• Defence Helicopter

  Boeing set for AH-6i production

  27th May 2015

  Boeing will begin production of its AH-6i light attack helicopter by December 2015, according to company officials.  The company will open the production line at …

• Defence Helicopter

  US mulls MH-60R sale to Saudi Arabia

  22nd May 2015

  The US State Department has approved a possible foreign military sale of MH-60R multi-mission helicopters, associated equipment and support to Saudi Arabia, as announced by …

• Defence Helicopter

  LIMA 2015: Boeing comes out fighting with AH-6i

  18th March 2015

  Boeing is squaring up to challengers in the light attack helicopter market by pointing to the key differentiators of the AH-6i that the company believes …

• Digital Battlespace

  Boeing, Raytheon team for RSAF C5I solution

  3rd March 2015

  Boeing will join the Raytheon team to offer a comprehensive Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber and Intelligence (C5I) solution for the modernisation of the Royal …

• Land Warfare

  IDEX 2015: New Saber-25 turret launched by FNSS

  27th February 2015

  Turkish armaments manufacturer FNSS has put its new turret design on display at IDEX called the Saber-25. Fitted with a 25mm M242 cannon from ATK, …

• Naval Warfare

  IDEX 2015: DCNS eyes Middle East expansion

  24th February 2015

  Following the sale of a FREMM frigate to Egypt this month, DCNS believes that there are further opportunities for naval vessels in the Middle East …

• Defence Notes

  IDEX 2015: CAE eyes Gulf opportunities

  22nd February 2015

  CAE wants to increase its share of training for local armed forces in the GCC area as they modernise their equipment and look to enhance …

• Defence Helicopter

  IDEX 2015: ISIS to impact Middle East rotorcraft plans

  18th February 2015

  The protracted fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) will cast a long shadow over military requirements in the region, particularly in …

• Land Warfare

  IDEX 2015: Patria to show new NEMO simulator features

  18th February 2015

  Patria will unveil new features on its New Mortar (NEMO) training simulator at this year’s IDEX exhibition in Abu Dhabi. It will be the first …

• Land Warfare

  US gives ammunition and artillery to Lebanon

  11th February 2015

  The US has delivered ammunition and artillery worth over $25 million in assistance to the Lebanese Armed Forces, the US Embassy to Lebanon announced on …

• Military Logistics

  Gilbane to build King Khalid airbase facilities

  10th February 2015

  Gilbane Federal has won a $166 million design-build construction contract from the US Department of Defense for the Royal Saudi Air Force's King Khalid airbase, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Nigeria suspected of using Chinese UCAS

  29th January 2015

  Photographs of a crashed UCAS in Nigeria – apparently a Chinese-built CH-3A – began circulating online on 25 January 2015 and show that two intact …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Formation of Pterosaur UAVs soars in China

  16th January 2015

  A formation of Pterosaur UAVs has flown together in a 20-minute test flight for the first time. Four Pterosaurs took off from an unnamed airfield …

• Land Warfare

  Patria-Kongsberg team for Middle East programmes

  12th January 2015

  Patria and Kongsberg have announced a teaming agreement to compete for Middle Eastern weapon and vehicle programmes. The two companies announced on 9 January that …

• Land Warfare

  General Dynamics to continue Saudi Abrams upgrades

  30th December 2014

  General Dynamics Land Systems will continue work to upgrade M1A1 and M1A2 tanks to the Saudi M1A2 (M1A2S) configuration for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Transport

  C-130 Replacement [Saudi Arabia]

  Background Requirement The Royal Saudi Air Force operates 33 C-130H, 7 KC-130H aircraft and two KC-130Js. The country has been seeking to replace its older ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  VAB MK III [Saudi Arabia]

  Background As part of a $3 billion aid package provided by Saudi Arabia to Lebanon, Saudi Arabia ordered 100 VAB MK III 6x6 IFVs from ...

• Main battle tanks

  M1A2S [Saudi Arabia]

  Background Saudi Arabia was the first export customer for the M1A2 Abrams. 315 were delivered between 1993 and 1994 as part of a $1.5 billion ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Kozak 5 [Saudi Arabia]

  Background  In 2021, Ukrainian firm Pracktika announced that they had fulfilled an export contract to deliver 60 Kozak-5 armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia. The contract ...

• Long Range Missile Defence Systems: > 90km range

  Patriot Upgrade [Greece]

  Background In September 2021, Saudi Arabia deployed a Greek battery near Riyadh under the Integrated Air Missile Defense Concept. The battery was used to intercept ...

