• Training

  New KC-46 training scheme unveiled

  17th April 2020

  Despite the travails surrounding the USAF's KC-46 Pegasus tanker programme, the training show goes on and has just gathered pace. FlightSafety Services Corporation (FSC), the …

• Digital Battlespace

  More Japanese Hawkeyes arrive amid AEW restructure

  15th April 2020

  The third and fourth E-2D Advanced Hawkeye AEW aircraft for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) arrived last month. The pair of Northrop Grumman aircraft (bearing …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  USMC orders Centaur UGVs from FLIR

  6th April 2020

  FLIR Systems has received an $18.6 million contract for more than 140 Centaur UGVs for the USMC. The order has been secured as part of …

• Air Warfare

  Leidos offers Orbiter to Australian Army

  7th April 2020

  Leidos Australia announced on 7 April the UAV platform that it is offering for the Australian Army's Project Land 129 Phase 3 requirement for a new …

• Naval Warfare

  Thales UK sonar systems for Dreadnought

  28th February 2020

  Thales UK has received a £330 million contract to provide the sonar system for the Royal Navy’s Dreadnought submarines, the UK Ministry of Defence announced …

• Digital Battlespace

  Australia mulls one replacement Growler

  26th February 2020

  The Australian government is still seeking compensation for the loss of one EA-18G Growler EW aircraft after a 2018 accident. Meanwhile, the Department of Defence is …

• Air Warfare

  F-35s carry out night landings on HMS Queen Elizabeth

  12th February 2020

  The first night landings on HMS Queen Elizabeth have been carried out by four F-35 Lightning jets in UK waters. Operational training being carried out …

• Air Warfare

  DefExpo 2020: AMCA – can it go fast enough?

  10th February 2020

  The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), part of the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), showed two slightly different scale models of India’s planned multirole fifth-generation …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UAV Navigation FCS integrated with Sky Power Engines

  3rd April 2020

  Spain-based UAV Navigation has teamed up with Germany’s Sky Power to design modernised flight control solutions (FCS). As a result, the FCS used by UAV …

• Defence Helicopter

  GE Aviation supporting H-53E Engine Reliability Improvement

  9th April 2020

  General Electric Aviation has secured a $9.7 million modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. The modification procures non-recurring engineering services and support for the …

• Defence Notes

  Sales surge for BAE Systems in FY2019

  20th February 2020

  BAE Systems confirmed that the company saw a 7% increase in sales throughout FY2019. This represents an increase of £1.7 billion ($2.18bn). At the same …

• Land Warfare

  French Army receives 250 VT4 vehicles

  14th April 2020

  The French Army is likely to have received 250 new VT4 vehicles from Arquus by the end of this week, as it continues to upgrade its …

• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop Grumman to develop PTS rapid prototype

  25th February 2020

  Northrop Grumman is to develop a Protected Tactical SATCOM (PTS) rapid prototype payload for the US Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center. The payload …

• Naval Warfare

  German yard is favourite to build Bulgarian patrol ships

  2nd March 2020

  Germany-based Lürssen is set to be awarded a contract to supply two multifunctional modular patrol vessels to the Bulgarian Navy, following the recommendation of a government …

• Naval Warfare

  Huntington Ingalls delivers Tripoli to USN

  2nd March 2020

  Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) delivered the America-class amphibious assault ship Tripoli (LHA 7) to the US Navy in a ceremony at its shipyard in Pascagoula, …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) [Japan]

  Programme Background Shephard notes that GCAP's Japanese, British and Italian components are tracked in separate entries. Programme Timeline 2020: The Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency of Japan issued ...

• Fighter - multirole

  JAS-39C/D Gripen Replacement [Czech Republic]

  Programme Background Requirements The Czech Republic Air Force operates 14 Gripens (12 JAS 39C and two JAS 39D variants) under a lease agreement that runs ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Typhoon Tranche 3A [Saudi Arabia]

  Background Timeline In June 2018, Saudi Arabia agreed to procure 48 Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter aircraft from BAE. However, Germany's defence export ban to Saudi ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Multirole Fighter [Turkiye]

  Programme Background Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that Turkey had already paid $1.4 billion into the programme, while its defence industry has ploughed significant ...

• Fighter - multirole

  TF-X Kaan Next Generation Fighter [Türkiye]

  Programme Background Requirement Geopolitical factors have spurred aircraft development in Türkiye. With its removal from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter project following the Russian S-400 ...

