• Defence Notes

  Israel uses new F-35 stealth fighters in combat

  22nd May 2018

  The Israeli military has used its newly acquired F-35 stealth fighters in combat, making it the world's first to do so, an Israeli Air Force (IAF) …

• Defence Notes

  Norway wants US to double its troops in country

  12th June 2018

  Norway will ask the US to double the number of US troops stationed in the country and deploy them nearer the border with Russia, the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MQ-4C Triton welcomed into US Navy fleet

  7th June 2018

  The US Navy has officially commenced operations with the MQ-4C Triton UAS. A ceremony welcoming the UAS into service was held on 31 May at …

• Naval Warfare

  NUSHIP Brisbane completes CAT 5 trials

  1st June 2018

  The Royal Australian Navy’s incoming Hobart class guided missile destroyer, NUSHIP Brisbane, has completed its Category 5 sea trials off the coast of Adelaide, the …

• Digital Battlespace

  Raytheon to expand Forest radar plant

  5th June 2018

  Raytheon is to invest $100 million to expand its radar manufacturing plant in Forest, Mississippi, the company announced on 31 May. The new 50,000 square …

• Special Operations

  Indonesia reactivates Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC)

  5th June 2018

  The Indonesian government has reactivated the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in response to emerging terrorism fears, administration officials have confirmed. Announced on 21st May …

• Digital Battlespace

  EW Europe 2018: Patria revving up EW capabilities

  7th June 2018

  Finnish company Patria is probably best known for its work making highly-protected armoured vehicles, but it also has another lesser known specialisation in its repertoire; …

• Defence Helicopter

  Klimov to develop new rotorcraft engine

  12th June 2018

  Russian engine-maker Klimov has revealed details on its new research and development programme undertaken within the frame of the so-called Advanced Helicopter Engine (AHE) initiative. …

• Naval Warfare

  Turkish corvettes near export contracts

  1st June 2018

  The Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik (STM) shipyard is eyeing its first export contracts for the Ada class MiLGEM corvettes, which are currently being built for the Turkish …

• Naval Warfare

  Austal launches first Guardian-class PPB

  1st June 2018

  Austal has launched the first of 21 Guardian-class Pacific Patrol Boats (PPB), the company announced on 30 May. The boats are being built under Australia's …

• Naval Warfare

  Carrier criticisms lead US Navy troubles

  7th June 2018

  The second in class of the Gerald R Ford nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79), is likely to exceed its $11.4 billion cost estimate. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  General Dynamics completes SAT of Knifefish UUV

  7th June 2018

  General Dynamics Mission Systems has completed all stages of formal sea acceptance testing (SAT) of the US Navy's Knifefish surface mine countermeasure (MCM) UUV system, …

• Naval Warfare

  Bulgarian shipyard unveils new vessel designs

  6th June 2018

  Two new projects were showcased by MTG Delfin for the first time at HEMUS 2018 defence exhibition held Plovdiv, Bulgaria.  The first of these is …

• Naval Warfare

  Luerssen, Civmec form joint venture

  30th May 2018

  Luerssen has formed a joint venture with Civmec called the Australian Maritime Shipbuilding and Export Group, the Australian Department of Defence announced on 26 May. …

• Special Operations

  SOFIC 2018: USAF special forces issue stand-off munitions challenge

  24th May 2018

  When it comes to stand-off precision guided munitions (SOPGM), US Air Force special forces is challenging industry to bring forward new munitions and solve technical …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  The Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  The Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft ...

• Military UAS - MALE, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  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 ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Global Fast Sealift [USN]

  Background Requirements At Sea Air Space 2026, Hanwha Ocean and Gibbs and Cox displayed the Global Fast Sealift concept design. The vessel is intended as a ...

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

  MQ-25 Stingray (13-76) [USN]

  Background Initial Requirements - Unmanned Carrier Launch Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) The programme looked different when it began. In 2013, the USN awarded four ...

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

  MQ-25 Stingray (10-12) [USN]

  Background Initial Requirements -  Unmanned Carrier Launch Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) The programme looked different when it began. In 2013, the USN awarded four Preliminary ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawk (India)

  Programme Background On 25 February 2020, a letter of acceptance for 24 MH-60Rs, worth approximately $2.12 billion, was signed by India and the US in Delhi. ...

