• Defence Notes

  Podcast: Autonomous vessels, the artillery and air defence market and the Saudi drone attack

  20th September 2019

  Welcome to Episode 35 of The Weekly Defence Podcast. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and more. Sign up to an early email alert of future podcasts here.

• Military Logistics

  US Army contracts GA-EMS for hydrogen generator prototype

  8th November 2019

  General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) has been awarded a contract by the US Army Contracting Command to develop a high-pressure hydrogen generation system to support …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Northrop Grumman takes part in DARPA swarm test

  28th October 2019

  Northrop Grumman has detailed its participation in DARPA’s second unmanned vehicle (UxV) swarming field experiment. The experiment leveraged the command, control and collaboration capabilities of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  John Deere and VoloCopter introduce agricultural UAV

  8th November 2019

  John Deere and Volocopter have introduced a new jointly-developed agricultural unmanned aerial vehicle. The VoloDrone UAV is equipped with a John Deere crop protection sprayer, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  D&S 2019: Thai military charts course towards armed UAVs

  18th November 2019

  The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) does not currently operate any armed UAVs, but it has already taken steps to develop and introduce a future …

• Naval Warfare

  HMS Pembroke set to return to service

  31st October 2019

  The Royal Navy’s HMS Pembroke is ready to return to service after a successful 42-week, £8 million refit at Babcock’s Rosyth dockyard in Fife. The …

• Digital Battlespace

  NZ issues RfI to advance its networked army

  12th September 2019

  New Zealand has initiated Tranche 2 of its Network Enabled Army (NEA) programme following governmental approval in July. The project is digitising the New Zealand …

• Naval Warfare

  BAE Systems receives Mk 38 coaxial kits order

  13th September 2019

  BAE Systems Land and Armaments will supply Mk 38 Machine Gun System coaxial kits to the US Naval Surface Warfare Center under an order announced …

• Land Warfare

  Redback takes on Lynx in Australian land programme

  17th September 2019

  In its A$10-15 billion ($7-10.4 billion) Project Land 400 Phase 3 competition, Australia has clearly professed a predilection for animal names, with the Hanwha Redback and …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AVT Australia receives development contract

  4th November 2019

  AVT Australia has been awarded a $5.2 million Defence Innovation Hub contract by the Australian government to develop a system capable of improving the quality …

• Digital Battlespace

  US Army rolls out new day and night sights

  6th November 2019

  The US Army has begun rolling out its new night vision equipment it announced on 1 November. The 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT), 1st …

• Digital Battlespace

  Raytheon, Hanwha Systems sign Korean IFF agreement

  12th September 2019

  Raytheon has signed a technical cooperation agreement with Hanwha Systems covering identification friend or foe (IFF) systems, the company announced on 10 September. Under the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment announces new Raven order

  5th November 2019

  AeroVironment has received a contract from an unnamed existing Southeast Asian military customer for additional Raven UAS, the company announced on 4 November. The $6.4 …

• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop Grumman awarded JCREW work

  16th September 2019

  Northrop Grumman has received a contract modification from the US Naval Sea Systems Command for Joint Counter Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare (JCREW) engineering …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UAVOS develops new VTOL UAS for LiDAR applications

  30th October 2019

  UAVOS has developed a new VTOL UAS, the UVH-25EL, designed for data capturing applications using Light Distance and Ranging (LiDAR). The fully automatic, compact and …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, 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

  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 - electronic warfare

  Jamming and Escort Electronic Attack Aircraft (luWES) [Germany]

  Programme Background According to earlier reports, Berlin had earlier decided to procure 15 EA-18G Growlers over the Eurofighter Typhoon ECR concept, which is expected to be ...

• 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 ...

• 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

  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 ...

• 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 ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A [Denmark]

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

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A (1-60) [Italy]

  The 2019 and 2020 budget contained significant funding for the F-35 programme: €690 million ($775 million) in 2019 and €859 million ($962 million) in 2020, ...

• Fighter - naval

  F-35B (1-30) [Italy]

  The 2019 and 2020 budget contained significant funding for the F-35 programme: €690 million ($775 million) in 2019 and €859 million ($962 million) in 2020, ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Eurofighter Typhoon First-Batch [Türkiye]

  The Turkish Air Force is modernising its fleet, focusing on Eurofighter Typhoons to complement its F-16s and the in-development Kaan fighter. Türkiye plans to acquire ...

• Data links

  Data links | Eurofighter Typhoon First-Batch [Türkiye]

  The Turkish Air Force is modernising its fleet, focusing on Eurofighter Typhoons to complement its F-16s and the in-development Kaan fighter. Türkiye plans to acquire ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | Eurofighter Typhoon First-Batch [Türkiye]

  The Turkish Air Force is modernising its fleet, focusing on Eurofighter Typhoons to complement its F-16s and the in-development Kaan fighter. Türkiye plans to acquire ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | Eurofighter Typhoon First-Batch [Türkiye]

  The Turkish Air Force is modernising its fleet, focusing on Eurofighter Typhoons to complement its F-16s and the in-development Kaan fighter. Türkiye plans to acquire ...

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 and 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 ...

• 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 - fixed-wing, 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, ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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-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 ...