• Defence Notes

  China boosts defence spending

  10th March 2015

  China revealed a defence budget of RMB886.9 billion ($141.5 billion), a rise of 10.1%, during its annual National People’s Congress session on 5 March 2015. …

• Land Warfare

  CACI to continue US Army NVESD support

  9th March 2015

  CACI International will continue supporting the US Army's Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD), under a task order announced by the company on 5 …

• Defence Helicopter

  German agreement with Airbus Helicopters gets green light

  6th March 2015

  The German parliament has approved a new framework agreement between the Bundeswehr and helicopter manufacturer Airbus Helicopters.  Details of the planned revision of the number …

• Digital Battlespace

  US Stryker Brigades get WIN-T Increment 2

  4th March 2015

  The US Army has been fielding General Dynamics' Warfighter Information Network – Tactical (WIN-T) Increment 2 to selected Stryker Brigade combat teams, the company announced …

• Military Logistics

  UK announces preferred bidder for Marchwood port

  4th March 2015

  The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has chosen Solent Gateway as the preferred bidder to manage and develop the Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre. The decision …

• Defence Helicopter

  US DoD approves ATIRCM for export

  3rd March 2015

  The US Department of Defense (DoD) has approved BAE Systems' Advanced Threat Infrared Countermeasures (ATIRCM) system for export, as announced on 2 March. With this …

• Defence Helicopter

  Heli-Expo 2015: Bell ‘concerned’ over surplus helicopters

  2nd March 2015

  The US Army’s decision to retire nearly 800 helicopters and potentially sell them on to foreign customers remains a concern for Bell Helicopter, the manufacturer’s …

• Land Warfare

  Scout reconnaissance vehicle completes CDR

  27th February 2015

  General Dynamics UK has completed the Critical Design Review (CDR) for the Scout Reconnaissance variant as part of the Scout Specialist Vehicle (SV) programme, the …

• Military Logistics

  TAE wins Abrams engine maintenance contract in Australia

  27th February 2015

  TAE announced on 18 February it had received a five-year contract to maintain and refresh Honeywell AGT1500 gas turbine engines used in the Australian Army’s …

• Land Warfare

  Philippines resumes hunt for 155mm howitzers

  27th February 2015

  The Philippine Department of National Defense (DND) reissued a tender for a dozen 155mm towed howitzers on 20 February 2015. This is the third time …

• Land Warfare

  IDEX 2015: New Saber-25 turret launched by FNSS

  27th February 2015

  Turkish armaments manufacturer FNSS has put its new turret design on display at IDEX called the Saber-25. Fitted with a 25mm M242 cannon from ATK, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  IDEX 2015: Nexter Robotics matures

  27th February 2015

  French armaments manufacturer Nexter Robotics displayed its Nerva robot technology at the IDEX exhibition following a successful year in 2014. The subsidiary, which was only …

• Land Warfare

  First serial production CV90 IFV handed over to Norway

  26th February 2015

  BAE Systems has handed over the first serial production CV90 Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) to the Norwegian Defence Logistics Organisation (FLO), the company announced on …

• Land Warfare

  IDEX 2015: BAE proposes first 155mm on 8x8

  26th February 2015

  The first-ever 155mm artillery gun fitted to an 8x8 armoured vehicle could become a reality following proposals from BAE Systems at the IDEX exhibition. At …

• Land Warfare

  Middle East customer orders Cubic CTCs

  25th February 2015

  Cubic has been awarded a contract worth $65 million from an unnamed Middle East army customer for two Combat Training Centers (CTCs), the company announced …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - rotary-wing

  First Person View (FPV) Drones [UK]

  Background Parliament Questions On 20 May 2025, Ben Obese-Jecty, Conservative MP for Huntingdon, asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many FPV drones had been procured ...

• Military UAS - small

  Bug Nano UAS (UK)

  Programme Background The British Army previously took delivery of 160 first-generation Black Hornet PD-100 nano UAS in 2013 to support operations in Afghanistan. After these ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Magni-X (UK)

  Programme Background On 12 January 2022, Elbit Systems UK announced it had been awarded a contract from the UK MoD's Defence Equipment & Support's Future Capability ...

