• Naval Warfare

  AWD Alliance: Destroyer programme ‘on schedule’

  26th September 2016

  During a recent visit by Shephard to the Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) Alliance in South Australia, officials assured that construction of three destroyers for the …

• Military Logistics

  L-CAT tests Captas-1 towed sonar

  24th September 2016

  Thales and CNIM have trailed the use of a Captas-1 variable depth sonar on an L-Cat landing craft in the Mediterranean to further demonstrate the …

• Digital Battlespace

  Wearable combat sensors in development

  23rd September 2016

  Wearable sensor solutions are being developed by the UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and a number of industry partners with the aim of …

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy gets AQS-24B upgrade kits

  23rd September 2016

  Northrop Grumman has made the delivery of the first of three lots of AQS-24B mine-hunting sonar upgrade kits to the US Navy’s Naval Surface Warfare …

• Digital Battlespace

  CAC2S in operational test

  23rd September 2016

  General Dynamics Mission Systems' Common Aviation Command and Control System (CAC2S) has successfully provided users with an integrated operational picture during a US Marine Corps …

• Naval Warfare

  New patrol gunboat for Thai navy

  23rd September 2016

  The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) commissioned HTMS Laemsing (PGB 561), a domestically built patrol gunboat, on 21 September after sea trials. The RTN bought its …

• Naval Warfare

  ADAS 2016: Taiwan shipbuilders seek exports

  23rd September 2016

  About two decades ago, Taiwan private shipbuilders began constructing Taiwan coast guard cutters, and now some companies are also focusing on overseas markets, especially in …

• Military Logistics

  Future USNS Yuma launched

  22nd September 2016

  The future USNS Yuma, the eighth Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) vessel, has been launched at Austal USA’s shipyard in Mobile, Alabama, it was announced …

• Naval Warfare

  ADAS 2016: Taiwan’s coast guard commissions cutters

  22nd September 2016

  Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration (CGA) commissioned a pair of what it called ‘1,000t’ cutters in Kaohsiung on 21 September.  In fact, there displacement is actually …

• Military Logistics

  Rolls-Royce design for NZ support ship

  22nd September 2016

  The Polar-class logistics support vessel in development for the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) will be based on a Rolls-Royce concept design. Rolls-Royce announced that …

• Digital Battlespace

  Leidos bags army geospatial mapping order

  21st September 2016

  Leidos has been awarded a contract to support the US Army Geospatial Center's (AGC) High-Resolution, 3-D (HR3D) Geospatial Information programme, it was announced on 19 …

• Defence Notes

  Netherlands to invest more in defence

  21st September 2016

  More money will be spent on security, including the armed forces, ‘because of the security situation, nearby and elsewhere in the world’, the King of …

• Land Warfare

  Analysis: UK to issue MRV-P bid invites

  21st September 2016

  The UK MoD will publish an invitation to negotiate (ITN) for its Multi-Role Vehicle Protected (MRV-P) programme in the final quarter of 2016, industry sources …

• Digital Battlespace

  US CBP orders Multi-Role Enforcement Aircraft

  21st September 2016

  Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has been awarded a $280 million contract by US Customs and Border Protection to engineer and integrate 12 Multi-Role Enforcement Aircraft …

• Military Logistics

  C-130J empennage milestone

  21st September 2016

  Tata Lockheed Martin Aerostructures (TLMAL) has delivered the 50th C-130J Super Hercules empennage assembly to the production line, Lockheed Martin announced on 19 September. TLMAL …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton (28-68) [USN]

  Background Requirement The MQ-4C Triton programme, developed under the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) programme, required an uncrewed system to provide persistent, broad-area intelligence, surveillance ...

• Military UAS - MALE, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  MQ-8C Fire Scout (USA)

  Programme Background Timeline According to the Naval Air Systems Command, having first ordered the MQ-8B in 2009, the UAV has become a pillar of the ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Medium Landing Ship (1-10) [USMC]

  Programme Background Development As part of the US Marine Corps' future force structure, it is developing a new platform under the Medium Lading Ship programme ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Medium Landing Ship (11-33) [USMC]

  Programme Background Requirements As part of the US Marine Corps' future force structure, it is developing a new platform under the Medium Lading Ship programme ...

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

  Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Unmanned Expeditionary (MUX) (Increment 1) [USMC]

  Programme Background All-in-One UAV Since 2016, the USMC has wished to acquire a UAV that could be deployed from a vessel, be used for various missions, ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton (1-27) [USN]

  Background Requirement The MQ-4C Triton programme, developed under the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) programme, required an uncrewed system to provide persistent, broad-area intelligence, surveillance ...

