• Digital Battlespace

  DARPA announces AI Next colloquium

  20th November 2018

  The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced on 16 November that it will be holding an Artificial Intelligence Colloquium (AIC) in March 2019 to …

• Land Warfare

  Indo Defence 2018: Indonesia continues tests of R-Han 122B rocket

  31st October 2018

  Indonesia carried out test firings of its indigenous 122mm rocket R-Han 122B on 23-25 October at the Indonesian Air Force range in West Java.  The …

• Defence Notes

  Argentine submarine wreck found one year after disappearance

  19th November 2018

  The crushed wreckage of an Argentine submarine has been located one year after it vanished into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean with 44 crew …

• Special Operations

  GD-OTS delivers A-GMV 1.1 vehicles to US Army

  17th October 2018

  General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems has delivered the first Army-Ground Mobility Vehicles (A-GMV 1.1) to the US Army, the company announced on 10 October. …

• Digital Battlespace

  Rheinmetall, Rohde & Schwarz form RRS-MITCOS

  2nd November 2018

  Rheinmetall and Rohde & Schwarz have formed a new joint venture to meet the German military’s requirement for integrated operational and communications systems, Rheinmetall announced …

• Special Operations

  Gender gap closed for UK special forces

  26th October 2018

  Women are now eligible to attempt the UK’s Joint Selection course which is designed to identify personnel suitable for service with the Special Air Service …

• Land Warfare

  Indo Defence 2018: IAI wins $550m air defence systems contract in Asia

  31st October 2018

  Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has become the successful bidder for a $550 million contract providing an air defence system to the army of an undisclosed …

• Defence Notes

  Japan and India agree new defence and economic projects

  29th October 2018

  Japan and India agreed Monday to upgrade diplomatic and military ties, with Tokyo also offering low-interest loans as the two countries seek closer ties to …

• Defence Helicopter

  Australia retires the Kiowa

  19th October 2018

  The Australian Army formally retired the Bell 206B-1 Kiowa on 18 October, a date that also marked the 50th anniversary of the service’s Aviation Corps. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Australia selects MQ-9 Reaper

  16th November 2018

  The General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) MQ-9 Reaper has been selected for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) under Project Air 7003 Phase 1, Minister …

• Military Logistics

  Triumph RMVA systems for US Navy carrier

  7th November 2018

  Triumph Integrated Systems has received a contract from Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) to supply remote valve actuation (RMVA) systems as part of the US Navy’s …

• Digital Battlespace

  UK awards F-ADAPT contract to Thales

  1st November 2018

  The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded a contract to Thales UK to modernise the British Army and Royal Marines’ very short-range air defence capability. …

• Land Warfare

  Allison transmissions for USMC ACV 1.1

  14th November 2018

  Allison’s Specialty Series transmissions have been selected by Iveco Defence to equip the US Marine Corps’ new generation of Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACV) 1.1. The …

• Digital Battlespace

  RADA receives $12 million in new orders

  16th November 2018

  RADA Electronic Industries has announced that it has received more than $12 million in new orders. The company has received orders worth $5 million for …

• Defence Helicopter

  Erickson to provide aerial services to USPACOM

  6th November 2018

  Erickson has received an IDIQ contract from the US Department of Defense to provide dedicated rotary wing and fixed wing aircraft to the US Pacific …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  MQ-1 Gray Eagle [US Army]

  Background Required Quantity Although the US Army first envisioned a requirement for 132 MQ-1C Gray Eagles, the US Army's Army Acquisition Objective (AAO) was increased ...

• Main battle tanks

  NGCV: DLP

  Programme Background Requirement The DLP is one of five vehicle families being developed for the US Army's NGCV programme. Expanded to include five programmes in ...

• AGMV 1.1

  Programme Background The US Army has been seeking a lightweight, air-droppable, high mobility vehicle since as early as 2014, when it initiated its Ultra Light ...

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

  Heavy Lift VTOL (HVTOL) (Forecast) [US Army]

  Background USMC In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, which had been specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  AMPV [USA]

  Programme Background Platform Development The US Army initiated the AMPV programme to acquire a replacement for several variants of the M113 tracked APC, which has ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV Oshkosh Contract [US Army]

  Programme Background As of January 2021, the US DoD had signed 15 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all ...

