• Defence Notes

  Pentagon probe finds training, command issues in Niger ambush

  10th May 2018

  A comprehensive probe into 2017’s deadly assault of US and local forces in Niger uncovered a series of avoidable blunders leading up to the attack, …

• Land Warfare

  IDEB 2018: Austria concludes winter BvS10 trials

  17th May 2018

  The Austrian Army has concluded winter trials of BAE Systems’ BvS10 ahead of serial production. The first army trials have been completed following the announcement …

• Training

  Australia receives F-35A training equipment

  4th May 2018

  The Royal Australian Air Force has received F-35A training equipment for the F-35A Integrated Training Centre. This was the first delivery of Australia’s training equipment …

• Defence Helicopter

  India issues Ka-226T RfP, scorns competitive process

  18th May 2018

  India’s MoD issued an RfP earlier in May for the 200 Kamov Ka-226T helicopters that it plans to buy to replace geriatric light utility platforms …

• Digital Battlespace

  Hughes to prototype FMI for US DoD

  10th May 2018

  Hughes Network Systems has received a follow-on contract to continue the second phase of a pilot study programme to assess the feasibility of interoperability across …

• Training

  AFGSC undertakes Kratos training

  3rd May 2018

  Kratos Defense and Security Solutions’ Kratos Aircrew Training Center (KATC) in Orlando, Florida, has conducted aerial gunnery training (AGT) for US Air Force Global Strike …

• Training

  ROKAF retires T-103 training aircraft

  4th May 2018

  The Republic of Korean Air Force has officially retired its T-103 training aircraft for cadets, the Ministry of National Defence announced on 2 May. T-103, …

• Digital Battlespace

  Russian units to receive Sopka-2 radar

  8th May 2018

  The Russian Air Force’s Northern Fleet units will receive six sets of Sopka-2 radars this month, the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 3 …

• Digital Battlespace

  IDEB 2018: Czech forces invest in advanced EW tech

  16th May 2018

  The Czech Republic is expanding its electronic warfare (EW) capabilities, investing in advanced jamming systems and next generation signal analysis technology as Russia continues to …

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy sees 'period of uncertainty' in Gulf

  15th May 2018

  Iranian behaviour in the Gulf is entering a ‘period of uncertainty,’ the head of the US Navy said on 14 May following President Donald Trump's …

• Special Operations

  SOFIC 2018: JSOC to reveal technology interest areas

  16th May 2018

  The US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) has revealed a hit-list of technology interest areas due to be exploited over the course of 2018 in …

• Training

  Top Aces reaches training milestone

  2nd May 2018

  Top Aces has achieved 70,000 hours of air combat training for its customers worldwide. The milestone was reached during a training mission for the Canadian …

• Training

  Saab signs Finnish Army training contract

  1st May 2018

  Saab announced on 27 April that it is to deliver training systems to the Finnish Army under a contract signed with the Finnish Defence Forces …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  FirstLook UGV for USMC

  10th May 2018

  Endeavor Robotics has received a $10 million contract from the US Marine Corps to provide FirstLook UGVs, the company announced on 7 May. The 5lbs …

• Land Warfare

  US Army grapples with future operating concepts

  10th May 2018

  As the threat from near-peer adversaries looms once again over Western nations, the US is having to re-learn operating concepts that have laid dormant for …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  EVO Max 4T [Ukraine]

  Programme Background Ukraine On 6 October 2023, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's Miniter of Digital Transformation, announced that the Army of Drones sent nearly 2,000 EVO Max ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  Hürkuş-C Advanced Armed Trainer (Turkey)

  The Hurjet-C development programme funding was included in the Hurkus-B procurement contract awarded by  the Turkish Undersecretariat for Defence Industries in December 2013.  The Hurjet will ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  AW101-Norway

  AgustaWestland is also providing initial support and training services, including spares at each of the operating bases and aircrew training. It will then provide performance ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530F -Kenya

  Crew transition training took place at the MD Helicopters headquarters in Mesa, Arizona, with field service support, armament, and gunnery training scheduled to occur at ...

• Trainer

  T-54A Multi-Engine Training System (METS) (USA)

  Programme Background Multi-Engine Training System is a USN programme to replace the ageing T-44C Pegasus fleet and modernize multi-engine aircraft training. Multi-Engine Training System provides ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Multi-Role Support Ship (MRSS) (3) [Malaysia]

  Programme Background Requirements The Royal Malaysian Navy are in the process of a fleet transformation plan known as the 15 to 5 Transformation Plan, which ...

• Submarines: conventional, attack

  Submarines Procurement [Malaysia]

  Programme Background Requirements In 2015, the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) issued the so-called 15 to 5 Transformation Plan, which envisioned the service to be standardised ...

