• Defence Notes

  USAF tests Minuteman III missile

  9th May 2019

  The US Air Force has launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) equipped with a test re-entry vehicle from Vandenberg AFB, California, the …

• Naval Warfare

  Sea-Air-Space 2019: VT Halter Marine to kick off work on US icebreaker

  9th May 2019

  VT Halter Marine, the newly selected prime contractor for the US Coast Guard’s Polar Security Cutter (PSC), will soon host a five-day meeting with government’s …

• Naval Warfare

  USMC to get Naval Strike Missile

  10th May 2019

  Raytheon will integrate the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) into the US Marine Corps' existing force structure, the company announced on 7 May. The work will …

• Land Warfare

  Northrop Grumman’s G/ATOR passes IOT&E

  16th May 2019

  Northrop Grumman, in partnership with the US Marine Corps, has completed a successful initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E;) for the AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar …

• Land Warfare

  Rheinmetall to modernise Dutch ARVs

  3rd May 2019

  Rheinmetall has received a contract to modernise the Dutch armed forces’ fleet of Bergepanzer 3 Buffalo armoured recovery vehicles (ARV), the company announced on 30 …

• Naval Warfare

  Fincanteiri Marine Group awaits US Navy talks following icebreaker decision

  7th May 2019

  Following the decision to award VT Halter Marine, a US-based shipbuilder owned by Singapore Technologies (ST) Engineering, the deal to design and build a new fleet …

• Naval Warfare

  Chinese navy shows off new warship in 70th anniversary parade

  23rd April 2019

  China celebrated the 70th anniversary of its navy on 23 April by showing off its growing fleet in a sea parade featuring a brand new …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Harris systems for MQ-25

  8th May 2019

  Harris Corporation has been selected by Boeing to supply the mission management open systems processor for the US Navy’s MQ-25 unmanned aerial refuelling programme, the …

• Training

  Upgrades to US Army's CDTF complete

  16th April 2019

  A range of improvements to the US Army’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) School, Chemical Defense Training Facility (CDTF) at Fort Leonard Wood Army …

• Special Operations

  SOFIC 2019: NSW receives first new combat submersible

  22nd May 2019

  US Naval Special Warfare (NSW) elements in Hawaii have received the first Mk11 Shallow Water Combat Submersible (SWCS). Manufactured by Teledyne Brown Engineering, the SWCS …

• Naval Warfare

  Sea-Air-Space 2019: Chinese naval threat on the rise

  8th May 2019

  The US Navy is continuing to address the increased growth of China’s naval capabilities, with the country considered to pose the leading threat to American …

• Digital Battlespace

  Quad A 2019: Hughes detects DoD anti-jamming SATCOM push

  18th April 2019

  Broadband satellite network provider, Hughes expects the US Navy and US Army to concentrate their SATCOM programmes on reviewing and procuring anti-jamming capabilities, as each …

• Military Logistics

  Invisio equipment for US Army SFABs

  15th April 2019

  Invisio has received a $2.8 million order to provide communication equipment for the US Army’s Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFAB), the company announced on 11 …

• Training

  Cobham to supply oxygen system for Boeing T-X

  14th May 2019

  Cobham has been selected by Boeing to supply the complete oxygen system for its T-X trainer aircraft, the company announced on 9 May 2019. The …

• Digital Battlespace

  USMC plans switch to multichannel radios

  17th May 2019

  The US Marine Corps (USMC) plans to evaluate the AN/PRC-158 radio as it looks for smaller, lighter, more capable solutions. The corps is seeking a …

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 ...