• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop Grumman to develop missile warning satellites for US Space Force

  20th May 2020

  Northrop Grumman has been awarded a $2.37 billion contract modification to develop two Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) missile warning satellites for the USAF. The contract …

• Land Warfare

  Portugal rolls out Glock 17 Gen5 for army

  10th June 2020

  The Soldier Combat Systems (SCS) programme for the Portuguese Army passed another milestone in early June, with delivery of Glock 17 Gen5 9mm pistols to …

• Land Warfare

  Czechs hold final S-10M2D firing drill

  19th June 2020

  The Army of the Czech Republic on 19 June announced it has conducted its last ever live-fire exercise involving the Cold War-vintage S-10M2D anti-aircraft missile …

• Air Warfare

  Northrop Grumman reaches AARGM-ER design milestone

  19th June 2020

  Northrop Grumman has completed its Critical Design Review (CDR) of key components for the USN’s Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-Extended Range (AARGM-ER) programme, the company confirmed …

• Defence Notes

  X-37B blasts off on latest mission

  18th May 2020

  The US Space Force (USSF) on 17 May completed the sixth mission launch of the Boeing-built X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), as part of the …

• Training

  USN sim updates generate rich pickings

  26th June 2020

  Although new platforms generate millions of dollars in revenue for the T&S; industry, the real money comes from updates to the synthetic training equipment (STE) …

• Military Logistics

  Tata to upgrade more Indian airbases

  20th May 2020

  The Indian MoD has signed a $184 million follow-on contract for Phase 2 of the Modernisation of Air Field Infrastructure (MAFI) programme for 37 airfields …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Australia announces trident of Tritons

  20th June 2020

  Australia announced on 18 June that it had firmed up an order for a third Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton UAV. Under current Project Air 7000 …

• Air Warfare

  Hensoldt to supply German Eurofighters with AESA radar

  18th June 2020

  Hensoldt will design and develop a new AESA radar for the entire German fleet of Eurofighters following a decision by the Bundestag to release €1.5 …

• Digital Battlespace

  European team seeks holy grail of unifying airborne EM systems

  17th June 2020

  More light can be shed on the European Defence Agency’s (EDA’s) CROWN initiative to develop a scalable, single architecture for airborne radar, EW and communications …

• Air Warfare

  Boeing delivers first F/A-18 Block III Super Hornets to USN

  18th June 2020

  Boeing on 17 June confirmed that it has delivered the first two F/A-18E/F Block III Super Hornets to the USN for flight testing. The aircraft …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Denmark seeks new unmanned air capability

  16th June 2020

  The Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO) is planning to acquire a new UAS capability to support the Danish Armed Forces. According to an EU-wide …

• Air Warfare

  Raytheon aids AMRAAM FMS customers

  18th May 2020

  The US DoD on 15 May announced a $17.35 million contract for Raytheon Missiles and Defense to produce two AIM-120 AMRAAM final assembly test sets. …

• Training

  Meggitt Training Systems wins ADF BlueFire EF88 contract

  1st June 2020

  Meggitt Training Systems has won a $1.8 million contract with the Australian Defence Force (ADF) for 73 additional BlueFire EF88 wireless virtual assault weapons. Initial …

• Defence Notes

  COVID-19 prompts RCAF to enhance medevac capabilities

  3rd June 2020

  The Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) is procuring a new isolation system to facilitate the transport of up to four highly infectious patients on …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Data links

  Data links | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-390 [Brazil]

  Programme Background Requirement The aircraft deliveries were scheduled to start by the end of 2016 and continue over a period of ten years. However,  the first ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  C-130H Replacement [Sweden]

  Programme Background Requirements Sweden has five C-130H aircraft (designated Tp-84) and one KC-130H. Two C-130Es bought in the 1960s have retired, but the six H ...

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

  Hermes 900 [Chile]

  Methodology Unit cost In 2024, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) acquired one Hermes 900 for 50 million reais ($9.14 million), giving each drone an estimated ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  H145M [Brazil]

  Background  Brazilian leadership announced in February 2022 that the Sabre Mil Mi-35M Hind-E attack helicopters were being retired from active service. This decision came as a ...

