Warfare

  Bell selected over Boeing to build DARPA SPRINT X-Plane

  11th July 2025

  The programme first began in 2023 with Bell and Boeing’s concepts progressing to Phase 1B, in which testing has been carried out over the last year.

• Air Warfare

  DSEI 2025: New AR3 EVO puts Tekever’s modularity ambitions under the spotlight

  10th September 2025

  An evolution of the Tekever AR3, the AR3 EVO that broke cover at DSEI incorporates the thousands of incremental evolutions the company has implemented through its spiral development, geared towards delivering a constant stream of improved aircraft to Ukraine.

• Air Warfare

  Embraer bets on US manufacture C-390 Millennium as incentive to lower US tariffs

  5th August 2025

  While Embraer’s Q2 results were not affected by US tariffs and it managed to avoid US President Donald J Trump's additional 40% tariff rate on Brazil, the 10% tariff rate still remains.

• Air Warfare

  M-345 officially enters service as trainer for Italian Air Force

  13th June 2025

  The Leonardo M-345 High-Efficiency Trainer (HET) basic/advanced trainer is similar to the M-346, which is the second part of the Italian Air Force’s training system, but is a substantially smaller and less powerful aircraft.

• Land Warfare

  HIMARS arrive in Hawaii as first multinational launch in Australia takes place

  18th July 2025

  The M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launcher is in high demand with Lockheed Martin doubling speed of manufacture since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As orders are racked up in Europe, the Indo-Pacific region is seeing the increasing presence of the system.

• 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.

• Naval Warfare

  Half of Australia’s first Hunter frigate is now in fabrication

  29th September 2025

  BAE Systems Maritime Australia’s Andy Coxall gave Shephard a progress update on its HMAS Hunter frigate, while addressing concerns over the cost difference between Australia’s programme and Norway’s.

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy prepares the next phase of the Arleigh Burke-class modernisation

  23rd July 2025

  The NAVSEA is carrying out market research and will conduct industry days in August to identify potential providers for the DDG MOD 2.0 stage.

• Air Warfare

  Portuguese Embraer programmes progress as company works on opportunities

  21st July 2025

  Embraer has notched up substantial wins this year with Sweden ordering C-390s, Lithuania selecting it and Portugal ordering more as the company pushes to expand roles for the aircraft. Embraer’s A-29 has also had wins in the same period with the aircraft ordered by an African country and Paraguay ordering more.

• Defence Notes

  How Canada plans to “seize” the opportunity to increase investments in defence

  25th September 2025

  The Canadian Department of National Defence has been increasing efforts to accelerate the acquisition of new equipment and modernise its in-service inventory.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Tiltrotors

  V-22 Osprey (USN)

  Programme Background Requirement According to USN FY2023 Budget Estimate documentation, the V-22 programme provides an aircraft to meet the amphibious and vertical assault needs of ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift, Tiltrotors

  V-22 Osprey [Indonesia]

  Programme Background Announcement Indonesia issued a letter of request for pricing, which eventually triggered the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) to announce on 6 June 2020, ...

• Trainer

  T-54A Multi-Engine Training System (METS) (USA)

  Programme Background Multi-Engine Training System is a USN programme to replace the ageing T-44C Pegasus fleet and modernize multi-engine aircraft training. Multi-Engine Training System provides ...

• Loitering munitions

  Long-Range Attack Munition (LRAM) [USMC]

  Background Force Design 2030 The USMC Force Design 2030 is a modernisation effort to create a lighter, more agile maritime force. The update to the ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance (MROS) Ship [UK]

  Programme Background Requirements The 2021 Defence Command Paper, Defence in a competitive age, outlined the plan to develop a new Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance (MROS) vessel ...

• Loitering munitions

  Colibri [France]

  Background Origins French Ministry of Armed Forces spokesperson Hervé Grandjean stated in a press conference in May 2022 that the Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA) and ...

• Loitering munitions

  Larinae [France]

  Background Origins French Ministry of Armed Forces spokesperson Hervé Grandjean stated in a press conference in May 2022 that the Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA) ...

• Loitering munitions

  Mission Talon Strike [Australia]

  Background Request for Tender (RFT) On 19 May 2025, the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA), an agency aimed at streamlining defence invocation for the Australian Defence ...

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

  Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Unmanned Expeditionary (MUX) (Increment 1) [USMC]

  Programme Background All-in-One UAV Since 2016, the USMC has wished to acquire a UAV that could be deployed from a vessel, be used for various missions, ...

