• 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

  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 …

• 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 …

• 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 …

• Land Warfare

  Curtain call for Iron Curtain APS

  24th August 2018

  Fear of going toe-to-toe in a land battle with the Russian military has US Army leaders laying out plans to field a much delayed technology …

• Naval Warfare

  Mexico requests ESSMs from US government

  15th August 2018

  The US State Department has made a determination approving a possible foreign military sale of Evolved Seasparrow tactical missiles (ESSM) and Evolved Seasparrow telemetry missiles …

• Naval Warfare

  Sri Lanka gets US military funding as China vies for influence

  14th August 2018

  The United States announced on 13 August it would grant Sri Lanka $39 million to boost maritime security as China develops its strategic hold on …

• Military Logistics

  Sarcos to continue exoskeleton development

  20th August 2018

  Sarcos Robotics has received a second contract from the US Air Force to continue development of an exoskeleton for logistics applications. The first contract was …

• Naval Warfare

  PMSA’s largest patrol ship soon to arrive in Pakistan

  24th August 2018

  The Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) is set to imminently receive its largest OPV, the Chinese-built PMSS Kashmir, after it departed China on 26 July. …

• Defence Notes

  China tests a future hypersonic 'hydra'

  13th August 2018

  Like the mythological hydra, the American ‘Hercules’ appears incapable of dealing with this existential threat. Beijing’s successful test launch of a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV), dubbed …

• Digital Battlespace

  Comtech receives satellite terminal orders

  17th August 2018

  Comtech Telecommunications’ Command and Control Technologies has received new orders totalling $32.5 million from the US Army PM Tactical Network, the company announced on 13 …

• Military Logistics

  AAR receives USAF shelter order

  14th August 2018

  AAR Mobility Systems has received a $2 million order to provide customised shelters to support the US Air Force Security Forces’ Desert Defender programme, the …

• Defence Notes

  Britain's RAF intercepts six Russian bombers over Black Sea

  15th August 2018

  Britain's Royal Air Force said Wednesday it had intercepted six Russian bomber planes flying close to NATO air space over the Black Sea. The Eurofighter …

• Land Warfare

  USAF, Army team for sensor to shooter prototype

  16th August 2018

  The US Army and the US Air Force (USAF) recently convened for a summit focused on applying and integrating open architecture technologies and approaches to …

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 ...