• Defence Notes

  DoD invests in N95 mask production

  23rd April 2020

  The US Department of Defense (DoD) will invest more than $132 million in masks as part of the Defense Production Act Title 3 COVID-19 Project. …

• Naval Warfare

  Serious Chinese shenanigans persist in South China Sea

  24th April 2020

  One might have hoped that China would desist from its aggressive territorial claims and military activities in the South China Sea during the COVID-19 crisis. …

• Defence Notes

  Texelis resumes production at Limoges facilities

  21st April 2020

  Texelis re-started production at its manufacturing facilities in Limoges, France after a period of reduced operations, the company confirmed in a 21 April statement. The …

• Defence Notes

  African militaries play crucial role in COVID-19 battle

  15th April 2020

  Ghana, Senegal and Uganda have decided to deploy military field hospitals to support their national responses to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. It comes after US …

• Land Warfare

  Lithuania to receive Protector RWS

  14th April 2020

  Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace announced on 14 April that it has received an FMS contract to deliver its Protector Remote Weapon Station (RWS) to the …

• Training

  AI drives new approach to pilot training

  28th April 2020

  The FlightSmart integrated pilot performance evaluation and training tool from FlightSafety International (FSI) has completed acceptance testing with the 14th Flying Training Wing at Columbus AFB in Ohio. FlightSmart …

• Naval Warfare

  Baltic Workboats supplying two vessels to Estonian Navy

  20th April 2020

  The Estonian Navy has placed an order for two force protection boats from Baltic Workboats which will aim to plug smaller gaps in the Navy’s …

• Air Warfare

  Embraer & SNC conduct inaugural flight of NAF Super Tucano

  20th April 2020

  Embraer and Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) have confirmed that the first A-29 Super Tucano aircraft destined for Nigeria has conducted its inaugural flight. The aircraft …

• Defence Notes

  Chinese policy seeks to weaponise the COVID-19 pandemic

  15th April 2020

  This Geobukseon writer, as a young graduate student, was fortunate to be attending a US university that was visited by the then recently retired former …

• Digital Battlespace

  HII to perform analytical services for USSOCOM

  17th April 2020

  Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has secured a $22 million contract as part of the SOCOM-Wide Mission Support-A (SWMS-A) contract. It allows for the provision of …

• Air Warfare

  U-2 Dragon Lady shows plenty of life

  6th May 2020

  A popular phrase in the US is ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. In aviation, one could think of the DC-3 and the 747, …

• Special Operations

  Study calls for more flexibility from US special forces on CT operations

  14th April 2020

  Counter-terrorism (CT) operations conducted by special operations forces (SOF) must require ‘more than just the application of military power’, according to a report by the …

• Defence Notes

  Israeli intelligence unit confronts COVID-19

  30th April 2020

  A research and development laboratory called Unit 81, part of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Intelligence Directorate, has been working with the  health ministry, the …

• Air Warfare

  USMC adjusts its air power priorities

  4th May 2020

  In issuing the Force Design 2030 report into the future direction of the USMC, the corps is attempting to steer the course of its development, …

• Land Warfare

  South Korea eyes US sales for Bigung

  7th April 2020

  The Bigung ("Flying Arrow") guided rocket system has been successfully evaluated by the US DoD under the Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT) process,  the South Korean …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Land 400 Phase 3 (Logistics, Ammunition Carrier and Mortar Carrier Variants) [Australia]

  Programme Background The Australian DoD released the initial RfI for the Land 400 Phase 3 programme in November 2015. Following consultations with local industry, the ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Land 400 Phase 3 (Amphibious Vehicles) [Australia]

  Programme Background The Australian DoD released the initial RfI for the Land 400 Phase 3 programme in November 2015. Following consultations with local industry, the ...

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

  Drone40 (Ukraine Aid) [Australia]

  Programme Background In August 2022, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), a think tank, held a podcast with Ukraine's ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, in which ...

• Main battle tanks

  M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams [Poland]

  Programme Background Requirement Since the early 2010s Poland wanted to upgrade its Soviet-era tank fleet due to modernisation requirements, the need to increase interoperability with NATO ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  Littoral Manoeuvre Vessel - Medium (Project Land 8710 Phase 1A) [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirements Australia has set out requirements for a fleet of up to 18 Littoral Manoeuvre Vessels - Medium (LMV-M) with the release of ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Land 400 Phase 2 - Boxer CRV [Australia]

  Programme Background History The Land 400 Phase 2 programme will procure a replacement for the ASLAV, a derivative of the General Dynamics Land Systems Light Armoured Vehicle ...

• Main battle tanks

  Leopard 2A4 [Czech Republic]

  Programme Background  The Czech Republic currently operates a small fleet of T-72s, which, while undergoing upgrades and life extension programmes, are increasingly obsolete. In October ...