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

  Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Unmanned Expeditionary (MUX) (Increment 2) [USMC]

  Background MUX Since 2016, the USMC has sought to acquire a UAV that can be deployed from a vessel, used for various missions, and fly ...

• 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 ...

• Frigates

  30FFM Multi-Mission Frigates (9-12) [Japan]

  Programme Background Timeline The JMSDF is building a class of eight Mogami-class frigates. The JMSDF has stated a requirement for 22 ships in total, although ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | MAWS/PATMAR [France]

  French Navy is planning to purchase up to 22 MPA aircraft to replace its ATL2 fleet in service. Germany and France agreed to develop a ...

• Data links

  Data links | MAWS/PATMAR [France]

  French Navy is planning to purchase up to 22 MPA aircraft to replace its ATL2 fleet in service. Germany and France agreed to develop a ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | MAWS/PATMAR [France]

  French Navy is planning to purchase up to 22 MPA aircraft to replace its ATL2 fleet in service. Germany and France agreed to develop a ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: air combat simulators

  Air Combat Training

  Boeing has experience in delivering training for fixed-wing air combat platforms including F-15C/E, F-16, F/A-18E/F, EA-18G, F-22 and MV/CV-22.

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  CV-22/MV-22 Osprey Training Devices

  As part of a joint FlightSafety/Bell Helicopter/Boeing team, FlightSafety was the first company to successfully design, manufacture and deliver full-motion flight simulators for tilt-rotor training. ...

• Helicopter engines

  AE 1107C-Liberty

  The AE 1107C-Liberty is a new-generation 7,000shp-class turboshaft engine developed as the T406 to power the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor in service with the USMC ...

• EO/IR systems

  AN/AAQ-27A

  In production for USMC MV-22 Osprey tiltrotors, the AAQ-27A allows pilots to see through darkness, smoke, haze and adverse weather. The third-generation medium-wave IR system ...

• Tiltrotors

  V-22 Osprey

  The V-22 Osprey is a joint-service multirole combat aircraft manufactured by Bell and Boeing in a joint venture. The platform has tiltrotor technology to combine a helicopter's vertical performance with ...

• Helicopter guns, Naval guns

  AWG-35 (V)

  The AWG-35(V) Defense Weapon System (DWS), also known as the Remote Guardian System (RGS), is a U.S. Marine Corps weapon system developed by BAE Systems. ...

• EO/IR systems

  HD80-AIM

  The HD80-AIM is a sensor gimbal from Trillium Engineering that is tailor-made for maritime applications. The system is integrated with Artificial Intelligence - Maritime (AIM) technology, ...

• EO/IR systems

  HD80-MV

  The HD80-MV, sometimes called the HD80-MV-36X, is an EO/IR from Trillium Engineering.  It features a visible 720p global shutter camera with a 36x optical zoom and an ...

• Medium UGVs

  Gladiator TUGV

  The Gladiator Tactical Unmanned Ground Vehicle (TUGV) was funded through a USMC programme to develop an armed, armoured UGV. The programme began in the mid-1990s, ...

• Towed mortars

  M327 120mm EFSS Mortar

  General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems is the prime contractor for the USMC’s Expeditionary Fire Support System (EFFS), which consists of the M327 120mm towed ...

• EO/IR systems

  HD80-MV-LP-LRF

  The HD80-MV-LP-LRF is an advanced EO/IR system from Trillium Engineering.  It is equipped with a visible 720 global shutter camera featuring a 36x optical zoom and ...

• EO/IR systems

  HD80-MV-600

  The HD80-MV-600 is an EO/IR gimbal from Trillium Engineering.  It features a visible 10x zoom 720p global shutter and MWIR 640 with a 20x continuous zoom lens. It also has embedded video ...

• Trucks and utility vehicles - 4x4, Trucks and utility vehicles - 6x6, Trucks and utility vehicles - 8x8

  5000-MV series

  Navistar's International 5000-MV heavy-haul tractor trucks are built on the same type of heavy-duty platform as its commercial dump trucks and gravel haulers.The 5000-MV series ...

• Loitering munitions

  MT-10

  Described by KNDS France as a bi-rotor contra-rotating drone, the MT-10 is a coaxial loitering munition. It is part of the company's MATARIS drone range, which ...

• Loitering munitions

  MX-10 Damocles

  The MX-10 Damocles is a quadcopter loitering munition from KNDS France and Delair. Unveiled at IDEX 2025, it features a 500g fragmentation payload.  It is ...