• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US Army deploys first SBS UAS

  22nd May 2019

  The US Army recently fielded the Soldier Borne Sensors (SBS) UAS to soldiers of 3rd Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North …

• Digital Battlespace

  Kratos to develop THREAT system

  21st May 2019

  Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has received a contract to develop and demonstrate a Tethered High-power-microwave Recorder and Electronic Attack Target (THREAT) system, the company …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sikorsky to build 12 CH-53Ks for USMC

  21st May 2019

  Sikorsky has received a $1.13 billion contract from the US Navy to build 12 production CH-53K King Stallion  heavy-lift helicopters for the US Marine Corps …

• Military Logistics

  DynCorp International awarded AFM II East contract

  20th May 2019

  DynCorp International has received a contact from the US Army Contracting Command for Aviation Field Maintenance (AFM) and Sustainment Level Maintenance for the AFM Directorate …

• Defence Notes

  Russian bombers and fighters intercepted off Alaska

  22nd May 2019

  US fighters intercepted six Russian military aircraft in international airspace west of Alaska, and shadowed them until they exited the area, the North American Air …

• Digital Battlespace

  Leonardo’s BriteCloud EAD selected for ANG testing

  17th May 2019

  Leonardo’s BriteCloud expendable active decoy (EAD) has been selected by the US Department of Defense for evaluation by the US Air National Guard (ANG), the …

• Digital Battlespace

  Widespread use, but Link 16 integration challenges remain

  4th June 2019

  While Link 16 has revolutionised air operations, easing command and control and enhancing situational awareness, challenges still exist regarding its implementation.  The Link 16 tactical …

• Digital Battlespace

  Link 16 capability migrating towards infantry use

  4th June 2019

  The NATO Link 16 tactical data link (TDL) is synonymous with air operations however it is now migrating into the hands of individual soldiers, promising …

• Land Warfare

  US Army to attain laser weapon vehicle by 2022

  17th May 2019

  The US Army will have its hands on a 100kW laser weapon system as part of the High Energy Laser Tactical Vehicle Demonstrator (HEL TVD) …

• Military Logistics

  US Navy tackling cargo ship shortfall

  19th May 2019

  To better prepare for a potential war with a near-peer adversary, the US Navy is grappling with how to enhance its ability to move military …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  2019 AlphaPilot teams announced

  28th May 2019

  Lockheed Martin and Drone Racing League (DRL) have announced the nine teams that have been accepted into the 2019 AlphaPilot Innovation Challenge. The teams have …

• Land Warfare

  Raytheon tests advanced warhead for DeepStrike

  24th May 2019

  Raytheon has successfully tested an advanced warhead for the new DeepStrike surface-to-surface missile, the company announced on 22 May. The test moves the weapon closer …

• Special Operations

  New combat drysuit in the spotlight

  30th May 2019

  Typhoon International promoted the latest member in its family of drysuits at the Underwater Defence Technology (UDT) exhibition last week, specifically designed to support combat …

• Land Warfare

  Thai army to buy Strykers from US

  16th May 2019

  The Royal Thai Army (RTA) made a surprise move by preparing to procure Stryker M1126 Infantry Carrier Vehicles (ICV) for its 11th Infantry Division. The RTA …

• Training

  US Air Force orders more JTE units

  16th May 2019

  Northrop Grumman has received a $46 million order from the US Air Force (USAF) for eight Joint Threat Emitter (JTE) units, the company announced on …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Puma 3 AE (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Military Aid - $300 Million On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine to "bolster Urkaine's capacity ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1165 Special Ops HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HHMWV, or Humvee, has been in US service since 1983. The M1165A1B3 is a special operations variant of the platform.  In 2015, the US ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 300 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Presidential Drawdown (16 March 2022 & 13 April 2022) On 16 March 2022, President Biden announced $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine through ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank [US]

  Programme Background As IAI stated in a 19 January 2023 press release, it had been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract by the Irregular Warfare Technical Support ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A [US Navy]

  Background Previous Purchases The BQM-177A was designed for the USN and has been in service with the USN for many years. Indeed, in August 2022, Shephard reported ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 600 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background $300 Million USAI (1 April 2022) On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine following ...

