• Training

  ADF Taji 6 completes training rotation

  5th June 2018

  The joint Australian and New Zealand task group, Taji 6, has completed a six-month deployment in Iraq, training more than 5,675 members of the Iraqi …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Use of armed UAVs increasing under Trump: study

  7th June 2018

  The use of armed UAVs by the United States is increasing under President Donald Trump just as oversight of the lethal technology appears to be …

• Special Operations

  New Capabilities for Sensitive Site Exploitation

  8th June 2018

  Forensics specialist Evidence Talks used the recent Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC) in Tampa, Florida, to announce the arrival of the company’s Spektor Ultra …

• Defence Notes

  China and India calm border dispute

  2nd June 2018

  This week’s 17th Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) began with a panel session on the border dispute between China and India, ahead of a keynote address by Indian …

• Defence Notes

  NATO rejects Qatar membership ambition

  6th June 2018

  NATO on 6 June declined an overture by Qatar to join the Western military defence alliance, saying membership was reserved to the US and Europe. …

• Naval Warfare

  Dutch firm supports Taiwan submarine upgrade

  29th May 2018

  The effort to modernise two Republic of China Navy (ROCN) diesel-electric submarines was boosted in May with the announcement that they will undergo an upgrade …

• Naval Warfare

  Canadian naval shipbuilding in the spotlight

  4th June 2018

  A multitude of naval announcements at this year’s CANSEC event indicate that 2018 could herald a positive era for Canada’s maritime industry. However, this prosperity …

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy commissions USS Manchester

  28th May 2018

  The US Navy commissioned the Independence-variant littoral combat ship (LCS) USS Manchester, at the State Pier in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on 26 May. The USS Manchester …

• Naval Warfare

  US DoD orders additional Tomahawks

  1st May 2018

  Raytheon will supply Tomahawk Block IV all-up-round vertical launch system missiles for the US Department of Defense under a contract modification announced on 27 April. …

• Digital Battlespace

  Is PLAAF harassment of Taiwan a dress rehearsal for Guam?

  28th May 2018

  The 11 May flight by the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), yet another in a series of harassment exercises against Taiwan, may well have …

• Defence Helicopter

  Chemring receives flares contract

  28th May 2018

  Chemring Countermeasures USA (CCM USA) has received contracts totalling $27.5 million for the production of M211 and MJU-64/B flares for the US Army, US Navy …

• Defence Notes

  Opinion: Kim-Trump meeting expected to go forward…maybe

  30th May 2018

  US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appear perfect for each other. Either man could have written the book The Art of …

• Digital Battlespace

  EW Europe 2018: US Navy's EW modernisation continues

  31st May 2018

  The US Navy’s modernisation of its ageing electronic warfare equipment, including the acquisition of a new helicopter-borne EW pod, is continuing as the service attempts …

• Defence Notes

  Taiwan faces defence export challenges

  25th May 2018

  Taiwan’s defence industry is struggling to enter the US defence global supply chain, despite its procurement of billions of dollars of US equipment over the …

• Defence Notes

  Pentagon points to Colombian's FARC deal as inspiration for Afghanistan

  30th May 2018

  At a critical point between the Afghan government and Taliban's struggle to nail down a peaceful resolution to the 17-year violent conflict, a key US …

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 ...