• Military UAS - small

  Black Hornet 3 PRS (UK)

  Programme Background The British Army operated approximately 160 first-generation Black Hornet PD-100 nano UAS between 2013 and 2017, when the decision was made to retire ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6, LTVs - 4x4

  Supacat HMT 400 & 600 [UK - Option]

  Programme Background Programme Requirements The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) stated in a Contract Notice that it had a requirement for at least 70 new HMT platforms ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8, APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Bulldog FV432 Mk 3 Replacement [UK]

  Programme Background Requirement Serving in several iterations since 1963, the FV432 Mk3 'Bulldog' remains operational and deployed as command vehicles, ambulances, and recovery vehicles within the British Army. Although ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Boxer MIV [UK]

  Programme Background History The UK MoD announced in March 2018 that it would re-join the Boxer programme and pursue a sole-source acquisition of the 8x8 ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) Project [UK]

  Programme Background Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) Project The British Army launched the RAS project to provide the "direction required to exploit emerging technologies to ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Multi-Role Vehicle (Protected) (MRV-P) Package 1 (UK)

  Programme Background Requirement The MRV-P programme was intended to procure replacements for a diverse fleet of 4x4 and 6x6 vehicles purchased during the wars in Iraq ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Ajax [UK]

  Programme Background Under its $4.3 billion production contract, GDUK will provide 589 Ajax to the British Army. These will be delivered in six different variants: ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Land Mobility Programme (Light Protected Mobility) [UK]

  This programme briefly introduces the wider Land Mobility Programme and then focuses on the Light Protected Mobility (LPM) programme. Information on the LMV and MPM can ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6, LTVs - 4x4

  Supacat HMT 400 & 600 [UK - Contracted]

  Programme Background Programme Requirements The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) stated in a Contract Notice that it required at least 240 new HMT platforms to mitigate ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Land Mobility Programme (Medium Protected Mobility) [UK]

  This programme briefly introduces the wider Land Mobility Programme and then focuses on the Medium Protected Mobility (MPM) programme. Information on the LMV and MPM can ...

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

  French Operational Pocket Drone / DrOP (France)

  Programme Background French UAV Procurment / DrOP Under its 2019-2025 Military Programming Law (LPM), France aims to introduce 1,200 new UAVs into service with the ...

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

  Black Hornet 3 (First Order) [Norway]

  Programme Background First Batch The Norwegian Home Guard has procured the Black Hornet 3 to provide each of its districts with a nano UAS that ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  British Army Apache Training Facilities

  Aviation Training International (ATIL) – a Leonardo Helicopters/Boeing joint venture formed in 1998 - was selected to provide the attack helicopter training service to the ...

• Tanks

  Challenger 1

  420 Challenger 1 MBTs were delivered to the British Army between 1983 and 1990. Developed from the Shir 2 MBT originally designed for Iran, the ...

• Unguided Artillery Ammunition

  L52 Smoke

  The L52 Smoke is a 105mm smoke artillery round manufactured by BAE Systems.  The British Army uses it in its L118 Light Guns.

• Self-propelled guns

  AS90

  The AS90 155mm/39cal tracked SPH was designed and built by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering (acquired by BAE Systems in 1999) to meet the requirements of ...

• Unguided Artillery Ammunition

  L21 High Explosive (HE)

  The L21 High Explosive (HE) is a 155mm artillery shell manufactured by BAE Systems. The British Army uses the L21 with its Archer artillery systems.

• Towed guns

  105mm Light Gun

  The 105mm Light Gun was designed and manufactured by Royal Ordnance Nottingham (now BAE Systems), with the first guns introduced to the British Army in ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  FV432 Mk 3 Bulldog

  The FV432 Mk 3 Bulldog is an upgraded version of the long-serving FV432 family of tracked vehicles, of which approximately 3,000 were delivered to the British ...

• Tanks

  Challenger 2

  The 120mm-armed Challenger 2 MBT was introduced into British Army service in 1994 as a replacement for the Challenger 1, which was successfully employed in ...

• Unguided Artillery Ammunition

  L17 Inert

  The L17 Inert is a 155mm training artillery round manufactured by BAE Systems.  It is in service with the British Army, where its Archer artillery systems use ...

• Subsystems: software

  Exonaut Software Suite

  Since 2000, 4C has been developing the Exonaut software suite. The products within the Exonaut suite can either be used standalone or as part of ...

• Armoured engineer vehicles

  Buffalo MPCV

  The Buffalo Mine-Protected Clearance Vehicle (MPCV) is in service with the armed forces of Canada, France, Italy, Pakistan, the UK and the US and has ...

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  Instrumented Ground Combat Training Systems

  Cubic supplies combat training systems for CTCs, homestations and forward-deployed environments. The systems are designed to support missions including force-on-force, urban operations, joint, combined arms ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Cougar 6x6

  The Cougar 6x6 has its origins as a South African vehicle manufactured by Force Protection, a company eventually purchased by General Dynamics. Mine-protected vehicles manufactured ...

• Tanks

  Olifant

  The Olifant (Elephant) is a South African variant of the British Centurion MBT. Development of the Centurion began in 1943. It was introduced into service ...

• Infrastructure - bridges

  IAB

  The Infantry Assault Bridge (IAB) is a lightweight foot bridge for light infantry and airborne troops to cross dry or wet gaps. One complete bridge ...