• Special Operations

  USSOCOM to receive ATACR scopes

  11th March 2020

  Nightforce Optics is set to deliver 40 new sights to US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) under the Precision Variable Power Scope (P-VPS) programme. The company …

• Digital Battlespace

  Netherlands acts fast on cyber

  12th March 2020

  The Dutch Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 11 March that it is setting up a rapid response cyber security team comprising experts from a …

• Naval Warfare

  USN says it needs Virginia option sooner rather than later

  12th March 2020

  Following the best part of two weeks of testimony on the USN’s plans as part of the FY2021 Presidential Budget Request, civilian and military officials …

• Air Warfare

  NORAD F-22s and CF-18s intercept Russian ISR aircraft near Alaska

  11th March 2020

  The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) intercepted two Russian Tu-142 ISR aircraft entering Alaskan Air Defence Identification Zone on 9 March. However, the Russian …

• Defence Notes

  DoD outlines coronavirus strategy

  3rd March 2020

  The Department of Defense (DoD) has outlined its strategy for combating the spread of coronavirus during a press conference held at the Pentagon on 2 …

• Training

  CAE MSI adds more business

  5th March 2020

  Tampa, Florida-based CAE USA-Mission Solutions Inc (CAE MSI) has been awarded a US$10.6 million firm-fixed-price modification contract for F-15E, F-16C/D and F-22A contract aircrew training …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  USAFRICOM confirms Gray Eagle crash

  4th March 2020

  US Africa Command (USAFRICOM) has confirmed that one of its MQ-1C Gray Eagle UAVs crashed near Agadez, Niger on 29 February. The incident was confirmed …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sea Venom design delay raises Wildcat capability questions

  5th March 2020

  The anti-ship weapons capabilities of the RN AW159 Wildcat have been dealt a blow with confirmation that the new MBDA Sea Venom missile has suffered from design …

• Training

  DCTT technology refresh for HMS Sultan

  10th March 2020

  The UK’s Defence College of Technical Training (DCTT) is updating the e-learning capabilities at HMS Sultan. The £6 million ($7.9 million) programme is providing a …

• Naval Warfare

  Textron hands over next-gen SSC

  11th March 2020

  Textron Systems announced on 9 March that it has delivered its first Ship to Shore Connector (SSC), Craft 100 to the US Navy (USN). The …

• Defence Notes

  Sweden tells Europe there can be ‘no business as usual’ with Russia

  12th March 2020

  The Swedish government has said that Russian military aggression and violation of international law must not be followed by meeting demands from Moscow to form …

• Digital Battlespace

  US continues effort to harden UAVs against electromagnetic attack

  25th March 2020

  DARPA is bringing its Collaborative Operations in Denied Environments (CODE) initiative to a conclusion, with the programme transitioning to the USN. CODE was one of …

• Air Warfare

  US Congress notified of FMS for eight KC-46s to Israel

  4th March 2020

  The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has notified the US Congress of a potential FMS deal with Israel. The contract would see up to eight …

• Naval Warfare

  US formulates Tri-Service Maritime Strategy

  5th March 2020

  One of the key themes throughout the AFCEA West 2020 conference in San Diego on 1-3 March was the expanded vision of integrated sea service …

• Naval Warfare

  Babcock gets UK special operations contract

  9th March 2020

  Babcock has secured a five-year contract with the Royal Navy and Royal Marines to provide 200 inflatable boats for their Boat Support and dive teams. …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  MQ-1 Gray Eagle [US Army]

  Background Required Quantity Although the US Army first envisioned a requirement for 132 MQ-1C Gray Eagles, the US Army's Army Acquisition Objective (AAO) was increased ...

• Main battle tanks

  NGCV: DLP

  Programme Background Requirement The DLP is one of five vehicle families being developed for the US Army's NGCV programme. Expanded to include five programmes in ...

• AGMV 1.1

  Programme Background The US Army has been seeking a lightweight, air-droppable, high mobility vehicle since as early as 2014, when it initiated its Ultra Light ...

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

  Heavy Lift VTOL (HVTOL) (Forecast) [US Army]

  Background USMC In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, which had been specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  AMPV [USA]

  Programme Background Platform Development The US Army initiated the AMPV programme to acquire a replacement for several variants of the M113 tracked APC, which has ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV Oshkosh Contract [US Army]

  Programme Background As of January 2021, the US DoD had signed 15 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all ...

