• Defence Notes

  US hypersonic weapons programme moves forward

  30th July 2019

  Raytheon and DARPA have completed a successful baseline design review for the Tactical Boost Glide hypersonic weapons programme, the company announced on 29 July.The review …

• Training

  Exercise Talisman Sabre 19 under way

  10th July 2019

  US forces have demonstrated High Mobility Artillery Rocket System Rapid Infiltration (HIRAIN) capabilities to their Australian counterparts during Exercise Talisman Sabre 19 in Queensland, Australia. In HIRAIN …

• Digital Battlespace

  TruNet AR-2000​ demonstrated to US DoD

  2nd August 2019

  Collins Aerospace Systems has demonstrated the increased flexibility and bandwidth of its new TruNet AR-2000 two-channel, software-defined networking airborne radio to the US Department of …

• Digital Battlespace

  Ampex receives E-2D FRP contract

  29th July 2019

  Ampex Data Systems has received a contract from Northrop Grumman for full rate production of file servers and supporting storage media for the US Navy’s …

• Military Logistics

  USS Michigan begins refit work

  30th July 2019

  The US Navy’s USS Michigan has begun a 17-month Extended Refit Period (ERP) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Michigan will undergo …

• Naval Warfare

  Northrop Grumman receives AN/SPG-62 antenna reflector order

  31st July 2019

  General Dynamics Missions Systems will produce AN/SPG-62 antenna system parabolic radio frequency reflectors for the US Navy under a $16 million IDIQ contract awarded by …

• Digital Battlespace

  Canada requests MIDS-JTRS terminals

  31st July 2019

  The government of Canada has requested a foreign military sale from the US of MIDS-JTRS terminals, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced on 30 …

• Military Logistics

  Australia streamlines F-35A support

  6th August 2019

  Operational support for Australia’s F-35A aircraft will be streamlined under a five-year $91 million agreement between the Australian Department of Defence and Lockheed Martin Australia. …

• Naval Warfare

  Upgraded MK 45 guns for US Navy

  29th July 2019

  BAE Systems will upgrade five Mk 45 naval gun systems to the Mod 4 configuration for the US Navy, the company announced on 22 July. Under …

• Naval Warfare

  UK feeling the maritime pressure at home and abroad

  6th August 2019

  With Northern Ireland-based shipbuilders Harland and Wolff (H&W;) entering administration, the notion of a revitalised UK naval manufacturing capability has taken another blow following the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Talisman Sabre 2019: Australian UGVs are put to work

  13th July 2019

  The Australian Army is utilising the opportunities that Exercise Talisman Sabre 2019 presents to continue testing of six Mission Adaptable Platform System (MAPS) 6x6 UGVs …

• Digital Battlespace

  First NGJ-MB delivered for testing

  6th August 2019

  Raytheon has delivered the first Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) pod to the US Navy for integration testing, the company …

• Training

  VRSG software integrated into USAF T-1A trainer fleet

  14th August 2019

  MetaVR's Virtual Reality Scene Generator (VRSG) has been integrated into the US Air Force’s T-1A Jayhawk twin-engine jet trainer fleet, part of an embedded training …

• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop Grumman awarded LLDR 2H work

  10th July 2019

  Northrop Grumman will upgrade Target Locator Modules (TLMs) under a $17.6 million award from the US Army announced on 9 July. The TLMs will be …

• Defence Notes

  India set to purchase additional Su-30MKI fighters

  17th July 2019

  According to Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, the nation’s arms export control body, India is set to purchase 18 more Sukhoi Su-30MKI multirole fighters …

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 ...