• Main battle tanks

  T-90S [Saudi Arabia]

  Background.  It is possible that Saudi Arabia may have sought the T-90S to replace stocks of legacy equipment. In addition to its modern M1A2S tanks, Saudi Arabia ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Typhoon Tranche 3A [Saudi Arabia]

  In June 2018, Saudi Arabia agreed to procure 48 Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter aircraft from BAE. The total procurement cost for 48 aircraft is estimated at ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | Typhoon Tranche 3A [Saudi Arabia]

  In June 2018, Saudi Arabia agreed to procure 48 Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter aircraft from BAE. The total procurement cost for 48 aircraft is estimated at ...

• Data links

  Data links | Typhoon Tranche 3A [Saudi Arabia]

  In June 2018, Saudi Arabia agreed to procure 48 Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter aircraft from BAE. The total procurement cost for 48 aircraft is estimated at ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | Typhoon Tranche 3A [Saudi Arabia]

  In June 2018, Saudi Arabia agreed to procure 48 Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter aircraft from BAE. The total procurement cost for 48 aircraft is estimated at ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | Typhoon Tranche 3A [Saudi Arabia]

  In June 2018, Saudi Arabia agreed to procure 48 Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter aircraft from BAE. The total procurement cost for 48 aircraft is estimated at ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  LAV 700 [Saudi Arabia]

  Background In 2014, the Saudi Arabian government signed a contract worth approximately C$15 billion (US$11 billion) to procure the LAV 700 8x8 platform from General ...

• Military UAS - mini

  RQ-11 Raven [Saudi Arabia]

  Background Small UAS family In June 2012, AeroVironment confirmed that Saudi Arabia was among the customers that had acquired aircraft from its small UAS family, ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Seeker 400 [Saudi Arabia]

  Methodology PGO and programme status The PGO has been set to 100% due to the programme being completed. Units required Across a first-batch and second-batch ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | P-8 Poseidon [Saudi Arabia]

  Saudi Arabia is planning to procure new P-8 Poseidon aircraft to set up its maritime patrol squadron as a part of wider naval plans under ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Hazem

  Produced by SAMI Navantia, Hazem is a combat management system designed for the Royal Saudi Naval Forces. Based on the Cadiz CMS, it is integrated ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 2 (Block 8, 8A, 9, 10, 10C, 11, 11C, 15, 15C)

  Under the Typhoon Tranche 2 procurement,  the four European partner nations of Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and the export customer Saudi Arabia took delivery ...

• Transport

  An-132

  The An-132 is a multipurpose transport aircraft based on the Soviet-era An-32. It is being jointly developed by Antonov and Saudi Arabia's Technology Development and ...

• Ship-launched torpedoes, Submarine-launched torpedoes

  F17

  The F17 is a wire-guided anti-surface ship torpedo developed for the French Navy and purchased by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The latest version is the F17 ...

• Air: helicopter radar, Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar

  Agrion

  The Agrion is a surveillance and missile targeting pulse radar manufactured by Thomson-CSF (now Thales). It is designed to work alongside the AS-15TT anti-ship missiles ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  THAAD missile

  THAAD missile is one of the most important components of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system. The THAAD missile starts to intercept incoming ...

• Land: air defence radar

  Shahine

  The Shahine radar is a key component of the Shahine self-propelled surface-to-air missile system, developed by Thomson-CSF (now Thales) for Saudi Arabia in the 1970s. ...

• Loitering munitions

  SKYWASP

  SKYWASP, developed by Vector Defence and SR2 Defence Systems, is a one-way attack drone modelled after the Iranian Shahed drone. The aircraft is in the ...

• Data links

  TTR

  Offered through Data Link Solutions (DLS) – Rockwell Collins' joint venture with BAE Systems – TacNet Tactical Radio (TTR) is claimed to be the smallest ...

• Directed energy weapons

  Silent Hunter

  Silent Hunter, also known as the low-altitude laser defence system (LASS), is a Chinese laser energy weapon believed to have been developed by the China Electronics ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  Interceptor HSI32

  The Interceptor HSI32 was designed by French shipbuilder CMN to meet the needs of modern navies and coastguards. The vessel's primary missions are sea policing ...

• Sea: sonar systems

  Captas-1

  CAPTAS-1 is a low-frequency Variable Depth Sonar (VDS) developed by Thales. It is the smallest member of the CAPTAS family optimised for littoral and shallow water ...

• Loitering munitions

  Jaser

  The Jaser is an electronically powered loitering munition manufactured by Serb Advanced Industries. It is pneumatically launched and is equipped with both day and thermal imaging cameras. At ...

• Land: battlefield and ground surveillance radar

  Cymbeline

  The Cymbeline is a phased-array, mortar-locating radar that detects the flight path of a mortar bomb at two points in its trajectory as it passes ...

• Naval: COMINT and ELINT systems

  ALTESSE

  Thales' Alert and Surface Ship Evaluation (ALTESSE) provides alerts on communication signals, tactical situation development and COMINT capabilities. Its wideband instantaneous bandwidth and processing capacities ...