• Defence Notes

  Poland takes over NATO VJTF lead

  13th January 2020

  On 1 January 2020 the Polish Army took over the lead of NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) from Germany.The core of the …

• Digital Battlespace

  BAE Systems awarded DARPA T-MUSIC contract

  31st January 2020

  BAE Systems will develop new generation mixed-signal electronics capabilities under a contract from DARPA announced on 28 January. The new capabilities could enable US Department …

• Training

  Rockwell Collins awarded E-2D HITS work

  4th February 2020

  Rockwell Collins Simulation and Training Solutions has received a modification to an existing contract from US Naval Air Warfare Training Systems Division. The $20.3 million …

• Naval Warfare

  USS Fitzgerald​ sails for at-sea testing

  5th February 2020

  The US Navy guided-missile destroyer damaged during a collision in 2017 has sailed for at-sea testing following a two-year restoration and modernisation programme. USS Fitzgerald …

• Air Warfare

  US Marine Corps' VMFA 314 receives first F-35Cs

  27th January 2020

  The US Marine Corps’ 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) has received the first F-35C Lightning II fighter jet for Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314 …

• Defence Helicopter

  Boeing signs Apache FMS contracts

  6th January 2020

  Boeing has confirmed contracts with the US Army to remanufacture AH-64D Apaches for three nations under US FMS programmes. The contracts cover the remanufacture of …

• Digital Battlespace

  Leidos to support NORAD network ops

  6th February 2020

  Leidos will support North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) network operations under a contract awarded by the General Services Administration.The contract will see Leidos provide …

• Training

  Military Training magazine: cyber training, display technology, motion tracking and more

  3rd February 2020

  Read the latest edition of Military Training for free in our app or on your desktop. Register below to be sent the download link and …

• Land Warfare

  Russia moves to further enhance armoured vehicle fleet

  15th January 2020

  The Russian MoD has provided a major boost to the Russian Ground Forces, officially announcing the signing of a fresh contract for the supply of BMP-3 IFVs. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AQS-24B​ components being manufactured in Australia

  6th February 2020

  Northrop Grumman has begun manufacture of AQS-24B towed minehunting system components in Australia, the company announced on 6 February. Manufacture is being carried out with …

• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop Grumman expands satellite manufacture site

  3rd February 2020

  Northrop Grumman has broken ground on a new expansion of its satellite engineering and manufacturing operations facilities in Arizona. The expansion includes a 100,000 square …

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy names new aircraft carrier

  28th January 2020

  The US Navy has named its incoming CVN 81 aircraft carrier USS Doris Miller. The future USS Doris Miller is a Gerald R Ford-class carrier, …

• Land Warfare

  Russian Ground Forces in Siberia to receive Typhoon-K armoured vehicles

  23rd January 2020

  The Russian MoD plans to add a batch of eight Typhoon-K armoured vehicles, armed with a remote-controlled weapon station, to the fleet of combat vehicles …

• Defence Notes

  Opinion: Can India escape the morass of bungled procurements?

  23rd January 2020

  With India hosting its biennial DefExpo exhibition early next month, in yet another new and inconvenient location, it is a timely reminder to consider the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Singapore Airshow 2020: Schiebel explores ASW innovations

  11th February 2020

  Austrian company Schiebel is exploring anti-submarine warfare (ASW) roles among potential new applications for its Camcopter S-100 UAV platform. Neil Hunter, director of business development …

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 ...