• ISR/special mission

  Shadow R1 [UK]

  Programme Background The RAF is moving forward with an ambitious plan to transform its intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) force to enable greater ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-60M Black Hawk-USA

  The UH-60M Black Hawk is a digitally networked platform with greater range and lift to support maneuver commanders through air assault, general support, command and ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Beyond Vision Drones [Portugal]

  Programme Background Contract Award On 14 February 2023, Beyond Vision announced that it had been awarded a €600,375 contract for the acquisition of "6 Mulittoror ...

• ISR/special mission

  King Air 350ER -Canada

  Programme Background Canadian Special Forces was looking to procure ISR aircraft to support their missions both overseas and domestically.  There were few Canadian suppliers to sell ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | Submarines Procurement [Malaysia]

  According to the Royal Malaysian Navy 15 to 5 Transformation Plan, the Navy wants to acquire two more submarines between 2031 and 2035. Shephard estimates ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | Submarines Procurement [Malaysia]

  According to the Royal Malaysian Navy 15 to 5 Transformation Plan, the Navy wants to acquire two more submarines between 2031 and 2035. Shephard estimates ...

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

  Gray Eagle 25M (13-20) [US National Guard]

  Background Requirement In FY2021, the National Guard Association of the United States (NGUAS) announced that it was "critical" that it fielded the MQ-1C Gray Eagle Extended Range (ER). The ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | Submarines Procurement Programme [Saudi Arabia]

  The Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) is in the process of a fleet transformation plan which, so far, has seen the procurement of corvettes from ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Major networking projects

  ACT

  Allied Command Transformation (ACT) is leading at strategic command level the transformation of NATO’s military structure, forces, capabilities and doctrine. It is working to enhance ...

• Loitering munitions

  Trypillian SSG

  Manufactured by Trypillian, a British-Ukrainian start-up, the Trypillian SSG is an autonomous, deep-strike loitering munition, designed to operate in GNSS-denied environments.  Trypillian states that it is an asymmetric ...

• Light UGVs

  D-21-11

  Unveiled in January 2024, the D-21-11 is a 4x4 wheeled UGV from Brave1. The Ukrainian vehicle features a flatbed that can host various equipment, such ...

• Loitering munitions

  Backfire

  The Backfire is a Ukrainian fire-and-forget loitering munition. The catapult-launched system is GPS-guided, meaning it is resistant to radio-electronic interference. Reportedly, its lack of real-time ...

• Medium UGVs

  Ironclad

  The Ironclad is a Ukrainian 4x4 UGV developed by Roboneers, a technology incubator that solicits ideas and pairs them with potential investors. Fitted with a ShaBlya ...

• Ultra-light UGVs

  Ratel S

  The Ratel S, sometimes also called the Medoed or Honey Badger, is a Ukrainian kamikaze UGV that can be armed with a TM-62 anti-tank mine or two 82mm ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  Vampire

  The Vampire is a hexacopter drone developed by the Ukrainian company Skyfall. It can carry and drop various types of ammunition on the enemy. In ...

• Land: range systems and targets

  DRTS

  The Digital Range Training System (DRTS) was developed under a 2011 contract to provide an immersive training environment for US Army vehicle crews. Training includes ...

• Loitering munitions

  Hornet IV

  Unveiled in September 2025, the Hornet IV is a development of the MQM-178 target drone designed for attack missions. Kratos and the National Chung-Shan Institute ...

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

  EVO Max 4T

  The EVO Max 4T is an in-development rotary-wing ISR drone from Autel Robotics. According to Autel, the drone has advanced autonomous technology, giving it a strong ...

• Air: aerial targets

  MQM-178 Firejet

  The MQM-178 Firejet is a target drone manufactured by Kratos Defence.  It performs a variety of end-to-end weapons-release training roles, including surface-to-air and air-to-air.

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  Live Training Systems-Range Instrumentation

  End-to-end, networked, live training communications systems providing live training range products, communications infrastructure and instrumented participant voice, video and data communications. These include range voice, ...

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

  Nomad (Group 4/5)

  In October 2025, Sikorsky unveiled the Nomad family of drones. The family can be scaled from a small Group 3 UAV to a Group 4/5 system with ...

• Air: fixed-wing flight simulators

  USN T-44C Training Services

  In late 2013, CAE USA received a contract to provide the USN with comprehensive T-44C aircrew training services at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas. CAE USA ...

• Data links

  CLIP

  Common Link Integration Processing (CLIP) is a software product that performs data transformation and processes protocols for dissimilar communications formats. It meets requirements for common ...