• Defence Notes

  Opinion: China’s Silk Road project – a PLA weapon?

  7th February 2018

  On 7 September 2013, President Xi Jinping called for the construction of a Silk Road Economic Belt during a speech at Nazarbayev University in Astana, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MDA to deliver MMUAS to Canadian navy

  15th February 2018

  MDA has signed a contract with Canada’s Department of National Defence (DND) to provide maritime miniature UAS (MMUAS) to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), the …

• Land Warfare

  Singapore Airshow 2018: Soldier system pushes the boundaries (video)

  7th February 2018

  ST Kinetics showed its armed Stinger UAV, part of its advanced soldier system, at Singapore Airshow 2018. Far from being a conventional UCAV, this is …

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy commissions USS Omaha

  7th February 2018

  The US Navy has commissioned its newest Independence-variant littoral combat ship (LCS), the future USS Omaha, at the Broadway pier in San Diego on 3 …

• Special Operations

  New body armour design sees European SOF evaluation

  15th February 2018

  BCB International has launched a new plate carrier vest, with the body armour now being evaluated by a European special forces unit. The Kastell Pro …

• Digital Battlespace

  Thales awarded French sonar system work

  12th February 2018

  Thales has received a contract from the French defence procurement agency to conduct a set of studies and technological developments for a sonar system to …

• Naval Warfare

  Naval Group floats Normandie frigate

  6th February 2018

  Naval Group has floated the French Navy’s future FREMM multi-mission frigate, Normandie, at its Lorient site, the company announced on 1 February. The launch of …

• Military Logistics

  VolkerStevin completes Mare Harbour upgrades

  14th February 2018

  VolkerStevin has completed work to upgrade the Mare Harbour jetty in the Falkland Islands, the UK Ministry of Defence announced on 8 February. The improvements …

• Naval Warfare

  ADECS 2018: JMSDF anticipates new and smaller destroyers

  23rd January 2018

  The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) had 47 destroyers in 2013, but it plans to boost its fleet to 54 by 2023 by introducing a …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  China improves cueing for Cloud Shadow UAV

  23rd February 2018

  China’s UAVs will reach farther, faster and hit the enemy harder, if current trends continue. Evidence of this was visible at the recent 2018 Singapore …

• Digital Battlespace

  BAE Systems to support US Navy’s SPAWAR

  8th February 2018

  BAE Systems has been selected by the US Navy to provide equipment and support services for Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic (SPAWAR), the …

• Naval Warfare

  RAN awards frigate support contract to NSM

  4th January 2018

  Naval Ship Management (NSM), a joint venture between Babcock and UGL, has been awarded a five year agreement to provide maintenance support services to the …

• Naval Warfare

  Tensions flare in east Mediterranean gas scramble

  23rd February 2018

  Warships, militia threats and multi-billion dollar deals: the scramble for gas in the Eastern Mediterranean is fuelling hope and tensions across a volatile region. In …

• Training

  RNN orders upgraded portable DECKsim VR trainer

  7th February 2018

  SEA has received a contract from the Royal Norwegian Navy (RNN) to provide upgraded portable DECKsim virtual reality (VR) trainers. The new man-portable solution will …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Patroller to play key role in OCEAN2020

  13th February 2018

  Safran’s Patroller UAS will play a central role in the OCEAN2020 project being led by Leonardo. The European Defence Fund programme aims to develop a …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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, 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 ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Global Fast Sealift [USN]

  Background Requirements At Sea Air Space 2026, Hanwha Ocean and Gibbs and Cox displayed the Global Fast Sealift concept design. The vessel is intended as a ...

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

  MQ-25 Stingray (13-76) [USN]

  Background Initial Requirements - Unmanned Carrier Launch Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) The programme looked different when it began. In 2013, the USN awarded four ...

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

  MQ-25 Stingray (10-12) [USN]

  Background Initial Requirements -  Unmanned Carrier Launch Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) The programme looked different when it began. In 2013, the USN awarded four Preliminary ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawk (India)

  Programme Background On 25 February 2020, a letter of acceptance for 24 MH-60Rs, worth approximately $2.12 billion, was signed by India and the US in Delhi. ...

