• Defence Helicopter

  Boeing restarts AH-64E flight operations amid safety investigation (Updated)

  22nd October 2020

  In the middle of a joint safety review at Boeing's AH-64 production facility in Arizona, the company has restarted flight operations of the attack helicopter.

• Land Warfare

  PLA enhances artillery and evaluates new vehicles

  29th October 2020

  The PLA continues its inexorable modernisation, with new artillery and air defence weapons appearing and new armoured vehicles being rolled out to field units

• Training

  UK looks for CH-47 cabin trainers

  15th October 2020

  The stated value for supplying three mock-up Chinooks seems low for the hardware and support required; and a stipulation that devices must fit inside an ISO container inflicts design limitations on potential providers

• Digital Battlespace

  ​Legacy customer orders more Elbit equipment

  2nd October 2020

  Elbit Systems is to provide an unnamed existing customer in the Asia-Pacific region with tactical radio systems in a 12-month contract worth about $33 million. Artillery …

• Defence Helicopter

  SB>1 Defiant hits new speed with acceleration left to spur

  15th October 2020

  The SB>1 co-axial helicopter has recorded a new flight test speed of 232kt.

• Defence Notes

  NSPA picks Avon for CBRN system

  21st August 2020

  Avon Protection has been awarded a ten-year framework contract by the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) to supply a complete CBRN respirator system. The …

• Naval Warfare

  Babcock picks gun provider for Type 31 frigates

  1st October 2020

  Type 31 frigates for the UK RN will be armed with Bofors 40 Mk4 (pictured) and Bofors 57 Mk3 guns, BAE Systems announced on 1 October. The …

• Naval Warfare

  USN and RN to receive more Trident missiles

  2nd October 2020

  The USN Strategic Systems Programs office has awarded Lockheed Martin Space Systems a $498.44 million sole-source contract modification to produce Trident II D5 submarine-launched ballistic …

• Digital Battlespace

  UAE receives second GlobalEye

  1st October 2020

  Saab delivered its second GlobalEye AEW&C; aircraft for air, maritime and ground surveillance to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 30 September. The platform blends a …

• Digital Battlespace

  Podcast: Five Eyes Connectivity - The United States

  14th October 2020

  In this episode of the Five Eyes Connectivity podcast, we dive into the connectivity issues facing the US military and its further development of the Multi-Domain Operations concept.

• Naval Warfare

  Spring restart confirmed for UK Fleet Solid Support ship programme

  21st October 2020

  The long-awaited restart of the UK’s Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ship programme has been confirmed by the MoD, which will eventually deliver up to three logistics and sustainment vessels to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA).

• Naval Warfare

  Keel laying ceremony held for eighth K130 corvette for German Navy

  9th October 2020

  Despite restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, keel laying ceremony for German Navy corvette goes ahead as K130 programme continues apace.

• Air Warfare

  NAVAIR picks Lockheed for more F-35 production support

  1st October 2020

  Lockheed Martin is to provide ‘economic order quantities of material’ in support of F-35 Lightning II low-rate initial production (Lots 15, 16 and 17), under …

• Land Warfare

  US Army takes delivery of its first Iron Dome system

  1st October 2020

  The US Army has received its first Iron Dome battery from the Israel MoD, manufacturer Rafael Advanced Defense Systems announced on 30 September. The army revealed …

• Land Warfare

  Romania seeks 100mm rounds

  29th September 2020

  The Romanian MoD has opened an EU-wide tender for procurement of 100mm ammunition for the army. Interested parties must submit a bid by 12 October. …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A330 MRTT (1-9) [NATO]

  Programme Background Following operations in Libya and extensive analyses by the European Defence Agency (EDA), it was agreed at the NATO Summit in 2012 that ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawks [Norway]

  Programme Background NH90 NFH cancellation  The Norwegian government announced the termination of the NH90 NFH helicopter contract for 14 NH90s with NHIndustries in June 2022. Seahawk Acquisition ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A330 MRTT Follow-On [NATO]

  Programme Background Following operations in Libya and extensive analyses by the European Defence Agency (EDA), it was agreed at the NATO Summit in 2012 that ...

• Main battle tanks

  New MBT [Romania]

  Programme Background Requirement The Romanian Army's MBT fleet is composed of T-55 variants that are due to be retired in the mid-2020s. Although Romania's TR-85 ...

• Main battle tanks

  M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 [Romania]

  Programme Background Requirement The Romanian Army's MBT fleet is composed of T-55 variants that are due to be retired in the mid-2020s. Although Romania's TR-85 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) - (Greece)

  Programme Background EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) was announced in early 2022 and the project contract was awarded ...