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

  Medium Range/Medium Endurance (MR/ME) [USMC]

  Programme Background Force Design 2030 The USMC Force Design 2030 is a modernisation effort to create a lighter, more agile maritime force. The update to ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  HH-60W - Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH)

  Background In 2010, the USAF announced the replacement of the HH-60G with a new Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH), and in 2012, the request for proposals ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  The Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  The Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement The FVL-MS programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft utilised ...

• Military UAS - small

  Long Range/Long Endurance (LR/LE) [USMC]

  Background Force Design 2030 The USMC Force Design 2030 is a modernisation effort to create a lighter, more agile maritime force. The update to the ...

• Destroyers

  Next-Generation Large Surface Combatants (LSC) - DDG(X) [USN]

  Programme Background Requirements The US Navy (USN) is acknowledging a need to move away from the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer design, which is slowly outgrowing. Flight III ...

• Military UAS - small

  RQ-21A Blackjack / STUASLO - Replacement Units (USN)

  Programme Background Joint USN and USMC Procurment The RQ-21 Blackjack, or STUALSO, was a combined United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) programme ...

• Military - USVs

  MUSV [USN]

  Programme Background Requirements In March 2026, the US announced it would be replacing its Modular Attack Surface Craft (MASC) programme with a Medium Uncrewed Surface ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  SECAT

  In 2022, Textron Systems unveiled its new Surface Effect Cargo Amphibious Transport (SECAT) craft, designed to support logistics behind the US Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations and ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-53E Sea Dragon

  Sikorsky developed the MH-53E (S-80) Sea Dragon variant of its CH-53E to provide the USN with a dedicated airborne mine countermeasures helicopter. Equipped with enlarged ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  Tactical Mission System for Helicopter Applications

  The Saab tactical mission system is a system for transport, utility, C2 and combat helicopters intended to operate in a net-centric environment. It is designed ...

• Major networking projects

  CANES

  The Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) programme is a USN-wide effort to rationalise shipboard computing assets. It is designed to create a common ...

• Air: UAV simulators

  MQ-9 MTD

  SDS’s ROVATTS-based MQ-9 Mission Training Device (MTD) was developed to provide high-fidelity simulation to support US Air National Guard operational Reaper crew training. The PC-based ...

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

  MQ-8C Fire Scout

  The MQ-8C is a newer version of the Fire Scout and is based on a Bell 407 commercial helicopter. It offers a greater range, endurance and ...

• Land: soldier modernisation systems - national programmes

  MERS

  The Marine Expeditionary Rifle Squad (MERS) takes a systems engineering approach to equipping the USMC’s fundamental fighting unit. The integration and configuration management of all ...

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

  MQ-8B Fire Scout

  The MQ-8B Fire Scout is a rotary-wing UAV that provides situational awareness and precision targeting support for the US Armed Forces. The MQ-8B Fire Scout, ...

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar

  AN/ZPY-1 STARLite

  The AN/ZPY-1 Small Tactical Radar-Lightweight (STARLite) is a synthetic aperture radar and GMTI sensor for UAVs, manufactured by Northrop Grumman. It offers strip and spot synthetic ...

• Fighter - multirole, Fighter - naval

  F-35C

  The F-35C Lightning II, also known as the F-35 carrier variant (CV), is a fifth-generation multirole combat aircraft in carrier configuration. It has larger wings and ...

• Military - UUVs

  Mission Specialist Defender

  The Mission Specialist Defender is a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) developed by VideoRay, now part of BlueHalo's unmanned maritime systems. The ROV is known ...

• Guided munitions

  AGM-154 JSOW

  The AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) is a joint United States Navy (USN)/United States Air Force (USAF) programme with the USN as the lead service. ...

• Air: mission management systems

  Air Operations Systems of Systems

  Air Operations System of Systems is designed to enable management of airspaces across large states and/or regions focusing on strategic planning. The system integration approach ...

• Trainer

  Saab 340 trainer

  The Saab 340 trainer aircraft is based on the Saab 340 regional airliner. It is used by the USN for pilot training. The aircraft replaced ...

• Subsystems: software

  LiteFlite II Simulators

  The LiteFlite II was designed to provide a high-fidelity, laptop-based system with white-force/man-in-the-loop capabilities for use with a variety of simulation systems. LiteFlite II represents ...