• 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 …

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2017: US acquisition strategy comes into question

  28th November 2017

  Acquisition strategy has been high on the agenda at this year’s I/ITSEC with the services looking into innovative ways to make the process faster when …

• 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 …

• 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 …

• Land Warfare

  US Army's TARDEC talks APS

  18th December 2017

  Specialists from the US Army Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) have spoken on how the US Army is tackling the IED challenge …

• 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) …

• Special Operations

  SOCOM points to cyber challenges

  18th December 2017

  The US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) must become more efficient at equipping its personnel with Cyber Warfare technology, Commander Gen Raymond A Thomas III proclaimed …

• Training

  Link T&S wins F/A-18 sim upgrades

  19th December 2017

  L3 Technologies Link Training & Simulation has received two contracts for F/A-18 simulator upgrades for the Royal Canadian Air Force’s (RCAF) CF-18 and the devices …

• Defence Helicopter

  T900 installation demo for Black Hawk, Apache

  18th December 2017

  The Advanced Turbine Engine Company (ATEC) has completed the installation of a high-fidelity T900 mock-up engine on Black Hawk and Apache helicopters, the company announced …

• Digital Battlespace

  RAN to receive Raytheon’s CEC system

  18th December 2017

  Raytheon has completed the design, development and testing of its Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) system, which will be installed on the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN's) …

• Defence Helicopter

  Boeing to upgrade RNLAF Chinooks

  19th December 2017

  Boeing will upgrade six Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) Chinook helicopters to the F-model configuration under an agreement with the Netherlands Ministry of Defence, the company …

• Digital Battlespace

  US Navy's new tactical data link finally moving forward

  15th December 2017

  BAE Systems is preparing for the preliminary design review of its Network Tactical Common Data Link (NTCDL) system, currently being developed for the US Navy, …

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2017: AEgis Technologies highlights latest VSD

  22nd November 2017

  AEgis Technologies has designed and produced Air Defense Artillery training devices for the US military for over 20 years and will be using I/ITSEC 2017 …

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 ...