• Naval Warfare

  USCG accepts delivery of 30th FRC

  27th August 2018

  The US Coast Guard (USCG) received its 30th Fast Response Cutter (FRC), Robert Ward, in Key West, Florida, on 21 August 2018. The 154ft FRC …

• Defence Notes

  Insight: 2019 NDAA breaks China’s heart

  22nd August 2018

  The US military got the green light from the White House to improve military relations with Taiwan and attempt to disrupt China’s efforts to displace …

• Defence Helicopter

  India approves pursuit of naval helicopters

  29th August 2018

  The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) of India’s MoD accorded approval to the Indian Navy’s (IN) case for procurements of 111 Naval Utility Helicopters (NUH) at …

• Military Logistics

  AFRL extends serviceability of hydraulic lines

  31st August 2018

  The US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) recently completed an effort to help develop, test and validate a cold spray coating process for the life …

• Training

  USAF boom operators train on new kit

  27th August 2018

  An upgraded three-dimensional simulator at US Air Force base Travis is providing advanced training for KC-10 Extender boom operators. The boom operator trainer at the …

• Naval Warfare

  USCG transfers HC-130J to Kodiak

  28th August 2018

  The US Coast Guard (USCG) transferred an HC-130J Super Hercules long range surveillance aircraft, CGNR-2009, to Air Station Kodiak, Alaska, on 21 August 2018. Originally …

• Digital Battlespace

  BATS-D authorised for use by partner forces

  27th August 2018

  Viasat’s Battlefield Awareness and Targeting System-Dismounted (BATS-D) handheld Link 16 radio has been authorised by the National Security Agency (NSA) for use by international military …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  USMC acquires additional Backjack UAVs

  23rd August 2018

  The US Marine Corps (USMC) will receive four more RQ-21A Blackjack UAVs following a contract award on 22 August. The Naval Air Systems Command awarded …

• Land Warfare

  Ukraine shows off heavy weapons at Kiev parade

  29th August 2018

  A number of new and experimental heavy weapons were displayed by the Ukrainian Army during the country's 24 August military parade held in the capital …

• Training

  PLI receives CBCSE task order

  22nd August 2018

  Phoenix Logistics has received a task order to support the US Army’s Program Executive Office for Simulation Training and Instrumentation Program Manager for Integration Training …

• Military Logistics

  US Army receives silk ballistic shootpack panels

  22nd August 2018

  Kraig Biocraft Laboratories has delivered ballistic shootpack panels made from its Dragon Silk material to the US Army, the company announced on 20 August. The …

• Naval Warfare

  HMS Queen Elizabeth to begin F-35B trials

  22nd August 2018

  The Royal Navy's aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth has departed for the US to carry out flight trials with F-35B fighter jets, the UK Ministry …

• Military Logistics

  Army advances cold weather clothing project

  31st August 2018

  The US Army is moving out with the design of experimental clothing for its Cold Temperature and Arctic Protective System (CTAPS) project. The prototype effort was outlined …

• Land Warfare

  Moog tests integrated MML equipment

  20th August 2018

  Moog has successfully completed the second phase of integration and testing on the Engineering Manufacturing Development configuration of the US Army's Multi-Mission Launcher (MML) . …

• Special Operations

  USSOCOM advances the Hyper Enabled Operator

  31st August 2018

  The US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has initiated the first steps in its development of the Hyper Enabled Operator (HEO) concept with plans for a …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Puma 3 AE (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Military Aid - $300 Million On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine to "bolster Urkaine's capacity ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1165 Special Ops HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HHMWV, or Humvee, has been in US service since 1983. The M1165A1B3 is a special operations variant of the platform.  In 2015, the US ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 300 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Presidential Drawdown (16 March 2022 & 13 April 2022) On 16 March 2022, President Biden announced $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine through ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank [US]

  Programme Background As IAI stated in a 19 January 2023 press release, it had been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract by the Irregular Warfare Technical Support ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A [US Navy]

  Background Previous Purchases The BQM-177A was designed for the USN and has been in service with the USN for many years. Indeed, in August 2022, Shephard reported ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 600 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background $300 Million USAI (1 April 2022) On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine following ...