• AEW&C

  E-2D [USA]

  Programme Background The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye (AHE) is an all-weather, twin engine, carrier-based, Airborne Command, Control and Surveillance aircraft designed to extend task force defence ...

• 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 - fixed-wing

  Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) [USN]

  Background Requirement The USN wants to acquire carrier-capable loyal wingman drones. These drones will have a high level of autonomy, allowing them to work alongside crewed aircraft.  ...

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

  MQ-25 Stingray (1-9) [USN]

  Background Initial Requirements - Unmanned Carrier Launch Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) The programme looked different when it began. In 2013, the USN awarded four ...

• Military - USVs

  MUSV [USN]

  Programme Background Requirements In March 2026, the US announced it would be replacing its Modular Attack Surface Craft (MASC) programme with a Medium Uncrewed Surface ...

• 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 helicopters - light/training

  TH-73 Advanced Helicopter Training System (AHTS) (TH-57 Replacement)

  Programme Background Contenders for the competition included the Leonardo single engine TH-119 – a military variant of the AW119Kx – and Bell’s newly upgraded single ...

• OPVs

  Hisar Class (1-2) [Turkey]

  Background Requirements The thoughts behind the acquisition of this type of OPV, which comes in a baseline and a convertible variant, is an OPV that ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Anti-ship missiles

  Naval Strike Missile (NSM)

  The Naval Strike Missile (NSM) is a subsonic, sea-skimming, anti-ship and land-attack missile. The original name was the Nytt sjømålsmissil, but this was later dropped ...

• Frigates

  FF(X) Frigate

  The FF(X) frigate is a vessel derived from Huntington Ingalls Industries' (HHI) National Security Cutter (NSC). It was designed in response to the cancellation of ...

• Land: Integrated Defensive Systems

  Low Band Transmitter

  The Low Band Transmitter-Antenna Group (LBT-AG), developed by Cobham, has been in production since 2005. The LBT is designed to protect strike aircraft, ships and ...

• Air-to-surface missiles, Anti-ship missiles

  JSM

  The Joint Strike Missile (JSM) is a multi-role version of the Naval Strike Missile. Norway funded the programme to develop and produce the JSM for the ...

• 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, ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F/A-18E/F Super Hornet

  The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet was developed to perform naval strike missions for the USN. The primary mission for the F/A-18E/F is a strike fighter that ...

• 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 ...

• Frigates

  Independence Class (LCS)

  The USN’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) programme was originally envisaged to be 50 ships, which would provide a coastal platform that would take over from ...

• Destroyers

  Zumwalt Class

  The DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class is formed by a series of next-generation multi-role destroyers 21st century. They were designed to host the latest in sensors and weapons ...

• Frigates

  Hunter Class Guided Missile Frigate

  During Indo Pacific 2023, BAE Systems Australia unveiled a Guided Missile variant of the Hunter-class frigate (ASW). Compared to the baseline ASW configuration, the proposed ...

• Frigates

  Constellation Class (FFG)

  The USN has selected Fincantieri Marinette Marine to build up to ten frigates under the FFG(X) next-generation future guided-missile frigate programme. The new Constellation-class will replace ...

• OPVs

  Hisar Class

  Turkish Military Factory and Shipyard Management company ASFAT has built two Hisar-class OPVs at Istanbul Naval Shipyard for the Turkish Navy. Four more platforms are on order, but the ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  SCOTT

  The Synthetic Cognition for Operational Team Training (SCOTT) system was developed for the USN to train teamwork and communication skills for E-2C flight crews interfacing ...

• Air: aerial targets

  GQM-163A Coyote SSST

  The GQM-163A Coyote Supersonic Sea Skimming Target (SSST) was developed for the USN to emulate two-stage anti-ship cruise missiles in support of air defence weapon/combat ...

• 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 ...