• AEW&C

  E-2D [USA]

  Programme Background The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye (AHE) is an all-weather, twin engine, carrier-based, Airborne Command, Control and Surveillance aircraft designed to extend task force defence ...

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) [USN]

  Background Requirement The USN wants to acquire carrier-capable loyal wingman drones. These drones will have a high level of autonomy, allowing them to work alongside crewed aircraft.  ...

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

  MQ-25 Stingray (1-9) [USN]

  Background Initial Requirements - Unmanned Carrier Launch Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) The programme looked different when it began. In 2013, the USN awarded four ...

• Military - USVs

  MUSV [USN]

  Programme Background Requirements In March 2026, the US announced it would be replacing its Modular Attack Surface Craft (MASC) programme with a Medium Uncrewed Surface ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton (28-68) [USN]

  Background Requirement The MQ-4C Triton programme, developed under the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) programme, required an uncrewed system to provide persistent, broad-area intelligence, surveillance ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  TH-73 Advanced Helicopter Training System (AHTS) (TH-57 Replacement)

  Programme Background Contenders for the competition included the Leonardo single engine TH-119 – a military variant of the AW119Kx – and Bell’s newly upgraded single ...

• OPVs

  Hisar Class (1-2) [Turkey]

  Background Requirements The thoughts behind the acquisition of this type of OPV, which comes in a baseline and a convertible variant, is an OPV that ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Anti-ship missiles

  Naval Strike Missile (NSM)

  The Naval Strike Missile (NSM) is a subsonic, sea-skimming, anti-ship and land-attack missile. The original name was the Nytt sjømålsmissil, but this was later dropped ...

• Frigates

  FF(X) Frigate

  The FF(X) frigate is a vessel derived from Huntington Ingalls Industries' (HHI) National Security Cutter (NSC). It was designed in response to the cancellation of ...

• Land: Integrated Defensive Systems

  Low Band Transmitter

  The Low Band Transmitter-Antenna Group (LBT-AG), developed by Cobham, has been in production since 2005. The LBT is designed to protect strike aircraft, ships and ...

• Air-to-surface missiles, Anti-ship missiles

  JSM

  The Joint Strike Missile (JSM) is a multi-role version of the Naval Strike Missile. Norway funded the programme to develop and produce the JSM for the ...

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

  MQ-8B Fire Scout

  The MQ-8B Fire Scout is a rotary-wing UAV that provides situational awareness and precision targeting support for the US Armed Forces. The MQ-8B Fire Scout, ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F/A-18E/F Super Hornet

  The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet was developed to perform naval strike missions for the USN. The primary mission for the F/A-18E/F is a strike fighter that ...

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

  MQ-8C Fire Scout

  The MQ-8C is a newer version of the Fire Scout and is based on a Bell 407 commercial helicopter. It offers a greater range, endurance and ...

• Frigates

  Independence Class (LCS)

  The USN’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) programme was originally envisaged to be 50 ships, which would provide a coastal platform that would take over from ...

• Destroyers

  Zumwalt Class

  The DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class is formed by a series of next-generation multi-role destroyers 21st century. They were designed to host the latest in sensors and weapons ...

• Frigates

  Hunter Class Guided Missile Frigate

  During Indo Pacific 2023, BAE Systems Australia unveiled a Guided Missile variant of the Hunter-class frigate (ASW). Compared to the baseline ASW configuration, the proposed ...

• Frigates

  Constellation Class (FFG)

  The USN has selected Fincantieri Marinette Marine to build up to ten frigates under the FFG(X) next-generation future guided-missile frigate programme. The new Constellation-class will replace ...

• OPVs

  Hisar Class

  Turkish Military Factory and Shipyard Management company ASFAT has built two Hisar-class OPVs at Istanbul Naval Shipyard for the Turkish Navy. Four more platforms are on order, but the ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  SCOTT

  The Synthetic Cognition for Operational Team Training (SCOTT) system was developed for the USN to train teamwork and communication skills for E-2C flight crews interfacing ...

• Air: aerial targets

  GQM-163A Coyote SSST

  The GQM-163A Coyote Supersonic Sea Skimming Target (SSST) was developed for the USN to emulate two-stage anti-ship cruise missiles in support of air defence weapon/combat ...

• Trainer

  Saab 340 trainer

  The Saab 340 trainer aircraft is based on the Saab 340 regional airliner. It is used by the USN for pilot training. The aircraft replaced ...