• Defence Notes

  North Korea tests new 'ultramodern tactical weapon'

  16th November 2018

  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has overseen the testing of a ‘newly developed ultramodern tactical weapon’, Pyongyang's state media reported 16 November, a move …

• Military Logistics

  Lockheed Martin awarded $22.7 billion Pentagon contract

  15th November 2018

  The Pentagon on 14 November announced it had awarded Lockheed Martin a $22.7 billion contract for 255 F-35 fighter jets. Of the aircraft, 106 are …

• Digital Battlespace

  Rockwell to deliver DIGAR to USAF

  15th November 2018

  Rockwell Collins has been selected by the US Air Force Life Cycle Management Center to provide its Digital GPS Anti-Jam Receiver (DIGAR) for airborne platforms, …

• Defence Notes

  Pentagon to trim Africa forces as focus shifts to Russia, China

  16th November 2018

  The Pentagon will trim the number of US troops deployed across Africa as it concentrates more on countering threats from ‘Great Power’ competitors Russia and …

• Military Logistics

  USAF selects bases for B-21 Raider support

  21st November 2018

  The US Air Force has announced the air force bases that will provide testing and maintenance support for the B-21 Raider advanced bomber. Tinker Air …

• Defence Notes

  Lockheed bullish about F-16 delivery rate

  19th November 2018

  Further to a $1.2 billion deal between the US and the Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF) for 16 F-16 Block 70s aircraft; deliveries of these …

• Digital Battlespace

  US Army shakes up LTAMDS competition with new radar 'sense-off'

  19th November 2018

  The US Army - in a surprise move - has opened a second, parallel competition in its Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  CODE demos autonomy and collaboration

  23rd November 2018

  DARPA’s Collaborative Operations in Denied Environment (CODE) programme has demonstrated the ability of CODE-equipped UAS to adapt and respond to unexpected threats in an anti-access …

• Defence Helicopter

  Patria to continue maintaining Norwegian NH90

  20th November 2018

  Patria Helicopters has received an order from the Norwegian Defence Logistics Organisation (NDLO) to continue maintaining Norway's NH90 helicopters, the company announced on 16 November. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Naval Group selects Atmos UAV for UAS testing

  20th November 2018

  Naval Group has selected the Netherlands’ Atmos UAV for the testing of its fixed-wing vertical take off and landing UAS solution for evaluation purposes, the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Bahrain announces AH-1Z buy

  15th November 2018

  A $912 million contract for 12 AH-1Z Cobra Viper attack helicopters was announced at the Bahrain International Air Show on 15 November. Speaking during a …

• Digital Battlespace

  AOC 2018: Lockheed's eyes set on digi over analogue contract

  27th November 2018

  Lockheed Martin this month successfully completed a system requirement review of the digital AN/ALQ-217 ESM system. The company is targeting an EMD contract in 2022 which …

• Training

  Cobham to upgrade T-6 ADS-B Out

  12th November 2018

  Cobham Aerospace Connectivity has been selected by Scientific Research Corporation (SRC) to upgrade ADS-B Out capabilities on the US military’s T-6A trainer fleet, the company …

• Land Warfare

  Indian Army inducts first M777 ULHs

  15th November 2018

  The Indian Army has inducted its first M777A2 ultra lightweight howitzers (ULH) built by BAE Systems. The 155mm M777 systems will be deployed to their …

• Training

  BAE Systems to support intelligence training

  19th November 2018

  BAE Systems has received a four-year contract from the US Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) to help enhance the situational awareness and mission preparedness …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

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

• 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 - 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. ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  XQ-58A Valkyrie [USMC]

  Programme Background Contract Award On 30 December 2022, the US DoD announced that it had awarded Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems a $15.52 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to ...

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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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

  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 - 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 ...

• Directed energy weapons

  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 ...

• Data links, Land: Radio and SATCOM, UAS: communication systems

  QNT-200

  The Collins QNT-200 is a dual-channel software-defined radio (SDR) designed for size, weight and power-constrained platforms. Using IP-based mesh networks, it offers high-bandwidth mobile networking ...