• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DroneShield progresses on xTechSearch programme

  28th January 2020

  DroneShield will advance to Phase III of the US Army’s Expeditionary Technology Search (xTechSearch) programme, the company announced on 27 January. The company’s selection follows …

• Land Warfare

  Elbit to supply SOTM comms to Canadian Armed Forces

  3rd March 2020

  Elbit Systems was selected by Rheinmetall Canada to provide satellite-on-the-move (SOTM) communications as part of its Land Command Support System Life Extension (LCSS LE) programme …

• Defence Notes

  Combat air set to play the fall guy in UK defence review

  6th March 2020

  As high-profile budget difficulties tie the UK government to making tough, long-term procurement decisions across air, land and sea domains, the RAF’s combat air plans …

• Air Warfare

  F-35A makes second CENTCOM deployment as IOT&E progresses

  16th March 2020

  Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighters of the USAF have been deployed, for the second time, to the US Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility …

• Naval Warfare

  HII begins training crew aboard CVN 79

  3rd March 2020

  Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has begun training crew members after the first of 2,700 compartments of the Gerard R Ford-class John F Kennedy (CVN 79) aircraft …

• Land Warfare

  US Army orders more AMPVs

  28th January 2020

  The US Army's effort to replace the Vietnam War-era M113 armoured vehicles currently being used by the US Army’s Armoured Brigade Combat Teams (ABCT) took a step …

• Naval Warfare

  Huntington Ingalls delivers Tripoli to USN

  2nd March 2020

  Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) delivered the America-class amphibious assault ship Tripoli (LHA 7) to the US Navy in a ceremony at its shipyard in Pascagoula, …

• Training

  General Dynamics receives US Army LT2 contract

  31st January 2020

  General Dynamics Mission Systems has received a contract to enhance and maintain the US Army’s Live Training Transformation (LT2) product line. The $883 million order-dependent …

• Naval Warfare

  Future USS Delbert D Black completes builder's trials

  26th February 2020

  The US Navy’s future USS Delbert D Black (DDG 119) has successfully completed builder’s trials, the navy announced on 24 February. Conducted by shipbuilder Huntington …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sikorsky receives Lot 2 HH-60W contract

  28th February 2020

  Sikorsky has received the Lot 2 Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) contract award from the US Air Force for the HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH) …

• Air Warfare

  Singapore Airshow 2020: Military aircraft procurement set to rise

  11th February 2020

  As exhibitors prepare for the opening day of the Singapore Airshow, many will be eyeing opportunities in the Asia-Pacific fixed-wing aircraft market that is forecast …

• Training

  MASA delivers SWORD to Spanish Army

  10th February 2020

  MASA Group has delivered its SWORD constructive simulation software for the Spanish Army’s National Training Centre under a contract announced on 10 February. The contract …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sikorsky receives CH-53K​ support modification

  21st February 2020

  Sikorsky has received additional funding for its work on the US Navy’s CH-53K programme. The company has received a $40 million contract modification to provide …

• Air Warfare

  Force integration training during Exercise Red Flag

  21st February 2020

  US Air Force F-35A Lightning II aircraft provided the core wing function during Exercise Red Flag. The large force exercise brought together air and ground …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sikorsky receives LRIP Lot II VH-92A contract

  21st February 2020

  Sikorsky has received a Low Rate Initial Production Lot II contract from the US Navy to build six production VH-92A Presidential helicopters. The build forms …

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) [US Army]

  Background USMC First, Army Second In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial Resupply ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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, ...

• 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 - 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

  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 - 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 ...