• Loitering munitions

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Background Presidential Drawdown (21 April 2022) Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, on 21 April 2022, President Biden announced an $800 million ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Puma LE [Kosovo]

  Background Contract Award On 21 January 2022, the US Department of Defence (DoD) announced that AeroVironment had been awarded an $11.01 million firm-fixed contract for Puma ...

• Loitering munitions

  ALTIUS-600M (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background On 24 February 2023, the US DoD announced that the Biden Administration had released an additional aid package under the Ukraine Security Assistance ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1152A1B2/M1165A1B3 HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HMMWV has been in US service since the 1980s. Despite the introduction of newer platforms, the US DoD continues to utilise the platform ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawk (India)

  Programme Background On 25 February 2020, a letter of acceptance for 24 MH-60Rs, worth approximately $2.12 billion, was signed by India and the US in Delhi. ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS): Switchblade [US]

  Background DoD Contract On 27 August 2024, the US DoD announced that AeroVironment had been awarded a ceiling $990 million hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to provide “an ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Puma 2 AE [Estonia]

  Programme Background The US DoD announced that it had awarded AeroVironment an $8.868 million firm-fixed-price contract to supply an undisclosed number of RQ-20B Puma AE ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-46A (3-6) [Japan]

  On 30 October 2020, the US DoD announced that it awarded a $342 million contract to Boeing for two Japanese KC-46A tanker aircraft. Work will be performed ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  ACV-30 PRTV [USA]

  Background The Armoured Combat Vehicle (ACV) programme is intended to provide a replacement for the USMC's fleet of Amphibious Assault Vehicle 7 (AAV7) tracked vehicles. ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Pistols

  M9

  M9 is the US DoD designation for the military-specification 9mm Beretta 92FS, selected in 1985 to replace the 45cal M1911A1 in US service. Sales to ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  Igla/SA-18

  The 9K38 Igla (US DoD designation SA-18, NATO reporting name Grouse ) IR-homing MANPADS was developed by KBM and entered service in 1983 to meet the requirements ...

• 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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank

  Point Blank Weapon System is a hand-launched electro-optical VTOL-capable loitering munition developed by Isreal Aerospace Industries (IAI). IAI has been awarded a contract by the US ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  BAT-850

  Pathfinder's BAT-850 VSAT is a carbon fibre, tri-band terminal with auto-acquisition capability. Suitable for flyaway (case-based) and vehicle-mounted applications, it is in service with the ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  URC-300

  The URC-300 is a software-defined radio designed for line-of-sight, ground-to-air communications in particular. Introduced in 2020, it adheres to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards as well ...

• Air: aerial targets, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A/i

  The BQM-177A subsonic aerial target (SSAT) was designed for the USN, and the BQM-177i is the export variant. The BQM-177 provides realistic threat emulation for ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Banshee Tactical Radio

  Developed by Fenix Group, the Banshee Tactical Radio (BTR) is a communications system that uses 4G/LTE connectivity to provide secure mesh networking capability on the ...

• Crew-served grenade launchers

  Striker 40/MK47

  General Dynamics is systems integrator for the Striker 40 (MK47 AGL in US service). The complete system comprises the weapon, AN/PWG-1 Lightweight Video Sight and ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  AN/ARC-231 Skyfire

  The AN/ARC-231 Skyfire is an airborne VHF/UHF/LOS and DAMA SATCOM system. This system supports US DoD requirements for airborne, multi-band, multi-mission, secure anti-jam voice, data ...

• Air-to-air missiles

  9M39 Igla-V

  The 9M39 Igla-V (‘needle’) is a Russian IR homing SAM adapted for helicopter use. It is an air-launched version of the Igla MANPADS, which the ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Global Observer

  The AeroVironment Global Observer HALE UAV was a developmental HALE UAV designed for various civil, commercial and government applications.  Development of the platform began in 2007 ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  CLWS

  Developed by Boeing, Compact Laser Weapon System (CLWS or CLaWS) is a medium-range, low-power laser C-UAS system. According to the reports, the CLWS prototype has ...

• Weapon sights for day use

  CompM4/M4s

  The US DoD has bought over one million Aimpoint sights since 1997. The US Army is now fielding the CompM4s as the latest version of ...

• Heavy machine guns

  M2HB

  US Ordnance is one of two US M2HB heavy machine gun manufacturers which has received multi-year contracts to supply weapons to the US DoD. The ...