• Training

  RAAF to retire its PC-9/A aircraft

  5th March 2019

  The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) will officially retire its PC-9/A aircraft in 2019, the Australian Department of Defence announced on 28 February. The Roulettes …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  USMC looks to buy Reaper UAVs

  14th March 2019

  The USMC wants to begin buying a handful of MQ-9A Reaper UAVs in FY2020 to meet an ‘urgent operational need,’ according to a US Navy …

• Digital Battlespace

  Australia to acquire new Peregrine EW aircraft

  19th March 2019

  On 18 March, Australia’s DoD confirmed it is acquiring four modified Gulfstream G550 aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). To be designated the …

• Digital Battlespace

  Chinese cyber-attack targets maritime suppliers

  29th March 2019

  The security of computer networks and digital systems represents a growing area of concern for both civilian and state-owned entities active in the maritime domain, …

• Digital Battlespace

  UK MoD to fast-track agile software development

  14th March 2019

  The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) will invest £30 million in the development of application software for the armed forces, the MoD announced on 11 …

• Digital Battlespace

  Perspecta awarded US DoD contract

  12th March 2019

  Perspecta has received a contract to provide operational support for the US Department of Defense (DoD), the company announced on 7 March. The contract has …

• Naval Warfare

  Helge Ingstad decision due before summer

  21st March 2019

  The Norwegian MoD will make a decision on the future of the recently salvaged frigate Helge Ingstad once a report on its state has been …

• Digital Battlespace

  ARA receives ARC4 software contract

  18th March 2019

  Applied Research Associates (ARA) received a sole-source contract in January to integrate its advanced Augmented Reality, Command, Control, Communicate, Coordinate (ARC4) software into the US …

• Training

  Avalon 2019: GaardTech a target rich company

  26th February 2019

  Australian company GaardTech has had considerable success since its launch in September 2018 having won contracts for its target systems with the Australian Army and …

• Military Logistics

  O’Gara Armoring receives US Army contract

  14th February 2019

  O’Gara Armoring has received a five- year IDIQ contract to produce armoured military components for the US Army, the company announced on 8 February. Under …

• Defence Notes

  Seoul closely monitoring North Korea for 'missile launch'

  11th March 2019

  South Korea's military said on 11 March 2019 it was closely monitoring North Korean facilities after a series of satellite images triggered international alarm that …

• Training

  Kratos’ BQM-177A achieves IOC with US Navy

  8th March 2019

  Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’ new BQM-177A Subsonic Aerial Target (SSAT) has achieved initial operational capability (IOC) with the US Navy, the company announced on …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sikorsky to tie up new CH-53K LRIP lots

  19th March 2019

  The US DoD and Sikorsky are currently engaged in negotiations for a second/third low rate initial production contract for the CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift aircraft, with an …

• Defence Notes

  UAE signs major missile deals with US giant Raytheon

  19th February 2019

  The United Arab Emirates announced on 18 February 2019 that it had signed deals worth more than $1.6 billion for the purchase of Patriot missile …

• Training

  Leidos receives US Army training task order

  15th February 2019

  Leidos has received a task order from the US Army under a $37.4 billion Responsive Strategic Sourcing for Services contract vehicle, the company announced on …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-1 Gray Eagle [US Army]

  Background Required Quantity Although the US Army first envisioned a requirement for 132 MQ-1C Gray Eagles, the US Army's Army Acquisition Objective (AAO) was increased ...

• Main battle tanks

  NGCV: DLP

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

• AGMV 1.1

  Programme Background The US Army has been seeking a lightweight, air-droppable, high mobility vehicle since as early as 2014, when it initiated its Ultra Light ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Heavy Lift VTOL (HVTOL) (Forecast) [US Army]

  Background USMC In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, which had been specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  AMPV [USA]

  Programme Background Platform Development The US Army initiated the AMPV programme to acquire a replacement for several variants of the M113 tracked APC, which has ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV Oshkosh Contract [US Army]

  Programme 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 ...

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

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 2) [US Army]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was intended to ...

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

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 1) [USA]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was ...

• 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, ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker (Sergeant Stout) [USA]

  Programme Background As part of the Army Transformation Initiative the US DoD is fundamentally reorganising the structure of the US Army. As part of this all Infantry ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System (LMAMS) [US Army]

  Background First Contract In June 2011, the US awarded AeroVironment a $4.9 million series-production contract for the loitering munition, satisfying the US Army's Lethal Miniature ...

• 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 - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) [Tranche 1] / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) (USA)

  Programme Background The Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) Programme The RPUAS programme will provide the Battalion and below-ground manoeuvre elements within the US Army with an ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Group 4/5 UAV [US Army]

  Background Request for Information (RFI) On 5 June 2024, the American DoD published an RfI with an original response date of 19 July 2024. The ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  US Army Maneuver Support Vessel Light (MSVL)

  Programme BackgroundThe Maneuver Support Vessel (Light) or MSV(L) contract was awarded by the US Army to Vigor in 2017 and are being built to replace ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

• 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. 

• 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 ...

• Towed guns

  M198

  The US Army developed the M198 155mm towed howitzer from 1969 to replace the M114 155mm howitzer. From 1978, 1,600 weapons were built by Rock ...

• 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.

• Light tanks

  M10 Booker

  The US Army awarded General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) a contract worth US$1.14 billion to supply 96 light tanks under the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) ...

• JPT

  Designed for military applications, the Joint Platform Tablet (JPT) features a rugged design, including a military-grade aluminium case, dual-core processor, 128GB removable hard drive and ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72A/B Lakota

  In 2006, the US Army selected a version of the medium-sized, twin-engine H145, designated the UH-72A Lakota,  to meet its requirement for a new Light ...

• Armoured engineer vehicles

  M1150 ABV

  The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) project, launched by the USMC in 2002, is a joint programme to meet the requirements of both the US ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  RQ-7 Shadow 200

  The Shadow 200, designated RQ-7B by the US Army, is flown by the army brigade combat teams and combat aviation brigades along with the UAV ...

• REBS

  The Rapidly Emplaced Bridge System (REBS) is a 13m dry-gap bridge. It was designed by GDELS to meet a US Army requirement to provide a ...

• Land: Electronic Attack - Jamming

  AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III

  Sierra Nevada’s AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III is the standard Counter Improvised Explosive Device (CIED) manpack system in service with the US Army and US Marine Corps (USMC). ...

• DSB

  WFEL was selected in 1996 to develop the M18 Dry Support Bridge (DSB) for the US Army. The company designed, manufactured and integrated the DSB ...

• Individual grenade launchers

  M320 GLM

  The M320 Grenade Launcher Module (GLM) is a further development of the HK AG36 (see separate entry) to meet a US Army requirement. The M320 ...