• Uncrewed Vehicles

  GD Mission Systems acquires Bluefin Robotics

  25th February 2016

  General Dynamics (GD) Mission Systems has acquired Bluefin Robotics for an undisclosed amount, the company announced on 22 February. US-based Bluefin Robotics manufactures unmanned undersea …

• Naval Warfare

  Thales gets UK Type 23 contract

  25th February 2016

  Thales has been awarded a £19 million contract to perform the mid-life update to the external communications voice distribution and management of the British Royal …

• Naval Warfare

  Damen delivers Dutch hybrid tug boat

  24th February 2016

  Damen has delivered the first ASD Tug 2810 hybrid to the Royal Netherlands Navy, it announced on 22 February. It is the first of a …

• Digital Battlespace

  Thales to upgrade Estonia’s minehunters

  23rd February 2016

  Thales has been selected as the prime contractor to upgrade three Sandown Class minehunters for the Estonian Ministry of Defence (MoD), it announced on 22 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Singapore Airshow: Reduced launch footprint lined up for ScanEagle

  23rd February 2016

  Future developments to the ScanEagle UAS could see a reduced footprint for launch operations in order to make the system more deployable. Insitu officials present …

• Digital Battlespace

  US develops cyber test bed

  22nd February 2016

  The US Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) is working on a virtual cyber test bed, dubbed USS Secure, the US Navy announced this month. The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Sentinel demonstrates ViDAR on ScanEagle

  22nd February 2016

  Australian company Sentient Vision said in February that it had demonstrated the ability of its Kestrel Maritime ViDAR optical detection system aboard a Royal Australian …

• Land Warfare

  Thailand wants more tanks

  22nd February 2016

  The Royal Thai Army (RTA) wants to buy more main battle tanks (MBT), with Chinese and Russian offerings are most likely at this point. The RTA …

• Naval Warfare

  Singapore Airshow: Do 228 production ramps up

  22nd February 2016

  After series production commenced, the first Dornier 228NG aircraft will roll off the line into a customer’s hands later this year. With production of the …

• Military Logistics

  AAMSI cleared to support P-3 aircraft

  19th February 2016

  Associated Aircraft Manufacturing and Sales (AAMSI) has been approved to provide manufacturing and avionics repair for multiple components of the Lockheed Martin P-3 Orion aircraft, …

• Digital Battlespace

  Thales to secure Norway LSV comms

  19th February 2016

  SAAB has selected Thales to secure satellite communications for the Royal Norwegian Navy’s new Logistic Support Vessel (LSV), Thales announced on 18 February. The company …

• Digital Battlespace

  France to upgrade command functions

  18th February 2016

  Thales has been selected by the French defence procurement agency to upgrade the command functions of the French Army and Navy, it announced on 16 …

• Digital Battlespace

  Singapore Airshow: Regional customer to trial SARBE CommLink

  18th February 2016

  An unnamed customer in the Asia Pacific region is preparing for a trial of McMurdo’s SARBE CommLink within the next six months ahead of a …

• Defence Notes

  Singapore Airshow: Honeywell finds Asia-Pacific encouragement

  18th February 2016

  Honeywell was obviously able to cater to both the commercial and military aviation sectors whilst at the Singapore Air Show, but one important announcement surrounded …

• Defence Helicopter

  Singapore Airshow: Boeing lays out regional opportunities

  18th February 2016

  Boeing Defense, Space & Security is bullish about prospects for military rotorcraft sales in the Asia-Pacific region, with Indonesia emerging as a potential buyer for …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munition (Royal Navy) [UK]

  Background Persistent Operational Deployment Systems (PODS) As the Royal Navy stated in 2022, Persistent Operational Deployment Systems (PODS) are “interchangeable modules that can be fitted to ...

• Directed energy weapons

  Project Dragonfire [UK]

  Background The UK Government's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) has been working with MBDA, Leonardo and QinetiQ to develop a LASER Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) called ...

• Military UAS - small

  T-150 (Royal Navy) [UK]

  Background Deployment On 7 April 2025, the Royal Navy announced that, for the first time, nine T-150 drones would be operated from the HMS Prince ...

• Land: air defence radar

  Lanza 3D Radar [Thailand]

  Background Thailand is procuring the LANZA 3D radar to strengthen surveillance and protection of Sattahip Naval Base. The radar will be deployed by the Royal ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Flexible Tactical Uncrewed Air System (FTUAS) [UK]

  Background Tender notice and timeline On 25 May 2021, the MoD published a tender notice for the urgent acquisition of a UAS and ancillaries under ...

• Military UAS - small

  Puma 3 AE (UK)

  Programme Background Testing The Royal Navy announced in October 2020 that the Puma was undergoing its first operational testing on HMS Albion's autumn deployment to ...

