• Defence Helicopter

  Germany switches to private mode for heavy-lift helicopter competition

  2nd August 2019

  The German Federal Ministry of Defence (MoD) has privately handed RfP solicitations for its heavy-lift helicopter programme to Sikorsky and Boeing, Shephard can exclusively reveal.  The …

• Defence Helicopter

  USAF flies HH-60W for the first time

  18th July 2019

  A HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter has been flown by the US Air Force for the first time at Sikorsky’s Flight Center in West Palm Beach.The …

• Military Logistics

  Construction begins at RAF Lakenheath

  17th July 2019

  Construction has begun on facilities that will be home to two US F35 squadrons at RAF Lakenheath. The site will include the construction of a …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Aussie Bluebottles show signs of intelligence

  24th June 2019

  Ocius Technology announced on 17 June that two of its Bluebottle autonomous persistent USVs had begun running scenarios off the coast of New South Wales …

• Naval Warfare

  The future USS John F Kennedy comes together

  23rd July 2019

  The future USS John F Kennedy, the US Navy’s next aircraft carrier, has had its final major steel structural section installed by Huntington Ingalls’ Newport …

• Military Logistics

  HII receives CVN-73 contract modification

  16th July 2019

  Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News will carry out supplemental work for the refuelling complex overhaul of the US Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington. …

• Digital Battlespace

  Raytheon awarded AN/SPY-6(V) long lead work

  17th July 2019

  The US Navy has exercised an option with Raytheon for long-lead work to support the production of two AN/SPY-6(V) radar configuration variants. Raytheon will prepare …

• Land Warfare

  Germany requests PAC-3 MSE from US

  15th July 2019

  Germany has requested Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3) Missiles Segment Enhanced (MSE) from the US government under its foreign military sales programme. Under a package …

• Defence Notes

  UK MoD looks to hypersonic propulsion

  22nd July 2019

  Rolls-Royce is to work on the development of hypersonic propulsion systems for the UK Ministry of Defence’s procurement arm, Defence Equipment and Support. The company …

• Special Operations

  US joint special ops identifies new technology needs

  30th July 2019

  USSOCOM’s Program Executive Office Special Operations Forces Warrior (PEO-SW) and Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) have identified a number of their emerging technology needs.  The …

• Defence Helicopter

  Boeing receives contract modification

  15th July 2019

  Boeing has received a $96 million modification to its United Arab Emirates foreign military sales contract, the US Department of Defense announced on 12 July. …

• Digital Battlespace

  Raytheon submits LTAMDS​ proposal

  17th July 2019

  Raytheon has submitted its proposal for the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) to the US Army. The army is seeking a new …

• Defence Notes

  Bulgaria’s fighter purchase on hold

  24th July 2019

  The Bulgarian Parliament has ratified the deal for the purchase of eight new-build Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70 fighters for the Bulgarian Air Force (BuAF). …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Firebird agreements signed

  18th July 2019

  Northrop Grumman has signed agreements with two companies for rights to purchase its Firebird aircraft system. Tenax Aerospace and Grand Sky Development Company have signed …

• Training

  USAF trains Nigerien Armed Forces

  15th July 2019

  As the threat from extremist groups in Africa continues to be felt, many nations from around the world are offering military support to the affected …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Land 400 Phase 3 (Logistics, Ammunition Carrier and Mortar Carrier Variants) [Australia]

  Programme Background The Australian DoD released the initial RfI for the Land 400 Phase 3 programme in November 2015. Following consultations with local industry, the ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Land 400 Phase 3 (Amphibious Vehicles) [Australia]

  Programme Background The Australian DoD released the initial RfI for the Land 400 Phase 3 programme in November 2015. Following consultations with local industry, the ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - micro

  Drone40 (Ukraine Aid) [Australia]

  Programme Background In August 2022, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), a think tank, held a podcast with Ukraine's ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, in which ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  Littoral Manoeuvre Vessel - Medium (Project Land 8710 Phase 1A) [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirements Australia has set out requirements for a fleet of up to 18 Littoral Manoeuvre Vessels - Medium (LMV-M) with the release of ...

• Main battle tanks

  M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams [Poland]

  Programme Background Requirement Since the early 2010s Poland wanted to upgrade its Soviet-era tank fleet due to modernisation requirements, the need to increase interoperability with NATO ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Land 400 Phase 2 - Boxer CRV [Australia]

  Programme Background History The Land 400 Phase 2 programme will procure a replacement for the ASLAV, a derivative of the General Dynamics Land Systems Light Armoured Vehicle ...

• Main battle tanks

  Leopard 2A4 [Czech Republic]

  Programme Background  The Czech Republic currently operates a small fleet of T-72s, which, while undergoing upgrades and life extension programmes, are increasingly obsolete. In October ...

