• Naval Warfare

  Raytheon to produce Block V Tomahawk for USN

  22nd December 2020

  Block V is latest variant of tactical land attack cruise missile used by UK and US navies.

• Land Warfare

  Spanish Army procures new missile simulators

  13th November 2020

  The Spanish Army will invest €551 thousand (US $651 thousand) in one simulator of the C-90/C-100, three of EUMP SPIKE IDT and three of Mistral. The suppliers will be the national companies Instalaza and Adaptive Systems.

• Defence Helicopter

  Hungarian H145M fleet is almost complete

  23rd December 2020

  Hungarian Air Force now has 16 H145M helicopters plus eight Zlin light trainers.

• Air Warfare

  Lockheed continues JASSM-ER development

  22nd December 2020

  Contract modification provides risk reduction testing, cyber testing and coatings to support the Group One development effort.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US armed forces buy more Centaurs

  16th November 2020

  ​Orders worth almost $100 million have been placed for more than 750 UGVs in last 12 months

• Military Logistics

  MD Helicopter continues Cayuse Warrior support for Afghan Air Force

  17th November 2020

  Contract modification covers logistics support until May 2021

• Land Warfare

  US Army will replace Raytheon FIM-92 Stinger MANPADS

  12th November 2020

  ​The US Army has released a RFI aiming to replace the Raytheon FIM-92 Stinger passive-guided man-portable air defence system. The service intends to acquire up to 8,000 missiles by FY2026.

• Digital Battlespace

  Podcast: Five Eyes Connectivity - The United Kingdom

  16th December 2020

  In this episode of the Five Eyes Connectivity podcast, we hear how a rapidly shifting threat environment is driving a transformation of British military capabilities.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  New UAVs appear around Southeast Asia

  27th November 2020

  The Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam are all introducing new UAVs, including both imported and indigenous designs.

• Land Warfare

  France analyses ethical implications of creating ‘super soldiers’

  16th December 2020

  The Defence Ethics Committee of the French MoD has published a report on the ‘enhanced soldier'. This document analysed ethical issues around improving physical, perceptual, cognitive and psychological capabilities for French warfighters.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  India leases pair of MQ-9B UAVs

  26th November 2020

  India is already flying over the Indian Ocean two MQ-9B UAVs that are being leased from the US.

• Defence Helicopter

  US Army and Sikorsky to test ‘multi-ship’ optionally piloted Black Hawks

  12th November 2020

  Multiple UH-60 optionally piloted Black Hawk flight tests, under DARPA's ALIAS Phase III, are set to begin next year.

• Naval Warfare

  In focus — the IRGC(N) and its strategic effect

  11th January 2021

  Formed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has developed a unique approach to maritime force projection, and represents the force of choice for Tehran when it wants to bring about a strategic effect in the Gulf region and beyond

• Land Warfare

  EDA plans joint programmes to procure or upgrade MBTs

  1st December 2020

  The latest Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) report mentions an initiative to develop and procure a next-generation MBT in the long term, as well as modernisation and upgrades of in-service platforms in the short term. Any solution will have to address aspects of C2, target acquisition, firepower, mobility, survivability and sustainability.

• Land Warfare

  EDA plans joint programmes to procure or upgrade MBTs

  1st December 2020

  The latest Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) report mentions an initiative to develop and procure a next-generation MBT in the long term, as well as modernisation and upgrades of in-service platforms in the short term. Any solution will have to address aspects of C2, target acquisition, firepower, mobility, survivability and sustainability.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  MQ-1 Gray Eagle [US Army]

  Background Required Quantity Although the US Army first envisioned a requirement for 132 MQ-1C Gray Eagles, the US Army's Army Acquisition Objective (AAO) was increased ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker DVH [USA]

  Background The US Army has been operating the Stryker since 2002. The Stryker DVH is an upgraded variant that has additional armour on its underside ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV (US Army) (Batch 1) [USA]

  Background As of January 2021, the US DoD had signed 15 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all branches ...

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

  Heavy Lift VTOL (HVTOL) [US Army]

  Background USMC First, Army Second In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial Resupply ...

• Main battle tanks

  Decisive Lethality Platform [USA]

  Background The DLP is one of five vehicle families being developed for the US Army's NGCV programme. Expanded to include five programmes in October 2018, ...

