• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Raytheon to support UAS airspace test corridor

  8th May 2018

  Raytheon has been selected as a partner by Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research (NUAIR) in the development of a UAS-testing airspace corridor in New York …

• Defence Notes

  US stands by Afghans after deadly day for journalists

  1st May 2018

  Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday the US would stand by the Afghan people and the Kabul government, a day after attacks killed dozens of …

• Digital Battlespace

  FIU to establish centre for origami antennas

  8th May 2018

  The US Air Force Office of Scientific Research has awarded a $4.8 million grant to Florida International University (FIU) to launch the Center for Physically …

• Defence Helicopter

  US government closes in on third V-22 multi-year

  10th April 2018

  The Pentagon is preparing to finalise and sign off on a third multi-year (MY3) Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey contract, with the deal expected to be completed …

• Special Operations

  SOFIC 2018: Virtual symposium launched to support industry

  16th May 2018

  The US Special Operations Command’s (USSOCOM’s) Science and Technology (S&T;) Directorate has launched a virtual symposium to support industry efforts to identify and enable disruptive …

• Defence Notes

  Iran's ballistic missiles: bone of contention with West

  8th May 2018

  Iran's ballistic missile programme has poisoned relations between Tehran and Western powers for years but for the Islamic republic the issue is staunchly non-negotiable. A …

• Military Logistics

  Engility awarded SeaPort-e task order

  2nd May 2018

  Engility will provide software engineering and production support to the US Navy's tactical afloat and submarine local area networks under a five-year, $90 million task …

• Naval Warfare

  Hanoi demands Beijing withdraw missiles from disputed islands

  9th May 2018

  Hanoi has demanded Beijing remove military equipment from contested islands in the South China Sea, saying reported missile installations are a ‘serious violation’ of Vietnam's …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  SOFEX 2018: Machine gun robot first public sighting

  10th May 2018

  The King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau (KADDB) showcased the first prototype of its weaponised UGV at SOFEX 2018 in Amman. Under development for …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Bell to demo Autonomous POD Transport to US military

  2nd May 2018

  Bell is preparing to show off a new UAS capable of ferrying medical supplies, food or even weapons to troops in remote locations. Under development …

• Land Warfare

  US Army eyes new Javelin missiles

  3rd May 2018

  The US Army is finalising a contract to purchase the new multipurpose variant of the FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missiles which provides enhanced capabilities against non-armoured …

• Defence Helicopter

  Washington clears way for Bahrain AH-1Z sale

  10th May 2018

  The US state department has approved a proposed FMS for 12 Bell AH-1Z Vipers to Bahrain, at an estimated cost of $911.4 million.  Alongside the attack …

• Military Logistics

  Germany requests C-130J and KC-130Js

  8th May 2018

  The US State Department has made a determination approving a potential foreign military sale of three C-130J-30 and three KC-130J aircraft to Germany, the Defense …

• Naval Warfare

  HHI cuts steel on first Philippine frigate

  8th May 2018

  Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) hosted a ceremony on 1 May to mark the initial cutting of steel for the first of the Philippine Navy’s (PN) …

• Defence Notes

  Israeli strikes used 28 planes, 70 missiles: Russia

  10th May 2018

  Israel's strikes on Syria saw 28 planes take part in raids with a total of around 70 missiles fired, the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) …

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 ...