• Trainer

  Hawk 127 Replacement (Future Lead-In Fighter Training System- Project Air 6002 PH1) [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirements The RAAF is seeking a future solution that provides a ‘relevant, adaptable, affordable and safe LIFTS out to 2050’ for training pilots ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Eurofighter Typhoon First-Batch [Türkiye]

  Programme Background Requirement The Turkish Air Force has operated two main fighter platforms, the F-16 and F-4, for several decades. As older F-16 airframes and ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Typhoon Tranche 3A [Saudi Arabia]

  In June 2018, Saudi Arabia agreed to procure 48 Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter aircraft from BAE. The total procurement cost for 48 aircraft is estimated at ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | Typhoon Tranche 3A [Saudi Arabia]

  In June 2018, Saudi Arabia agreed to procure 48 Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter aircraft from BAE. The total procurement cost for 48 aircraft is estimated at ...

• Data links

  Data links | Typhoon Tranche 3A [Saudi Arabia]

  In June 2018, Saudi Arabia agreed to procure 48 Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter aircraft from BAE. The total procurement cost for 48 aircraft is estimated at ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | Typhoon Tranche 3A [Saudi Arabia]

  In June 2018, Saudi Arabia agreed to procure 48 Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter aircraft from BAE. The total procurement cost for 48 aircraft is estimated at ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | Typhoon Tranche 3A [Saudi Arabia]

  In June 2018, Saudi Arabia agreed to procure 48 Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter aircraft from BAE. The total procurement cost for 48 aircraft is estimated at ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A [Denmark]

  Programme Background  Denmark joined the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program in 2002 during the System Development and Demonstration phase and has influenced technical elements ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A Japan

  In 2019, Japan requested to be an official partner in the F-35 programme, but this request was rejected by the Pentagon. The F-35 Joint Strike ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: fixed-wing flight simulators

  F-35 Training System

  BAE Systems is involved in F-35 Lightning II Training System design and sustainment, working with prime contractor Lockheed Martin. BAE Systems leads the instructional systems ...

• Air: Defensive Systems - Radar Warning Receivers, EW test systems

  Model 527

  The Model 527 radar signal simulator is used for end-of-runway and walk-around radiated RWR testing to verify the operational status of the aircraft and its ...

• Air: Electronic Attack - Jamming, Air: chaff/flare/decoy systems

  AN/ALE-55 FOTD

  The ALE-55 Fibre Optic Towed Decoy (FOTD) is a high-powered electronic off-board countermeasure that works with an aircraft’s onboard EW equipment to defeat radiofrequency (RF) threats. It ...

• Air-to-surface missiles

  SPEAR-EW

  The SPEAR-EW missile, developed by MBDA in collaboration with Leonardo, is an air-to-surface weapon designed to perform Suppression of Enemy Air Defence (SEAD) missions. This ...

• EW test systems

  A2PATS

  Advanced Architecture Phase Amplitude and Time Simulator (A2PATS) is a real-time EM test environment simulator for military platforms and installed systems, designed to deliver mission ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  HAPS / PHASA-35

  The High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS) is a solar-electric Persistent High Altitude Solar Aircraft (PHASA-35).  Produced by BAE Systems and Prismatic, the platform is designed to provide a persistent, ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-81

  AN/APG-81 is operating in the X-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) fire control radar designed by Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems for the F-35 “Lightning” all-weather ...

• Fighter - multirole

  MiG-35

  The MiG-35 (NATO reporting name Fulcrum F) is a multirole fighter, the latest variant of the MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter family.  The production of the MiG-35 ...

• EO/IR systems

  F-35 Lightning II Advanced EOTS

  The F-35 Lightning II Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS) is a sensor that combines targeting forward-looking IR (FLIR) and IR search and track (IRST) capabilities for ...

• Fighter - multirole, Fighter - naval

  F-35B

  The F-35B Lightning II is a fifth-generation multirole combat aircraft with short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) capability. The USMC is the main customer for the F-35B, ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35I Adir

  The F-35I Adir is an F-35A Lightning II variant customised to meet the requirements of the Israel Defense Forces to replace the F-16 fleet in ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  F-35 Gen III HMDS

  The F-35 Gen III helmet-mounted display system (HMDS) is provided by a joint venture between Elbit Systems of America and Rockwell Collins, developed for the F-35 ...

• Air: Integrated Defensive Systems

  AN/ALQ-178V(5)+

  The AN/ALQ-178(5)+ is an internally mounted self-protection system designed and developed by Aselsan and BAE Systems for the Turkish F-16C fighter aircraft. The system comprises ...

• Air-to-surface missiles, Anti-ship missiles

  JSM

  The Joint Strike Missile (JSM) is a multi-role version of the Naval Strike Missile. Norway funded the programme to develop and produce the JSM for the ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A

  The F-35A Lightning II is a fifth-generation multirole combat aircraft with CTOL capabilities. It is a multinational programme led by the US DoD, bringing together ...