• Loitering munitions

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Background Presidential Drawdown (21 April 2022) Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, on 21 April 2022, President Biden announced an $800 million ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Puma LE [Kosovo]

  Background Contract Award On 21 January 2022, the US Department of Defence (DoD) announced that AeroVironment had been awarded an $11.01 million firm-fixed contract for Puma ...

• Loitering munitions

  ALTIUS-600M (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background On 24 February 2023, the US DoD announced that the Biden Administration had released an additional aid package under the Ukraine Security Assistance ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1152A1B2/M1165A1B3 HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HMMWV has been in US service since the 1980s. Despite the introduction of newer platforms, the US DoD continues to utilise the platform ...

• 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. ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS): Switchblade [US]

  Background DoD Contract On 27 August 2024, the US DoD announced that AeroVironment had been awarded a ceiling $990 million hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to provide “an ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Puma 2 AE [Estonia]

  Programme Background The US DoD announced that it had awarded AeroVironment an $8.868 million firm-fixed-price contract to supply an undisclosed number of RQ-20B Puma AE ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-46A (3-6) [Japan]

  On 30 October 2020, the US DoD announced that it awarded a $342 million contract to Boeing for two Japanese KC-46A tanker aircraft. Work will be performed ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  ACV-30 PRTV [USA]

  Background The Armoured Combat Vehicle (ACV) programme is intended to provide a replacement for the USMC's fleet of Amphibious Assault Vehicle 7 (AAV7) tracked vehicles. ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Pistols

  M9

  M9 is the US DoD designation for the military-specification 9mm Beretta 92FS, selected in 1985 to replace the 45cal M1911A1 in US service. Sales to ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  Igla/SA-18

  The 9K38 Igla (US DoD designation SA-18, NATO reporting name Grouse ) IR-homing MANPADS was developed by KBM and entered service in 1983 to meet the requirements ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  ScanEagle 3

  Insitu unveiled the ScanEagle 3 at the Xponential exhibition in Denver in May 2018. The platform has twice the payload capacity of its ScanEagle predecessor ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank

  Point Blank Weapon System is a hand-launched electro-optical VTOL-capable loitering munition developed by Isreal Aerospace Industries (IAI). IAI has been awarded a contract by the US ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  BAT-850

  Pathfinder's BAT-850 VSAT is a carbon fibre, tri-band terminal with auto-acquisition capability. Suitable for flyaway (case-based) and vehicle-mounted applications, it is in service with the ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  URC-300

  The URC-300 is a software-defined radio designed for line-of-sight, ground-to-air communications in particular. Introduced in 2020, it adheres to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards as well ...

• Air: aerial targets, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A/i

  The BQM-177A subsonic aerial target (SSAT) was designed for the USN, and the BQM-177i is the export variant. The BQM-177 provides realistic threat emulation for ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Banshee Tactical Radio

  Developed by Fenix Group, the Banshee Tactical Radio (BTR) is a communications system that uses 4G/LTE connectivity to provide secure mesh networking capability on the ...

• Crew-served grenade launchers

  Striker 40/MK47

  General Dynamics is systems integrator for the Striker 40 (MK47 AGL in US service). The complete system comprises the weapon, AN/PWG-1 Lightweight Video Sight and ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  AN/ARC-231 Skyfire

  The AN/ARC-231 Skyfire is an airborne VHF/UHF/LOS and DAMA SATCOM system. This system supports US DoD requirements for airborne, multi-band, multi-mission, secure anti-jam voice, data ...

• Air-to-air missiles

  9M39 Igla-V

  The 9M39 Igla-V (‘needle’) is a Russian IR homing SAM adapted for helicopter use. It is an air-launched version of the Igla MANPADS, which the ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Global Observer

  The AeroVironment Global Observer HALE UAV was a developmental HALE UAV designed for various civil, commercial and government applications.  Development of the platform began in 2007 ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  CLWS

  Developed by Boeing, Compact Laser Weapon System (CLWS or CLaWS) is a medium-range, low-power laser C-UAS system. According to the reports, the CLWS prototype has ...

• Weapon sights for day use

  CompM4/M4s

  The US DoD has bought over one million Aimpoint sights since 1997. The US Army is now fielding the CompM4s as the latest version of ...

• Heavy machine guns

  M2HB

  US Ordnance is one of two US M2HB heavy machine gun manufacturers which has received multi-year contracts to supply weapons to the US DoD. The ...