• Naval Warfare

  US Navy selects five companies for FFG(X) design phase

  22nd February 2018

  The US Navy has selected five companies to move forward with the conceptual design of its new Guided Missile Frigate FFG(X). On 16 February, the …

• Special Operations

  Global SOF 2018: “Risk perception” impacts European SOF aviation development

  26th February 2018

  One of the challenges encountered in the ongoing development and expansion of special operations aviation elements across many regions involves differences in “risk perception” that …

• Land Warfare

  Poland Patriot buy imminent as negotiations conclude

  26th February 2018

  Negotiations for the procurement of the Patriot air defence system for Poland are nearing their conclusion.  The new Polish Minister of Defence, Mariusz Blaszczak, speaking …

• Defence Notes

  Baltic presidents to visit Trump

  22nd February 2018

  US President Donald Trump will welcome his counterparts from three Baltic states in Washington on 3 April to discuss security and economic ties, the Estonian …

• Digital Battlespace

  Featured: JSTARS is just the start

  2nd March 2018

  The US Air Force's expected ‘system of systems’ approach to aerial surveillance for its JSTARS follow on capability could be replicated for other replacement programmes. …

• Defence Notes

  32 die in Russian plane crash at Syria base: defence ministry

  6th March 2018

  A Russian transport plane crashed on landing at the Hmeimim airbase in Syria Tuesday, killing all 32 on board, Russia's defence ministry said.There were 26 …

• Military Logistics

  CPI to deliver E-2D wing components

  23rd February 2018

  CPI Aerostructures has received additional purchase orders from Northrop Grumman to supply wing componentsfor the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft, the company announced on 20 February. …

• Land Warfare

  Featured: Philippines eyes wheeled and tracked AFVs

  6th March 2018

  The Philippine Army told Shephard as far back as 2014 that it harboured ambitions to procure main battle tanks within the 2020-28 period. However, a …

• Defence Notes

  Marines drink cobra blood in US-Thai war drills

  19th February 2018

  US and Thai marines slurped snake blood and ate scorpions in a jungle survival programme on 19 February as part of the two nations' annual …

• Special Operations

  Global SOF 2018: Has US developed 'over reliance' on SOF?

  20th February 2018

  The US and its partners across the Central Command region may have developed an over-reliance on special operations forces (SOF), sometimes at the expense of …

• Land Warfare

  Indian howitzer production begins

  20th February 2018

  The US Army’s Watervliet Arsenal has begun work on a $50 million order to manufacture 145 howitzer cannon systems for the Indian Army, the US …

• Land Warfare

  Rheinmetall receive two contracts from US military

  19th February 2018

  Rheinmetall has received two contracts to provide infantry ammunition and special effects ordnance to the US armed forces, the company announced on 14 February. Under …

• Special Operations

  Kuwait requests King Air 350ER ISR aircraft

  26th February 2018

  The US State Department has made a determination approving a potential foreign military sale of King Air 350ER ISR aircraft to Kuwait. In a package …

• Land Warfare

  Sweden requests Patriot Configuration-3+

  26th February 2018

  The US State Department has made a determination approving a potential foreign military sale of Patriot Configuration-3+ Modernised Fire Units to Sweden, the Defense Security …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  RIMS gets approval for UAS inspections

  23rd February 2018

  Robotics in Maintenance Strategies (RIMS) has received further approvals from the Korean Register of Shipping for the use of UAS for surveys of confined spaces, …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Background Presidential Drawdown Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, on 21 April 2022, President Biden announced an $800 million Presidential Drawdown security ...

• 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 - 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. ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  XQ-58A Valkyrie [USMC]

  Programme Background Contract Award On 30 December 2022, the US DoD announced that it had awarded Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems a $15.52 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to ...