• Military Logistics

  Future USNS Harvey Milk build begins

  19th December 2019

  Construction of the US Navy’s future USNS Harvey Milk began at the General Dynamics-National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (GD-NASSCO) shipyard on 13 December. The John …

• Defence Notes

  Germany's latest industry developments (video)

  21st November 2019

  Watch a summary of the latest developments in the German Defence Industry. Land On land KMW has begun deliveries to Denmark and Germany of the …

• Naval Warfare

  RAN's third destroyer completes sea trials

  12th November 2019

  The Royal Australian Navy’s third Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD), NUSHIP Sydney, has completed sea trials, the Australian Department of Defence announced on 9 November. Final …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Air Force readies for MH-139A arrival

  16th December 2019

  The US Air Force is set to accept its first MH-139A helicopter on 19 December at Duke Field, Florida. The MH-139A will replace the US …

• Defence Helicopter

  Lockheed Martin to up JAGM production

  17th December 2019

  Lockheed Martin has received funding from the US Army Contracting Command to increase the production rate of the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile, the US Department of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US AFRL's Ultra LEAP UAS in flight demo

  19th December 2019

  The US Air Force Research Laboratory’s Center for Rapid Innovation (CRI) has completed a two and a half-day continuous flight demonstration of the Ultra Long …

• Defence Notes

  Podcast: Revolutions in Vertical Flight S1 E4 - The Future Battlespace

  20th December 2019

  Welcome to Shephard Studio’s podcast series on Revolutions in Vertical Flight, sponsored by our partner Bell. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and more. The Revolutions in Vertical Flight …

• Naval Warfare

  Defence Insight: Year in review (Naval)

  18th December 2019

  The year has been an eventful one, with multiple major contracts announced and new generations of vessels entering service. The US Navy continued its drive towards …

• Naval Warfare

  Future USS St Louis completes acceptance trials

  17th December 2019

  The US Navy’s future USS St Louis has completed acceptance trials in Lake Michigan, Lockheed Martin announced on 16 December. The vessel, Littoral Combat Ship …

• Military Logistics

  Invisio logs new US DoD order

  12th December 2019

  Invisio has announced that it has gained a new customer within the US Department of Defense.The company has received a $2.98 million order to provide …

• Training

  Kratos to upgrade Aussie Chinook training systems

  24th December 2019

  Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has received a Chinook training system upgrade contract from the Australian Department of Defence, the company announced on 19 December. …

• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop Grumman seeks Australian industry partners

  20th November 2019

  Northrop Grumman is seeking Australian partners for its efforts to support the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF’s) Project AIR 6500. AIR 6500 is the RAAF's …

• Naval Warfare

  Defence Insight: Naval year in review (video)

  17th December 2019

  The naval domain has seen a number of key contracts awarded to industry throughout 2019, with efforts from the US and China in particular, showing …

• Digital Battlespace

  Leidos awarded GSM-O II contract

  12th December 2019

  Leidos has been awarded an IDIQ contract worth up to $6.5 billion for Global Solutions Management – Operations II, to manage the US Department of …

• Training

  Able Aerospace to overhaul TH-1H components

  18th December 2019

  The US Air Force Sustainment Center has awarded Able Aerospace Services a $9.4 million contract for dynamic components on the TH-1H helicopter. The company will …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Land 400 Phase 3 (Logistics, Ammunition Carrier and Mortar Carrier Variants) [Australia]

  Programme Background The Australian DoD released the initial RfI for the Land 400 Phase 3 programme in November 2015. Following consultations with local industry, the ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Land 400 Phase 3 (Amphibious Vehicles) [Australia]

  Programme Background The Australian DoD released the initial RfI for the Land 400 Phase 3 programme in November 2015. Following consultations with local industry, the ...

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

  Drone40 (Ukraine Aid) [Australia]

  Programme Background In August 2022, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), a think tank, held a podcast with Ukraine's ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, in which ...

• Main battle tanks

  M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams [Poland]

  Programme Background Requirement Since the early 2010s Poland wanted to upgrade its Soviet-era tank fleet due to modernisation requirements, the need to increase interoperability with NATO ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  Littoral Manoeuvre Vessel - Medium (Project Land 8710 Phase 1A) [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirements Australia has set out requirements for a fleet of up to 18 Littoral Manoeuvre Vessels - Medium (LMV-M) with the release of ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Land 400 Phase 2 - Boxer CRV [Australia]

  Programme Background History The Land 400 Phase 2 programme will procure a replacement for the ASLAV, a derivative of the General Dynamics Land Systems Light Armoured Vehicle ...

• Main battle tanks

  Leopard 2A4 [Czech Republic]

  Programme Background  The Czech Republic currently operates a small fleet of T-72s, which, while undergoing upgrades and life extension programmes, are increasingly obsolete. In October ...

