• Defence Notes

  Koreas and UN Command begin talks on demilitarising border

  16th October 2018

  The two Koreas and the US-led United Nations Command began talks Tuesday on demilitarising a section of the heavily fortified border dividing the peninsula, as …

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2018: Options open for NGCV, but smaller may be better

  9th October 2018

  The US Army is accelerating the timelines for its Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV) programme to replace the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and initial requirements seem …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AN/ZPY-4 radar contract for Fire Scout

  30th October 2018

  Telephonics has received a contract to supply its AN/ZPY-4 maritime and overland surveillance radar system for use on the US Navy's MQ-8B Fire Scout UAS, …

• Land Warfare

  Raytheon to improve US Army’s TOW missile

  10th October 2018

  Raytheon has received a $21 million contract from the US Army to develop a new propulsion system for its TOW missile, the company announced on …

• Digital Battlespace

  AN/TPQ-53 radar gets GaN technology

  11th October 2018

  Lockheed Martin has received a contract modification from the US Army to insert Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology into the AN/TPQ-53 (Q-53) radar as part of …

• Military Logistics

  AG600 makes its first water flight

  22nd October 2018

  The AG600 amphibian aircraft from the China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Company (CAIGA) performed its first official water take-off and landing in Jingmen, Hubei Province …

• Training

  Serco to deliver training to ÚS Army

  9th October 2018

  Serco has received a contract to continue delivering full-lifecycle training support services to the US Army Joint Munitions Command and the Defense Ammunition Center, the …

• Digital Battlespace

  AUSA 2018: US Army looks to beef up drone defences with Q-53

  10th October 2018

  The US Army is set to take on several modified AN/TPQ-53 counter-rocket, artillery and mortar (C-RAM) radars from Lockheed Martin that will have an expanded …

• Training

  USMC orders Rheinmetall 40mm practice ammo

  2nd November 2018

  Rheinmetall has received a $59 million contract from the US Marine Corps to produce and deliver 40mm practice ammunition, the company announced on 29 October. …

• Military Logistics

  ORBCOMM, Savi to track, monitor DoD assets

  6th November 2018

  Savi and ORBCOMM have secured a multi-million dollar order to deliver telematics products and services that will track and monitor around 24,000 military assets for …

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2018: Army pursues expanded vision for NGCV

  7th October 2018

  The US Army is implementing a significant change to its Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV) programme. A new expanded structure was unveiled during a breakout session …

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2018: Army Futures Command paves a new road forward

  9th October 2018

  This week’s 2018 AUSA annual meeting and exhibition included a panel update on the current status and future plans for the Army Futures Command (AFC). …

• Naval Warfare

  Work begins on NSSMS upgrade

  5th November 2018

  Work has begun on the refurbishment and modification of the NATO Seasparrow missile system (NSSMS) platform and MK 132 guided missile launching system at US …

• Land Warfare

  France clears MMP missile for desert operations

  22nd October 2018

  The French Army has carried out operational evaluation of the MMP land combat missile system in Djibouti, to assess the weapon’s suitability for use in …

• Digital Battlespace

  Raytheon advances in US Army’s LTAMDS competition

  11th October 2018

  Raytheon has been selected to advance in the US Army’s Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) competition, the company announced on 8 October. …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  MQ-1 Gray Eagle [US Army]

  Background Required Quantity Although the US Army first envisioned a requirement for 132 MQ-1C Gray Eagles, the US Army's Army Acquisition Objective (AAO) was increased ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Heavy Lift VTOL (HVTOL) [US Army]

  Background USMC First, Army Second In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial Resupply ...

• Main battle tanks

  Decisive Lethality Platform [USA]

  Background The DLP is one of five vehicle families being developed for the US Army's NGCV programme. Expanded to include five programmes in October 2018, ...

• Military UAS - micro

  eBee Vision [US]

  Background Multiple orders In November 2025, the US Army acquired three eBee Vision systems to enhance training operations at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Germany. A ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  AMPV [USA]

  Background Platform development The US Army initiated the AMPV programme to acquire a replacement for several variants of the M113 tracked APC, which has been ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker (Sergeant Stout) (Batch 2) [USA]

  Background As part of the Army Transformation Initiative, the US DoD is fundamentally reorganising the structure of the US Army. The development of the Sergeant ...

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

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 2) [US Army]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was intended to ...

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

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 1) [USA]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker (Sergeant Stout) [USA]

  Background As part of the Army Transformation Initiative, the US DoD is fundamentally reorganising the structure of the US Army. As part of this all Infantry Brigade ...

• Self-propelled guns

  Mobile Tactical Cannon [USA]

  Background The US Army began using the M777 in 1995. Since then, it has served as a field artillery piece providing fire support for American ...

• 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, ...

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

  Group 4/5 UAV [US Army]

  Background Request for Information (RFI) On 5 June 2024, the American DoD published an RfI with an original response date of 19 July 2024. The ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) [Tranche 1] / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) (USA)

  Programme Background The Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) Programme The RPUAS programme will provide the Battalion and below-ground manoeuvre elements within the US Army with an ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

• 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. 

• 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 ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  OH-58 Kiowa

  The single-engine OH-58 Kiowa, derived from the Bell 206, entered US Army service in 1969 as a light observation helicopter. More than 2,200 were built for ...

• Towed guns

  M198

  The US Army developed the M198 155mm towed howitzer from 1969 to replace the M114 155mm howitzer. From 1978, 1,600 weapons were built by Rock ...

• 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.

• Light tanks

  M10 Booker

  The US Army awarded General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) a contract worth US$1.14 billion to supply 96 light tanks under the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72A/B Lakota

  In 2006, the US Army selected a version of the medium-sized, twin-engine H145, designated the UH-72A Lakota,  to meet its requirement for a new Light ...

• Armoured engineer vehicles

  M1150 ABV

  The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) project, launched by the USMC in 2002, is a joint programme to meet the requirements of both the US ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  RQ-7 Shadow 200

  The Shadow 200, designated RQ-7B by the US Army, is flown by the army brigade combat teams and combat aviation brigades along with the UAV ...

• Land: Electronic Attack - Jamming

  AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III

  Sierra Nevada’s AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III is the standard Counter Improvised Explosive Device (CIED) manpack system in service with the US Army and US Marine Corps (USMC). ...

• Individual grenade launchers

  M320 GLM

  The M320 Grenade Launcher Module (GLM) is a further development of the HK AG36 (see separate entry) to meet a US Army requirement. The M320 ...

• Unguided Mortar Ammunition

  M821A3 High Explosive Mortar Round

  The M821A3 High Explosive Mortar Round is an 81mm mortar round manufactured by Day & Zimmerman for the US Army.

• Unguided Mortar Ammunition

  M933A1 High Explosive Mortar Round

  The M933A1 High Explosive Mortar Round is a 120mm mortar round manufactured by Day & Zimmermann for the US Army.

• Unguided Mortar Ammunition

  M934A1 High Explosive Mortar Round

  The M934A1 High Explosive Mortar Round is a 120mm mortar round produced by Day & Zimmermann for the US Army.