• Special Operations

  Army steps forward on 40mm airburst

  15th February 2018

  The US Army is moving forward on development of a new 40mm low velocity airburst munition. Designated XM1166, the High Explosive Airburst (HEAB) system would …

• Naval Warfare

  Report: 'Sudden turn' by US warship led to collision

  8th March 2018

  A ‘sudden turn’ by the American warship USS John S. McCain led to a collision with a tanker in 2017 off Singapore that left 10 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Bell ready to accelerate V-247 programme for USMC requirement

  20th March 2018

  Despite lacking a date for the unveiling of a V-247 unmanned tiltrotor prototype, Bell is confident that it will be able to meet the USMC timeline …

• Land Warfare

  Lockheed’s PAC-3 CRI in White Sands testing

  9th March 2018

  Lockheed Martin's PAC-3 Cost Reduction Initiative (CRI) interceptor has successfully intercepted two tactical ballistic missile targets in a test at White Sands Missile Range, the …

• Land Warfare

  Spanish MoD orders GroundHunter AWDs

  15th March 2018

  Chemring Technology Solutions has received a second contract from the Spanish MoD to supply additional GroundHunter Advanced Wire Detectors (AWD), the company announced on 13 …

• Defence Notes

  Directed energy weapons key for ballistic missile defence

  8th March 2018

  Despite the US military’s rocky relationship with directed energy, top Pentagon leaders made the case to Congress for eventually folding high powered lasers into the …

• Defence Notes

  Opinion: How did DPRK missile programmes get to this point?

  7th March 2018

  When the Soviet Union shocked the world by launching Sputnik in 1957, the reaction of national security and US officials came down to ‘how did …

• Land Warfare

  Ceradyne awarded ballistic helmet order

  8th March 2018

  Ceradyne has received a $34 million order from the US Army to continue to supply ballistic helmets, the company announced on 1 March. The new …

• Training

  Lockheed to build missile defence targets

  13th March 2018

  Lockheed Martin has received an $80.6 million contract from the US Missile Defense Agency to build modified ballistic re-entry vehicles and separation modules for missile …

• Naval Warfare

  Lockheed Martin awarded laser weapon contract

  7th March 2018

  Lockheed Martin has received a contract from the US Navy to develop, manufacture and deliver two high power laser weapon systems, the company announced on …

• Defence Notes

  New US advisors hope to give Afghan soldiers vital boost

  5th March 2018

  A brigade of seasoned American soldiers has arrived in Afghanistan in recent days on a much-trumpeted mission to offer a new type of training – …

• Defence Notes

  NATO chief says spy attack must have 'consequences'

  15th March 2018

  NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on 15 March backed a ‘proportionate’ British response to a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy, saying the …

• Digital Battlespace

  ViaSat-2 SATCOM launched

  15th March 2018

  Viasat has launched its new ViaSat-2 satellite communications (SATCOM) service for government, defence and military applications, the company announced on 12 March. The communications satellite, …

• Defence Notes

  Embraer reports higher 2017 profits amid talks with Boeing

  8th March 2018

  Embraer reported net profits of $246.8 million in 2017, 48.58 percent more than the previous year - news that comes amid expectations that it might …

• Defence Helicopter

  CPI receives amendment for AH-1Z components

  9th March 2018

  CPI Aerostructures has received an amendment to a contract from Bell Helicopter for the manufacture of components for the AH-1Z Viper helicopter, the company announced …

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 ...