• Air Warfare

  Russia continues quest for sixth-generation fighter

  30th September 2020

  Recent public remarks from Anatoly Serdyukov, head of the aviation cluster in Russian defence conglomerate Rostec, indicate that a sixth-generation fighter aircraft for Russia will …

• Naval Warfare

  Babcock picks gun provider for Type 31 frigates

  1st October 2020

  Type 31 frigates for the UK RN will be armed with Bofors 40 Mk4 (pictured) and Bofors 57 Mk3 guns, BAE Systems announced on 1 October. The …

• Naval Warfare

  Raytheon to help improve Mk31 RAM

  22nd September 2020

  Raytheon is providing design agent and engineering support services to help improve the Mk31 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) Guided Missile Weapon System, under a $60.5 million contract modification …

• Digital Battlespace

  US seeks advanced RF systems

  14th August 2020

  First RF Corporation will develop prototype hardware and software for RF electronic antenna cancellation and beam-forming technology, under a $24.9 million contract from the US …

• Naval Warfare

  Electric Boat to overhaul USS Hartford

  17th August 2020

  US Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) has issued a $125.82 million contract for General Dynamics Electric Boat  to plan, design and execute engineering overhaul services …

• Defence Notes

  Proxy power play continues in Nagorno-Karabakh

  9th October 2020

  Ethnic-religious nationalism is not the only factor behind hostilities between Azerbaijan and Armenia, with Russia and Turkey lurking in the wings

• Naval Warfare

  BAE Systems to support weapons on UK and US SSBNs

  22nd September 2020

  BAE Systems Technology Solutions and Services is to provide provide logistics engineering and integration support for the strategic weapon systems aboard USN Ohio-class and UK RN …

• Defence Notes

  Pentagon report warns of PLA’s meteoric rise

  2nd September 2020

  On 1 September the Pentagon issued its 20th and most comprehensive report on developments within the Chinese military, for the benefit of the US Congress …

• Training

  CAE USA gains contract extension for KC-135 crew training

  14th August 2020

  The USAF has extended by six months its contract with CAE USA for the KC-135 Aircrew Training System (ATS). The $16.09 million extension, announced by …

• Training

  ATAC draws first blood on CCAS

  17th August 2020

  Textron Systems subsidiary Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC) and its partner Valkyrie Aero have been selected to provide live contracted close air support (CCAS) training …

• Naval Warfare

  US naval procurement commitments rise despite COVID pressures

  24th September 2020

  Amid the pressures brought on by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and USN efforts to recapitalise in key capability areas, naval spending has increased …

• Air Warfare

  CEVS to provide night-vision cueing displays for USN and FMS customers

  18th August 2020

  Collins Elbit Vision Systems (CEVS), which is a JV between Raytheon Technologies subsidiary Collins Aerospace and Elbit Systems of America, is to produce 60 Joint …

• Naval Warfare

  HMS Queen Elizabeth welcomes UK and US jets for major exercise

  24th September 2020

  The Royal Navy’s HMS Queen Elizabeth has embarked the largest number of fighter aircraft onto her deck as she prepares to take her place at …

• Digital Battlespace

  UAE gains more THAAD radar support from Raytheon

  28th September 2020

  Raytheon is providing the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with one prime power unit and five years of support services for two Army/Navy Transportable Radar Surveillance …

• Digital Battlespace

  US researchers develop MMW-based vibrometry technique

  24th September 2020

  The US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has developed new technology that will allow radar operators to effectively ‘hear’ what a target is doing.   The technology uses …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Puma 3 AE (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Military Aid - $300 Million On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine to "bolster Urkaine's capacity ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1165 Special Ops HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HHMWV, or Humvee, has been in US service since 1983. The M1165A1B3 is a special operations variant of the platform.  In 2015, the US ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 300 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Presidential Drawdown (16 March 2022 & 13 April 2022) On 16 March 2022, President Biden announced $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine through ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank [US]

  Programme Background As IAI stated in a 19 January 2023 press release, it had been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract by the Irregular Warfare Technical Support ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A [US Navy]

  Background Previous Purchases The BQM-177A was designed for the USN and has been in service with the USN for many years. Indeed, in August 2022, Shephard reported ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 600 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background $300 Million USAI (1 April 2022) On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine following ...

