• Defence Notes

  China’s military asked to prepare for war

  5th January 2018

  Chinese President Xi Jinping has issued a blunt call for China's military to be ready for war and unafraid to die defending the country, as …

• Special Operations

  JSSD-K construction work set to begin

  2nd January 2018

  Work is set to begin on a new joint logistics operations centre for the US Special Operations Command Central’s Joint Special Operations Forces Support Detachment …

• Special Operations

  Serbia looks to SOF reorganization

  29th December 2017

  Serbia is to consider a reorganisation of its Special Forces in order to handle emerging counter-terrorism (CT) tasks, a senior service office has disclosed.Speaking to …

• Special Operations

  USSOCOM looks to alternate mobility designs

  2nd January 2018

  US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) is investigating alternative propulsion designs for its Light Tactical All-Terrain Vehicle (LTATV) fleet.  The command's interest in possible hybrid, fuel …

• Naval Warfare

  First UK P-8s under contract

  22nd December 2017

  Christmas has come early for the UK as the US Department of Defense (DoD) announced that Boeing has been awarded the first production contract for …

• Defence Helicopter

  Milpower power converters for AH-64E Apache

  28th December 2017

  Milpower Source has announced that it will provide rugged DC-DC and AC-DC power converters for use in the US Army’s AH-64E Apache helicopter. Designed by …

• Defence Helicopter

  V-280 Valor makes maiden flight

  21st December 2017

  Bell Helicopter's V-280 Valor tiltrotor prototype has successfully completed its first flight at the company's Amarillo assembly facility in Texas.  In a short video released …

• Defence Notes

  Lockheed Martin LRASM in new test firing

  20th December 2017

  Lockheed Martin has test fired production-configuration Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles (LRASM) from a US Air Force B-1B bomber. The test - conducted over the sea …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Boeing takes cover off secretive MQ-25 bid

  20th December 2017

  With the deadline looming for the US Navy’s MQ-25 unmanned refuelling tanker, destined to be based onboard US aircraft carriers, Boeing has further illuminated its …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Vigilant Aerospace secures TFO funding

  21st December 2017

  Vigilant Aerospace has secured investment from Kluz Ventures through its commercial unmanned aircraft and robotics fund, The Flying Object (TFO). TFO makes investments into US …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Second Sea Hunter hull gets go-ahead

  18th December 2017

  A second Sea Hunter USV is to be built by US-based Leidos in a continuation of the programme to deliver a viable long-endurance unmanned ASW …

• Land Warfare

  US Army goes on Christmas spending spree

  22nd December 2017

  Christmas has come early for the US Army as the service announced several contracts for key programmes on 21 December, totalling billions of dollars. The …

• Training

  Raytheon prepares for DoD cyber training

  20th December 2017

  Over recent years there has been much talk of developing cyber security training methodologies but few companies have brought forward any meaningful training processes or …

• Special Operations

  Israeli Navy diving unit ponders upgrades

  26th December 2017

  The Israeli Navy’s ‘Yaltam’ diving unit is looking to acquire improved deep-water capability and upgrades to some of its specialist equipment. Tasked with complex underwater …

• Special Operations

  New oxygen delivery sought for future parachute operations

  22nd December 2017

  The US Army is seeking information from industry on a notional new oxygen delivery system that could be used in future military free fall (MFF) …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  CH-47F Chinook [Saudi Arabia]

  Programme Background In addition to the aircraft, the request includes M134D mini-Guns, aircraft survivability equipment, infrared signature suppression system, fast rope insertion extraction system, extended ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow-On [USA]

  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, ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV (US Army) (Batch 1) [USA]

  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 branches ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Multirole Fighter [Morocco]

  Programme Background 2019 In March 2019, the US State Department announced that it had approved a possible FMS of 25 F-16V Block 72 aircraft to ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-60M Black Hawk (Second Contract) [Croatia]

  Programme Background Western Technology With the help of the US, Croatia has attempted to improve its military technology, replacing Soviet equipment, such as the Mi-8/Mi-17. ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  AH-64E Apache (Follow-On) [Morocco]

  Programme Background Morocco has placed a request with the US government for AH-64E Apache attack helicopters. On 20 November 2019, it was announced that the ...