• Submarines: nuclear/attack

  Second Hand SSNs [Australia]

  Programme Background Timeline In September 2021, it was announced in a trilateral announcement between Australia, the US and the UK that Australia, in a shock ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | AUKUS-SSNs (1-5) [Australia]

  In September 2021, it was announced in a trilateral announcement between Australia, the US and the UK that Australia, in a shock move, will not ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | AUKUS-SSNs (1-5) [Australia]

  In September 2021, it was announced in a trilateral announcement between Australia, the US and the UK that Australia, in a shock move, will not ...

• Main battle tanks

  Viatura Blindada de Combate-Carro de Combate (VBC-CC) [Brazil]

  Programme Background Several key technical requirements have been outlined by the Brazilian MoD. Among the most important are that the platform should weigh less than ...

• Self-propelled rocket launchers

  HIMARS (Batch 2) [Australia]

  Programme background Prior to selecting HIMARS in January 2023, Australia did not operate an MLRS system. However, the effectiveness of Ukrainian HIMARS convinced the Australian government ...

• Military - USVs

  Bluebottle USV (16-55) [Australia]

  Programme Background Timeline The RAN purchased a number of the 6.8m-long Bluebottles, including five under an A$4.9 million ($3.3 million) contract signed in November 2022. ...

• Medium UGVs

  Mission Master (RPV Sprial 2) [UK]

  Background First announced in April 2017 and referred to in early MOD documents as the ‘last mile resupply’ initiative, the British Army is reportedly evaluating ...

• Main battle tanks

  M1A1 Abrams (Ukraine Aid) [Australia]

  Programme Background Since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Australia has been amongst the various Western allies providing Ukraine with military aid. Prior ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  Carl-Gustaf M3

  The Carl-Gustaf M3 is the third generation of the 84mm shoulder-fired recoilless antitank gun, first fielded by the Swedish Army in 1946. Since then, it ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  120mm KE DM63 / DM53 A1 Tank Ammunition

  The 120mm kinetic energy tank ammunition is manufactured by Rheinmetall. There are several variations of the ammunition, including the DM63, which can be fired from ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  120MM HEAT-TP F1A

  Franco-German KNDS-Nexter produce the 120mm High-Explosive Anti-Tank Training-Purpose F1A (HEAT-TP F1A) round to enable reduced-cost training for Main Battle Tank crews. 

• Main battle tanks

  M1/M1A1 Abrams

  The 105mm-armed M1 Abrams tracked MBT was introduced into US Army service in 1980 as a replacement for the 105mm-armed M60 MBT. In April 1991, ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  120mm PELE Tank Ammunition

  The 120mm Penetrator with Enhanced Lateral Effect (PELE) tank ammunition is an inert round produced by Rheinmetall. It is suitable for use against semi-hard targets ...

• Light mortars

  60mm Mortar Ammunition

  US-based LD Systems' 60mm Mortar ammunition fulfils the NATO standard for lightweight mortar ammunition.

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  120mm L55A1

  The 120mm L55A1 is a smoothbore high-pressure gun based on the L55 tank gun. The L55A1 has been qualified and in service since 2019. It ...

• Naval: RF/IR/acoustic decoys

  Nulka

  The Nulka is an active anti-ship missile decoy originally conceived in Australia, and developed under a joint Australian-US programme. BAE Systems Australia is prime contractor, while ...

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  120mm L55 Tank Gun

  The 120mm L55 is a smoothbore tank gun produced by Rheinmetall. It is designed for use on the Leopard main battle tank, to which it ...

• Main battle tanks

  M1A2 SEPv3

  The M1A2 System Enhancement Package 3 (M1A2 SEPv3, also known as M1A2C) is the latest production-standard variant of the Abrams MBT. Designed primarily to address ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  M1147 Advanced Multi-Purpose (AMP)

  The M1147 Advanced Multi-Purpose (AMP) is a 120mm tank round developed by Northrop Grumman Defence Systems. Various customers, including Bahrain, Israel, and the US, use the tank ...

• Unguided Medium Calibre Ammunition

  Next Generation Combat Vehicle Ammunition

  The Next Generation Combat Vehicle Ammunition (NGVA) is a family of ammunition being developed by the US Army's Armaments Center and manufactured by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems ...

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  CVTESS

  Saab's Combat Vehicle Tactical Engagement Simulation System (CVTESS) is a laser-based simulator which supports every version of the Abrams Main Battle Tank and the Bradley ...

• Submarines: nuclear/attack

  SSN AUKUS

  The SSN-AUKUS will be the submarine design resulting from the AUKUS trilateral pact between Australia, the US and the UK. Expected to incorporate technology from ...

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  Spike LR2

  The Spike LR2 (also known as NT-S) is Rafael's fifth-generation anti-tank guided missile system. It is a long-range, multi-purpose, multi-platform weapon designed for infantry, armored ...