• Training

  US Navy test range centre breaks ground

  1st September 2016

  Construction of a new operations centre for the US Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division's (NAWCAD's) Atlantic Test Ranges (ATR) has officially begun with a …

• Defence Notes

  MSPO 2016: Israeli companies target Polish market

  1st September 2016

  Poland’s ambitious programme to modernise its armed forces is one of the biggest in Europe, and with billions of dollars likely to be spent over …

• Naval Warfare

  Clyde moving to River drumbeat

  31st August 2016

  The fitting out of HMS Forth, the first of the new batch of River-class OPVs for the Royal Navy, is expected to be completed by …

• Naval Warfare

  Australian frigate risk reduction studies signed

  31st August 2016

  The Australian government has signed an agreement with Navantia for the Risk Reduction and Design Study (RRDS) Phase for the Department of Defence's (DoD's) SEA 5000 …

• Land Warfare

  US Army developing 155mm artillery round

  30th August 2016

  The US Army is continuing work on a 155mm artillery round, the XM1113 Insensitive Munition High Explosive Rocket Assisted Projectile (XM1113 RAP), that will extend …

• Training

  MSPO 2016: Polish MiG-29 simulator enters service

  30th August 2016

  The Polish Air Force (PAF) has inaugurated a new flight simulator for its recently upgraded MiG-29 fleet. Jointly manufactured by Polish company KenBIT and Slovakian …

• Land Warfare

  MSPO 2016: Plenty worth fighting for

  30th August 2016

  Poland’s land programmes have been moving on in fits and starts. The Rosomak 8x8 APC programme is the main flagship armoured vehicle programme but others …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MSPO 2016: Thales hopeful for Polish Watchkeeper

  30th August 2016

  Thales remains confident its Watchkeeper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) will be successful in the Polish market, as the country reassesses its plans to procure a …

• Digital Battlespace

  Boeing to help Kiwis detect submarines

  30th August 2016

  Boeing has scooped a contract to upgrade Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) Lockheed Martin P-3K2 Orion aircraft with an underwater intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance …

• Naval Warfare

  USCG takes delivery of 19th FRC

  29th August 2016

  The US Coast Guard (USCG) has taken the delivery of its 19th fast response cutter (FRC), USCGC Rollin Fritch, in Key West, Florida, it was …

• Digital Battlespace

  ViaSat awarded US Navy UHF satcom work

  25th August 2016

  ViaSat will provide engineering, technical services and hardware/software products in support of the US Navy’s joint Ultra High Frequency (UHF) military satellite communications (SATCOM) system, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Taiwan’s Black Hawks put through paces

  24th August 2016

  Taiwan’s new Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawks participated in the country’s annual Han Kuang war games for the first time from 23-27 August. To date the …

• Naval Warfare

  OPV set for October delivery

  23rd August 2016

  French shipbuilders OCEA launched a Type 190 Mk2 OPV last month and the vessel, destined for an as yet unnamed West African country, is currently …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Raytheon pitches common UAS controller

  22nd August 2016

  Raytheon is positioning its UAS ground station technology, currently being developed for the US Air Force’s RQ-4B Global Hawk, as a potential common controller solution …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Insitu gives it some gas

  19th August 2016

  Continuing its involvement in the unmanned sector in Australia Insitu Pacific has extended its contract with the Queensland Gas Company (QGC) through to the end …

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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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

  Aerial Logistics Connector (ALC) [USMC]

  Background US Marine ULS-A programmes The US Marines are seeking a family of Unmanned Logistics Systems-Air (ULS-A) that will provide logistics and ground units with their ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawk [Saudi Arabia]

  Background Requirement The FMS is aimed at improving Saudi Arabia’s capability to meet current and future threats from enemy weapon systems, provide the capability to identify, ...

• Military UAS - small

  VTOL UAV [New Zealand]

  Background Defence Capability Plan (DCP) In April 2025, the New Zealand government published the DCP, a document that is essentially a blueprint for what procurements ...

