• Military Logistics

  Canadian CC-130Js complete upgrade

  20th October 2016

  The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) marked the completion of a major upgrade of its 17 CC-130J Hercules transport aircraft on 18 October. The upgraded aircraft …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Euronaval 2016: New VTOL UAV for French Navy

  20th October 2016

  The focus on unmanned systems at Euronaval continued on Thursday as DCNS and Airbus Helicopters revealed a design for a new VTOL system for the …

• Naval Warfare

  Terma radar for Indonesian coast guard

  20th October 2016

  Terma will supply Scanter 6000 radars to the Indonesian coast guard (KPLP) under an order announced on 18 October. The radars will be integrated with …

• Defence Notes

  Analysis: Mexican defence industry

  20th October 2016

  Mexico has been developing and producing its own weapon systems since the early 20th century and went through phases of building its own aircraft, armoured …

• Military Logistics

  ADF to get new fuel tankers

  20th October 2016

  Refuel International, based in Melbourne, Australia, has won a contract worth AUD$47 million to build new aviation fuel tankers for the Australian Defence Force (ADF), …

• Land Warfare

  Jumping in the Leopard pool

  20th October 2016

  The Netherlands signed an agreement with Germany on 13 October to combine some of their Leopard 2 main battle tank forces. It will also transfer …

• Digital Battlespace

  ALIAS flies Cessna

  19th October 2016

  Aurora Flight Sciences’ Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) has flown a Cessna Caravan aircraft in a demonstration flight, the company announced on 17 October. …

• Defence Helicopter

  Helicopter industry waits on clarity from Warsaw

  19th October 2016

  Two weeks after cancelling the deal to procure H225M helicopters from Airbus Helicopters, the Polish government now appears to be hedging its bets and sharing …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Osprey radar for MQ-8C Fire Scout

  19th October 2016

  The US Navy has selected Finmeccanica's Osprey AESA radar for its newly-upgraded Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter, the company announced on 17 October. Under the …

• Naval Warfare

  Euronaval 2016: Kazakhstan OPV signing expected soon

  18th October 2016

  German shipbuilders Abeking and Rasmussen are looking to sign a formal contract for a 60m OPV with Kazakhstan by the end of this year or …

• Military Logistics

  Airbus signs JMSDF PBL contract

  18th October 2016

  The Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) and Airbus Helicopters Japan have signed a performance-based logistics (PBL) contract for Airbus Helicopters' HCare customer fleet availability service, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Enhanced Fire Scouts reach Southeast Asia

  17th October 2016

  USS Coronado, an Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), arrived in Singapore on 16 October with two enhanced Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scouts and a Sikorsky …

• Land Warfare

  Russian SAM digital upgrade on offer

  17th October 2016

  A new upgrade to Russia’s OSA-AKM (NATO SA-8 Gecko) mobile surface-to-air (SAM) missile system is now available. Russian company IEMZ Kupol, a company of Almaz-Antey …

• Digital Battlespace

  GPS OCX completes test milestone

  17th October 2016

  Raytheon has reached a new milestone in the development of the US Air Force's (USAF) Global Positioning System Next Generation Operational Control System (GPS OCX), …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Optical Bar camera sensor on RQ-4

  17th October 2016

  Northrop Grumman has successfully flown an Optical Bar camera broad-area synoptic sensor on an RQ-4 Global Hawk high altitude long endurance (HALE) UAS, the company …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Long-Endurance UAV [US AFRICOM]

  Programme Background Ageing MQ-9A Reapers In November 2022, Shephard reported that GA-ASI would continue supporting contractor SMX with its MQ-9A after winning a $2.3 billion task ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  HH-60W - Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH)

  According to the FY2021 Base funding, the HH-60W helicopter unit cost is $43.2 million. The HH-60W will be capable of employment day or night, in ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2 [Pakistan]

  Programme Background Requirement Following a 2019 skirmish with India, Pakistan placed newfound importance on EW and ISR, primarily due to the significant advantage gained during that ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Multidomian Micro Drones [USSOCOM]

  Background Special Notice On 14 November 2024, a Special Notice was released that informed the industry that the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) was looking for ...

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

  MQ-9B SkyGuardian [Denmark]

  Programme Background Arctic Capability Package In February 2021, Denmark published the Arctic Capability package, a commitment to invest in new technologies, particularly uncrewed systems, to improve ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Long-Range Drones [Norway]

  Background Andøya Ambition On 3 April 2023, the Norwegian MoD released a statement confirming its plans for Andøya, the northernmost island in its Vesterålen archipelago. In addition to ...

• Loitering munitions

  Long Range One-way Platforms [US]

  Solicitation In October 2024, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) released a solicitation for long-range, one-way platforms. The DIU noted recent conflicts highlighted the asymmetric impact of low-cost, ...