• Loitering munitions

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Background Presidential Drawdown (21 April 2022) Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, on 21 April 2022, President Biden announced an $800 million ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Puma LE [Kosovo]

  Background Contract Award On 21 January 2022, the US Department of Defence (DoD) announced that AeroVironment had been awarded an $11.01 million firm-fixed contract for Puma ...

• Loitering munitions

  ALTIUS-600M (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background On 24 February 2023, the US DoD announced that the Biden Administration had released an additional aid package under the Ukraine Security Assistance ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1152A1B2/M1165A1B3 HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HMMWV has been in US service since the 1980s. Despite the introduction of newer platforms, the US DoD continues to utilise the platform ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawk (India)

  Programme Background On 25 February 2020, a letter of acceptance for 24 MH-60Rs, worth approximately $2.12 billion, was signed by India and the US in Delhi. ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS): Switchblade [US]

  Background DoD Contract On 27 August 2024, the US DoD announced that AeroVironment had been awarded a ceiling $990 million hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to provide “an ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Puma 2 AE [Estonia]

  Programme Background The US DoD announced that it had awarded AeroVironment an $8.868 million firm-fixed-price contract to supply an undisclosed number of RQ-20B Puma AE ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-46A (3-6) [Japan]

  On 30 October 2020, the US DoD announced that it awarded a $342 million contract to Boeing for two Japanese KC-46A tanker aircraft. Work will be performed ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  ACV-30 PRTV [USA]

  Background The Armoured Combat Vehicle (ACV) programme is intended to provide a replacement for the USMC's fleet of Amphibious Assault Vehicle 7 (AAV7) tracked vehicles. ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Pistols

  M9

  M9 is the US DoD designation for the military-specification 9mm Beretta 92FS, selected in 1985 to replace the 45cal M1911A1 in US service. Sales to ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  Igla/SA-18

  The 9K38 Igla (US DoD designation SA-18, NATO reporting name Grouse ) IR-homing MANPADS was developed by KBM and entered service in 1983 to meet the requirements ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  ScanEagle 3

  Insitu unveiled the ScanEagle 3 at the Xponential exhibition in Denver in May 2018. The platform has twice the payload capacity of its ScanEagle predecessor ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank

  Point Blank Weapon System is a hand-launched electro-optical VTOL-capable loitering munition developed by Isreal Aerospace Industries (IAI). IAI has been awarded a contract by the US ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  BAT-850

  Pathfinder's BAT-850 VSAT is a carbon fibre, tri-band terminal with auto-acquisition capability. Suitable for flyaway (case-based) and vehicle-mounted applications, it is in service with the ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  URC-300

  The URC-300 is a software-defined radio designed for line-of-sight, ground-to-air communications in particular. Introduced in 2020, it adheres to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards as well ...

• Air: aerial targets, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A/i

  The BQM-177A subsonic aerial target (SSAT) was designed for the USN, and the BQM-177i is the export variant. The BQM-177 provides realistic threat emulation for ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Banshee Tactical Radio

  Developed by Fenix Group, the Banshee Tactical Radio (BTR) is a communications system that uses 4G/LTE connectivity to provide secure mesh networking capability on the ...

• Crew-served grenade launchers

  Striker 40/MK47

  General Dynamics is systems integrator for the Striker 40 (MK47 AGL in US service). The complete system comprises the weapon, AN/PWG-1 Lightweight Video Sight and ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  AN/ARC-231 Skyfire

  The AN/ARC-231 Skyfire is an airborne VHF/UHF/LOS and DAMA SATCOM system. This system supports US DoD requirements for airborne, multi-band, multi-mission, secure anti-jam voice, data ...

• Air-to-air missiles

  9M39 Igla-V

  The 9M39 Igla-V (‘needle’) is a Russian IR homing SAM adapted for helicopter use. It is an air-launched version of the Igla MANPADS, which the ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Global Observer

  The AeroVironment Global Observer HALE UAV was a developmental HALE UAV designed for various civil, commercial and government applications.  Development of the platform began in 2007 ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  CLWS

  Developed by Boeing, Compact Laser Weapon System (CLWS or CLaWS) is a medium-range, low-power laser C-UAS system. According to the reports, the CLWS prototype has ...

• Weapon sights for day use

  CompM4/M4s

  The US DoD has bought over one million Aimpoint sights since 1997. The US Army is now fielding the CompM4s as the latest version of ...

• Heavy machine guns

  M2HB

  US Ordnance is one of two US M2HB heavy machine gun manufacturers which has received multi-year contracts to supply weapons to the US DoD. The ...