• Submarines: nuclear, attack

  Second Hand SSNs [Australia]

  Programme Background Timeline In September 2021, it was announced in a trilateral announcement between Australia, the US and the UK that Australia, in a shock ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | AUKUS-SSNs (1-5) [Australia]

  In September 2021, it was announced in a trilateral announcement between Australia, the US and the UK that Australia, in a shock move, will not ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | AUKUS-SSNs (1-5) [Australia]

  In September 2021, it was announced in a trilateral announcement between Australia, the US and the UK that Australia, in a shock move, will not ...

• Main battle tanks

  Viatura Blindada de Combate-Carro de Combate (VBC-CC) [Brazil]

  Programme Background Several key technical requirements have been outlined by the Brazilian MoD. Among the most important are that the platform should weigh less than ...

• Submarines: nuclear, attack

  AUKUS-SSNs (1-5) [Australia]

  Programme Background AUKUS Australia announced on 16 September 2021 that the contract with Naval Group signed in 2016 had been cancelled. Although not a surprising ...

• Main battle tanks

  M1A1 Abrams (Ukraine Aid) [Australia]

  Programme Background Since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Australia has been amongst the various Western allies providing Ukraine with military aid. Prior ...

• Medium UGVs

  Mission Master (RPV Sprial 2) [UK]

  Programme Background First announced in April 2017 and referred to in early MOD documents as the ‘last mile resupply’ initiative, the British Army is reportedly ...

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

  Project Air 7003 [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement The Royal Australian Air Force has been without a UAS capability since the Heron was withdrawn in mid-2017. According to Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  Carl-Gustaf M3

  The Carl-Gustaf M3 is the third generation of the 84mm shoulder-fired recoilless antitank gun, first fielded by the Swedish Army in 1946. Since then, it ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  120mm KE DM63 / DM53 A1 Tank Ammunition

  The 120mm kinetic energy tank ammunition is manufactured by Rheinmetall. There are several variations of the ammunition, including the DM63, which can be fired from ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  120MM HEAT-TP F1A

  Franco-German KNDS-Nexter produce the 120mm High-Explosive Anti-Tank Training-Purpose F1A (HEAT-TP F1A) round to enable reduced-cost training for Main Battle Tank crews. 

• Main battle tanks

  M1/M1A1 Abrams

  The 105mm-armed M1 Abrams tracked MBT was introduced into US Army service in 1980 as a replacement for the 105mm-armed M60 MBT. In April 1991, ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  120mm PELE Tank Ammunition

  The 120mm Penetrator with Enhanced Lateral Effect (PELE) tank ammunition is an inert round produced by Rheinmetall. It is suitable for use against semi-hard targets ...

• S-64 Helitanker Fire-fighting Equipment

  Erickson's 10,031l tank for the S-64 helitanker drops water, retardant or foam mix at a rate of around 95l/h. Microprocessor-controlled tank doors offer eight individual ...

• Naval: RF, IR and acoustic decoys

  Nulka

  The Nulka is an active anti-ship missile decoy originally conceived in Australia, and developed under a joint Australian-US programme. BAE Systems Australia is prime contractor, while ...

• Light mortars

  60mm Mortar Ammunition

  US-based LD Systems' 60mm Mortar ammunition fulfils the NATO standard for lightweight mortar ammunition.

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  120mm L55A1

  The 120mm L55A1 is a smoothbore high-pressure gun based on the L55 tank gun. The L55A1 has been qualified and in service since 2019. It ...

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  120mm L55 Tank Gun

  The 120mm L55 is a smoothbore tank gun produced by Rheinmetall. It is designed for use on the Leopard main battle tank, to which it ...

• Main battle tanks

  M1A2 SEPv3

  The M1A2 System Enhancement Package 3 (M1A2 SEPv3, also known as M1A2C) is the latest production-standard variant of the Abrams MBT. Designed primarily to address ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  M1147 Advanced Multi-Purpose (AMP)

  The M1147 Advanced Multi-Purpose (AMP) is a 120mm tank round developed by Northrop Grumman Defence Systems. Various customers, including Bahrain, Israel, and the US, use the tank ...

• Unguided Medium Calibre Ammunition

  Next Generation Combat Vehicle Ammunition

  The Next Generation Combat Vehicle Ammunition (NGVA) is a family of ammunition being developed by the US Army's Armaments Center and manufactured by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems ...

• Submarines: nuclear, attack

  SSN AUKUS

  The SSN-AUKUS will be the submarine design resulting from the AUKUS trilateral pact between Australia, the US and the UK. Expected to incorporate technology from ...

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  CVTESS

  Saab's Combat Vehicle Tactical Engagement Simulation System (CVTESS) is a laser-based simulator which supports every version of the Abrams Main Battle Tank and the Bradley ...