• Digital Battlespace

  More Japanese Hawkeyes arrive amid AEW restructure

  15th April 2020

  The third and fourth E-2D Advanced Hawkeye AEW aircraft for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) arrived last month. The pair of Northrop Grumman aircraft (bearing …

• Training

  Singapore and Australia ink training area treaty

  24th March 2020

  The Singaporean and Australian defence ministries signed the ‘Treaty on Military Training and Training Area Development in Australia’ on 23 March, finalising a plan to …

• Land Warfare

  Arquus finishes production of 500th Bastion

  27th March 2020

  Arquus (formerly known as ACAT) has completed its 500th Bastion Long Range Desert Patrol vehicle which has been in production since 2012. The Bastion can …

• Air Warfare

  Indonesia rolls out first F-16A eMLU fighter

  17th April 2020

  The Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU) has unveiled its first F-16A enhanced Midlife Upgrade (eMLU) aircraft, with upgrades carried out locally by PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) …

• Land Warfare

  Poland says goodbye to Honker, hello to Navara

  20th March 2020

  The Polish Army is to procure several hundred Nissan Navara 4x4 all-terrain, tactical vehicles in its Mustang programme, following five unsuccessful attempts to implement it. …

• Air Warfare

  USAF identifies organisations to be transferred to US Space Force

  2nd April 2020

  The USAF has identified a total of 23 organisations which will be transferred to the command of the US Space Force. The US Space Force …

• Land Warfare

  Brazilian Army tests system to manage Guarani vehicles

  17th March 2020

  The Brazilian Army is improving the situational awareness of the 6x6 Guarani VBTP through an indigenously developed system that will manage these platforms: the Proteus-SGP. In early …

• Defence Notes

  Flight tests are central for US in hypersonic arms race

  18th March 2020

  The US military is preparing a crucial flight test of a hypersonic weapon this spring, as part of a ramped-up campaign to develop and field …

• Air Warfare

  Belgium to be integrated into F-35 Lightning II enterprise

  1st April 2020

  The US Naval Air Systems Command has awarded Lockheed Martin a $22.9 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to integrate Belgium into the F-35 Lightning II enterprise. It …

• Defence Notes

  South America takes on coronavirus

  25th March 2020

  South America’s defence sector has increased its efforts in the regional fight against the global COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. In Colombia, the Science and Technology Corporation …

• Land Warfare

  UVZ demonstrates Msta-S to Middle Eastern clients

  25th March 2020

  Rostec company Uralvagonzavod (UVZ) demonstrated the upgraded Msta-S self-propelled howitzer to undisclosed Middle Eastern customers at the Nizhny Tagil Institute of Metal Testing’s (NTIIM’s) Staratel …

• Air Warfare

  Croatia fighter procurement hits dead end again

  9th April 2020

  The Croatian government has suspended a procurement tender for new multirole fighters, citing as its main reason the national emergency surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak, exacerbated …

• Defence Helicopter

  HH-60W completes extreme weather testing

  9th April 2020

  The USAF has completed extreme environment testing for the HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter at the McKinley Climatic Lab on Eglin AFB, Florida. Testing was concluded …

• Defence Helicopter

  RNLAF receives first upgraded Chinook

  3rd April 2020

  Boeing announced on 3 April that it has delivered the first of 20 CH-47F Chinook helicopters to the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF). The helicopter …

• Defence Notes

  NATO membership brings new dawn for North Macedonia

  22nd April 2020

  On 27 March, North Macedonia became the 30th member of NATO after Spain became the final country to ratify the treaty accepting the small Balkan nation. In …

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 ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker DVH [USA]

  Background The US Army has been operating the Stryker since 2002. The Stryker DVH is an upgraded variant that has additional armour on its underside ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV (US Army) (Batch 1) [USA]

  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 branches ...

• 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 ...

• Main battle tanks

  Decisive Lethality Platform [USA]

  Background The DLP is one of five vehicle families being developed for the US Army's NGCV programme. Expanded to include five programmes in October 2018, ...

• Military UAS - micro

  eBee Vision [US]

  Background Multiple orders In November 2025, the US Army acquired three eBee Vision systems to enhance training operations at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Germany. A ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  AMPV [USA]

  Background Platform development The US Army initiated the AMPV programme to acquire a replacement for several variants of the M113 tracked APC, which has been ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker (Sergeant Stout) (Batch 2) [USA]

  Background As part of the Army Transformation Initiative, the US DoD is fundamentally reorganising the structure of the US Army. The development of the Sergeant ...

• 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]

  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 Brigade ...

• Self-propelled guns

  Mobile Tactical Cannon [USA]

  Background The US Army began using the M777 in 1995. Since then, it has served as a field artillery piece providing fire support for American ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow-On [USA]

  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, ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

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 ...

• 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. 

• 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 ...

• 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) ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Unguided Mortar Ammunition

  M821A3 High Explosive Mortar Round

  The M821A3 High Explosive Mortar Round is an 81mm mortar round manufactured by Day & Zimmerman for the US Army.

• Unguided Mortar Ammunition

  M933A1 High Explosive Mortar Round

  The M933A1 High Explosive Mortar Round is a 120mm mortar round manufactured by Day & Zimmermann for the US Army.

• Unguided Mortar Ammunition

  M934A1 High Explosive Mortar Round

  The M934A1 High Explosive Mortar Round is a 120mm mortar round produced by Day & Zimmermann for the US Army.