• Training

  Lockheed Martin awarded LCS Freedom variant trainer contract

  5th November 2019

  Lockheed Martin has received a $20.7 million contract for work related to Littoral Combat Ship Freedom variant Integrated Tactical Trainer devices, the US Department of …

• Land Warfare

  Raytheon working on Subterranean Surveillance project

  13th November 2019

  Raytheon is working on a DARPA Subterranean Surveillance project to create new methods for detecting buried explosives using synthetic biology.Under its DARPA contract, Raytheon is …

• Military Logistics

  Hesco receives EBS contract

  5th November 2019

  Hesco Bastion has received an IDIQ contract worth up to $24 million for the Expeditionary Barrier System. The contract, issued by the US Defense Logistics …

• Defence Helicopter

  Ardiden 1U​ engine receives EASA type certification

  12th November 2019

  Safran Helicopter Engines’ Ardiden 1U engine, installed in India's Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), has received EASA type certification. The LUH single-engine, multi-purpose helicopter designed by …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Northrop Grumman takes part in DARPA swarm test

  28th October 2019

  Northrop Grumman has detailed its participation in DARPA’s second unmanned vehicle (UxV) swarming field experiment. The experiment leveraged the command, control and collaboration capabilities of …

• Defence Notes

  Podcast: Revolutions in Vertical Flight S1 E6 - the Future of VTOL Innovation

  20th December 2019

  Welcome to Shephard Studio’s podcast series on Revolutions in Vertical Flight, sponsored by our partner Bell. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and more. The Revolutions in Vertical Flight …

• Naval Warfare

  China condemns US navy sail-by in disputed waters

  22nd November 2019

  China on Friday accused the US of ‘provocative’ conduct after two US warships sailed near islands claimed by Beijing this week, adding to tensions between …

• Land Warfare

  EDA to take forward CBRN surveillance project

  12th November 2019

  The European Defence Agency (EDA) will support the development of the PESCO CBRN Surveillance as a Service (CBRN SaaS) project as an agency initiative, the …

• Defence Helicopter

  HH-60W arrive for developmental testing

  13th November 2019

  Two HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopters have arrived at US Air Force Eglin Air Force Base in Florida where they will begin developmental testing. The aircraft …

• Digital Battlespace

  AOC 2019: USAF in a jam

  23rd October 2019

  It is 30 years since the US Air Force (USAF) retired its General Dynamics EF-111A Raven electronic warfare aircraft. Is it time that the air …

• Land Warfare

  D&S 2019: Decision awaited on Philippine light tanks

  22nd November 2019

  The Philippines has still not made a decision on what platforms it will choose for its extant light tank procurement, although contenders believe it is …

• Training

  $6.4 billion ADAIR and CCAS contract

  31st October 2019

  The USAF Air Combat Command has awarded seven companies combined contracts valued at $6.4 billion to support its Combat Air Forces Contracted Air Support (CAF …

• Defence Notes

  Dubai Airshow 2019: UAE enters final stages of air power double deal

  19th November 2019

  The UAE Air Force is putting the finishing touches on a set of new orders for two additional Saab GlobalEye Airborne Early Warning and Control …

• Defence Helicopter

  Dubai Airshow 2019: Stress tells on UAE AW609 deal (updated)

  20th November 2019

  Issues of customer confidentiality are preventing Leonardo from disclosing the current status of an AW609 deal with the UAE Joint Aviation Command (JAC), leaving programme …

• Defence Notes

  Lockheed Martin awarded Mk21A contract

  23rd October 2019

  Lockheed Martin will carry out Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction (TMRR) for the US Air Force Mark21A Reentry Vehicle (Mk21A) under a $108 million contract …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-2 (Japan)

  Programme Background The UH-2 is a Japanese militarised version of Bell’s civilian 412EPX, with the two OEMs cooperating on this particular programme. The Acquisition, Technology ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-2 Forecast (Japan)

  Programme Background The UH-2 is a Japanese militarised version of Bell’s civilian 412EPX, with the two OEMs cooperating on this particular programme. The Acquisition, Technology ...

• Trainer

  T-6C [Thailand]

  Programme Background The contract is for 12 Beechcraft T-6C Texan II advanced military training aircraft, ground-based training systems for pilots and maintenance professionals, a mission ...

• ISR/special mission

  ISTAR Aircraft (South Korea)

  Programme Background South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration stated that Seoul is planning to procure additional aircraft to minimize potential surveillance gaps amid growing security ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Surion Marine Attack Helicopter [South Korea]

  Programme Background The ROKMC has planned to obtain 24 attack helicopters for the first time. When bidding opened in January 2019, there were five contenders: Bell ...

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

  KUS-FT (South Korea)

  Programme Background Requirement The ROKA had identified a need for tactical UAVs that can be employed at the divisional level to carry out ISTAR missions ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  FPV Drones [Israel]

  Background Reported Programme According to the Globes media outlet, reporting in March 2025, the Ministry of Defense Department of Production and Procurement was publishing the ...

