• Military Logistics

  Leonardo DRS, GE extend agreement

  21st January 2019

  Leonardo DRS has extended its LM2500 Gas Turbine packaging supply agreement with GE’s Marine Solutions, the company announced on 16 January. The agreement has been …

• Digital Battlespace

  Spectra Group to demo SlingShot at AEWE

  22nd January 2019

  Spectra Group will demonstrate its SlingShot communication system at the US Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiments (AEWE) 2019 in Fort Benning, Georgia, the company announced on …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  The economics of a drone response

  24th January 2019

  The UK government is poised as cross-governmental departments collaborate on effective national security measures in countering drone attacks. The UK defence secretary admitted, during a …

• Defence Notes

  Raytheon’s JPALS flies in desert demo for US military

  23rd January 2019

  Raytheon’s Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS) has been demonstrated to US services in Yuma, Arizona on 16 January, Shephard has learnt. The trial flight …

• Military Logistics

  Surface Navy 2019: Navy official concerned over US shipbuilding and maintenance base

  17th January 2019

  Although the annual Surface Navy Association event in Washington, DC brings with it much interest in new ships such as the FFG(X) and new large …

• Training

  New trainers, old problems

  21st January 2019

  Boeing has been awarded a $91.72 million contract for the procurement of new aircrew and maintenance training systems, as well as upgrades and modifications to …

• Defence Notes

  Think-tank pushes US military buildup in Poland

  18th December 2018

  A new report from a Washington, DC-based think-tank calls for an ‘enhanced’ US military presence in and near Poland to help deter Russian aggression in …

• Military Logistics

  BAE Systems to support US Navy comms

  17th January 2019

  BAE Systems has received a $79.8 million, five-year communications support contract from the US Navy, the company announced on 15 January. Under the contract, BAE …

• Naval Warfare

  Russian Navy to receive enhanced Il-38N derivative

  29th January 2019

  The Russian Navy has opted to upgrade its existing Il-38N maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft to improve the fleet’s surface and sub-surface detection …

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy orders LCS 31

  18th January 2019

  The Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM) team has received a contract to build the 16th Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS 31) for the …

• Defence Notes

  Lockheed receives LRASM second production lot

  17th January 2019

  Lockheed Martin has received a $172 million contract from the US Navy and US Air Force for the second production lot of Long Range Anti-Ship …

• Defence Notes

  Singapore picks US F-35 fighter jet over Europe, China rivals

  18th January 2019

  Singapore has chosen the F-35 warplane to replace its ageing fighter jets, opting for the US aircraft over European and Chinese models, the defence ministry …

• Digital Battlespace

  Saab launches laser warning system in US

  17th January 2019

  Saab has launched its laser warning system solutions for land and naval applications in the US market, the company announced on 15 January. The Laser …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Echodyne to participate in UAS UPP testing

  23rd January 2019

  Echodyne has joined the Northern Plains UAS Test Site (NPUASTS) industry team to test and demonstrate commercial UAS operations in the next phase of the …

• Naval Warfare

  Surface Navy 2019: Raytheon continues development of MCM, ASW packages

  16th January 2019

  Raytheon is pushing ahead with its MCM and subsurface surveillance programmes for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and other US Navy platforms, with several recent …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, 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 ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A [US Navy]

  Background Previous Purchases The BQM-177A was designed for the USN and has been in service with the USN for many years. Indeed, in August 2022, Shephard reported ...

• 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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

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

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, 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 ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawk (India)

  Programme Background On 25 February 2020, a letter of acceptance for 24 MH-60Rs, worth approximately $2.12 billion, was signed by India and the US in Delhi. ...

• 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 - fixed-wing, 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. ...

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 ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  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 - fixed-wing, 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 ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  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 ...

• Heavy machine guns

  M2HB

  US Ordnance is one of two US M2HB heavy machine gun manufacturers which has received multi-year contracts to supply weapons to the US DoD. The ...