• Training

  I/ITSEC 2018: Improbable ‘supporting’ US Army’s STE efforts

  3rd December 2018

  With simulated environments long-since utilised by military forces around the world for training purposes industry is looking to take the sector to the next milestone; …

• Digital Battlespace

  Viasat's MBR-4020 ARSTRAT certified

  10th December 2018

  Viasat’s Mobile Broadband Router (MBR)-4020 airborne modem has successfully completed the US Army Forces Strategic Command (ARSTRAT) certification process. With the completion of the certification, …

• Military Logistics

  ORBCOMM, Savi to track, monitor DoD assets

  6th November 2018

  Savi and ORBCOMM have secured a multi-million dollar order to deliver telematics products and services that will track and monitor around 24,000 military assets for …

• Military Logistics

  US looks to runway crater repair technologies

  5th December 2018

  The US military is conducting market research to identify commercially available technologies to support the US Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineer Research and Development Center …

• Naval Warfare

  Valiant name confirmed for second Dreadnought SSBN

  6th December 2018

  In keeping with the UK MoD’s penchant for batches of announcements or orders, its submarine industry was the recipient of two doses of good will …

• Defence Helicopter

  Is the Indian Navy considering more Romeos?

  11th December 2018

  Twenty-four Sikorsky MH-60R multirole helicopters for the Indian Navy (IN), for which a letter of request was sent to the US on 15 November, will …

• Military Logistics

  New C-27J Spartan completes maiden flight

  10th December 2018

  Leonardo completed the first flight of its new C-27J Spartan baseline configuration at its Aircraft Division Turin plant on 3 December. The new C-27J Spartan …

• Digital Battlespace

  AOC 2018: US Army looks to reinvigorate EW capabilities

  3rd December 2018

  The US Army is undergoing a renaissance after almost two decades of dealing with asymmetric threats, steady periods of budget uncertainty and an increasingly complex …

• Digital Battlespace

  Leonardo sets its sights on E-scan radar prototype testing

  6th December 2018

  The newest electronically scanning radar, Grifo-E, developed by manufacturer Leonardo, is set to undergo a series of prototype tests by the end of 2019. The company …

• Naval Warfare

  Beijing lashes out at US for South China Sea sail-by

  30th November 2018

  China on 30 November scolded the US for sending naval vessels close to disputed islands in the South China Sea where Beijing has built military …

• Defence Notes

  AOC 2018: US EW advocate fears defence budget cuts

  3rd December 2018

  US EW programmes fared well in recent budget deliberations, but that progress might soon be derailed by potential cuts to the overall defence budget, according …

• Military Logistics

  Lockheed Martin awarded exoskeleton work

  4th December 2018

  Lockheed Martin has received a contract from the US Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center (NSRDEC) to enhance the Onyx exoskeleton for future …

• Defence Notes

  China vexed by US Navy ships sailing through Taiwan Strait

  29th November 2018

  China expressed concern on 29 November after two US Navy ships sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the third such operation this year. ‘China will pay …

• Defence Helicopter

  USAF fields CBRN protective masks

  4th December 2018

  The US Air Force has fielded an improved chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) protective mask for aircrew on rotary wing aircraft, with operational units …

• Land Warfare

  Qatar requests NASMAS from US

  3rd December 2018

  The US State Department has made a determination approving a potential foreign military sale of the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS) to …

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 ...