• Naval Warfare

  Korea requests SM-2 Block IIIB standard missiles

  22nd May 2019

  The US State Department has made a determination approving a potential foreign military sale of SM-2 Block IIIB standard missiles to the Republic of Korea, …

• Training

  ITEC 2019: Walls on tour

  1st May 2019

  Following its presence at Enforce Tac in Nürnberg, Germany in March, Survitec has decided to take its inflatable walls training system (IWTS) on a year-long …

• Digital Battlespace

  Raytheon receives troposcatter comms contract

  3rd May 2019

  Raytheon has been selected to deliver new troposcatter communication systems to the US Army as part of a ten-year, IDIQ contract worth up to $663 …

• Digital Battlespace

  ASU delivers helmet prototypes to USAF

  28th May 2019

  Aviation Specialties Unlimited (ASU) has delivered four prototype helmets to the US Air Force, the company announced on 22 May. ASU is one of thee …

• Training

  Abraham Lincoln, Kearsarge conduct joint training

  22nd May 2019

  The US Navy's Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (ABECSG) and the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group (KSGARG), with the embarked 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), recently …

• Land Warfare

  Japan-US jointly research next-gen amphibious vehicle

  20th May 2019

  The Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency announced on 13 May that the Japanese MoD and US DoD had signed an agreement to jointly research next-generation …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sikorsky HH-60W makes first flight

  22nd May 2019

  The Sikorsky HH-60W combat rescue helicopter achieved its first flight at Sikorsky's West Palm Beach, Florida site on 17 May. The test flight, which lasted …

• Digital Battlespace

  Leonardo’s BriteCloud EAD selected for ANG testing

  17th May 2019

  Leonardo’s BriteCloud expendable active decoy (EAD) has been selected by the US Department of Defense for evaluation by the US Air National Guard (ANG), the …

• Training

  TRU unveils Canadian FAcT strategy

  31st May 2019

  TRU Simulation + Training has announced that it is offering aircraft and synthetic training equipment to a number of the bidders on the Royal Canadian …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sikorsky to build 12 CH-53Ks for USMC

  21st May 2019

  Sikorsky has received a $1.13 billion contract from the US Navy to build 12 production CH-53K King Stallion  heavy-lift helicopters for the US Marine Corps …

• Defence Notes

  Russian bombers and fighters intercepted off Alaska

  22nd May 2019

  US fighters intercepted six Russian military aircraft in international airspace west of Alaska, and shadowed them until they exited the area, the North American Air …

• Military Logistics

  US Navy tackling cargo ship shortfall

  19th May 2019

  To better prepare for a potential war with a near-peer adversary, the US Navy is grappling with how to enhance its ability to move military …

• Land Warfare

  US Army places order for small-calibre ammo

  23rd April 2019

  Northrop Grumman’s Alliant Techsystems has received orders totalling $194 million from the US Army for small-calibre ammunition, the company announced on 16 April. The orders …

• Defence Helicopter

  Putin pledges an increased Mi-28NM order

  20th May 2019

  Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted that the Russian MoD is set to increase an order to be placed in the coming months for the Mi-28NM …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  2019 AlphaPilot teams announced

  28th May 2019

  Lockheed Martin and Drone Racing League (DRL) have announced the nine teams that have been accepted into the 2019 AlphaPilot Innovation Challenge. The teams have …

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 ...