• Land: air defence radar

  Lower Tier Air and Missile Defence Sensor [US]

  Background The US Army's Lower Tier Air and Missile Defence Sensor (LTAMDS) is being acquired from US-based Raytheon.  The United States Army is the primary customer ...

• Military UAS - mini

  RQ-11 Raven (US Army)

  Programme Background The AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven began to be deployed by the US Army in 2004 and was selected as its sole small UAS in ...

• Medium Range Missile Defence Systems: 20-90km range

  Medium Range Intercept Capability [US]

  Background The US Marine Corps' Medium Range Intercept Capability (MRIC) is a new medium-range air defence capability developed from the Israeli Tamir surface-to-air missile and Iron ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV (USAF) (Batch 1) [USA]

  Baclground As of November 2020, the US DoD had signed 14 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all branches ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker DVH [USA]

  Background The US Army has been operating the Stryker since 2002. The Stryker DVH is an upgraded variant that has additional armour on its underside ...

• Maritime patrol

  P-8A Poseidon [UK]

  Background In July 2016, the UK government announced that it had ordered nine aircraft for service with the RAF. Under this frame, in January 2019, ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-60M Black Hawk Add-on [Lithuania]

  Programme Background On 6 June 2020, the US State Department announced that it had approved a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of six UH-60M Black Hawk ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  Infantry Squad Vehicle [USA]

  Background The JLTV, HMMWV, and ISV constitute the US Army’s Light Tactical Vehicle (LTV) fleet. The US Army has evaluated the ISV as part of ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV (USMC) (Batch 1) [USA]

  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 branches ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• 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. 

• Data links

  GNOMAD US Domestic

  The US domestic version of GNOMAD (see separate entry) is a ruggedised system comprising a satellite antenna and baseband modular chassis that can be installed ...

• 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 ...

• Medium Range Missile Defence Systems: 20-90km range

  Indirect Fire Protection Capability [US]

  Leidos' Indirect Fire Protection Capability has been selected to provide medium-range Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD) to sit between SHORAD and the high-end Patriot. 

• 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 ...

• 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.

• 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 ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  Lockheed Martin Next Generation Short Range Interceptor

  US-based Lockheed Martin is competing for the US Army's Next Generation Short Range Interceptor (NGSRI) programme with its QuadStar missile.  The programme aims to replace ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  RG33

  BAE Systems RG33 is a family of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles available in both 4x4 and 6x6. The medium-weight class of BAE Systems MRAP ...

• Military - USVs

  Voyager

  Voyager is an Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV) built by US-based Saildrone. Voyager has been used by the US Navy (USN) and is one of three ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  TH-119 (TH-73A Thrasher )

  The US Navy announced on 13 January 2020 that Leonardo had been awarded a US$176.5 million contract for the production of 32 TH-119 helicopters in ...

• Frigates

  Oliver Hazard Perry Class

  The Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigates (FFG) were initially designed for the US Navy in the mid-1970s as cost-efficient surface combatants. The robust design has ...

• Self-propelled guns

  SIGMA

  The SIGMA is the latest self-propelled howitzer (SPH) developed by Elbit America and Oshkosh Defense. Produced entirely in the US, the SIGMA is intended to ...

• Land: Electronic Attack - Jamming

  AN/PLT-5 Thor-II

  Sierra Nevada Corporations’s (SNC's) AN/PLT-5 Thor-II Counter Improvised Explosive Device (CIED) system is designed to equip CIED teams and is used throughout the US armed ...

• Air: Defensive Systems - MLDS, Air: Defensive Systems - Laser Warning Receivers

  LIMWS

  BAE Systems is leading the US Army’s Limited Interim Missile Warning System (LIMWS) initiative. This is intended to enhance the missile protection provided to US ...