• Uncrewed Vehicles

  JetLease, UAVOS team up for Albatross-2.2

  11th May 2018

  JetLease has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with UAVOS to further develop the Albatross-2.2, a fixed-wing optionally manned aircraft based on the Pipistrel Sinus light …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  FirstLook UGV for USMC

  10th May 2018

  Endeavor Robotics has received a $10 million contract from the US Marine Corps to provide FirstLook UGVs, the company announced on 7 May. The 5lbs …

• Defence Notes

  US military pilots injured by Chinese lasers

  4th May 2018

  Chinese nationals have on multiple occasions shone military-grade laser pointers at US pilots operating out of the American base in Djibouti, the Pentagon said on …

• Defence Notes

  US troop withdrawal not linked to Korean peace pact

  2nd May 2018

  South Korean President Moon Jae-in has dismissed claims that US troops stationed in the country would have to leave if a peace treaty was signed …

• Special Operations

  Fibrotex USA receives ULCANS contract

  4th May 2018

  Fibrotex USA has received a contract from the US Army Natick Soldier System Center for the further development, testing and manufacture of the next generation …

• Military Logistics

  Aviall joins AHRLAC team

  3rd May 2018

  Boeing subsidiary Aviall will lead the supply chain management for the production of the Advanced High-Performance Reconnaissance Light Aircraft (AHRLAC) developed by Paramount Group, the …

• Defence Helicopter

  UTAS components for CH-53K

  11th May 2018

  UTC Aerospace Systems (UTAS) will provide components for the US Marine Corps’ CH-53K King Stallion helicopter, the company announced on 9 May. The company will …

• Training

  Northrop delivers F-35 EW test environment

  10th May 2018

  Northrop Grumman has delivered an integrated electronic warfare (EW) simulation test environment to the US Navy for F-35 fighter aircraft, the company announced on 7 …

• Training

  ITEC 2018: Smashing ceilings through wall acquisition

  12th May 2018

  The global stretch of Survitec, which provides G-suits and life preservers for the F-35 Lightning II aircraft and liferafts for the US Navy, has been …

• Defence Notes

  Turkey detains 150 soldiers over alleged coup links

  11th May 2018

  Turkish police on 11 May detained 150 soldiers over suspected links to the movement Ankara blames for the 2016 failed coup, state media reported. The …

• Naval Warfare

  Discussions to end Northwood's Atalanta role imminent

  6th May 2018

  Discussions to host the future headquarters of the EU’s Operation Atalanta counter-piracy mission off the Horn of Africa will likely take place next week in …

• Military Logistics

  Pinewell completes acquisition of AEF

  7th May 2018

  Pinewell Capital has completed the acquisition of Avon Engineered Fabrications (AEF), the company announced on 1 May. AEF manufactures military-grade performance inflatable products for various …

• Digital Battlespace

  LGS receives base C4I relocation contract

  3rd May 2018

  LGS Innovations has received a five-year contract from the US Army to support the Yongsan Relocation Plan Increment 3 (YRP-3) under the GSA Alliant contract, …

• Defence Notes

  Nine aboard US C-130 destroyed in fiery crash

  3rd May 2018

  An aging US military cargo plane carrying nine troops was destroyed in a fiery crash on 2 May as it made its final scheduled flight …

• Defence Notes

  Saudi air defences intercept two missiles over Riyadh

  9th May 2018

  Saudi Arabia's air defences intercepted two ballistic missiles over the capital Riyadh on Wednesday, state television Al-Ekhbariya said. Two explosions were heard in the city, …

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 ...