• Land Warfare

  Philippine Army awards sizeable M113 upgrade

  21st June 2018

  As expected, Elbit Systems has won a government-to-government contract to upgrade 49 M113 APCs for the Philippine Army. Forty-four of these will receive a Dragon …

• 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, …

• Defence Notes

  China rejects US accusations it seeks hegemony in Asia

  31st May 2018

  China on 31 May rejected accusations from top US officials that it seeks hegemony in Asia and is pushing militarisation in the South China Sea. …

• Special Operations

  Raytheon ELCAN positions for SOF need

  8th June 2018

  Raytheon ELCAN Optical Technologies is moving forward on iterative prototypes for a new digital fire control system. The prototype design integrates an optical sight with …

• Military Logistics

  Indian armed forces to acquire hovercraft

  13th June 2018

  India’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved the procurement of equipment worth over $81.4 million for the Indian armed forces, the Indian MoD announced on …

• Defence Helicopter

  Philippines sources Huey parts from Japan

  13th June 2018

  Japan will supply a variety of spare parts for Bell UH-1 helicopters to the Philippines, with the transfer approved earlier this month. According to the …

• Digital Battlespace

  Australia’s M1 CubeSat nears launch

  12th June 2018

  Australia’s M1 CubeSat satellite is going through its final testing phase at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Canberra Space Centre before its planned …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Sagetech MX transponder for Resolute Eagle

  13th June 2018

  Sagetech’s MX transponders have been selected by PAE ISR for the Resolute Eagle UAS, the company announced on 5 June. The Resolute Eagle UAS weighs …

• Special Operations

  SOFIC 2018: Dry Combat Submersible moves to production

  24th May 2018

  With receipt of a successful “Milestone C” acquisition decision in mid-April, USSOCOM and its industry partners are now moving into production for a total of …

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy selects Raytheon-Kongsberg NSM

  5th June 2018

  Raytheon and Kongsberg Gruppen’s Naval Strike Missile (NSM) has been selected by the US Navy to meet its over-the-horizon requirement for littoral combat ships and …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Bridger receives on-call UAS contract

  12th June 2018

  Bridger Aerospace has received a contract from the US Department of Interior (DOI) to supply unmanned service support for wildland fire management on a 'call …

• Defence Notes

  Trump kicks North Korea nuclear can down the road

  28th June 2018

  Even though the ‘Singapore Communique’ was only a basic outline for peace, North Korea specialists were largely aghast by the four non-binding goals signed by …

• 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. …

• Naval Warfare

  BAE poaches big Hunter trophy in Australia

  28th June 2018

  As was expected by many, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has plumped for the BAE Systems design for its nine Future Frigates that are being …

• Digital Battlespace

  US Army completes LTLM II airborne testing

  8th June 2018

  The US Army has completed the final phases of airborne testing for the Laser Target Locator Module (LTLM II). The ruggedised LTLM II is designed …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 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 ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Medium Landing Ship (1-10) [USMC]

  Programme Background Development As part of the US Marine Corps' future force structure, it is developing a new platform under the Medium Lading Ship programme ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Medium Landing Ship (11-33) [USMC]

  Programme Background Requirements As part of the US Marine Corps' future force structure, it is developing a new platform under the Medium Lading Ship programme ...

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

  Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Unmanned Expeditionary (MUX) (Increment 1) [USMC]

  Programme Background All-in-One UAV Since 2016, the USMC has wished to acquire a UAV that could be deployed from a vessel, be used for various missions, ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton (1-27) [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 UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Medium Range/Medium Endurance (MR/ME) [USMC]

  Programme Background Force Design 2030 The USMC Force Design 2030 is a modernisation effort to create a lighter, more agile maritime force. The update to ...

• 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

  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 - small

  Long Range/Long Endurance (LR/LE) [USMC]

  Background Force Design 2030 The USMC Force Design 2030 is a modernisation effort to create a lighter, more agile maritime force. The update to the ...

• Military UAS - small

  RQ-21A Blackjack / STUASLO - Replacement Units (USN)

  Programme Background Joint USN and USMC Procurment The RQ-21 Blackjack, or STUALSO, was a combined United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) programme ...

• Military UAS - small

  RQ-21A Blackjack / STUASLO - Replacement Units (USMC)

  Programme Background Joint USN and USMC Procurment The RQ-21 Blackjack, or STUALSO, was a combined United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) programme ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | Global Fast Sealift [USN]

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

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | Global Fast Sealift [USN]

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

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  SECAT

  In 2022, Textron Systems unveiled its new Surface Effect Cargo Amphibious Transport (SECAT) craft, designed to support logistics behind the US Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations and ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-53E Sea Dragon

  Sikorsky developed the MH-53E (S-80) Sea Dragon variant of its CH-53E to provide the USN with a dedicated airborne mine countermeasures helicopter. Equipped with enlarged ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  Tactical Mission System for Helicopter Applications

  The Saab tactical mission system is a system for transport, utility, C2 and combat helicopters intended to operate in a net-centric environment. It is designed ...

• Major networking projects

  CANES

  The Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) programme is a USN-wide effort to rationalise shipboard computing assets. It is designed to create a common ...

• Air: UAV simulators

  MQ-9 MTD

  SDS’s ROVATTS-based MQ-9 Mission Training Device (MTD) was developed to provide high-fidelity simulation to support US Air National Guard operational Reaper crew training. The PC-based ...

• 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 ...

• Land: soldier modernisation systems - national programmes

  MERS

  The Marine Expeditionary Rifle Squad (MERS) takes a systems engineering approach to equipping the USMC’s fundamental fighting unit. The integration and configuration management of all ...

• 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, ...

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar

  AN/ZPY-1 STARLite

  The AN/ZPY-1 Small Tactical Radar-Lightweight (STARLite) is a synthetic aperture radar and GMTI sensor for UAVs, manufactured by Northrop Grumman. It offers strip and spot synthetic ...

• Fighter - multirole, Fighter - naval

  F-35C

  The F-35C Lightning II, also known as the F-35 carrier variant (CV), is a fifth-generation multirole combat aircraft in carrier configuration. It has larger wings and ...

• 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 ...

• Guided munitions

  AGM-154 JSOW

  The AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) is a joint United States Navy (USN)/United States Air Force (USAF) programme with the USN as the lead service. ...

• Air: mission management systems

  Air Operations Systems of Systems

  Air Operations System of Systems is designed to enable management of airspaces across large states and/or regions focusing on strategic planning. The system integration approach ...

• 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 ...

• Major networking projects

  DIB 1.3

  The Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) Integration Backbone (DIB) is a key element of the US DoD strategy to build a net-centric capability, enabling service DCGS elements ...