• Defence Notes

  UES receives US Air Force FLAPS contract

  17th August 2018

  UES has received a $41.9 million six-year indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract under the US Air Force's Flash and Laser Airborne Protection Systems (FLAPS) research programme, the company …

• Defence Notes

  Gulf states approved for $1.3 billion in US munitions purchases in 2018

  14th August 2018

  Gulf states have traditionally been keen buyers of western, mainly US, military equipment. A number of possible recent programmes and ongoing procurement processes demonstrate the …

• Defence Notes

  Two US Ospreys reportedly make emergency landings in Japan

  14th August 2018

  Two US military Osprey aircraft made separate emergency landings at airports on Japanese islands on 14 August, with no injuries or damage reported, local media …

• Digital Battlespace

  US dismisses 'hypocritical' draft space weapons treaty

  14th August 2018

  The US voiced strong opposition on 14 August to a treaty proposed by Russia and China explicitly aimed at preventing an arms race in space, …

• Military Logistics

  Spectro Scientific updates SpectrOil M

  24th July 2018

  Spectro Scientific has released an updated and improved version of its SpectrOil M Elemental Analyzer, the company announced on 18 July. SpectrOil M Elemental Analyzer …

• Special Operations

  SOF seeking strategic transporter system

  28th August 2018

  The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) is seeking a transporter system for strategic movement of its three “Sealion” Combatant Craft Heavy (CCH) platforms. Interest in …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  C-Worker 5 in Alaskan charting survey

  23rd August 2018

  ASV Global, together with TerraSond, has successful completed a hydrographic survey using the C-Worker 5 USV off the coast of Alaska, the company announced on …

• Land Warfare

  Sweden to buy Patriot systems

  17th August 2018

  Sweden has signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance to purchase Raytheon's Patriot air and missile defense system from the US Army. Patriot consists of …

• Defence Notes

  Pentagon report claims Chinese bombers training for US strikes

  17th August 2018

  Chinese bombers are likely training for strikes against US and allied targets in the Pacific, according to a new Pentagon report that also details how …

• Special Operations

  New night vision capabilities from Qioptiq

  22nd August 2018

  Excelitas Technologies’ Qioptiq company is utilizing this week’s “Modern Warfighting Symposium,” co-sponsored by the Global SOF Foundation and US Army Special Operations Command and held …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Australian Army receives DJI Phantom 4 UAS

  22nd August 2018

  The Australian Army’s 17th Combat Service Support Brigade (17 CSS Bde) has received its first DJI Phantom 4 UAS, the Australian Department of Defence announced …

• Defence Notes

  Turkey crisis risks souring military ties with US

  14th August 2018

  The crisis in US-Turkish relations, which already has put Turkey's economy under massive strain, also risks souring military ties between the two NATO allies, unleashing …

• Defence Notes

  US Army continues to question AI role in modernisation plans

  22nd August 2018

  Just days before the US Army activates its new Futures Command in Austin, Texas, top brass is urging that the service come to terms with …

• Military Logistics

  Prime Turbines to overhaul Chilean Navy engines

  16th August 2018

  VSE Aviation subsidiary Prime Turbines has been selected by the Chilean Navy for the overhaul of two PT6A-25 turboprop engines, the company announced on 9 …

• Defence Notes

  US defense chief woos Brazil as Chinese influence grows

  14th August 2018

  US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis praised Brazil's clout and urged closer strategic ties Tuesday in what appeared to be part of a concerted push back …

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 ...