• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Raytheon’s GBDAA system to support UAS pilots

  8th May 2019

  Raytheon’s Ground-Based Detect and Avoid (GBDAA) system has been deployed at Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport, Ohio, to help pilots fly UAS beyond visual line-of-sight flight profiles, …

• Naval Warfare

  Sea-Air-Space 2019: US Navy eyes submarine upgrades

  9th May 2019

  The US Navy has begun studying how a future version of the Virginia-class fast-attack submarine could better accommodate special operations forces and unmanned vessels, according …

• Digital Battlespace

  US Army develops new voice-bridging system

  3rd May 2019

  The US Army is developing a new device called the Radio Interoperability Capability-Universal (RIC-U) to simplify secure radio communications with allied partners, the army announced …

• Special Operations

  USSOCOM seeks biometric capability expansion

  18th April 2019

  United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) is seeking industry support to expand its mass biometric enrollment capabilities. Command interest in the expanded capabilities was expressed …

• Naval Warfare

  Tuvalu receives Guardian-class patrol boat

  10th April 2019

  The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) has handed over a Guardian-class patrol boat, Te Mataili II, to Tuvalu under Australia's Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement project. …

• Naval Warfare

  Raytheon tests rocket motor for MAD-FIRES interceptor

  10th May 2019

  Raytheon has successfully tested a hot fire rocket motor for DARPA's Multi-Azimuth Defense Fast Intercept Round Engagement System (MAD-FIRES), the company announced on 6 May.  …

• Defence Notes

  Missile contracts surge as US exits arms treaty

  2nd May 2019

  Washington has signed more than $1 billion in new missile contracts in the three months since it announced plans to withdraw from a key Cold …

• Naval Warfare

  Sea-Air-Space 2019: GE touts lightweight design for FFG(X)

  8th May 2019

  Manufacturer General Electric (GE) has developed a lightweight composite enclosure to house powerplants intended for use in the US Navy’s (USN) future guided missile frigate …

• Naval Warfare

  GAO disputes reliability of Columbia class costs

  12th April 2019

  The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) says that the US Navy’s (USN) costing figures for its new Columbia-class SSBNs may be unreliable.  A recently released …

• Military Logistics

  USAF to receive new munitions research complex

  10th May 2019

  The US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has broken ground on a new $75 million Advanced Munitions Technology Complex (AMTC) at Eglin Air Force Base …

• Military Logistics

  Jacobs receives contract to support US Army DPG

  3rd May 2019

  Jacobs has received a bridge contract to perform field range testing and laboratory support services for the West Desert Test Center at the US Army’s …

• Digital Battlespace

  Comtech to sustain SNAP terminals

  7th May 2019

  Comtech Telecommunications’ Command and Control Technologies will continue providing sustainment services for the US Army's AN/TSC-198A SNAP and very small aperture terminals, the company announced …

• Land Warfare

  UAE requests Patriot missiles

  8th May 2019

  The US State Department has made a determination approving a potential foreign military sale of Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3) Missiles Segment Enhanced (MSE) to …

• Naval Warfare

  Sea-Air-Space 2019: Northrop Grumman assess launch AARGM-ER possibilities

  8th May 2019

  Northrop Grumman is currently assessing how its Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-Extended Range (AARGM-ER) munition could be developed into a surface launched asset. The US Navy (USN) …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sea-Air-Space 2019: USN faces balancing act over Sea Hawk's life

  7th May 2019

  The US Navy (USN) is currently assessing the benefits of formally introducing a service life extension programme (SLEP) for its fleet of MH-60R/S Sea Hawks, …

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 ...