• Naval Warfare

  Analysis: Waters rage in South China Sea (Part 2)

  14th December 2016

  In Part 1 of this analysis, Shephard looked in some detail at Chinese and Taiwanese reactions to the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s (PCA) ruling on …

• Defence Helicopter

  Chilean S-70i contract signed

  12th December 2016

    The Chilean Air Force has ordered six S-70i Black Hawk helicopters from Sikorsky under a contract announced on 7 December. The force originally announced its …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Qinetiq targets Meggitt in latest acquisition

  21st December 2016

  In a bid to expand its global reach UK based company Qinetiq has announced the acquisition of Meggitt Target Systems for the sum of £57.5 …

• Land Warfare

  Britain cuts front line tank crews

  20th December 2016

  The British Army could lose up to a third of its front line tank crews under the UK’s Strategic Defence and Security Review. In an …

• Defence Helicopter

  Solutions to stand the heat

  21st December 2016

  Two companies that provide on board solutions for civil and military helicopters are confident that, with recent acquisitions combined with new products, the Middle East …

• Defence Notes

  Saudi Arabia to receive first F-15SA

  14th December 2016

  The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) is set to receive this week the first batch of F-15SA aircraft from Boeing Defense. The US congress was …

• Military Logistics

  Germany receives tactical standard A400M

  14th December 2016

  Germany has received its first A400M configured for tactical transport operations, Airbus Defence and Space announced on 12 December. Germany has previously received five A400Ms …

• Training

  Kratos achieves milestone for BQM-177A

  2nd December 2016

  Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has completed the final development programme milestone for the BQM-177A Subsonic Aerial Target (SSAT) programme, the company announced on 29 …

• Training

  Israel's M-346 training centre complete

  2nd December 2016

  The Israeli Air Force’s (IAF’s) Ground Based Training System (GBTS) centre for the M-346 Lavi trainer aircraft is now complete. Elbit Systems, team lead for …

• Digital Battlespace

  DTC introduces Maritime Mesh

  19th December 2016

  Domo Tactical Communications (DTC) has introduced a new high capacity wireless IP mesh communications solution for the maritime environment called Maritime Mesh, the company announced …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Boeing to acquire Liquid Robotics

  9th December 2016

  Boeing is set to acquire Liquid Robotics, with the companies entering into an agreement for the sale, Boeing announced on 6 December. Liquid Robotics is …

• Defence Helicopter

  Bell Helicopter, PGZ sign LoI

  16th December 2016

  Bell Helicopter and Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ) have signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) based on Poland’s Kruk helicopter programme. The government of Poland is …

• Digital Battlespace

  DARPA awards cyber contracts to Raytheon

  8th December 2016

  Raytheon will work on developing technologies to tackle cyber attacks on US power grid infrastructure under a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency …

• Land Warfare

  Russia’s Armata is coming…

  12th December 2016

  The Russian Army is set to receive over two-thousand new Armata T-14 tanks within the next decade. A contract signed between the Russian MoD and …

• Land Warfare

  Peru wants reconditioned Strykers

  8th December 2016

  The government of Peru has requested reconditioned Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicles from the US under a $668 million Foreign Military Sale. The Defense Security Cooperation …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-2 (Japan)

  Programme Background The UH-2 is a Japanese militarised version of Bell’s civilian 412EPX, with the two OEMs cooperating on this particular programme. The Acquisition, Technology ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-2 Forecast (Japan)

  Programme Background The UH-2 is a Japanese militarised version of Bell’s civilian 412EPX, with the two OEMs cooperating on this particular programme. The Acquisition, Technology ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2 [Croatia]

  Programme Background Contract Award As reported by Shephard in November 2024, Croatia's government approved the purchase of six Bayraktar TB2 drones, a training package in Türkiye, a command-and-control centre, ...

• Trainer

  T-6C [Thailand]

  Programme Background The contract is for 12 Beechcraft T-6C Texan II advanced military training aircraft, ground-based training systems for pilots and maintenance professionals, a mission ...

• ISR/special mission

  ISTAR Aircraft (South Korea)

  Programme Background South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration stated that Seoul is planning to procure additional aircraft to minimize potential surveillance gaps amid growing security ...

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

  KUS-FT (South Korea)

  Programme Background Requirement The ROKA had identified a need for tactical UAVs that can be employed at the divisional level to carry out ISTAR missions ...

• Loitering munitions

  ALTIUS-600M [Taiwan]

  Programme Background China's Aggression Taiwan's national defence policy revolves around defending itself from a possible invasion by China. In Early 2025, the Taipei Times elaborated ...

