• Land Warfare

  Russia commissions two new assault rifles

  1st February 2018

  The Russian MoD has finally taken a decision to accept two new assault rifles into frontline service, manufactured by Kalashnikov and the Degtarev Plant company.  …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Saab logs Sabertooth AUV order

  29th January 2018

  Saab has received a contract to deliver its Sabertooth autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to an unnamed oil and gas customer.The order encompasses a number of …

• Defence Notes

  French Army helicopters involved in fatal collision

  2nd February 2018

  French police have confirmed five people were killed on 2 February after two of the country's army training helicopters crashed into each other near a …

• Land Warfare

  US Army to decide on Bradley upgunning

  26th January 2018

  US Army leadership is exploring ways to expand its lethality initiative with top-level discussions taking place about upgunning the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, as well as …

• Land Warfare

  British Army prepares for urban combat increase

  6th February 2018

  The recent surge in fighting in densely-populated cities, particularly in Iraq and Syria, is leading Western armies to reassess how they train and prepare for …

• Defence Notes

  US power not in decline across Asia-Pacific: Dunford

  6th February 2018

  US commitment to the Asia-Pacific remains unwavering even though rivals falsely depict its influence as waning, the country's top general said on 6 February. The …

• Naval Warfare

  Australia inks Sea 1180 OPV contract

  2nd February 2018

  A contract worth more than A$3 billion ($2.4 billion) for 12 OPVs for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has been signed with Lürssen, the Australian …

• Naval Warfare

  Taiwan struggles with minehunting requirements

  1st February 2018

  Taiwan’s navy provided a successful demonstration of its sea minehunting capabilities during an exercise for media on 31 January off the coast of Kaohsiung in …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Elistair to target international growth

  26th January 2018

  Elistair has raised €2 million with Starquest Capital and its historic investors to enable it to grow its business, the company announced on 22 January. …

• Digital Battlespace

  Germany continues to develop cyber command

  23rd January 2018

  The German Armed Forces is continuing to expand its Cyber and Information Domain Service Command (CIDS) as part of ongoing efforts to improve the nation’s …

• Land Warfare

  BAE Systems unveils new CV90 variant for Czech Army

  24th January 2018

  BAE Systems has launched a new variant of its IFV family, the CV90 MkIV, which will be offered to the Czech Army as part of …

• Defence Helicopter

  V-280 Valor makes maiden flight

  21st December 2017

  Bell Helicopter's V-280 Valor tiltrotor prototype has successfully completed its first flight at the company's Amarillo assembly facility in Texas.  In a short video released …

• Digital Battlespace

  Singapore Airshow 2018: Thailand completes F-16 midlife upgrade

  29th January 2018

  By completing a seven-year enhanced midlife upgrade (eMLU) programme on 18 F-16A/B fighters, the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has given them a capability as …

• Land Warfare

  Nioa to supply towed howitzer ammo

  24th January 2018

  Nioa has received a $100 million contract to supply 155mm lightweight towed howitzer ammunition to the Australian Army. The company will supply the high-performance Rheinmetall …

• Defence Notes

  Russia accused of spying on UK's infrastructure

  26th January 2018

  Britain's Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has accused Russia of spying on its critical infrastructure as part of possible plans to create ‘total chaos’ in the …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - MALE

  Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement The FVL-MS programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft utilised ...

• 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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Launched Effects - Short Range (LE-SR) [US]

  Background Air-launched effect (ALE) In 2022, the US sought a family of systems comprising an air vehicle, payload, mission systems applications and support equipment to ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-8C Fire Scout (USA)

  Programme Background Timeline According to the Naval Air Systems Command, having first ordered the MQ-8B in 2009, the UAV has become a pillar of the ...

• Military UAS - small

  Heavy Lift Capability (UASHLC) [UK]

  Programme Background Requirement & Objective The RN identified a requirement to acquire an RPAS to transport cargo and supplies between ships and personnel. When mature, it ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Heavy Lift UAV [Germany]

  Background  Victor U250 agreement On 10 June 2026, at ILA Berlin, Rheinmetall, ERC Systems, and the North Rhine-Westphalia state formed a strategic partnership to lay ...

• Loitering munitions

  Launched Effects - Medium Range (LE-MR) [US]

  Background Air-launched effect (ALE) In 2022, the US sought a family of systems comprising an air vehicle, payload, mission systems applications and support equipment to ...

