• Land Warfare

  Italy to upgrade army support capabilities

  17th August 2021

  The latest Italian defence multi-year plan has identified key areas across the Army's support capabilities that need to be modernised.

• Naval Warfare

  Taiwan’s navy to fortify frigates and woo Romeo

  2nd September 2021

  In the coming year, Taiwan has set aside money for new ASW helicopters and to upgrade its relatively toothless frigates.

• Land Warfare

  Milrem and Kongsberg to develop new RCV

  1st October 2021

  The platform will be called Nordic Robotic Wingman. The companies are currently defining the intended usage of the system and will carry out the user experimentation phase of the project in the 2022-2023 timeframe.

• Defence Notes

  Kim Jong-un punctuated September with flurry of new missiles

  15th October 2021

  North Korea continues to surprise protagonists with the rate at which it develops new missile types.

• Land Warfare

  Cummins to finalise development of transformational powertrain for US Army

  2nd August 2021

  Advanced Combat Engine offers better power density, lower heat rejection and improved fuel efficiency, Cummins claims.

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2021: Jankel adds new member to Fox tactical vehicle family

  23rd September 2021

  Fox TUV is designed to meet an acute need for light utility vehicles in the decades ahead.

• Air Warfare

  DSEI 2021: RAF says Protector financial troubles a thing of the past

  10th September 2021

  The RAF claims that cost increases associated with the MQ-9B Protector are 'behind us now'.

• Air Warfare

  Airbus trials BLoS SATCOM for helicopters

  8th September 2021

  Airbus tests mitigation measures to overcome the problem of helicopter rotor blades interfering with BLoS communications.

• Air Warfare

  DSEI 2021: Teledyne FLIR opens talks with New Medium Helicopter competitors

  14th September 2021

  Teledyne FLIR has started discussions with NMH airframers as industry awaits firm requirements to be released by the UK MoD.

• Naval Warfare

  US enhances undersea ASW system software and hardware.

  6th September 2021

  Integrated Common Processor provides a common Integrated Undersea Surveillance Systems signal processing and display system software and hardware suite.

• Air Warfare

  Hypersonic missile programme gears up for PDR

  6th September 2021

  Australian-US SCIFiRE programme aims to result in a precision strike missile capable of travelling at Mach 5.

• Defence Helicopter

  Podcast: Revolutions in Vertical Flight S2 E1 - The Search and Rescue Mission

  7th September 2021

  In this episode, we'll hear from industry experts and helicopter operators about the rise of the helicopter as a search and rescue machine, and how they're saving lives today.

• Air Warfare

  USN considers new AH-64E Apache autonomous refuelling investment

  12th August 2021

  A new capability could be on the way for US Army AH-64E Apache helicopters.

• Air Warfare

  DSEI 2021: Leonardo supports USAF and RAF collaboration

  16th September 2021

  Leonardo has supported RAF and USAF Synergia R&D programme through its integration of C-UAS technology.

• Land Warfare

  US approves modern artillery pieces for Taiwan

  5th August 2021

  New American-built 155mm self-propelled howitzers, and indigenous 8x8 vehicles armed with 105mm guns, are on the way for Taiwan's army.

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) [US Army]

  Background USMC First, Army Second In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial Resupply ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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, ...

• 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 - 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

  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 - 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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). ...

• 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 ...