• Frigates

  Hamilton Class Cutter [Bahrain]

  Background Very little has been said about the transfer of an ex-Hamilton-class cutter to Bahrain, but it is one of the final two to leave ...

• Patrol boats

  Evolved Cape Class (1-6) [Australia]

  Programme Background Austal was awarded a contract to build six 'Evolved' Cape-class patrol boats for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) on 1 May 2020. The contract ...

• Patrol boats

  Evolved Cape Class (7-8) [Australia]

  Programme Background Austal was awarded a contract to build six 'Evolved'Cape-class patrol boats for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) on 1 May 2020 (see separate ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Boraida Class replacement [Saudi Arabia]

  Background Requirements The Royal Saudi Navy urges the replacement of three Boraida-class minehunters. Based on the Durance-class design, the ships entered service in the mid-1980s ...

• Minehunters

  Lat Ya Class Replacement Programme [Thailand]

  Programme Background Requirements The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) currently operates two Lat Ya-class minehunters, commissioned in the late 1990s. The units are based on the ...

• Frigates

  Air Defence Frigates Procurement [Denmark]

  Background Requirements After focusing on the procurement of new highly capable patrol ships and new Arctic frigates as a replacement for the Thetis-class, Shephard had initially estimated ...

• Frigates

  Karel Dorman Class (Chile)

  Programme Background  Chile currently operates two ex-Karel Doorman-class frigates which were sold in 2004. The Royal Netherlands Navy are in the process of replacing the ...

• Military UAS - small

  V-Bat [Netherlands]

  Background Contract award On 9 July 2025, Shield AI announced that the Netherlands MoD had acquired eight V-Bat aircraft, specifically the V-Bat 400, to enhance the maritime ...

• 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 ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Submarine-launched torpedoes

  Mk 48 Mod 7AT CBASS

  The MK 48 MOD 7 Common Broadband Advanced Sonar System (CBASS) is the latest variant of the Mk 48 torpedo family manufactured by Lockheed Martin and ...

• Military - UUVs

  XV Excalibur

  XV Excalibur is an Extra Large Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle (XLUUV) built by UK-based MSubs, in conjunction with the Royal Navy. It is an experimental vessel ...

• Frigates

  Hunter Class (Type 26)

  The Hunter-class frigates for the Royal Australian Navy are based on the Type 26 design. The ships are set to replace the Anzac-class under the ...

• Sea: naval fire control radar

  Ceros 200

  The Ceros 200 is a radar and optronic tracking system designed for use on naval vessels. When interfaced with modern missile or gun systems, it ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  Royal Danish Navy MH-60R MOFT

  In January 2014, CAE was awarded an FMS contract by the USN to develop an MH-60R mission operational flight trainer (MOFT) for the Royal Danish ...

• Frigates

  Naresuan Class

  The Naresuan-class guided-missile frigates are a modified variant of the Chinese-built Type 053 frigate. The two ships-in-class were built by the China State Shipbuilding Corporation ...

• Destroyers

  River Class (Type 26)

  The Type 26 Anti-Submarine Warfare frigate has been designed for the UK Royal Navy, but with an emphasis on export. Both the Royal Canadian Navy ...

• Sea: naval surveillance radar

  AN/SPY-7(V)1

  The AN/SPY-7(V)1 is a solid-state naval surveillance radar produced and manufactured by Lockheed Martin. The system is expected to be fully integrated into programmes for ...

• Frigates

  Jacob Van Heemskerck Class

  The Jacob van Heemskerck class frigates were ex-Royal Netherlands Navy frigates that also served under the Chilean Navy, also known as the Latorre-class. Two anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Walrus

  The Walrus is a mini rotary-wing UAV manufactured by the Royal Navy's 700X Naval Air Squadron.  As stressed during the December 2022 announcement, Walrus has been ...

• Land: battlefield and ground surveillance radar

  RD-170BT

  The RD-170BT is a man-portable surveillance radar deployed ashore to protect moored patrol boats of the Royal Norwegian Navy. 

• Minehunters

  Sandown Class

  The Sandown class vessels are coastal minehunters and OPVs in service with the UK Royal Navy and Royal Saudi Naval Forces as the Al Jawf class. Additionally, ...

• Military - UUVs

  Mission Specialist Defender

  The Mission Specialist Defender is a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) developed by VideoRay, now part of BlueHalo's unmanned maritime systems. The ROV is known ...

• Frigates

  Type 22 (Batch 1)

  The Type 22 frigates were previously the Broadsword-class in service with the UK's Royal Navy. The vessels were built in three batches, with the first ...

• Sea: weapon training

  Inflatable Naval Gunnery Targets

  GeoData produces a range of Naval Gunnery Target Balloons (NavTGTs) for use by marine, navy, coast guard and army units to maintain target acquisition and ...