• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2017: US Army contracts for Abrams Trophy fielding

  29th September 2017

  The US Army is preparing for initial fielding of the Trophy active protection system (APS) on the M1A2 Abrams tank, with contracts now being placed …

• Special Operations

  Special warfare applications for Wave Glider

  20th September 2017

  Naval customers and Liquid Robotics are considering a variety of ‘special warfare applications’ for the next-generation Wave Glider unmanned surface vessel (USV), company officials have …

• Naval Warfare

  DSEI 2017: Maritime Harop munition unveiled

  12th September 2017

  IAI has unveiled its latest iteration of its loitering munition, the Maritime Harop, at DSEI 2017 in London. The Maritime Harop is a long endurance …

• Naval Warfare

  OPV for Cyprus Navy launched

  20th September 2017

  Israel Shipyards has launched a new offshore patrol vessel (OPV) for the Cyprus Navy, the company announced on 18 September. The OPV was launched at …

• Naval Warfare

  USCG orders 14th C-130J aircraft

  19th September 2017

  Lockheed Martin has received a contract option worth approximately $63.5 million from the US Air Force for the production of a C-130J Super Hercules to …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Christmas comes early for Endeavor with MTRS Inc II award

  3rd October 2017

  The US military is getting its Christmas shopping for unmanned systems finished early this year with a spate of contracts having been awarded in recent …

• Military Logistics

  Mobile tank equipment goes military

  21st September 2017

  GOFA, a German supplier of mobile tank equipment, is increasingly targeting the military market, seeing strong potential for intermodal tank containers, the company told Shephard. …

• Naval Warfare

  Bahrain requests fast patrol boats

  13th September 2017

  The US State Department has made a determination approving a potential foreign military sale of 35m fast patrol boats to Bahrain, the Defense Security Cooperation …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment delivers M1/M2/M5-compatible UAS

  22nd September 2017

  AeroVironment has integrated new M1/M2/M5 radio frequencies into its family of small UAS, enabling users to securely conform to the Department of Defense’s (DoD's) new …

• Naval Warfare

  France and Italy agree on naval cooperation

  28th September 2017

  Following recent tensions between France and Italy, the two governments have launched a joint roadmap to strengthen future naval defence cooperation and sealing the future …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MALE UAVs operating in Philippines; more expected

  13th September 2017

  The US Embassy in Manila announced on 11 September that the US military had deployed ‘Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft systems’ - note the plural - to …

• Defence Notes

  DSEI 2017: What to expect (video)

  11th September 2017

  Shephard editor Grant Turnbull talks about the positive economic tone at DSEI 2017 compared with previous shows that were fixated on diminishing budgets. This edition of …

• Defence Notes

  Taiwan: Are Chinese invasion plans viable?

  3rd October 2017

  What would it take for China to invade Taiwan in terms of materiel, logistics, firepower and men? Finally, one new study extracts Chinese-language government papers, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  NAVOCEANO receives Remus 100 AUV

  18th September 2017

  Hydroid has delivered its first new generation Remus 100 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to the Naval Oceanographic Office. The Remus AUV is able to be …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Endeavor Robotics wins FirstLook contract

  22nd September 2017

  Endeavor Robotics has received a contract from the US government to supply 75 FirstLook UGVs for immediate operational use, the company announced on 19 September. …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton (28-68) [USN]

  Background Requirement The MQ-4C Triton programme, developed under the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) programme, required an uncrewed system to provide persistent, broad-area intelligence, surveillance ...

• Military UAS - MALE, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  MQ-8C Fire Scout (USA)

  Programme Background Timeline According to the Naval Air Systems Command, having first ordered the MQ-8B in 2009, the UAV has become a pillar of the ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Medium Landing Ship (1-10) [USMC]

  Programme Background Development As part of the US Marine Corps' future force structure, it is developing a new platform under the Medium Lading Ship programme ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Medium Landing Ship (11-33) [USMC]

  Programme Background Requirements As part of the US Marine Corps' future force structure, it is developing a new platform under the Medium Lading Ship programme ...

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

  Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Unmanned Expeditionary (MUX) (Increment 1) [USMC]

  Programme Background All-in-One UAV Since 2016, the USMC has wished to acquire a UAV that could be deployed from a vessel, be used for various missions, ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton (1-27) [USN]

  Background Requirement The MQ-4C Triton programme, developed under the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) programme, required an uncrewed system to provide persistent, broad-area intelligence, surveillance ...

