• Training

  Ukraine grasps naval training support from UK

  15th September 2020

  The UK is to lead an international training programme for the Ukrainian Navy, which requires new equipment and systems to recover from a period of …

• Naval Warfare

  LUSV concept design work to end in May 2022

  15th September 2020

  More details have emerged about the large USV (LUSV) concept design study contracts awarded to six US companies on 4 September. These studies have an …

• Air Warfare

  Armenian Su-25 modernisation typifies wider trend

  3rd September 2020

  Four Su-25 ground attack aircraft operated by the Armenian Air Force will be upgraded to the Su-25SM3 standard, as it seeks to evolve its capabilities …

• Defence Helicopter

  New composite helicopter blades make debut at Army 2020

  24th August 2020

  Rostec company Russian Helicopters used the first day of the Army 2020 show near Moscow on 23-29 August to display new fully composite rotor blades, …

• Land Warfare

  Thai marines to get First Win IIs

  1st September 2020

  Chaiseri won a contract last month from the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) for the procurement of two First Win II 4x4 armoured vehicles. The Naval …

• Land Warfare

  Russian tank firing demonstration results in fiasco

  26th August 2020

  Russian MBTs underperformed badly when firing ATGMs from main armament at the Alabino firing range, in a live demonstration on 24 August during the Army …

• Naval Warfare

  BMT wins T-AGOS(X) industry studies contract

  18th September 2020

  BMT announced on 16 September that it has been awarded an industry study contract from the USN to advance the design of the next generation …

• Air Warfare

  US State Department clears AMRAAM FMS to Spain

  4th September 2020

  Spain is one step closer to receiving 100 AIM-120C-7/8 AMRAAM from Raytheon under an FMS deal after the US State Department approved the proposal, the …

• Land Warfare

  US donates 200 M1117 ASVs to Colombian Army

  11th August 2020

  The US has approved the donation of 200 units of the M1117 Guardian Armoured Security Vehicle (ASV) to the Colombian Army under the Excess Defence …

• Defence Helicopter

  Czech Viper and Venom double deal takes shape

  10th September 2020

  The Czech Republic’s long-running effort to acquire new utility and attack helicopters has taken a key step forward, after the US DoD issued Bell with …

• Defence Notes

  Northrop Grumman to refresh US nuclear arsenal

  9th September 2020

  A team led by Northrop Grumman has been awarded a $13.29 billion engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) contract by the USAF, to deliver the Ground …

• Military Logistics

  Belgium builds hangar for A400Ms

  28th August 2020

  A new hangar to accommodate Airbus A400M military transport aircraft is being built at Melsbroek Air Base near Brussels, Belgium. Laying the foundation stone on 24 …

• Training

  Transforming training is crucial to future-proofing our armed forces

  27th August 2020

  Future-proofing our training is the best way of ensuring our Armed Forces are equipped to keep us safe and secure in the future says Frazer …

• Land Warfare

  Taiwan orders more CM34 IFVs

  26th August 2020

  The Republic of China Army (ROCA) will order an additional 21 CM34 Cloud Leopard 8x8 IFVs armed with a 30mm cannon for the Military Police …

• Land Warfare

  Czech procurement surge caters for dismounted infantry

  25th August 2020

  The acquisition of IFVs for the army has tended to dominate attention among the equipment modernisation programmes in the Czech Republic, especially given its bumpy …

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) [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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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, ...

• 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 - 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

  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 - 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...