• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Mexican cartels present new security threat with drone IEDs

  16th September 2018

  A shift in tactics by Mexico’s drug cartels is underway, incorporating unmanned technology into their armed wings instead of simply using the devices for surveillance, …

• Military Logistics

  Serco receives logistics support contract

  14th September 2018

  Serco has received a contract to support the US Army Sustainment Command (ASC) with global acquisition and logistics operations support, the company announced on 10 …

• Defence Notes

  Juncker urges EU to assume stronger world role

  12th September 2018

  Europe must become a ‘global player’ with a muscular foreign policy to match its economic strength, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker urged on 12 September, …

• Defence Notes

  Mattis makes unannounced visit to Afghanistan

  7th September 2018

  US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis landed in Kabul on 7 September for an unannounced visit to war-torn Afghanistan, adding his weight to a flurry of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Danger zone: SkyGuardian flight precautions emerge

  20th September 2018

  Temporary danger and diversion areas were established by the UK's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to assist the July 2018 transatlantic flight and UK touch down of …

• Training

  FAAC receives funding for VCTS updates

  14th September 2018

  Arotech’s FAAC has received $10.2 million in funding for the US Army's Virtual Clearance Training Suite (VCTS) follow-on programme, Arotech announced on 10 September. The …

• Naval Warfare

  USCG releases RFI for MSS+ programme

  14th September 2018

  The US Coast Guard (USCG) has released a request for information for installation of the Minotaur mission system suite (MSS+) and a block upgrade for …

• Defence Notes

  Pentagon seeks to expand weapons sales

  7th September 2018

  Working with partner nations throughout the weapon's development process will be a key enabler for the US to ramp up weapons' sales to the international …

• Digital Battlespace

  What is Five Eyes connectivity? (video)

  10th September 2018

  Five Eyes (FVEY) refers to an alliance that includes Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and US. These countries are bound by the multilateral UKUSA …

• Military Logistics

  Boeing receives contract for fourth KC-46A lot

  13th September 2018

  Boeing has received a $2.9 billion contract from the US Air Force to deliver 18 additional KC-46A tanker aircraft with spares, support equipment, spare engines …

• Defence Notes

  AAD 2018: UK seeks to reboot South African partnership

  20th September 2018

  One of the key mantras on the ground at AAD 2018 in South Africa is ‘potential’– this is a sentiment being explored by the UK …

• Defence Notes

  Pompeo, Mattis hold talks with Indian counterparts

  6th September 2018

  US President Donald Trump's top two envoys met with their Indian counterparts in Delhi on 6 September to deepen a fast-growing partnership but also to …

• Land Warfare

  Boxer UK update: Boxing clever

  18th September 2018

  Since its inception in the 1990s, the Boxer programme has had highs and lows. By 2015, the vehicle had only secured two customers – lead …

• Digital Battlespace

  Liteye receives follow-on contract for C-AUDS

  12th September 2018

  Liteye Systems has received an $18 million follow-on contract from the US Air Force to deliver its containerised anti-unmanned aircraft systems (C-AUDS), the company announced …

• Digital Battlespace

  Lockheed upgrading GPS ground systems

  12th September 2018

  Lockheed Martin is providing a series of updates to the GPS ground control system to support the US Air Force in gaining early command and …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

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

• 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 - 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. ...

• 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 ...

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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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

  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 - 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 ...

• Directed energy weapons

  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 ...

• Data links, Land: Radio and SATCOM, UAS: communication systems

  QNT-200

  The Collins QNT-200 is a dual-channel software-defined radio (SDR) designed for size, weight and power-constrained platforms. Using IP-based mesh networks, it offers high-bandwidth mobile networking ...