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

  V-Bat 128 [Canada]

  Programme Background Requirement Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) was seeking a platform for the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) that would significantly expand its surveillance range ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Mini Intelligence Drone System (SMDR) [France]

  Background Requirement The French Army identified a need for a new tactical UAS to replace the Drac, which entered service in 2008. The Mini Reconnaissance ...

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

  M Solar-X [Thailand]

  Programme Background Roadmap In February 2024, the RTAF unveiled its White Paper 2024. Incorporating lessons from the Russo-Ukrainian War, the Israel-Hamas War, and other events ...

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

  Seeker 400 - First Batch (UAE)

  Programme Background The UAE has a long history of transactions with Denel Dynamics. The country has been purchasing various Seeker systems from as far back ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  NH90 NFH-Italy

  Programme Background  The Italian Navy has taken delivery of its first NH90 NFH helicopter in Full Operational Capability (or Step B) configuration in November 2013. ...

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

  CH-4 (First Batch) [Pakistan]

  Programme Background First Batch According to the Pakistan Exim Trade Info website, five aircraft were delivered to the country on 15 January 2021. According to a ...

• Loitering munitions

  Medium-Range Loitering Munition with LEO Satellite Data Link [South Korea]

  Background New Project In April 2025, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) announced a new project titled “Development of Medium-Range ...

• Military UAS - small

  Small UAV (Bulgaria)

  Programme Background The Bulgarian Army wants to procure UAVs to enhance the organic tactical ISR capabilities of its ground forces. According to Bulgarian media, a ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Caihong

  The Caihong (Rainbow), also known as the Cai Hong or CH, is a solar-powered HALE platform designed for near-space flight. It is suitable for military ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Morning Star

  Aviation Industry Corporation of China’s Morning Star is a quasi-satellite, near-space, solar-powered platform. It is designed for both military and civilian applications, including reconnaissance, navigation ...

• FL-3

  The FL-3 is a planned solar-powered, long-endurance, near-space platform with an 85,300ft ceiling. Speculated future uses include communication, ground observation, meteorological monitoring and operation as ...

• ISR/special mission, Maritime patrol

  A320neo M3A

  Currently under development by Airbus, the A320 M3A is the Maritime Patrol version of the civilian A320neo aircraft. The aircraft can be fitted with a wide ...

• Space: radar systems

  SARah

  SARah is the planned follow-on system for the SAR-Lupe radar satellite constellation operated by the German Armed Forces. In 2013, it was announced that OHB ...

• Major networking projects

  EAC

  The NATO Communications and Information Agency awarded ACTIA Sodielec a contract in June 2013 to provide NATO with an Extended Advanced SATCOM Network Monitoring and ...

• Space: radar systems

  ESA Sentinel-1

  Sentinel-1 is a planned constellation of four satellites with two already in orbit and two on order. They carry a payload of a C-band SAR ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Vocality Pro Series

  The Pro Series includes the V25, V50, V150 and V20. These are designed to be used in a central communications hub or as part of ...

• Air: COMINT and ELINT systems

  FlyingFish Maritime

  The FlyingFish Maritime SIGINT system is one of several derivatives of the FlyingFish Airborne Satellite Monitoring System developed by Horizon Technologies. Designed to be mounted ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing

  S-70UAS U-Hawk

  Unveiled at AUSA 2025, the S-70UAS U-Hawk is an uncrewed version of Sikorsky’s crewed UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter.  It will act as a delivery aircraft for medium-sized uncrewed ground vehicles ...

• Air: COMINT and ELINT systems

  FlyingFish

  FlyingFish is an Airborne Satellite Monitoring System designed to detect and intercept SATCOM from airborne ISR platforms. As a passive system, it cannot be detected ...

• Guided munitions

  GP155B

  The GP155B is a 155mm artillery round developed by Norinco. The GP155B integrates satellite-based guidance systems that are compatible with both the Chinese Beidou Navigation ...

• Data links

  Space CDL

  The Space Common Data Link (CDL) system provides a wideband data link capability adaptable to a variety of space-based applications. It consists of separate transmitter ...

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

  ULTRA

  The Unmanned Long-endurance Tactical Reconnaissance Aircraft (ULTRA) is a fixed-wing drone from DZYNE Technologies.  It is described as a long-endurance, GPS-harded intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platform with full ...

• Naval: COMINT and ELINT systems

  FlyingFish Naval

  The FlyingFish Naval SIGINT system is one of several derivatives of the FlyingFish Airborne Satellite Monitoring System (ASMS) developed by Horizon Technologies. Whereas the original ...