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

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 2) [US Army]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was intended to ...

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

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 1) [USA]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow On

  Programme Background In March 2019, Airbus stated that it expected orders from the US Army for between 12 and 15 UH-72A helicopters. In March 2020, ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker (Sergeant Stout) [USA]

  Programme Background As part of the Army Transformation Initiative the US DoD is fundamentally reorganising the structure of the US Army. As part of this all Infantry ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System (LMAMS) [US Army]

  Background First Contract In June 2011, the US awarded AeroVironment a $4.9 million series-production contract for the loitering munition, satisfying the US Army's Lethal Miniature ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Switchblade 300 (USA)

  Programme Background AeroVironment has been providing the Switchblade 300 loitering munition to the US Army under the long-standing Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile Systems (LMAMS) programme ...

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

  Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) [Tranche 1] / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) (USA)

  Programme Background The Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) Programme The RPUAS programme will provide the Battalion and below-ground manoeuvre elements within the US Army with an ...

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

  Group 4/5 UAV [US Army]

  Background Request for Information (RFI) On 5 June 2024, the American DoD published an RfI with an original response date of 19 July 2024. The ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  US Army Maneuver Support Vessel Light (MSVL)

  Programme BackgroundThe Maneuver Support Vessel (Light) or MSV(L) contract was awarded by the US Army to Vigor in 2017 and are being built to replace ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  US Army AVCATT PDSS

  L3Harris Technologies is the prime contractor for the US Army’s Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer (AVCATT) Post Deployment Software Support (PDSS) programme. L3Harris Technologies is ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  US Army Flight School XXI OFT/RCTD

  L3Harris Technologies is a major subcontractor to CSC on the US Army’s Flight School XXI (FSXXI) programme. L3Harris Technologies has built or is under contract ...

• Maritime patrol

  US-2

  The ShinMaywa US-2 is an amphibious short take-off and landing aircraft used primarily by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) for SAR. 

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  OH-58 Kiowa

  The single-engine OH-58 Kiowa, derived from the Bell 206, entered US Army service in 1969 as a light observation helicopter. More than 2,200 were built for ...

• Towed guns

  M198

  The US Army developed the M198 155mm towed howitzer from 1969 to replace the M114 155mm howitzer. From 1978, 1,600 weapons were built by Rock ...

• Towed mortars

  M120/M120A1

  The M120/M120A1 120 mm Towed Mortar System is a US-built version of the Soltam K6 mortar that was accepted into US Army service in 1990.

• Light tanks

  M10 Booker

  The US Army awarded General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) a contract worth US$1.14 billion to supply 96 light tanks under the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) ...

• JPT

  Designed for military applications, the Joint Platform Tablet (JPT) features a rugged design, including a military-grade aluminium case, dual-core processor, 128GB removable hard drive and ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72A/B Lakota

  In 2006, the US Army selected a version of the medium-sized, twin-engine H145, designated the UH-72A Lakota,  to meet its requirement for a new Light ...

• Armoured engineer vehicles

  M1150 ABV

  The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) project, launched by the USMC in 2002, is a joint programme to meet the requirements of both the US ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  RQ-7 Shadow 200

  The Shadow 200, designated RQ-7B by the US Army, is flown by the army brigade combat teams and combat aviation brigades along with the UAV ...

• REBS

  The Rapidly Emplaced Bridge System (REBS) is a 13m dry-gap bridge. It was designed by GDELS to meet a US Army requirement to provide a ...

• DSB

  WFEL was selected in 1996 to develop the M18 Dry Support Bridge (DSB) for the US Army. The company designed, manufactured and integrated the DSB ...

• Land: Electronic Attack - Jamming

  AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III

  Sierra Nevada’s AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III is the standard Counter Improvised Explosive Device (CIED) manpack system in service with the US Army and US Marine Corps (USMC). ...

• Individual grenade launchers

  M320 GLM

  The M320 Grenade Launcher Module (GLM) is a further development of the HK AG36 (see separate entry) to meet a US Army requirement. The M320 ...