• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US officially announces Belgian FMS deal for SkyGuardian

  17th August 2020

  FMS customer Belgium is to receive four MQ-9B SkyGuardian UAVs, two ground stations, spare parts and support equipment from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. Work on …

• Land Warfare

  US Army orders Carl-Gustaf ammunition and AT4 systems

  16th July 2020

  Saab has announced a $100 million order for Carl-Gustaf ammunition and AT4 disposable weapon systems from the US Army, with deliveries taking place in 2021.   …

• Land Warfare

  BAE Systems proposes Beowulf for CATV

  21st July 2020

  In response to an RfP issued in June 2020, BAE Systems has submitted a proposal to the US Army to deliver two prototype vehicles under …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Camcopter zooms in on Australia, as Sea 129 tender process begins

  6th August 2020

  Schiebel Pacific announced on 27 July that it had teamed up with Raytheon Australia for the Australian Army’s Project Land 129 Phase 3 requirement for a new …

• Naval Warfare

  NAVSEA announces Mk-48 Mod 7 support contract

  17th August 2020

  FMS customers Australia and Taiwan are included in the latest Mk-48 Mod 7 heavyweight torpedo support contract for Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). However, most …

• Land Warfare

  Pakistan finally fields upgraded Al-Khalid tank

  4th August 2020

  On 28 July the Armoured Corps of the Pakistan Army held a rollout ceremony for the upgraded Al-Khalid-I MBT at a Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT) …

• Training

  ATAC draws first blood on CCAS

  17th August 2020

  Textron Systems subsidiary Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC) and its partner Valkyrie Aero have been selected to provide live contracted close air support (CCAS) training …

• Digital Battlespace

  Cromulence to help tighten cyber for space systems

  17th August 2020

  Cyber risks for US space systems are receiving special attention under a $9.91 million contract for Melbourne, Florida-based Cromulence. The deal from the US Air …

• Land Warfare

  Australia lays out Land 159 lethality roadmap

  5th August 2020

  Following an industry brief on 30 July, further details have emerged about Australia’s Land 159 Lethality Systems programme. Prime contractor Nioa released details of the …

• Land Warfare

  PLA fields new generation of heavy trucks

  31st July 2020

  The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is now fielding a new family of 6x6 and 8x8 heavy trucks manufactured by the Shaanxi Automobile Group. The platform …

• Defence Notes

  US to harden Guam against Chinese attack

  23rd July 2020

  The US is seeking to station Aegis Ashore on Guam, its westernmost territory, by 2026. The purpose is to give ballistic missile protection for the strategically important …

• Training

  Philippines seeks pair of helicopter simulators

  20th August 2020

  The Philippine Air Force (PAF) is seeking full-motion simulators for both the Leonardo AW109 Power and Bell 412EP platforms, with a tender document published by …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Japan may renege on its Global Hawk acquisition

  18th August 2020

  Domestic media in Japan reported on 13 August that Tokyo is considering cancelling its purchase of the RQ-4B Block 30(I) Global Hawk. The Japan Air …

• Land Warfare

  US Army awards General Dynamics Land Systems S-MET development contract

  16th July 2020

  The US Army has awarded General Dynamics Land Systems a $249 million contract on 15 July for the development of the Small Multipurpose Equipment Transport (S-MET), …

• Training

  NAVAIR picks Cubic for LVC training support

  21st August 2020

  Cubic Defense Applications is to provide provides design, engineering, test and demonstration services for US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), to mature technologies for LVC …

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 ...

• Main battle tanks

  NGCV: DLP

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

• AGMV 1.1

  Programme Background The US Army has been seeking a lightweight, air-droppable, high mobility vehicle since as early as 2014, when it initiated its Ultra Light ...

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

  Heavy Lift VTOL (HVTOL) (Forecast) [US Army]

  Background USMC In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, which had been specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  AMPV [USA]

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

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV Oshkosh Contract [US Army]

  Programme 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow On

  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, ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker (Sergeant Stout) [USA]

  Programme 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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System (LMAMS) [US Army]

  Background First Contract In June 2011, the US awarded AeroVironment a $4.9 million series-production contract for the loitering munition, satisfying the US Army's Lethal Miniature ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Switchblade 300 (USA)

  Programme Background AeroVironment has been providing the Switchblade 300 loitering munition to the US Army under the long-standing Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile Systems (LMAMS) programme ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  US Army Maneuver Support Vessel Light (MSVL)

  Programme BackgroundThe Maneuver Support Vessel (Light) or MSV(L) contract was awarded by the US Army to Vigor in 2017 and are being built to replace ...

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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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. 

• 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) ...

• JPT

  Designed for military applications, the Joint Platform Tablet (JPT) features a rugged design, including a military-grade aluminium case, dual-core processor, 128GB removable hard drive and ...

• 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 ...

• REBS

  The Rapidly Emplaced Bridge System (REBS) is a 13m dry-gap bridge. It was designed by GDELS to meet a US Army requirement to provide a ...

• 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). ...

• DSB

  WFEL was selected in 1996 to develop the M18 Dry Support Bridge (DSB) for the US Army. The company designed, manufactured and integrated the DSB ...

• 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 ...