• Submarines: nuclear, attack

  Second Hand SSNs [Australia]

  Programme Background Timeline In September 2021, it was announced in a trilateral announcement between Australia, the US and the UK that Australia, in a shock ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | AUKUS-SSNs (1-5) [Australia]

  In September 2021, it was announced in a trilateral announcement between Australia, the US and the UK that Australia, in a shock move, will not ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | AUKUS-SSNs (1-5) [Australia]

  In September 2021, it was announced in a trilateral announcement between Australia, the US and the UK that Australia, in a shock move, will not ...

• Main battle tanks

  Viatura Blindada de Combate-Carro de Combate (VBC-CC) [Brazil]

  Programme Background Several key technical requirements have been outlined by the Brazilian MoD. Among the most important are that the platform should weigh less than ...

• Medium UGVs

  Mission Master (RPV Sprial 2) [UK]

  Programme Background First announced in April 2017 and referred to in early MOD documents as the ‘last mile resupply’ initiative, the British Army is reportedly ...

• Submarines: nuclear, attack

  AUKUS-SSNs (1-5) [Australia]

  Programme Background AUKUS Australia announced on 16 September 2021 that the contract with Naval Group signed in 2016 had been cancelled. Although not a surprising ...

• Main battle tanks

  M1A1 Abrams (Ukraine Aid) [Australia]

  Programme Background Since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Australia has been amongst the various Western allies providing Ukraine with military aid. Prior ...

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

  Project Air 7003 [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement The Royal Australian Air Force has been without a UAS capability since the Heron was withdrawn in mid-2017. According to Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  Carl-Gustaf M3

  The Carl-Gustaf M3 is the third generation of the 84mm shoulder-fired recoilless antitank gun, first fielded by the Swedish Army in 1946. Since then, it ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  120mm KE DM63 / DM53 A1 Tank Ammunition

  The 120mm kinetic energy tank ammunition is manufactured by Rheinmetall. There are several variations of the ammunition, including the DM63, which can be fired from ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  120MM HEAT-TP F1A

  Franco-German KNDS-Nexter produce the 120mm High-Explosive Anti-Tank Training-Purpose F1A (HEAT-TP F1A) round to enable reduced-cost training for Main Battle Tank crews. 

• Main battle tanks

  M1/M1A1 Abrams

  The 105mm-armed M1 Abrams tracked MBT was introduced into US Army service in 1980 as a replacement for the 105mm-armed M60 MBT. In April 1991, ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  120mm PELE Tank Ammunition

  The 120mm Penetrator with Enhanced Lateral Effect (PELE) tank ammunition is an inert round produced by Rheinmetall. It is suitable for use against semi-hard targets ...

• S-64 Helitanker Fire-fighting Equipment

  Erickson's 10,031l tank for the S-64 helitanker drops water, retardant or foam mix at a rate of around 95l/h. Microprocessor-controlled tank doors offer eight individual ...

• Naval: RF, IR and acoustic decoys

  Nulka

  The Nulka is an active anti-ship missile decoy originally conceived in Australia, and developed under a joint Australian-US programme. BAE Systems Australia is prime contractor, while ...

• Light mortars

  60mm Mortar Ammunition

  US-based LD Systems' 60mm Mortar ammunition fulfils the NATO standard for lightweight mortar ammunition.

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  120mm L55A1

  The 120mm L55A1 is a smoothbore high-pressure gun based on the L55 tank gun. The L55A1 has been qualified and in service since 2019. It ...

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  120mm L55 Tank Gun

  The 120mm L55 is a smoothbore tank gun produced by Rheinmetall. It is designed for use on the Leopard main battle tank, to which it ...

• Main battle tanks

  M1A2 SEPv3

  The M1A2 System Enhancement Package 3 (M1A2 SEPv3, also known as M1A2C) is the latest production-standard variant of the Abrams MBT. Designed primarily to address ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  M1147 Advanced Multi-Purpose (AMP)

  The M1147 Advanced Multi-Purpose (AMP) is a 120mm tank round developed by Northrop Grumman Defence Systems. Various customers, including Bahrain, Israel, and the US, use the tank ...

• Unguided Medium Calibre Ammunition

  Next Generation Combat Vehicle Ammunition

  The Next Generation Combat Vehicle Ammunition (NGVA) is a family of ammunition being developed by the US Army's Armaments Center and manufactured by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems ...

• Submarines: nuclear, attack

  SSN AUKUS

  The SSN-AUKUS will be the submarine design resulting from the AUKUS trilateral pact between Australia, the US and the UK. Expected to incorporate technology from ...

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  CVTESS

  Saab's Combat Vehicle Tactical Engagement Simulation System (CVTESS) is a laser-based simulator which supports every version of the Abrams Main Battle Tank and the Bradley ...