• Uncrewed Vehicles

  XQ-58A Valkyrie completes first flight

  11th March 2019

  The US Air Force’s XQ-58A Valkyrie UAV demonstrator completed its first flight on 5 March at Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona. The Air Force Research Laboratory …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  GA-EMS demos ALPS to power underwater ROV

  13th March 2019

  General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) has successfully completed the first end-to-end demonstration of its aluminium power system (ALPS), powering an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) …

• Defence Notes

  Kratos, Corvid receive sub-orbital flight vehicle contract

  11th March 2019

  Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’ Space & Missile Defense Systems, teamed with Corvid Technologies, has received a contract to deliver short and medium range sub-orbital …

• Defence Notes

  US deploys THAAD missile defence in Israel for exercise

  4th March 2019

  The United States has deployed its advanced THAAD missile defence system temporarily to Israel for a joint military exercise, the first of its kind, officials …

• Military Logistics

  US Air Force looks toward DU cleanup task

  11th March 2019

  The United States Air Force is seeking industry input on widely anticipated requirements to demilitarise the only US training range that allows the live-fire of …

• Training

  Airbus selects PW206B3 engine for H135 trainer proposal

  12th March 2019

  Airbus Helicopters has selected Pratt & Whitney’s PW206B3 engine to power the Airbus H135 IFR-certified helicopter it is proposing for the US Navy’s helicopter trainer …

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy to commission LCS 18

  4th March 2019

  The US Navy is set to commission its eighth Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), the future USS Charleston (LCS 18), at Columbus Street Terminal in …

• Defence Helicopter

  Heli-Expo 2019: Bell takes diplomatic approach to FVL funding

  3rd March 2019

  Ahead of the highly anticipated US Presidential Budget 2019 scheduled for March, Bell is remaining non-committal to any suggestion that low level FVL funding could jeopardise …

• Training

  SteelCloud software to secure USAF simulator

  4th February 2019

  SteelCloud has received a license award for its ConfigOS software to be used to automate Security Technical Implementation Guides compliance and remediation for a US …

• Land Warfare

  First look: US Army's A-GMV 1.1 and its forest camo

  1st March 2019

  Shephard Media has obtained a first look at the latest configuration of the US Army’s Ground Mobility Vehicle 1.1 (A-GMV 1.1). 

• Military Logistics

  DLA pilots cloud-based software

  15th March 2019

  The US Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) is piloting a new cloud-based warehouse management system (WMS) in an effort to simplify storage and distribution processes and …

• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop Grumman to develop AN/APR-39E(V)2

  7th March 2019

  Northrop Grumman has received an award from the US Army to develop the next generation of radar threat warning sensors, the AN/APR-39E(V)2, the company announced …

• Defence Helicopter

  Heli-Expo 2019: MD Helicopters enters FARA fray with Swift

  5th March 2019

  MD Helicopters (MDHI) is the latest industry participant to confirm it has submitted a proposal for the US Army’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) programme as …

• Defence Notes

  China continues to splurge with $177 billion defence budget

  5th March 2019

  China announced its defence budget for the coming year during the National People’s Congress (NPC) session on 5 March. Expenditure will rise 7.5% to RMB1.19 …

• Defence Helicopter

  Australia special ops stand up NRH90

  11th February 2019

  Special ops have been initiated with the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) MRH90 as of 1 February 2019, the first two aircraft delivered replaced two Sikorsky …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Background Presidential Drawdown Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, on 21 April 2022, President Biden announced an $800 million Presidential Drawdown security ...

• 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 - 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. ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  XQ-58A Valkyrie [USMC]

  Programme Background Contract Award On 30 December 2022, the US DoD announced that it had awarded Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems a $15.52 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to ...

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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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

  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 - 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 ...

• Directed energy weapons

  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 ...

• Data links, Land: Radio and SATCOM, UAS: communication systems

  QNT-200

  The Collins QNT-200 is a dual-channel software-defined radio (SDR) designed for size, weight and power-constrained platforms. Using IP-based mesh networks, it offers high-bandwidth mobile networking ...