• Digital Battlespace

  Cromulence to help tighten cyber for space systems

  17th August 2020

  Cyber risks for US space systems are receiving special attention under a $9.91 million contract for Melbourne, Florida-based Cromulence. The deal from the US Air …

• 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

  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 …

• Defence Notes

  China goes ballistic in South China Sea

  28th August 2020

  China fired four of its most capable conventional ballistic missiles into the South China Sea from bases in mainland China on 26 August. Most commentators saw these …

• 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 …

• Special Operations

  USSOCOM raises contract ceiling for GMV 1.1 production

  20th August 2020

  General Dynamics Ordinance and Tactical Systems (GD-OTS) has received a $48.9 million contract ceiling modification from US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), for production of the …

• 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 …

• 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 …

• Military Logistics

  Infrastrata aiming to be ‘friendly disruptor’ to UK naval shipbuilding

  8th October 2020

  New owners of Appledore shipyard are on target for January 2021 opening, as they look to shake up the UK maritime sector

• 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

  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 …

• 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 …

• 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 …

• 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 …

• Land Warfare

  PREMIUM: ​UK tests Polaris DAGOR vehicle

  6th October 2020

  Polaris has provided two DAGOR vehicles for trial purposes to the 3 Commando Brigade. A tweet from the Chief of the General Staff showed pictures of the vehicle, although the MoD remains tight-lipped as to its future acquisition plans.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

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

• 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 ...

• 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 of $990 million hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to ...

• 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. ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  XQ-58A Valkyrie [USMC]

  Programme Background Contract Award On 30 December 2022, the US DoD announced that it had awarded Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems a $15.52 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to ...

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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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

  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 - 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 ...

• Directed energy weapons

  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 ...