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

  KUS-FS (ROKA) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Inception The Aerospace Division of Korean Air (KAL-ASD) commenced developing the MUAV in 2008 in response to a ROKAF requirement for a MALE ...

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

  KUS-FS (ROKAF) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Inception The Aerospace Division of Korean Air (KAL-ASD) commenced developing the MUAV in 2008 in response to a ROKAF requirement for a MALE UAV ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  RQ-4 Global Hawk (South Korea)

  Programme Background Requirments Seoul required UAS assets to help monitor its neighbour to the north and, increasingly, Chinese activities in waters and in the air near ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  RQ-4 Global Hawk (Japan)

  Programme Background Selection & Contract AwardIn 2015, Northrop Grumman's RQ-4 Global Hawk UAS and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft were selected by Japan to ...

• Loitering munitions

  Long Range One-way Platforms [US]

  Solicitation In October 2024, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) released a solicitation for long-range, one-way platforms. The DIU noted recent conflicts highlighted the asymmetric impact of low-cost, ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Swiss Air 2030 - Combat Aircraft

  Programme Background Switzerland began the latest phase of flight and ground tests on 8 April 2019. In June 2019, Saab announced that the company’s in-development ...

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

  Eurodrone (Forecast) [Czechia]

  Programme Background Eurodrone Programme For context, the European MALE RPAS, or Eurodrone, is a quad-nation effort from some of Europe's most prominent defence manufacturers to ...

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

  Eurodrone (Forecast) [Japan]

  Programme Background Japan's Application The Letter of Approval (LOA) for observer status in the programme was presented to the Japanese Ambassador to Germany, Hidenao Yanagi, by Joachim ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Land: COMINT and ELINT systems

  GenCOM Defense Ground

  GenCOM Defense Ground provides an automatic multi-layered situational awareness picture to the decision-maker, based on external signal data (metadata) gathered in real time. Integrating with ...

• Major networking projects

  DCGS

  The Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) is the Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office plan for the integrated architecture of all ground and surface computing and communications ...

• EO/IR systems

  CM262

  Manfuaucted by AVT Australia, the CM262 is a ground-based imaging system combining four sensor configurations into a compact and ruggedised system for C-UAS and ISR ...

• Land: air defence radar

  KRONOS Power Shield Land

  This system is an L-band digital AESA anti-TBM radar. It is the land-based version of the naval KRONOS Power Shield, also known as KRONOS Ground ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  AMRAAM-ER

  The AIM-120 AMRAAM-ER is essentially an upgraded version of the AIM-120 AMRAAM tailored for extended range and enhanced performance in ground-based air defense systems like ...

• Short Range Missile Defence Systems: 0 to 20 km range

  Initial Maneuver - SHORAD

  Unveiled at AUSA 2019, Initial Maneuver Short Range Air Defense (IM-SHORAD) is a multipurpose platform, based on the Stryker IFV, which moves and maneuvers in ...

• AEW&C

  P600 AEW&C

  In June 2019, Embraer and IAI/Elta signed a cooperation agreement aimed at developing an AEW&C; aircraft based on the business jet Praetor 600, namely the ...

• Land: battle management systems

  AMDWS

  AMDWS (Air and Missile Defense Work Station), is a collaborative battlespace awareness information management system developed by Northrop Grumman to meet the requirements of the ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Type 87

  The Type 87 is a 6x6 armoured reconnaissance vehicle developed by the now defunct Defense Division of Komatsu to meet the specific requirements of the ...

• Parvus DuraCOR 312

  The Parvus DuraCOR 312 is an Ultra-Small Form Factor (USFF) modular mission computer unveiled by Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions in November 2016. The DuraCOR 312 is ...

• Long-range Video and Data Downlinks

  BMS airborne and ground-based equipment enables long-range, real-time HD video and broadband data links. Products include cockpit control panels, airborne antennas, real-time encoders, compact high-power ...

• Land: battle management systems

  FAAD/C-RAM C2

  The Forward Area Air Defense (FAAD) Command and Control (C2) system was developed by Northrop Grumman to provide command and control (C2) for the US Army ...

• Data links

  Universal Link System

  Developed by Scytalys, the Universal Link System (ULS) is a modular, scalable multi data link processor. It supports all NATO and US standard data links ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  MIM-72 Chaparral

  The MIM-72 Chaparral is a short-range, low-altitude, surface-to-air missile produced for the M48 Chaparral fire unit. It was produced as a replacement for the cancelled MIM-46 Mauler ...

• Land: battle management systems

  Delta Situational Awareness System

  The Delta Situational Awareness System is a cloud-based ISTAR and battle management platform with planning, communication and fire control capabilities according to NATO standards. Developed ...