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

  Medium Range/Medium Endurance (MR/ME) [USMC]

  Programme Background Force Design 2030 The USMC Force Design 2030 is a modernisation effort to create a lighter, more agile maritime force. The update to ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  The Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  The Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement The FVL-MS programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft utilised ...

• Military UAS - small

  Long Range/Long Endurance (LR/LE) [USMC]

  Background Force Design 2030 The USMC Force Design 2030 is a modernisation effort to create a lighter, more agile maritime force. The update to the ...

• Military UAS - small

  RQ-21A Blackjack / STUASLO - Replacement Units (USN)

  Programme Background Joint USN and USMC Procurment The RQ-21 Blackjack, or STUALSO, was a combined United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) programme ...

• Military UAS - small

  RQ-21A Blackjack / STUASLO - Replacement Units (USMC)

  Programme Background Joint USN and USMC Procurment The RQ-21 Blackjack, or STUALSO, was a combined United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) programme ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | Global Fast Sealift [USN]

  At Sea Air Space 2026, Hanwha Ocean and Gibbs and Cox displayed the Global Fast Sealift concept design. The vessel is intended as a next-generation ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | Global Fast Sealift [USN]

  At Sea Air Space 2026, Hanwha Ocean and Gibbs and Cox displayed the Global Fast Sealift concept design. The vessel is intended as a next-generation ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  SECAT

  In 2022, Textron Systems unveiled its new Surface Effect Cargo Amphibious Transport (SECAT) craft, designed to support logistics behind the US Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations and ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-53E Sea Dragon

  Sikorsky developed the MH-53E (S-80) Sea Dragon variant of its CH-53E to provide the USN with a dedicated airborne mine countermeasures helicopter. Equipped with enlarged ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  Tactical Mission System for Helicopter Applications

  The Saab tactical mission system is a system for transport, utility, C2 and combat helicopters intended to operate in a net-centric environment. It is designed ...

• Major networking projects

  CANES

  The Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) programme is a USN-wide effort to rationalise shipboard computing assets. It is designed to create a common ...

• Air: UAV simulators

  MQ-9 MTD

  SDS’s ROVATTS-based MQ-9 Mission Training Device (MTD) was developed to provide high-fidelity simulation to support US Air National Guard operational Reaper crew training. The PC-based ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  MQ-8C Fire Scout

  The MQ-8C is a newer version of the Fire Scout and is based on a Bell 407 commercial helicopter. It offers a greater range, endurance and ...

• Land: soldier modernisation systems - national programmes

  MERS

  The Marine Expeditionary Rifle Squad (MERS) takes a systems engineering approach to equipping the USMC’s fundamental fighting unit. The integration and configuration management of all ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  MQ-8B Fire Scout

  The MQ-8B Fire Scout is a rotary-wing UAV that provides situational awareness and precision targeting support for the US Armed Forces. The MQ-8B Fire Scout, ...

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar

  AN/ZPY-1 STARLite

  The AN/ZPY-1 Small Tactical Radar-Lightweight (STARLite) is a synthetic aperture radar and GMTI sensor for UAVs, manufactured by Northrop Grumman. It offers strip and spot synthetic ...

• Fighter - multirole, Fighter - naval

  F-35C

  The F-35C Lightning II, also known as the F-35 carrier variant (CV), is a fifth-generation multirole combat aircraft in carrier configuration. It has larger wings and ...

• Military - UUVs

  Mission Specialist Defender

  The Mission Specialist Defender is a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) developed by VideoRay, now part of BlueHalo's unmanned maritime systems. The ROV is known ...

• Guided munitions

  AGM-154 JSOW

  The AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) is a joint United States Navy (USN)/United States Air Force (USAF) programme with the USN as the lead service. ...

• Air: mission management systems

  Air Operations Systems of Systems

  Air Operations System of Systems is designed to enable management of airspaces across large states and/or regions focusing on strategic planning. The system integration approach ...

• Trainer

  Saab 340 trainer

  The Saab 340 trainer aircraft is based on the Saab 340 regional airliner. It is used by the USN for pilot training. The aircraft replaced ...

• Major networking projects

  DIB 1.3

  The Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) Integration Backbone (DIB) is a key element of the US DoD strategy to build a net-centric capability, enabling service DCGS elements ...