• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2019: Ballistic and cruise missile proliferation bolsters air defence funding

  14th October 2019

  North American procurement spending on ground-based air-defence missile systems will reach nearly $40 billion over the next ten years, a new analysis by Shephard has …

• Defence Notes

  Syria Kurds battle Turkish invasion

  10th October 2019

  Kurds battled to hold off a Turkish invasion on 10 October after air strikes and shelling launched a long-threatened operation that could reshape the country …

• Land Warfare

  US approves Javelin sale to Ukraine

  7th October 2019

  The US State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale of 150 Javelin man-portable anti-tank missiles to Ukraine.  Worth $39.2 million including support, Congress …

• Training

  Sitzler awarded ADF training area upgrade work

  8th October 2019

  Sitzler has been awarded a $22 million contract by the Australian Department of Defence for the development phase of the $514 million Northern Territory Training …

• Digital Battlespace

  ADEX 2019: Raytheon-led team offers ISTAR aircraft to ROKAF

  15th October 2019

  The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) has a requirement for up to four intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) aircraft, and one contender …

• Defence Notes

  US fighter jet crashes in Germany

  8th October 2019

  An American F-16 fighter jet crashed and its pilot ejected to safety near the city of Trier in western Germany on Tuesday, the German air …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUSA 2019: WAMI pod to take to the skies

  16th October 2019

  US engineering and technology company Logos Technologies has unveiled a new Multi-Modal Sensor Pod (MMSP) at AUSA 2019 and outlined plans for the first flight …

• Land Warfare

  Artificial Intelligence for the Army’s Big Six Modernisation Priorities

  8th October 2019

  The US Army’s modernisation priorities will fuel a massive expansion in the data generated by soldiers, units and military platforms. It has become clear that …

• Defence Helicopter

  AUSA 2019: Boeing prepares for CH-47F Block II delay

  18th October 2019

  Boeing is making preparations for a worst-case scenario where the procurement of Chinook CH-47F Block II helicopters for the US Army is delayed by anything up …

• Digital Battlespace

  AOC 2019: Risks inherent with domain convergence

  23rd October 2019

  The last five years has seen much debate in the global EW community regarding the convergence of electronic and cyber warfare domains. Yet merging these …

• Land Warfare

  BAE Systems to upgrade more M88A1s

  10th October 2019

  BAE Systems will upgrade 43 M88A1 heavy-lift vehicles for the US Army under a $148.3 million contract announced on 9 October.The upgrades will enhance the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AQS-24 performance envelope expands

  11th October 2019

  Recent testing carried out by Northrop Grumman on the AQS-24 minehunting sonar has doubled the current AQS-24 Program of Record depth performance metric.The test team …

• Training

  AUSA 2019: CAE prepares to deliver Abrams tank training kit

  14th October 2019

  Training and simulation company CAE has announced at AUSA 2019 that it is ready to deliver the first Abrams M1A2 engine maintenance trainer to the …

• Naval Warfare

  Construction begins on the future USS Nantucket

  11th October 2019

  Construction has begun on the US Navy’s 14th Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), the future USS Nantucket. Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine marked the …

• Military Logistics

  Rolls-Royce to support T56 turboprops

  3rd October 2019

  Rolls-Royce has been awarded a contract with a ceiling value of $109.3 million to deliver support for the T56 family of aircraft turboprop engines.   This …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Puma 3 AE (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Military Aid - $300 Million On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine to "bolster Urkaine's capacity ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1165 Special Ops HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HHMWV, or Humvee, has been in US service since 1983. The M1165A1B3 is a special operations variant of the platform.  In 2015, the US ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 300 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Presidential Drawdown (16 March 2022 & 13 April 2022) On 16 March 2022, President Biden announced $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine through ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank [US]

  Programme Background As IAI stated in a 19 January 2023 press release, it had been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract by the Irregular Warfare Technical Support ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A [US Navy]

  Background Previous Purchases The BQM-177A was designed for the USN and has been in service with the USN for many years. Indeed, in August 2022, Shephard reported ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 600 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background $300 Million USAI (1 April 2022) On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine following ...