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

  KUS-FS (ROKA) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Inception The Aerospace Division of Korean Air (KAL-ASD) commenced developing the MUAV in 2008 in response to a ROKAF requirement for a MALE ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2 [Croatia]

  Background Contract Award As reported by Shephard in November 2024, Croatia's government approved the purchase of six Bayraktar TB2 drones, a training package in Türkiye, a command-and-control centre, ...

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

  KUS-FS (ROKAF) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Inception The Aerospace Division of Korean Air (KAL-ASD) commenced developing the MUAV in 2008 in response to a ROKAF requirement for a MALE UAV ...

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

  RQ-4 Global Hawk (South Korea)

  Programme Background Requirments Seoul required UAS assets to help monitor its neighbour to the north and, increasingly, Chinese activities in waters and in the air near ...

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

  RQ-4 Global Hawk (Japan)

  Programme Background Selection & Contract AwardIn 2015, Northrop Grumman's RQ-4 Global Hawk UAS and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft were selected by Japan to ...

• Loitering munitions

  Long Range One-way Platforms [US]

  Solicitation In October 2024, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) released a solicitation for long-range, one-way platforms. The DIU noted recent conflicts highlighted the asymmetric impact of low-cost, ...

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

  Eurodrone (Forecast) [Czechia]

  Programme Background Eurodrone Programme For context, the European MALE RPAS, or Eurodrone, is a quad-nation effort from some of Europe's most prominent defence manufacturers to ...

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

  Eurodrone (Forecast) [Japan]

  Programme Background Japan's Application The Letter of Approval (LOA) for observer status in the programme was presented to the Japanese Ambassador to Germany, Hidenao Yanagi, by Joachim ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Land: COMINT and ELINT systems

  GenCOM Defense Ground

  GenCOM Defense Ground provides an automatic multi-layered situational awareness picture to the decision-maker, based on external signal data (metadata) gathered in real time. Integrating with ...

• Major networking projects

  DCGS

  The Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) is the Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office plan for the integrated architecture of all ground and surface computing and communications ...

• EO/IR systems

  CM262

  Manfuaucted by AVT Australia, the CM262 is a ground-based imaging system combining four sensor configurations into a compact and ruggedised system for C-UAS and ISR ...

• Land: air defence radar

  KRONOS Power Shield Land

  This system is an L-band digital AESA anti-TBM radar. It is the land-based version of the naval KRONOS Power Shield, also known as KRONOS Ground ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  AMRAAM-ER

  The AIM-120 AMRAAM-ER is essentially an upgraded version of the AIM-120 AMRAAM tailored for extended range and enhanced performance in ground-based air defense systems like ...

• Short Range Missile Defence Systems: 0 to 20 km range

  Initial Maneuver - SHORAD

  Unveiled at AUSA 2019, Initial Maneuver Short Range Air Defense (IM-SHORAD) is a multipurpose platform, based on the Stryker IFV, which moves and maneuvers in ...

• Parvus DuraCOR 312

  The Parvus DuraCOR 312 is an Ultra-Small Form Factor (USFF) modular mission computer unveiled by Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions in November 2016. The DuraCOR 312 is ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Type 87

  The Type 87 is a 6x6 armoured reconnaissance vehicle developed by the now defunct Defense Division of Komatsu to meet the specific requirements of the ...

• AEW&C

  P600 AEW&C

  In June 2019, Embraer and IAI/Elta signed a cooperation agreement aimed at developing an AEW&C; aircraft based on the business jet Praetor 600, namely the ...

• Land: battle management systems

  AMDWS

  AMDWS (Air and Missile Defense Work Station), is a collaborative battlespace awareness information management system developed by Northrop Grumman to meet the requirements of the ...

• Long-range Video and Data Downlinks

  BMS airborne and ground-based equipment enables long-range, real-time HD video and broadband data links. Products include cockpit control panels, airborne antennas, real-time encoders, compact high-power ...

• Land: battle management systems

  FAAD/C-RAM C2

  The Forward Area Air Defense (FAAD) Command and Control (C2) system was developed by Northrop Grumman to provide command and control (C2) for the US Army ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Airborne Launching and Attack System (AirLAS)

  The Airborne Launching and Attack System (AirLAS) is a system that pairs Diehl Defence's IRIS-T air-to-air missile with a reusable carrier UAV developed by POLARIS. The companies ...

• Data links

  Universal Link System

  Developed by Scytalys, the Universal Link System (ULS) is a modular, scalable multi data link processor. It supports all NATO and US standard data links ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  MIM-72 Chaparral

  The MIM-72 Chaparral is a short-range, low-altitude, surface-to-air missile produced for the M48 Chaparral fire unit. It was produced as a replacement for the cancelled MIM-46 Mauler ...