• Defence Notes

  Insight: How China’s military machine still runs on Soviet technology

  5th February 2019

  Ever since it first flew in January 2011, the J-20 fighter has been the poster child for China’s massive military build-up. The aircraft’s first flight, …

• Special Operations

  Ukraine SOV assessment

  28th January 2019

  As Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko visited Special Operations Forces on 17th January, details have emerged regarding an uplift in equipment for Ukraine’s Special Operations Command …

• Military Logistics

  Meggitt, Pratt & Whitney sign engine part agreement

  24th January 2019

  Meggitt has signed a $750 million agreement with Pratt & Whitney to continue supplying advanced composite components for the F119 and F135 engines that power …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US Army operator training on WASP ERS concluded

  24th January 2019

  Drone Aviation has concluded US Army operator training on the Winch Aerostat Small Platform (WASP) elevated relay system (ERS) at the army’s base in Pacific …

• Training

  Afghan Air Force facing UH-60 training and recruitment headache

  5th February 2019

  A report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has made clear that the country's UH-60 Black Hawk programme is beset by pilot …

• Military Logistics

  Gentex to introduces new protective eyewear

  24th January 2019

  Gentex Corporation has developed the Ops-Core Mk1 performance protective eyewear solution for defence and security forces, the company announced on 18 January The glasses have …

• Defence Notes

  TSC acquires ADS

  9th January 2019

  Technical Services Corporation (TSC) has acquired Accelerated Development & Support Corporation (ADS), a Virginia-based science and technology services provider, the company announced on 7 January. …

• Training

  Robonic to deliver Kontio launcher to QinetiQ

  21st January 2019

  Robonic has received an order from QinetiQ for a third-generation Kontio pneumatic launcher, Safran Electronics & Defense announced on 17 January. The high-pressure pneumatic launcher …

• Digital Battlespace

  Airbus to support DARPA’s Blackjack programme

  16th January 2019

  Airbus Defense and Space has received a contract from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop a satellite bus in support of …

• Land Warfare

  Philippines selects SPYDER for GBAD

  2nd January 2019

  The Philippine Air Force (PAF) is believed to have selected Rafael’s Surface-to-air PYthon and DERby (SPYDER) system for its ground-based air defence requirement under Horizon …

• Defence Helicopter

  IDEX 2019: Royal Bahraini Air Force battles on all fronts

  11th February 2019

  The Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF) has ‘some serious issues to address right now’, the service’s commander, Maj Gen Hamad bin Abdullah al Khalifah, told …

• Defence Helicopter

  HAL’s LCH completes weapon trials

  22nd January 2019

  Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL's) Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) has successfully carried out air-to-air missile firing on a moving aerial target at a test range in …

• Naval Warfare

  Russian Navy gets its second Project 12700 MCMV

  31st January 2019

  The Russian Navy commissioned on 26 January its second Alexandrit-class MCM vessel under Project 12700. Named Ivan Antonov, it is set to serve with the …

• Training

  Kratos to continue to support RSNF training

  7th January 2019

  Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has received a $17.3 million follow-on task order to continue to provide training support to the Royal Saudi Naval Forces …

• Defence Helicopter

  India gets its hands on first Chinooks

  6th February 2019

  The Indian Air Force (IAF) is to receive 15 CH-47F Chinook helicopters from Boeing, and the first was formally handed over during a ceremony at …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Medium UGVs

  Medium Modular Equipment Transport Trailer (M-METT) [USA]

  Background Whilst there are many medium UGV programmes developing concepts for last-mile resupply problems, the US Army's M-METT programme aims to provide an uncrewed logistics ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-2 [Japan]

  Programme Background The UH-2 is a Japanese militarised version of Bell’s civilian 412EPX, with the two OEMs cooperating on this particular programme. The Acquisition, Technology ...

• Trainer

  T-6C [Thailand]

  Programme Background The contract is for 12 Beechcraft T-6C Texan II advanced military training aircraft, ground-based training systems for pilots and maintenance professionals, a mission ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Surion Marine Attack Helicopter [South Korea]

  Programme Background The ROKMC has planned to obtain 24 attack helicopters for the first time. When bidding opened in January 2019, there were five contenders: Bell ...

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

  KUS-FT (South Korea)

  Programme Background Requirement The ROKA had identified a need for tactical UAVs that can be employed at the divisional level to carry out ISTAR missions ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  FPV Drones [Israel]

  Background Reported Programme According to the Globes media outlet, reporting in March 2025, the Ministry of Defense Department of Production and Procurement was publishing the ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2 [Croatia]

  Background Contract Award As reported by Shephard in November 2024, Croatia's government approved the purchase of six Bayraktar TB2 drones, a training package in Türkiye, a command-and-control centre, ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  RQ-4 Global Hawk [South Korea]

  Background Requirments Seoul required UAS assets to help monitor its neighbour to the north and, increasingly, Chinese activities in waters and in the air near ...

