• Land Warfare

  Japan orders new-build AAV7s

  15th April 2016

  Japan’s MoD has lodged a $149 million order with BAE Systems for 30 Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAV), according to a 7 April announcement. What is …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Australia hunts for naval VTOL UAV

  15th April 2016

  Australia wants a small number of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAVs to develop experience in their use aboard Royal Australian Navy (RAN) ships at …

• Land Warfare

  DSA 2016: Savox targets soldier upgrades

  15th April 2016

  Savox Communications is eyeing up soldier modernisation programme opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region. The Finnish company will be showcasing its Tactical headgear for changing Operational …

• Training

  US demonstrates new training technology

  14th April 2016

  The US Office of Naval Research (ONR) has demonstrated new training technology at the Fleet Integrated Synthetic Training/Testing Facility (FIST2FAC) on Ford Island, Hawaii, the …

• Training

  NZ opens SAS battle training facility

  14th April 2016

  The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) inaugurated its new Battle Training Facility (BTF) dedicated for special forces use, on 8 April.  It replaces what the NZDF …

• Military Logistics

  Rolls-Royce opens new SDC

  13th April 2016

  Rolls-Royce has opened a new service delivery centre (SDC) at Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas, the company announced on 11 April.  The SDC will provide …

• Land Warfare

  DSA 2016: Korean AAVs destined for Philippines

  13th April 2016

  The Philippines has, for a long time, been seeking new amphibious assault vehicles (AAV) to equip the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC). It appears South Korea's …

• Military Logistics

  BAE to build Lightning II facilities

  12th April 2016

  BAE Systems has received a £118 million contract from Lockheed Martin for the construction of engineering and training facilities at RAF Marham in Norfolk, BAE …

• Naval Warfare

  RAN opens new training centre

  12th April 2016

  The AWD Alliance's Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) project has achieved a new milestone, with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) opening its Navy Training Systems Centre …

• Naval Warfare

  First Mk IV RIB delivery scheduled

  11th April 2016

  The first of sixty new Pacific 24 Mk IV Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIB) destined for the Royal Navy will be delivered by manufacturer BAE Systems …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DARPA’s ALIAS completes first flight test

  11th April 2016

  A research effort associated with DARPA’s Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) programme has conducted flight tests of a plug-and-play system designed to enable aircraft …

• Digital Battlespace

  Comms contract for The MEL Group

  11th April 2016

  The MEL Group will provide internal communications equipment and support to the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) for its Maritime Equipment Transformation (MET) programme under …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Unmanned ACTUV becomes Sea Hunter

  8th April 2016

  DARPA’s prototype anti-submarine warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) was christened on 7 May in Portland.  It marks the next development stage for the programme …

• Naval Warfare

  BAE Systems to build more Mk 41 canisters

  8th April 2016

  BAE Systems has been awarded a $38.2 million contract modification from the US Navy to supply additional missile canisters for the Mk 41 Vertical Launching …

• Defence Helicopter

  New weapons for Thai AS550 C3e

  8th April 2016

  Shephard recently witnessed new 12.7mm FN Herstal HMP400 gun pods and FZ220 70mm rocket launchers fitted to Airbus Helicopters AS550 C3e (since being renamed H125M) …

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 ...