• 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

  Shipborne Small UAV [Portugal]

  Background Shipborne UAV trials In August 2026, during the Iniciativa Mar Aberto 2026 mission, the Portuguese Navy conducted shipborne flight trials of uncrewed aircraft from ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Japanese Future Amphibious Vehicle

  Programme Background The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force's (JGSDF) Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade currently operates a fleet of 58 BAE Systems Armored Amphibious Assault Vehicle 7A1s (AAV7A1s) ...

• Military UAS - small

  Light Tactical Support Intelligence Drone Systems (SDLRAT) (1-30) [France]

  Background Aftermath of SDT To fill the capability void left by the cancellation of the second section of the Tactical Drone System (SDT) programme, the French ...

• Military UAS - small

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 2) [US Army]

  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 intended to ...

• Military UAS - small

  ALTIUS (US)

  Programme Background Testing The US Army has tested the platform since March 2020. It was launched from a US Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter that ...

• Military UAS - small

  Light Tactical Support Intelligence Drone Systems (SDLRAT) (31-140) [France]

  Background Aftermath of SDT To fill the capability void left by the cancellation of the second section of the Tactical Drone System (SDT) programme, the French ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Shipborne MALE UAV [Portugal]

  Background Shipborne UAV trials In August 2026, during the Iniciativa Mar Aberto 2026 mission, the Portuguese Navy conducted shipborne flight trials of uncrewed aircraft from the Gama-class frigate NRP Álvares ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

• 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

  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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 helicopters - multirole

  S-97 Raider

  The S-97 Raider helicopter is based on the five-year, company-funded X2 Technology Demonstrator project. Like the X2, the S-97 Raider will feature twin coaxial, counter-rotating ...

• Surface-to-air missiles, Surface-to-surface missiles

  RIM-174 Standard ERAM SM-6 Block I/IA

  The SM-6 (RIM-174 Standard ERAM) is a surface-to-air supersonic missile launched from cruisers and destroyers, capable of successfully engaging crewed and uncrewed, fixed- or rotary-wing ...

• Helicopter engines

  T901

  The Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP) is the US Army's effort to build a 50% more powerful and 25% more fuel-efficient engine for its Black ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  AVX JMR

  AVX Aircraft proposed a compound helicopter with coaxial rotors, small wings and dual ducted-fan propulsors for the US Army’s JMR-TD FVL programme. In April 2015, ...

• Helicopter engines

  T900

  The Improved Turbine Engine Program is the US Army's effort to build a 50% more powerful and 25% more fuel-efficient engine for its Black Hawk ...

• EO/IR systems

  Pan-Tilt-Zoom Camera with Laser Rangefinder

  Pan-Tilt-Zoom Camera with Laser Rangefinder is a surveillance system with a laser rangefinder. Performance includes 1/3in charge-coupled device colour sensor, NTSC or PAL format. Resolution ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  Super Komar

  The Super Komar is an upgraded version of the Komar, featuring digital signal processing. Air-to-air modes include boresight, head-up display search, look-up/down, range-while-search, track-while-scan (TWS) and vertical manoeuvre. ...

• Military - UUVs

  Roving Bat

  The Roving Bat is a multipurpose, hybrid ROV and crawler built by Exail. It is designed for close inspection and cleaning operations of immersed vertical structures ...

• Long Range Missile Defence Systems: > 90km range

  Sylver A-50

  The SYstème de Lancement VERtical (Sylver) A-50 is a vertical launching system (VLS) developed by DCNS (now Naval Group) to deploy medium- to long-range surface-to-air ...

• Long Range Missile Defence Systems: > 90km range

  Sylver A-70

  The SYstème de Lancement VERtical (Sylver) A-70 is a vertical launching system (VLS) developed by DCNS (now Naval Group) to deploy medium- to long-range surface-to-air ...