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

  KUS-FS [South Korea]

  Programme Background Inception The Aerospace Division of Korean Air (KAL-ASD) commenced developing the MUAV in 2008 in response to a ROKAF requirement for a MALE UAV ...

• Loitering munitions

  Long Range One-way Platforms [US]

  Solicitation In October 2024, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) released a solicitation for long-range, one-way platforms. The DIU noted recent conflicts highlighted the asymmetric impact of low-cost, ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  RQ-4 Global Hawk [Japan]

  Background Selection and contract award In 2015, Northrop Grumman’s RQ-4 Global Hawk UAS and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft were selected by Japan ...

• Wheeled assault guns

  Type 16 Mobile Combat Vehicle [Japan]

  Programme Background The Type 16 Manoeuvre Combat Vehicle (MCV), formerly known as the Mobile Combat Vehicle, was developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) to meet ...

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

  Eurodrone (Forecast) [Czechia]

  Programme Background Eurodrone Programme For context, the European MALE RPAS, or Eurodrone, is a quad-nation effort from some of Europe's most prominent defence manufacturers to ...

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

  Eurodrone (Forecast) [Japan]

  Programme Background Japan's Application The Letter of Approval (LOA) for observer status in the programme was presented to the Japanese Ambassador to Germany, Hidenao Yanagi, by Joachim ...

• ISR/special mission

  ISTAR Aircraft - India

  Programme Background New Delhi has a long standing requirement for ISTAR aircraft to increase the IAF's capability to track mobile ground targets, map natural disaster areas, ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Land: COMINT and ELINT systems

  GenCOM Defense Ground

  GenCOM Defense Ground provides an automatic multi-layered situational awareness picture to the decision-maker, based on external signal data (metadata) gathered in real time. Integrating with ...

• Major networking projects

  DCGS

  The Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) is the Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office plan for the integrated architecture of all ground and surface computing and communications ...

• EO/IR systems

  CM262

  Manfuaucted by AVT Australia, the CM262 is a ground-based imaging system combining four sensor configurations into a compact and ruggedised system for C-UAS and ISR ...

• Land: air defence radar

  KRONOS Power Shield Land

  This system is an L-band digital AESA anti-TBM radar. It is the land-based version of the naval KRONOS Power Shield, also known as KRONOS Ground ...

• AEW&C

  P600 AEW&C

  In June 2019, Embraer and IAI/Elta signed a cooperation agreement aimed at developing an AEW&C; aircraft based on the business jet Praetor 600, namely the ...

• Land: battle management systems

  AMDWS

  AMDWS (Air and Missile Defense Work Station), is a collaborative battlespace awareness information management system developed by Northrop Grumman to meet the requirements of the ...

• Short Range Missile Defence Systems: 0 to 20 km range

  Initial Maneuver - SHORAD

  Unveiled at AUSA 2019, Initial Maneuver Short Range Air Defense (IM-SHORAD) is a multipurpose platform, based on the Stryker IFV, which moves and maneuvers in ...

• Land: battle management systems

  FAAD/C-RAM C2

  The Forward Area Air Defense (FAAD) Command and Control (C2) system was developed by Northrop Grumman to provide command and control (C2) for the US Army ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Airborne Launching and Attack System (AirLAS)

  The Airborne Launching and Attack System (AirLAS) is a system that pairs Diehl Defence's IRIS-T air-to-air missile with a reusable carrier UAV developed by POLARIS. The companies ...

• Data links

  Universal Link System

  Developed by Scytalys, the Universal Link System (ULS) is a modular, scalable multi data link processor. It supports all NATO and US standard data links ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  MIM-72 Chaparral

  The MIM-72 Chaparral is a short-range, low-altitude, surface-to-air missile produced for the M48 Chaparral fire unit. It was produced as a replacement for the cancelled MIM-46 Mauler ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-67

  The AN/APG-67 is a multi-mode, pulse-Doppler X-band radar designed for the Northrop F-20 Tigershark. It provides both air-to-air and air-to-surface capabilities, including look-up/look-down detection, tracking, ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  Dzhigit

  Dzhigit is a two-barrel, pedestal air defence missile launcher intended for single or salvo launches of Igla family surface-to-air missiles. Developed in the 1990s, the Dzhigit ...

• Cannons, Naval guns

  M230LF Chain Gun

  The M230LF is a 30mm chain-driven autocannon developed by Northrop Grumman. It is a more capable version of the M230 cannon used on the Apache ...

• Land: battle management systems

  Delta Situational Awareness System

  The Delta Situational Awareness System is a cloud-based ISTAR and battle management platform with planning, communication and fire control capabilities according to NATO standards. Developed ...