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

  Penguin C VTOL [Croatia]

  Background Announcment Redwire Corporation announced on 12 November 2025 that its wholly owned subsidiary, Edge Autonomy, had been contracted to deliver the Penguin C VTOL ...

• Maritime patrol

  MAWS/PATMAR [France]

  Programme Background In 2017, Germany and France announced that they would be working towards developing an MPA to replace their current fleets in service. The ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) - (Italy)

  Programme Background EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) was announced in early 2022 and the project contract was awarded ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Bayraktar TB2 [Kuwait]

  Background Contract Award On 18 January 2023, Baykar announced signing a $370 million export contract with Kuwait for the Bayraktar TB2. According to the announcement, ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton - Germany (Cancelled)

  Programme Background Germany requested to buy four MQ-4C Triton HALE UAVs from Northrop Grumman. On 5 April 2018, the US State Department announced that it ...

• Main battle tanks

  Leopard 2A8 [Netherlands]

  Programme Background Bidders and Suppliers The Leopard 2A8, the latest in the Leopard family, was selected by the Royal Dutch Army as per announcements in ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  UAV Tactical Level [Norway]

  Background Request for Information (RfI) In September 2022, the Norwegian Defence Material Agency (NDMA) launched a request for information in preparation for a possible procurement ...

• Corvettes

  European Patrol Corvette (EPC) [France]

  Programme Background Requirements The European Patrol Corvette (EPC) is one of the new PESCO (Permanent Structured Cooperation on Defence and Security) projects. PESCO was established ...

• Corvettes

  European Patrol Corvette (EPC) [Italy]

  Programme Background Requirements The 2021-2023 Documento Programmatico Pluriennale (DPP) - a multi-year defence planning document from the Italian MoD - includes a plan to acquire eight "Patrol Ships", ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Land: air defence radar

  APIS

  APIS is a passive high-resolution primary radar system developed by Indra. It is the first passive system in the world capable of offering images using ...

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  AE50R

  The AE50R is an aviation gasoline single rotary engine with an output of 40.4kW. The engine is certified according to European Aviation Safety Agency Part ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  LOTUS

  The LOTUS, Low Observable Tactical Unnamed System, is a tactical UAV especially designed for border patrol ISR operations.  The development of the project is funded by ...

• Helicopter engines

  Arriel 2H

  Safran Helicopter Engines received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) engine type certification for its Arriel 2H engine, installed in the Avicopter AC312E, in April 2018. ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  AR5

  First announced in October 2012, the AR5 is a MALE UAS designed for SAR, surveillance and maritime patrol missions. The AR5 can be flown manually or commanded ...

• Trainer

  Gabriel-TP

  Gabriel-TP is a low-wing, two-seat tandem trainer aircraft aimed at both military and civilian customers. It is certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in ...

• Air: NVGs

  PNL-3M Orlik

  PNL-3M are high-performance, lightweight, passive stereoscopic NVGs for helicopter crew members. Certification by European Aviation Safety Agency also enables civilian use. The device can be ...

• Loitering munitions

  Akeron RCH 170

  Unveiled in April 2025, the Akeron RCH 170 is a fixed-wing loitering munition from MBDA. Similar in design to the Switchblade 300, the catapult launched system ...

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

  Capa-X

  The Capa-X is a VTOL-capable fixed-wing drone from Survey Copter, a subsidiary of Airbus. The drone has been linked with France's Système de Drone Tactique Léger (SDTL) ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  Tryzub Laser

  Ukraine's Tryzub (Trident) laser was revealed during the European Defence Industry: Prospects for Cooperation with the Ukrainian Defence Industry conference in 2025. Video footage from ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  Standard 3

  Jointly developed by ATR and Thales, The Standard 3 avionics suite has been specifically designed for ATR-600 aircraft. It offers the pilot user-friendly interface, along ...

• Loitering munitions

  Akeron RCX 50

  Unveiled in April 2025, the Akeron RCX 50 is a rotary-wing loitering munition from MBDA.  According to reports, the RCX 50 is designed to support ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  DroneGun

  DroneGun enables controlled management of an adversarial UAS, causing no damage to the UAV or surrounding area. It either forces the drone to perform a ...

• Military - USVs

  NOMARS

  The No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) is a US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) effort to develop a first-of-its-kind large uncrewed surface vessel.

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  Trident 100TD2

  The Trident 100TD2 is a compression-ignition engine that is capable of operating on various types of heavy fuel. It is claimed to offer up to ...