• Land Warfare

  D&S 2019: Armoured vehicle production grows in Thailand

  14th November 2019

  In the past five years, the armoured vehicle industry in Thailand has leapt forward due to increasing needs for vehicles in the Thai armed forces …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUSA 2019: US Army unconcerned by FTUAS hybrid flight kit permutations

  16th October 2019

  The US Army has confirmed it doesn't consider hybrid flight kit licensing authority arrangements to be an issue for its Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) programme, …

• Defence Notes

  Norway declares IOC for F-35A

  7th November 2019

  The Royal Norwegian Air Force’s fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35As has achieved initial operational capability (IOC), becoming the third European country to declare the milestone …

• Training

  Regenerated Mirage F1 flies in Florida

  22nd November 2019

  Paramount Aerospace Systems has provided upgrade and engineering support for Draken International’s first regenerated Mirage F1, which has now completed its first flight over Lakeland …

• Defence Helicopter

  HH-60W arrive for developmental testing

  13th November 2019

  Two HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopters have arrived at US Air Force Eglin Air Force Base in Florida where they will begin developmental testing. The aircraft …

• Defence Notes

  D&S 2019: Indonesia eyes US and Russian fighters

  13th November 2019

  The Indonesian Air Force is ogling new Lockheed Martin F-16V Block 72 fighters from the US to boost its aerial capability as part of the …

• Digital Battlespace

  Raytheon receives GPNTS support IDIQ contract

  18th November 2019

  Raytheon has been awarded a $61.5 million IDIQ contract for Global Positioning System-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Service (GPNTS) software support for the US Naval …

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2019: L3Harris adds Black Hornet to ENVG-B mix

  16th October 2019

  L3Harris is looking at the next generation evolution of its Enhanced Night Vision Goggle-Binocular (ENVG-B) for the US Army by connecting the solution to a …

• Digital Battlespace

  Rohde & Schwarz radios for F-16 Block 70​ aircraft

  21st November 2019

  Rohde & Schwarz has been selected by Lockheed Martin as the preferred supplier of airborne radio communications for new production F-16 Block 70 aircraft, the …

• Military Logistics

  Ricardo helping US Army improve vehicle readiness

  18th October 2019

  Ricardo Defense announced on 15 October that it is working with the US National Center for Manufacturing Sciences on a collaborative project to demonstrate readiness …

• Defence Notes

  BAE Systems awarded INSCOM task order

  16th October 2019

  BAE Systems has received a $437 million task order to provide open source support for US Army and Army Intelligence & Security Command (INSCOM) approved …

• Defence Helicopter

  UAE requests CH-47F helicopters from US government

  11th November 2019

  The US State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale of CH-47F Chinook helicopters to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).The UAE …

• Training

  US NAWCAD selects JF Taylor

  12th November 2019

  JF Taylor has been awarded a $109.4 million contract for the development of simulation systems and software to support training activities as well as acquisition development …

• Military Logistics

  DSEI Japan 2019: JGSDF purchases Mule light vehicles

  20th November 2019

  Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) exhibited its Mule Pro-FXT(EPS) multipurpose 4-wheeled light vehicle at DSEI Japan 2019, after the company signed a contract with the Acquisition, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Modernised Longbow FCR follow-on demo complete

  13th November 2019

  The US Army’s AH-64E Apache Follow-On Test and Evaluation II for the AN/APG-78 Longbow Fire Control Radar (FCR) has been successfully completed.During the evaluation, the …

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 ...