• Military UAS - micro

  eBee Vision [US]

  Background Multiple orders In November 2025, the US Army acquired three eBee Vision systems to enhance training operations at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Germany. A ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  AMPV [USA]

  Background Platform development The US Army initiated the AMPV programme to acquire a replacement for several variants of the M113 tracked APC, which has been ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker (Sergeant Stout) (Batch 2) [USA]

  Background As part of the Army Transformation Initiative, the US DoD is fundamentally reorganising the structure of the US Army. The development of the Sergeant ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, 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 - fixed-wing, 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 ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker (Sergeant Stout) [USA]

  Background As part of the Army Transformation Initiative, the US DoD is fundamentally reorganising the structure of the US Army. As part of this all Infantry Brigade ...

• Self-propelled guns

  Mobile Tactical Cannon [USA]

  Background The US Army began using the M777 in 1995. Since then, it has served as a field artillery piece providing fire support for American ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow-On [USA]

  Programme Background In March 2019, Airbus stated that it expected orders from the US Army for between 12 and 15 UH-72A helicopters. In March 2020, ...

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

  Group 4/5 UAV [US Army]

  Background Request for Information (RFI) On 5 June 2024, the American DoD published an RfI with an original response date of 19 July 2024. The ...

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

  Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) [Tranche 1] / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) (USA)

  Programme Background The Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) Programme The RPUAS programme will provide the Battalion and below-ground manoeuvre elements within the US Army with an ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  US Army AVCATT PDSS

  L3Harris Technologies is the prime contractor for the US Army’s Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer (AVCATT) Post Deployment Software Support (PDSS) programme. L3Harris Technologies is ...

• Maritime patrol

  US-2

  The ShinMaywa US-2 is an amphibious short take-off and landing aircraft used primarily by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) for SAR. 

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  US Army Flight School XXI OFT/RCTD

  L3Harris Technologies is a major subcontractor to CSC on the US Army’s Flight School XXI (FSXXI) programme. L3Harris Technologies has built or is under contract ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  OH-58 Kiowa

  The single-engine OH-58 Kiowa, derived from the Bell 206, entered US Army service in 1969 as a light observation helicopter. More than 2,200 were built for ...

• Towed guns

  M198

  The US Army developed the M198 155mm towed howitzer from 1969 to replace the M114 155mm howitzer. From 1978, 1,600 weapons were built by Rock ...

• Towed mortars

  M120/M120A1

  The M120/M120A1 120 mm Towed Mortar System is a US-built version of the Soltam K6 mortar that was accepted into US Army service in 1990.

• Light tanks

  M10 Booker

  The US Army awarded General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) a contract worth US$1.14 billion to supply 96 light tanks under the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72A/B Lakota

  In 2006, the US Army selected a version of the medium-sized, twin-engine H145, designated the UH-72A Lakota,  to meet its requirement for a new Light ...

• Armoured engineer vehicles

  M1150 ABV

  The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) project, launched by the USMC in 2002, is a joint programme to meet the requirements of both the US ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  RQ-7 Shadow 200

  The Shadow 200, designated RQ-7B by the US Army, is flown by the army brigade combat teams and combat aviation brigades along with the UAV ...

• Land: Electronic Attack - Jamming

  AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III

  Sierra Nevada’s AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III is the standard Counter Improvised Explosive Device (CIED) manpack system in service with the US Army and US Marine Corps (USMC). ...

• Individual grenade launchers

  M320 GLM

  The M320 Grenade Launcher Module (GLM) is a further development of the HK AG36 (see separate entry) to meet a US Army requirement. The M320 ...

• Unguided Mortar Ammunition

  M821A3 High Explosive Mortar Round

  The M821A3 High Explosive Mortar Round is an 81mm mortar round manufactured by Day & Zimmerman for the US Army.

• Unguided Mortar Ammunition

  M933A1 High Explosive Mortar Round

  The M933A1 High Explosive Mortar Round is a 120mm mortar round manufactured by Day & Zimmermann for the US Army.

• Unguided Mortar Ammunition

  M934A1 High Explosive Mortar Round

  The M934A1 High Explosive Mortar Round is a 120mm mortar round produced by Day & Zimmermann for the US Army.