• Fighter - multirole

  JAS 39E/F Gripen [Brazil]

  Background In 2016, Gripen’s Project and Development Center was opened in Sao Paulo to allow Sweedish and Brazillian engineers to work together in the Gripen ...

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

  Hermes 900 [Colombia]

  Methodology Unit cost In 2024, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) acquired one Hermes 900 for 50 million reais ($9.14 million), giving each drone an estimated gross ...

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

  Hermes 900 (5) [Brazil]

  Background First three batches (2014-2024) Across three purchases, Defence Insight estimates that Brazil has acquired five Hermes 900 UAVs. In 2014, Elbit reported supplying one ...

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

  Hermes 900 (1-4) [Brazil]

  Background First batch (2014) In 2014, Elbit reported supplying one Hermes 900 UAV to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB). The drone is called the RQ-900 in Brazilian ...

• Maritime patrol

  C295 add-on [Brazil]

  Programme Background  In 2014 Brazil signed a contracted for two additional C-295 SAR platforms with the option to acquire one additional platform. In 2018, reports ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Polar Support Vessel [Brazil]

  Programme Background Requirements In June 2020, the Brazilian Navy released a Request for Proposal (RfP) to procure a new Antarctic vessel to be manufactured in Brazil. The ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air-to-surface missiles

  MAR-1

  The MAR-1 is a Brazilian air-to-surface anti-radiation missile (ARM) developed by Mectron in collaboration with the Aerospace Technology and Science Department (DCTA) of the Brazilian ...

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

  Harpia

  Described as the UAV with the most onboard technology in Latin America, Harpia is a multifunctional fixed-wing Brazilian drone developed by Advanced Technologies Security & Defence.  The Uruguayan ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  EMB-312 Tucano

  The EMB-312 Tucano (Brazilian designation T-27) is a trainer and light attack aircraft developed by Embraer to meet the training requirements of the Brazilian Air ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  TPTS

  Tactical Procedures Training Simulators (TPTS), operating with SWARM software, can be used to provide most core training elements to pilots or offload training tasks from ...

• Guided munitions

  SMKB (Smart-MK-Bomb)

  The Smart-MK-Bomb, or the SMKB, is a precision guidance kit developed by Mectron and designed to turn Mk 82 and Mk 83 bombs into guided munitions.

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

  Albatroz Vortex

  The Albatroz Vortex from Stella Tecnologia is a development of the company's Albatroz UAV.  The key differentiator is that the Vortex is fitted with an ATJR ...

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

  Condor

  The Condor, or Atobá XR, is an in-development MALE-class UAV from Stella Technologia.  The development of the multi-role is tied to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), which has ...

• Trainer, Transport

  EMB-121 Xingu

  The EMB-121 Xingu is a twin-turboprop light transport and advanced multi-engine trainer aircraft developed by Embraer based on the EMB-110 Bandeirante. Its maiden flight was ...

• Land: battle management systems

  Arkhe Mission & Combat

  Launched in 2017, Atech's Arkhe Mission & Combat solutions offer a variety of solutions enabling operator to conduct missions from planning to execution and debriefing. It ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-390/C-390 Millennium

  The KC-390 is a high-wing, twin-turbofan, T-tail design intended to meet the needs of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) for a tanker/transport aircraft. Developed and ...

• Fighter - air superiority

  F-5E/F Tiger II

  The F-5E (single-seat)/F (twin-seat) Tiger II is an air superiority fighter developed by Northrop Grumman based on the original F-5 Freedom Fighter. Production of the ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M

  The medium-weight, 11t-class H225M (formerly known as the EC725) is the latest military Super Puma/Cougar family member.  Technical features include a modular design of mechanical ...

• EO/IR systems

  Skyward

  The SkyWard system is an advanced Infrared Search and Track (IRST) solution developed for next-generation airborne platforms, including 5th-generation fighter aircraft.  Designed with modularity in ...

• Land: air defence radar

  Saber M60

  The Saber M60 is a low-altitude air-defence radar developed by the Brazilian Army's CTEx (Army Technology Centre) in collaboration with Bradar, part of Embraer Defence ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  RBS 70 system

  The RBS 70 was developed in the 1970s to meet the Swedish Army’s requirement for a low-cost, easy-to-use MANPADS which could function in extreme climatic ...