• Defence Notes

  F-35B: The unprecedented capabilities Singapore always wanted

  14th January 2020

  The US announcement of a sale of 12 Lockheed Martin F-35Bs to Singapore has finally put a stop to a year-long debate as to which …

• Defence Helicopter

  US AFGSC names MH-139A helicopter

  3rd January 2020

  US Air Force Global Strike Command named the MH-139A helicopter ‘Grey Wolf’ during a naming ceremony at Duke Field on 19 December, 2019.The helicopters have …

• Defence Notes

  Iran in the dock over potential Ukrainian airliner downing

  10th January 2020

  Don't miss out on more news and analysis from Shephard Media. Sign up to our Premium News. Firm conclusions about how Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 crashed, killing all 176 …

• Defence Helicopter

  Piaggio Aerospace receives Italian MoD contract

  23rd December 2019

  Piaggio Aerospace will support Italian Army CH-47F helicopter engines under a €50 million contract awarded by the Italian Ministry of Defence announced on 18 December. …

• Digital Battlespace

  Next-gen DAS order for F-35 aircraft

  6th January 2020

  Lockheed Martin has received a $98.9 million order to integrate the next generation electro-optical Distributed Aperture System into all variants of the F-35 aircraft.The work …

• Naval Warfare

  BAE Systems awarded USS Vicksburg modernisation work

  7th January 2020

  BAE Systems is to modernise the US Navy’s USS Vicksburg guided-missile cruiser under a $175 million contract announced on 6 January. The vessel will undergo …

• Training

  L3 Technologies to upgrade Greek F-16 ATDs

  6th January 2020

  L3 Technologies will upgrade Hellenic Air Force F-16 Aircrew Training Devices (ATD) under a $28 million contract announced on 2 January. The contract, issued by …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Kratos receives target drone orders

  8th January 2020

  Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’ Unmanned Systems Division (KUSD) has received new orders worth approximately $6 million for its jet powered unmanned aerial target drone …

• Naval Warfare

  Maritime Strike Tomahawk development delayed

  16th January 2020

  Programme prioritisation factors have contributed to a delayed IOC for the Maritime Strike Tomahawk (MST), with the milestone not now expected to be achieved this year.  …

• Defence Notes

  Raytheon receives $768 million for AMRAAM production

  6th January 2020

  Raytheon has received a contract from the US Department of Defense for Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) Production Lot 33. The $768.2 million contract, awarded on …

• Digital Battlespace

  F-16 AN/APG-83 SABR​ radar installations update

  10th January 2020

  Installation of the AN/APG-83 SABR radar on US Air National Guard (ANG) F-16s at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, is now complete, Northrop Grumman announced on …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  FLIR Systems details CRS-H win

  5th December 2019

  FLIR Systems has detailed its win on the US Army’s Common Robotic System-Heavy (CRS-H) programme. Announced by the US Department of Defense in November, the …

• Land Warfare

  Lockheed Martin missile in successful first flight test

  11th December 2019

  Lockheed Martin’s next-generation long-range missile has undergone a successful first flight test at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, the company announced on 10 December. …

• Training

  Kratos receives Australian DoD trainer update order

  8th January 2020

  Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has received a contract from the Australia Department of Defence to deliver hardware, software and technical data package upgrades for …

• Land Warfare

  US Army to test StrikeShield APS

  3rd December 2019

  The US Army is to test the StrikeShield Active Protection System under an $11 million contract awarded to Rheinmetall Protection Systems and Unified Business Technologies …

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 ...

• 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). ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...