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

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 2) [US Army]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was intended to ...

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

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 1) [USA]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow On

  Programme Background In March 2019, Airbus stated that it expected orders from the US Army for between 12 and 15 UH-72A helicopters. In March 2020, ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker (Sergeant Stout) [USA]

  Programme Background As part of the Army Transformation Initiative the US DoD is fundamentally reorganising the structure of the US Army. As part of this all Infantry ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System (LMAMS) [US Army]

  Background First Contract In June 2011, the US awarded AeroVironment a $4.9 million series-production contract for the loitering munition, satisfying the US Army's Lethal Miniature ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Switchblade 300 (USA)

  Programme Background AeroVironment has been providing the Switchblade 300 loitering munition to the US Army under the long-standing Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile Systems (LMAMS) programme ...

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

  Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) [Tranche 1] / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) (USA)

  Programme Background The Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) Programme The RPUAS programme will provide the Battalion and below-ground manoeuvre elements within the US Army with an ...

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

  Group 4/5 UAV [US Army]

  Background Request for Information (RFI) On 5 June 2024, the American DoD published an RfI with an original response date of 19 July 2024. The ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  US Army Maneuver Support Vessel Light (MSVL)

  Programme BackgroundThe Maneuver Support Vessel (Light) or MSV(L) contract was awarded by the US Army to Vigor in 2017 and are being built to replace ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  US Army AVCATT PDSS

  L3Harris Technologies is the prime contractor for the US Army’s Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer (AVCATT) Post Deployment Software Support (PDSS) programme. L3Harris Technologies is ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  US Army Flight School XXI OFT/RCTD

  L3Harris Technologies is a major subcontractor to CSC on the US Army’s Flight School XXI (FSXXI) programme. L3Harris Technologies has built or is under contract ...

• Maritime patrol

  US-2

  The ShinMaywa US-2 is an amphibious short take-off and landing aircraft used primarily by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) for SAR. 

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  OH-58 Kiowa

  The single-engine OH-58 Kiowa, derived from the Bell 206, entered US Army service in 1969 as a light observation helicopter. More than 2,200 were built for ...

• Towed guns

  M198

  The US Army developed the M198 155mm towed howitzer from 1969 to replace the M114 155mm howitzer. From 1978, 1,600 weapons were built by Rock ...

• Towed mortars

  M120/M120A1

  The M120/M120A1 120 mm Towed Mortar System is a US-built version of the Soltam K6 mortar that was accepted into US Army service in 1990.

• Light tanks

  M10 Booker

  The US Army awarded General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) a contract worth US$1.14 billion to supply 96 light tanks under the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) ...

• JPT

  Designed for military applications, the Joint Platform Tablet (JPT) features a rugged design, including a military-grade aluminium case, dual-core processor, 128GB removable hard drive and ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72A/B Lakota

  In 2006, the US Army selected a version of the medium-sized, twin-engine H145, designated the UH-72A Lakota,  to meet its requirement for a new Light ...

• Armoured engineer vehicles

  M1150 ABV

  The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) project, launched by the USMC in 2002, is a joint programme to meet the requirements of both the US ...

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

  RQ-7 Shadow 200

  The Shadow 200, designated RQ-7B by the US Army, is flown by the army brigade combat teams and combat aviation brigades along with the UAV ...

• REBS

  The Rapidly Emplaced Bridge System (REBS) is a 13m dry-gap bridge. It was designed by GDELS to meet a US Army requirement to provide a ...

• DSB

  WFEL was selected in 1996 to develop the M18 Dry Support Bridge (DSB) for the US Army. The company designed, manufactured and integrated the DSB ...

• Land: Electronic Attack - Jamming

  AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III

  Sierra Nevada’s AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III is the standard Counter Improvised Explosive Device (CIED) manpack system in service with the US Army and US Marine Corps (USMC). ...

• Individual grenade launchers

  M320 GLM

  The M320 Grenade Launcher Module (GLM) is a further development of the HK AG36 (see separate entry) to meet a US Army requirement. The M320 ...