• 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 UAS - MALE

  Project Proteus [UK]

  Background Requirements The RN requires an uncrewed helicopter to test the viability of larger uncrewed aircraft, possibly providing an alternative to crewed aircraft such as the ...

• 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 Medium Aerial Resupply Vehicle – Expeditionary ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Heavy-lift Helicopter STH [Germany]

  Background Requirement The German government issued a tender in March 2019 for the procurement of heavy-lift helicopters under the Schwerer Transporthubschrauber (STH) program, 60 units are ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) (MV-75 Cheyenne II) [USA]

  Programme Background US Army's Future Vertical Lift Programme The FLRAA is one of three strands of a broader army programme. The others are the Future ...

• Military UAS - small

  Intra-Theatre Lift [UK]

  Background  Relationship to the Heavy Lift Challenge The Royal Navy (RN) embarked on the Heavy Lift Challenge, now called the Heavy Lift Capability (UASHLC), to explore cargo-carrying ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  CH-47F CHINOOK [USA]

  Programme Background As the Army's only heavy-lift helicopter, the CH-47F Improved Cargo helicopter is an essential component of the Army's Multi-Domain Battle framework. The CH-47F ...

• Transport

  Large Transport Aircraft-II (LTA-II) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Requirements The aircraft are needed for peacetime, international peacekeeping, emergency and combat operations. They are especially required to ensure a strategic lift capacity ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - MALE

  Korean Future Vertical Lift (KFVL)

  Unveiled at KADEX 2024, the Korean Future Vertical Lift (KFVL) is a family of uncrewed helicopters from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). Despite being in the ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Aerosonde Mk 4.8 HQ FTUAS

  From the Texton family of Aerosonde UAS, the Aerosonde Mk 4.8 Hybrid Quad (HQ) FTUAS is a tactical drone purpose-built to meet the US Army's Future Vertical Lift ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  HQ-60

  Similarly to other platforms in the L3 Technologies Hybrid Quadrotor (HQ) and Fixed-Wing Rotator family (see separate entries) of VTOL fixed-wing UAVs, the HQ-60 has ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  SB-1 Defiant

  The SB-1 Defiant is a Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD) aircraft. Sikorsky and Boeing announced in February 2013 that they would submit a joint proposal ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  V-247 Vigilant

  The V-247 Vigilant is a tiltrotor UAV from Bell. Officially introduced in 2016, it features an open modular architecture and can host several payloads. These include ...

• Air: Displays

  F-15 Replacement Vertical Situation Display

  BAE Systems Replacement Vertical Situation Display (RVSD) replaces the legacy VSD units on F-15E aircraft. The AMLCD display offers a larger display size and is compatible ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  X-Sight

  Elbit X-Sight is a developmental helmet-mounted display system designed for helicopters. According to the manufacturer, it will offer a high field of view and colour binocular ...

• Military helicopters - multirole, Military UAS - tactical

  Hexa

  The Hexa, or LIFT Hexa, is a rotary-wing aircraft developed by LIFT Aircraft for military and commercial markets. Due to its configuration and triple redundant autopilot computer, ...

• Military UAS - small

  H6 Poseidon

  Manufactured by Swarmly, the H6 Poseidon is a fixed-wing VTOL-capable UAV. The second largest member of the Poseidon family, the vertical lift is provided through ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  DrN-600

  The DrN-600 is a medium-lift cargo UAV developed by Singapore-based manufacturer ST Engineering. The platform combines vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) with wing-borne forward flight and ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Victor U250

  The Victor U250 is a heavy lift drone in development by ERC Systems. The UAV has been developed by ERC for critical mission applications including ...

• Light UGVs

  Avenger

  In January 2017, Med-Eng announced the launch of a new bomb disposal and tactical robot, called the Avenger, at the SHOT Show in Las Vegas. ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Veloce-15

  The ST Engineering Veloce-15 (V-15) is a hybrid fixed-wing UAV with four rotors for vertical lift and a tail-mounted two-bladed pusher propeller for horizontal propulsion.  ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Loong 2

  The Loong 2 is a rotary-wing mini-UAV manufactured by LoongUAV. Designed for ISR missions, the UAV features a universal plug-and-play standardised interface, meaning a lot of different ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Proteus

  Proteus is a technology demonstrator that Leonardo is developing in collaboration with the UK MoD's Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S;) Future Capabilities Group and the ...