• Naval Warfare

  ADECS 2019: Show preview (video)

  25th January 2019

  As attendees and industry prepare for the opening of ADECS 2019 in Singapore, Shephard's Tim Martin looks at likely themes of the show, while one developing …

• Digital Battlespace

  iGov receives CDN Small Form-Factor contract

  31st January 2019

  iGov Technologies has received a contract from the US Marine Corps for the Combat Data Network (CDN) Data  Distribution System-Modular (DDS-M) Small Form-Factor, the company …

• Naval Warfare

  Romania puts troubled corvette programme on hold​

  24th January 2019

  The Romanian MoD announced on 11 January that it has suspended efforts for the procurement of four new multirole corvettes, a key programme in the …

• Digital Battlespace

  Bittium receives Finland order

  31st January 2019

  Bittium has received a €3.4 million purchase order from the Finnish Defence Forces for the maintenance and further development of the Tactical Wireless IP Network …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  NAVAIR casts net for unmanned ISR services

  7th February 2019

  Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) has made public its intention of a contract for sea-based UAS ISR services aboard a maritime support vessel (MSV), it …

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy awards $15 billion contract for two more carriers

  1st February 2019

  The US Navy has given a $15 billion contract to Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division to build the third and fourth Ford-class aircraft …

• Defence Notes

  Indian defence budget to rise… but not by enough

  7th February 2019

  On 1 February, the Indian government announced a FY2019/20 interim defence budget amounting to INR3.019 trillion ($42.7 billion), excluding pensions, the highest ever figure in …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Russian military funds three advanced UAV systems

  14th January 2019

  The Russian MoD has accelerated its efforts to field three new long-endurance combat UAV systems, with the first of these slated for entering service in …

• Military Logistics

  Keel authenticated for US Navy’s 12th EPF

  1st February 2019

  Construction of the US Navy's 12th Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) vessel has begun at Austal USA’s shipyard in Mobile, Alabama, on 29 January.   EPFs …

• Naval Warfare

  Russian Navy to receive enhanced Il-38N derivative

  29th January 2019

  The Russian Navy has opted to upgrade its existing Il-38N maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft to improve the fleet’s surface and sub-surface detection …

• Defence Notes

  From Yerevan to Yangon Su-30SM is in global demand

  7th February 2019

  Armenia has emerged as the latest customer for the Russian-made Su-30SM heavyweight fighter. This was officially confirmed on 5 February by the Armenian MoD. A …

• Special Operations

  JFD launches Shadow/B defence rebreather

  31st January 2019

  JFD has launched a flexible, back-mounted defence rebreather capability called Shadow/B for military combat divers, the company announced on 29 January. Shadow/B, combined with a …

• Military Logistics

  Vigor awarded icebreaker maintenance

  28th January 2019

  Vigor has received a $7.3 million contract to provide maintenance support for the US Coast Guard’s polar icebreaker Healy, the company announced on 23 January. …

• Naval Warfare

  Russian Navy strengthens its littoral capabilities

  11th January 2019

  The Russian Navy commissioned two newly-built vessels for littoral operations at the end of 2018, the first being the lead Project 22800 Karakurt small missile …

• Digital Battlespace

  Milestone C for SEWIP Block 3

  29th January 2019

  Northrop Grumman has received authorisation to proceed with low rate initial production of the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 3 AN/SLQ-32(V)7 electronic warfare …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  The Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  The Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft ...

• Military UAS - MALE, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  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 ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Global Fast Sealift [USN]

  Background Requirements At Sea Air Space 2026, Hanwha Ocean and Gibbs and Cox displayed the Global Fast Sealift concept design. The vessel is intended as a ...

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

  MQ-25 Stingray (13-76) [USN]

  Background Initial Requirements - Unmanned Carrier Launch Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) The programme looked different when it began. In 2013, the USN awarded four ...

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

  MQ-25 Stingray (10-12) [USN]

  Background Initial Requirements -  Unmanned Carrier Launch Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) The programme looked different when it began. In 2013, the USN awarded four Preliminary ...

• 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. ...

• AEW&C

  E-2D [USA]

  Programme Background The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye (AHE) is an all-weather, twin engine, carrier-based, Airborne Command, Control and Surveillance aircraft designed to extend task force defence ...