• Loitering munitions

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Background Presidential Drawdown (21 April 2022) Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, on 21 April 2022, President Biden announced an $800 million ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Puma LE [Kosovo]

  Background Contract Award On 21 January 2022, the US Department of Defence (DoD) announced that AeroVironment had been awarded an $11.01 million firm-fixed contract for Puma ...

• Loitering munitions

  ALTIUS-600M (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background On 24 February 2023, the US DoD announced that the Biden Administration had released an additional aid package under the Ukraine Security Assistance ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1152A1B2/M1165A1B3 HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HMMWV has been in US service since the 1980s. Despite the introduction of newer platforms, the US DoD continues to utilise the platform ...

• 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. ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS): Switchblade [US]

  Background DoD Contract On 27 August 2024, the US DoD announced that AeroVironment had been awarded a ceiling $990 million hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to provide “an ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Puma 2 AE [Estonia]

  Programme Background The US DoD announced that it had awarded AeroVironment an $8.868 million firm-fixed-price contract to supply an undisclosed number of RQ-20B Puma AE ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-46A (3-6) [Japan]

  On 30 October 2020, the US DoD announced that it awarded a $342 million contract to Boeing for two Japanese KC-46A tanker aircraft. Work will be performed ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  ACV-30 PRTV [USA]

  Background The Armoured Combat Vehicle (ACV) programme is intended to provide a replacement for the USMC's fleet of Amphibious Assault Vehicle 7 (AAV7) tracked vehicles. ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Pistols

  M9

  M9 is the US DoD designation for the military-specification 9mm Beretta 92FS, selected in 1985 to replace the 45cal M1911A1 in US service. Sales to ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  Igla/SA-18

  The 9K38 Igla (US DoD designation SA-18, NATO reporting name Grouse ) IR-homing MANPADS was developed by KBM and entered service in 1983 to meet the requirements ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  ScanEagle 3

  Insitu unveiled the ScanEagle 3 at the Xponential exhibition in Denver in May 2018. The platform has twice the payload capacity of its ScanEagle predecessor ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank

  Point Blank Weapon System is a hand-launched electro-optical VTOL-capable loitering munition developed by Isreal Aerospace Industries (IAI). IAI has been awarded a contract by the US ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  BAT-850

  Pathfinder's BAT-850 VSAT is a carbon fibre, tri-band terminal with auto-acquisition capability. Suitable for flyaway (case-based) and vehicle-mounted applications, it is in service with the ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  URC-300

  The URC-300 is a software-defined radio designed for line-of-sight, ground-to-air communications in particular. Introduced in 2020, it adheres to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards as well ...

• Air: aerial targets, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A/i

  The BQM-177A subsonic aerial target (SSAT) was designed for the USN, and the BQM-177i is the export variant. The BQM-177 provides realistic threat emulation for ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Banshee Tactical Radio

  Developed by Fenix Group, the Banshee Tactical Radio (BTR) is a communications system that uses 4G/LTE connectivity to provide secure mesh networking capability on the ...

• Crew-served grenade launchers

  Striker 40/MK47

  General Dynamics is systems integrator for the Striker 40 (MK47 AGL in US service). The complete system comprises the weapon, AN/PWG-1 Lightweight Video Sight and ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  AN/ARC-231 Skyfire

  The AN/ARC-231 Skyfire is an airborne VHF/UHF/LOS and DAMA SATCOM system. This system supports US DoD requirements for airborne, multi-band, multi-mission, secure anti-jam voice, data ...

• Air-to-air missiles

  9M39 Igla-V

  The 9M39 Igla-V (‘needle’) is a Russian IR homing SAM adapted for helicopter use. It is an air-launched version of the Igla MANPADS, which the ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Global Observer

  The AeroVironment Global Observer HALE UAV was a developmental HALE UAV designed for various civil, commercial and government applications.  Development of the platform began in 2007 ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  CLWS

  Developed by Boeing, Compact Laser Weapon System (CLWS or CLaWS) is a medium-range, low-power laser C-UAS system. According to the reports, the CLWS prototype has ...

• Weapon sights for day use

  CompM4/M4s

  The US DoD has bought over one million Aimpoint sights since 1997. The US Army is now fielding the CompM4s as the latest version of ...

• Heavy machine guns

  M2HB

  US Ordnance is one of two US M2HB heavy machine gun manufacturers which has received multi-year contracts to supply weapons to the US DoD. The ...