• Military Logistics

  US Marine Corps seeks lightweight amphibious track

  17th April 2018

  The US Marine Corps (USMC) is looking for a lighter weight amphibious track to enhance both land mobility and water swim performance for its new Amphibious …

• Land Warfare

  British Army SA80 A3 fielding begins

  13th April 2018

  Fielding of the first tranche of upgraded SA80 A3 rifles to the British Army has begun, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 11 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DefExpo 2018: Indian robots grow more capable and intelligent

  13th April 2018

  India’s state-owned defence establishments continue to hone existing robotic products and to create new ones, including development of three types of surveillance robots from the …

• Training

  BISim releases VBS Blue IG

  13th April 2018

  Bohemia Interactive Simulations (BISim) has unveiled VBS Blue IG, a CIGI-compliant, 3D whole-earth image generator, the company announced on 10 April. VBS Blue IG is …

• Defence Notes

  Chinese railgun puts US on notice

  22nd March 2018

  China is fond of magic-bullet weapons, whether they are anti-ship ballistic missiles such as the DF-21D, hypersonic glide vehicles or anti-satellite weapons capable of blinding or …

• Military Logistics

  UOP starts serial production of Atlet vehicle

  10th April 2018

  Ukroboronprom's Kharkiv Morozov Machine-Building Design Bureau has started serial production of the Atlet armoured recovery and repair vehicle for the armed forces of Ukraine, the company …

• Defence Helicopter

  One fatality confirmed in Italian navy helicopter crash

  6th April 2018

  An Italian Navy helicopter crashed in the Mediterranean during a night-time training exercise, killing one, the navy said on 6 April. Andrea Fazio, an experienced …

• Military Logistics

  Vanuatu says no to China military base

  10th April 2018

  Vanuatu insisted on 10 April that it had no plans to allow China to set up a military base on its territory after a report …

• Defence Helicopter

  Airbus Helicopters signs two HCare Smart contracts

  10th April 2018

  Airbus Helicopters has signed contracts with the Brazilian armed forces and the Mexican Air Force for its HCare maintenance programmes, the company announced on 5 …

• Defence Helicopter

  Qatar to receive AH-64E APKWS rockets

  14th April 2018

  In a deal approved by the US State Separtment, Qatar is set to weaponise its Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters with Advanced Precision Kill Weapon …

• Military Logistics

  UK requests support for MQ-9 Reapers

  9th April 2018

  The US State Department has made a determination approving a potential foreign military sale of follow-on support for the MQ-9 Reaper UAS programme, the Defense …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Saab Seaeye receives Sabertooth contract

  5th April 2018

  Saab has received an order from an unnamed customer in the oil and gas sector for the Sabertooth AUV, the company announced on 30 March.The …

• Naval Warfare

  Thomas Hudner completes builder's trials

  3rd April 2018

  The US Navy's future USS Thomas Hudner has successfully completed builder's trials, NAVSEA announced on 2 April. The vessel is being built by General Dynamics …

• Naval Warfare

  Jury still out on future US Coast Guard icebreaker fleet

  13th April 2018

  At a time when the US Coast Guard (USCG) is revamping its strategy for the Arctic, service leaders are moving forward with plans to buy …

• Naval Warfare

  Philippines receives final TC-90s from Japan

  26th March 2018

  Japan has completed delivery of all five second-hand Beechcraft King Air aircraft to the Philippines, with the final three planes participating in a turnover ceremony …

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 ...