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) [USN]

  Background Requirement The USN wants to acquire carrier-capable loyal wingman drones. These drones will have a high level of autonomy, allowing them to work alongside crewed aircraft.  ...

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

  MQ-25 Stingray (1-9) [USN]

  Background Initial Requirements - Unmanned Carrier Launch Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) The programme looked different when it began. In 2013, the USN awarded four ...

• Military - USVs

  MUSV [USN]

  Programme Background Requirements In March 2026, the US announced it would be replacing its Modular Attack Surface Craft (MASC) programme with a Medium Uncrewed Surface ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton (28-68) [USN]

  Background Requirement The MQ-4C Triton programme, developed under the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) programme, required an uncrewed system to provide persistent, broad-area intelligence, surveillance ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  TH-73 Advanced Helicopter Training System (AHTS) (TH-57 Replacement)

  Programme Background Contenders for the competition included the Leonardo single engine TH-119 – a military variant of the AW119Kx – and Bell’s newly upgraded single ...

• OPVs

  Hisar Class (1-2) [Turkey]

  Background Requirements The thoughts behind the acquisition of this type of OPV, which comes in a baseline and a convertible variant, is an OPV that ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Anti-ship missiles

  Naval Strike Missile (NSM)

  The Naval Strike Missile (NSM) is a subsonic, sea-skimming, anti-ship and land-attack missile. The original name was the Nytt sjømålsmissil, but this was later dropped ...

• Frigates

  FF(X) Frigate

  The FF(X) frigate is a vessel derived from Huntington Ingalls Industries' (HHI) National Security Cutter (NSC). It was designed in response to the cancellation of ...

• Land: Integrated Defensive Systems

  Low Band Transmitter

  The Low Band Transmitter-Antenna Group (LBT-AG), developed by Cobham, has been in production since 2005. The LBT is designed to protect strike aircraft, ships and ...

• Air-to-surface missiles, Anti-ship missiles

  JSM

  The Joint Strike Missile (JSM) is a multi-role version of the Naval Strike Missile. Norway funded the programme to develop and produce the JSM for the ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  MQ-8B Fire Scout

  The MQ-8B Fire Scout is a rotary-wing UAV that provides situational awareness and precision targeting support for the US Armed Forces. The MQ-8B Fire Scout, ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F/A-18E/F Super Hornet

  The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet was developed to perform naval strike missions for the USN. The primary mission for the F/A-18E/F is a strike fighter that ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  MQ-8C Fire Scout

  The MQ-8C is a newer version of the Fire Scout and is based on a Bell 407 commercial helicopter. It offers a greater range, endurance and ...

• Frigates

  Independence Class (LCS)

  The USN’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) programme was originally envisaged to be 50 ships, which would provide a coastal platform that would take over from ...

• Destroyers

  Zumwalt Class

  The DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class is formed by a series of next-generation multi-role destroyers 21st century. They were designed to host the latest in sensors and weapons ...

• Frigates

  Hunter Class Guided Missile Frigate

  During Indo Pacific 2023, BAE Systems Australia unveiled a Guided Missile variant of the Hunter-class frigate (ASW). Compared to the baseline ASW configuration, the proposed ...

• Frigates

  Constellation Class (FFG)

  The USN has selected Fincantieri Marinette Marine to build up to ten frigates under the FFG(X) next-generation future guided-missile frigate programme. The new Constellation-class will replace ...

• OPVs

  Hisar Class

  Turkish Military Factory and Shipyard Management company ASFAT has built two Hisar-class OPVs at Istanbul Naval Shipyard for the Turkish Navy. Four more platforms are on order, but the ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  SCOTT

  The Synthetic Cognition for Operational Team Training (SCOTT) system was developed for the USN to train teamwork and communication skills for E-2C flight crews interfacing ...

• Air: aerial targets

  GQM-163A Coyote SSST

  The GQM-163A Coyote Supersonic Sea Skimming Target (SSST) was developed for the USN to emulate two-stage anti-ship cruise missiles in support of air defence weapon/combat ...

• Trainer

  Saab 340 trainer

  The Saab 340 trainer aircraft is based on the Saab 340 regional airliner. It is used by the USN for pilot training. The aircraft replaced ...