• Land Warfare

  AUSA Global: Army moving out on high-energy laser development

  29th March 2018

  The US Army is moving forward with plans to field a 50 kW high-energy laser on a 8x8 Stryker vehicle in FY2023, if not quicker, and …

• Defence Notes

  US defence chief Mattis has 'no reservations' about Bolton

  27th March 2018

  US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said 27 March he had 'no reservations' about working with John Bolton, the controversial hawk named by President Donald Trump …

• Defence Helicopter

  Leonardo’s DAS for UK’s new AH-64E helicopters

  5th April 2018

  Leonardo has received a contract from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to provide a defensive aids suite (DAS) for the British Army’s new fleet …

• Digital Battlespace

  General Dynamics receives GRIDS III contract

  28th March 2018

  General Dynamics One Source has received the Geospatial, Research, Integration, Development and Support (GRIDS) III contract from the US Army Corps of Engineers Army Geospatial …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Army orders more UH-72A Lakotas

  27th March 2018

  Airbus Helicopters has received a contract modification from the US Army for 16 additional UH-72A Lakota helicopters, the company announced on 23 March. The contract, …

• Special Operations

  USSOCOM outlines technical experiment

  8th April 2018

  The US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has released an RfI to support an upcoming Technical Experimentation (TE) event. The 4 April request outlined TE opportunities for …

• Land Warfare

  Poland buys US Patriot anti-missile system for $4.8 billion

  28th March 2018

  Poland signed on Wednesday a $4.75 billion (€3.8 billion) contract to purchase a US-made Patriot anti-missile system, a move that is likely to irk Russia …

• Military Logistics

  Vanuatu says no to China military base

  10th April 2018

  Vanuatu insisted on 10 April that it had no plans to allow China to set up a military base on its territory after a report …

• Defence Notes

  Qatar introduces national service for women

  5th April 2018

  Qatar is introducing national service for women for the first time while extending the time served in the military by conscripted men, under a law …

• Defence Notes

  NGOs pressure Macron over Saudi weapons as prince visits

  10th April 2018

  Rights groups on 9 April urged French President Emmanuel Macron to pressure visiting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the war in Yemen, warning …

• Special Operations

  USSOCOM bulking up on missiles

  12th March 2018

  The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) is preparing to bulk up its inventory of tactical missiles with two sole source procurements. The procurement deals will …

• Naval Warfare

  Thomas Hudner completes builder's trials

  3rd April 2018

  The US Navy's future USS Thomas Hudner has successfully completed builder's trials, NAVSEA announced on 2 April. The vessel is being built by General Dynamics …

• Military Logistics

  Leidos receives munitions services contract

  28th March 2018

  Leidos has received a follow-on contract from the US Army to continue to provide logistics services to the 1st Theater Sustainment Command (TSC) in support …

• Digital Battlespace

  AUSA Global: Harris unveils its US Army Leader Radio

  26th March 2018

  Harris Corporation has unveiled the latest member of its software defined radio (SDR) family, specifically designed for the US Army’s Leader Radio programme. Described as …

• Digital Battlespace

  Thales positions to supply Type 31e combat system

  6th April 2018

  Thales is doubling down on efforts to potentially supply the Royal Navy with its Tacticos combat management system (CMS) for the next-generation Type 31e programme, …

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 ...