• Defence Notes

  Farnborough 2018: First RAF P-8A Poseidon delivery confirmed

  17th July 2018

  The RAF’s first of nine Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft will be delivered to the service in November 2019, with its second aircraft following …

• Military Logistics

  Vectrus to provide maintenance services at USAG Stuttgart

  16th July 2018

  Vectrus Systems has received a $43 million contract from the US Army to provide installation maintenance services at US Army Garrison (USAG) Stuttgart and surrounding …

• Defence Notes

  Two pilots killed in Vietnam military plane crash

  26th July 2018

  Two pilots were killed in Vietnam on 26 July when their training jet crashed into thick jungle in heavy rains, police told AFP from the …

• Military Logistics

  Lithuanian, NSPA sign infrastructure development project contract

  27th July 2018

  The Lithuanian Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) have signed a contract on infrastructure development projects for the Lithuanian …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  GA-ASI concludes testing of HDD for MQ-25

  24th July 2018

  General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has concluded performance testing of arresting hook Hold Down Damper (HDD) for its proposed MQ-25 unmanned aerial refueling aircraft for …

• Land Warfare

  CAR rebels rearm after military gets Russia weapons

  1st August 2018

  Russia's supply of weapons to the Central African Republic's (CAR) military has sparked an arms race, with rebels turning to traffickers in Sudan for fresh …

• Special Operations

  USSOCOM identifies “capability needs”

  30th July 2018

  The US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has disclosed a list of “capability needs” to be considered at the 2018 Special Operations Forces Warrior Industry Collaboration …

• Naval Warfare

  DAVD-HUD to be transitioned into operational system

  24th July 2018

  Coda Octopus has entered into a Navy Cooperative Research Development Agreement (CRADA) to transition the prototype of the Divers Augmented Vision Display-Head Up Display system …

• Training

  Farnborough 2018: Link to start UH-60L training

  25th July 2018

  L3 Technologies Link Training and Simulation is about to start offering UH-60L Black Hawk training at its headquarters in Arlington, Texas. The UH-60L simulator joins …

• Defence Helicopter

  Taiwan's Apache fleet goes into service amid China tensions

  17th July 2018

  Taiwan on 17 July put into service its fleet of US-made Apache attack helicopters, upgrading its defences against a growing military threat from China. The …

• Training

  Airborne testing for FWS-I complete

  24th July 2018

  The US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division Soldiers, along with the Airborne and Special Operations Test Directorate (ABNSOTD), has completed static line airborne insertion testing on …

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy’s LCS Wichita completes acceptance trials

  17th July 2018

  The Lockheed Martin-led industry team has completed acceptance trials of Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) 13, the future USS Wichita, in the waters of Lake Michigan, …

• Digital Battlespace

  Taiwan hacker conference proves unnerving

  31st July 2018

  The 2018 Hacks in Taiwan Conference (HITCON) was disturbing. After being founded in 2005, the 14th HITCON was held from 27-28 July at the Taipei …

• Defence Notes

  Farnborough 2018: Show roundup (video)

  20th July 2018

  As Farnborough draws to a close, Shephard's editorial team discuss the main news stories from the week, including the unveiling of Tempest - the UK's …

• Digital Battlespace

  Comtech to continue BFT-1 support

  20th July 2018

  Comtech Mobile Datacom has had a contract option exercised for the US Army’s Blue Force Tracking-1(BFT-1) programme, the company announced on 17 July. BFT-1 is …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  CH-47F Chinook [Saudi Arabia]

  Programme Background In addition to the aircraft, the request includes M134D mini-Guns, aircraft survivability equipment, infrared signature suppression system, fast rope insertion extraction system, extended ...

• 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, ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV (US Army) (Batch 1) [USA]

  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 branches ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Multirole Fighter [Morocco]

  Programme Background 2019 In March 2019, the US State Department announced that it had approved a possible FMS of 25 F-16V Block 72 aircraft to ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-60M Black Hawk (Second Contract) [Croatia]

  Programme Background Western Technology With the help of the US, Croatia has attempted to improve its military technology, replacing Soviet equipment, such as the Mi-8/Mi-17. ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  AH-64E Apache (Follow-On) [Morocco]

  Programme Background Morocco has placed a request with the US government for AH-64E Apache attack helicopters. On 20 November 2019, it was announced that the ...

• 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 - mini

  RQ-11 Raven (US Army)

  Programme Background The AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven began to be deployed by the US Army in 2004 and was selected as its sole small UAS in ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV (USAF) (Batch 1) [USA]

  Baclground As of November 2020, the US DoD had signed 14 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all branches ...

• Maritime patrol

  P-8A Poseidon [UK]

  Programme Background In July 2016, the UK government announced that it had ordered nine aircraft for service with the RAF. Under this frame, in January ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-60M Black Hawk Add-on [Lithuania]

  Programme Background On 6 June 2020, the US State Department announced that it had approved a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of six UH-60M Black Hawk ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV (USMC) (Batch 1) [USA]

  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 branches ...

• Main battle tanks

  Decisive Lethality Platform [USA]

  Background The DLP is one of five vehicle families being developed for the US Army's NGCV programme. Expanded to include five programmes in October 2018, ...

• Main battle tanks

  M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams [Morocco]

  Programme Background The Moroccan Armed Forces have received substantial investment in recent years as the country seeks to maintain parity with its regional rival, Algeria. ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Eitan 8x8 [Israel]

  Programme Background Due to the provisions of the US Foreign Military Financing (FMF) system, there is a chance that the Eitan could be mass produced ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• 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. 

• Data links

  GNOMAD US Domestic

  The US domestic version of GNOMAD (see separate entry) is a ruggedised system comprising a satellite antenna and baseband modular chassis that can be installed ...

• 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 ...

• 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.

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, 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 ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  RG33

  BAE Systems RG33 is a family of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles available in both 4x4 and 6x6. The medium-weight class of BAE Systems MRAP ...

• Military - USVs

  Voyager

  Voyager is an Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV) built by US-based Saildrone. Voyager has been used by the US Navy (USN) and is one of three ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  TH-119 (TH-73A Thrasher )

  The US Navy announced on 13 January 2020 that Leonardo had been awarded a US$176.5 million contract for the production of 32 TH-119 helicopters in ...

• Frigates

  Oliver Hazard Perry Class

  The Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigates (FFG) were initially designed for the US Navy in the mid-1970s as cost-efficient surface combatants. The robust design has ...

• Self-propelled guns

  SIGMA

  The SIGMA is the latest self-propelled howitzer (SPH) developed by Elbit America and Oshkosh Defense. Produced entirely in the US, the SIGMA is intended to ...

• Land: Electronic Attack - Jamming

  AN/PLT-5 Thor-II

  Sierra Nevada Corporations’s (SNC's) AN/PLT-5 Thor-II Counter Improvised Explosive Device (CIED) system is designed to equip CIED teams and is used throughout the US armed ...

• Air: Defensive Systems - MLDS, Air: Defensive Systems - Laser Warning Receivers

  LIMWS

  BAE Systems is leading the US Army’s Limited Interim Missile Warning System (LIMWS) initiative. This is intended to enhance the missile protection provided to US ...

• 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 ...

• Trailers

  M900 Series

  Heil’s M900-series tactical refuellers are designed and built to meet US military performance standards. The M967A2 ground equipment refueller and the M969A3 aircraft refueller are ...