• Defence Notes

  Trump signs 'Space Force' directive

  20th February 2019

  President Donald Trump signed an order on 19 February 2019 outlining his vision for a new ‘Space Force’ that could one day become a separate …

• Military Logistics

  US Navy outlines shipyard upgrade plans

  12th March 2019

  The US Navy is preparing to conduct what planners describe as a ‘once-in-a-century’ upgrade of its public shipyards to facilitate service logistics support to current …

• Defence Notes

  Joint NATO drills kick off in Georgia

  18th March 2019

  Georgian and NATO forces launched joint military exercises on 18 March 2019 as part of the ex-Soviet country's bid to win membership in the 29-nation …

• Defence Notes

  Taiwan asks US for new fighter jets to defend against China

  8th March 2019

  Taiwan has made a formal request to the United States for new fighter jets to defend itself against increasing Chinese threats, Deputy Defence Minister Shen …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Mission Master UGV fitted with new weapon payload

  20th March 2019

  Rheinmetall Canada showcased a new weaponised configuration of its Mission Master UGV during the Ammunition Capability Demonstration event held in South Africa at the Denel …

• Defence Notes

  Canada extends Iraq, Ukraine military training missions

  19th March 2019

  Canada's defence and foreign ministers jointly announced on 18 March 2019 the extensions of military training missions in Iraq and Ukraine. Both had been slated …

• Land Warfare

  Indian Army to accept interim Arjun Mk IA tank

  22nd February 2019

  After a month of trials was completed in Rajasthan in December 2018, the Indian Army has accepted an updated version of the Arjun MBT developed …

• Military Logistics

  Kaman to support KC-10 MRO work

  7th March 2019

  Kaman Composites - Wichita (KCW) has received a subcontract to supply complex composite components and assemblies for the US Air Force’s KC-10 tanker refuelling boom, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Avalon 2019: Rafael wants to Spike Australian helicopters and add SPICE

  1st March 2019

  Last August the Australian Army selected the Spike LR2 multipurpose missile for the Boxer 8x8 armoured vehicle under Land 400 Phase 2, and it has …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  IDEX 2019: Big contracts on the horizon for Milrem

  25th February 2019

  Once again Milrem Robotics' THeMIS UGV was unavoidable at an international trade show in various weaponised configurations and after years of pushing the platform some larger …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  USAF Predator, Reaper hit four million hours

  15th March 2019

  The US Air Force’s (USAF's) fleet of MQ-1B Predator and MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft have completed more than four million flight hours, the USAF …

• Defence Notes

  India 'air strikes' send Pakistan tensions surging

  27th February 2019

  India said on 26 February 2019 it had launched air strikes against militant camps in Pakistan's territory, triggering international concern over a dangerous escalation between …

• Land Warfare

  GDLS receives Stryker fleet STS contract

  13th February 2019

  General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) has received a $402 million contract to provide systems technical support (STS) for the US Army’s Stryker Brigade Combat Team …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  PSNS & IMF, Sarcos partner on robotic technologies

  14th March 2019

  Sarcos Robotics has partnered with Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS) and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (IMF) to evaluate and deploy robotic technologies, including full-body, powered exoskeletons …

• Land Warfare

  Med-Eng’s bomb suit for US Army

  11th February 2019

  Med-Eng has received a four-year IDIQ contract to supply its second generation Advanced Bomb Suit (ABS II) to the US Army’s explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) …

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 ...