• Digital Battlespace

  Raytheon receives contract to produce MALD missiles

  3rd August 2018

  Raytheon has received a $96.1 million contract from the US Air Force (USAF) to produce 250 Miniature Air-Launched Decoys (MALD) missiles, the company announced on …

• Land Warfare

  China receives first batch of Russian S-400s

  31st July 2018

  The first S-400 Triumph surface-to-air missile systems for the People’s Liberation Army of China have been handed over in the second half of July, according …

• Defence Notes

  French, US armies 'very close', says French armed forces chief

  12th July 2018

  The French army is ‘very close’ to the US military, which recognises its efforts in fighting jihadists in Africa, the head of the French armed …

• Military Logistics

  Australian MAN keeps trucking on

  26th July 2018

  Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles Australia (RMMVA) has been awarded a large contract for 1,044 additional HX-series medium and heavy trucks, according to an announcement by the …

• Special Operations

  Kuwait requests Hellfire missiles from US

  2nd August 2018

  The US State Department has made a determination approving a potential foreign military sale of 300 AGM-114R Hellfire missiles and related equipment to Kuwait, the …

• Military Logistics

  EPF Burlington completes acceptance trials

  8th August 2018

  The US Navy’s tenth Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) vessel Burlington has successfully completed acceptance trials in the Gulf of Mexico, NAVSEA announced on 3 August. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  ManTech receives UAS systems technical support contract

  7th August 2018

  ManTech has received a four-year $45 million task order from the US Air Force Installation Contracting Agency to provide technical upgrades for next generation UAS …

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy’s USS Charleston completes acceptance trials

  3rd August 2018

  The US Navy’s Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) USS Charleston has successfully completed acceptance trials in the Gulf of Mexico, NAVSEA announced on 31 July. …

• Digital Battlespace

  Japan to spend billions on missile defence system

  30th July 2018

  Japan said on 30 July that it would spend around $4.2 billion over the next 30 years on installing and operating US radar systems to …

• Naval Warfare

  Insight: China owns South China Sea

  30th July 2018

  The US appears to have lost the South China Sea permanently to China due to a failure by Washington to check China’s long-term strategy of  …

• Naval Warfare

  Saab receives additional Sea Giraffe AMB contract

  29th July 2018

  Saab has received an additional order from the US Navy to supply the Sea Giraffe AMB Multi Mode Radar (MMR) for the US Coast Guard’s …

• Military Logistics

  AFRL experiments with artificial silk for body armour

  8th August 2018

  The US Air Force (USAF) Research Laboratory (AFRL) and Purdue University are experimenting to develop a functional fibre that can be woven into sizeable, flexible …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  CACI to provide C-UAS technology support

  7th August 2018

  CACI International has received a $48.5 million single-award, IDIQ contract from the US Navy to support the deployment of counter UAS capabilities, the company announced …

• Defence Notes

  Sweden and Finland say Russia has 'false' defence information

  3rd August 2018

  Sweden and Finland, both non-NATO countries, have called Russia's recent comments on their defence cooperation with the Western alliance ‘false’ amid simmering tensions in the …

• Training

  Northrop to continue US Army MCTC support

  11th July 2018

  Northrop Grumman has received a $128 million contract from the US Army to continue providing support for its Mission Command Training Center (MCTC), the company …

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 ...

• Main battle tanks

  NGCV: DLP

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

• AGMV 1.1

  Programme Background The US Army has been seeking a lightweight, air-droppable, high mobility vehicle since as early as 2014, when it initiated its Ultra Light ...

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

  Heavy Lift VTOL (HVTOL) (Forecast) [US Army]

  Background USMC In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, which had been specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  AMPV [USA]

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

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV Oshkosh Contract [US Army]

  Programme 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow On

  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, ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker (Sergeant Stout) [USA]

  Programme 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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System (LMAMS) [US Army]

  Background First Contract In June 2011, the US awarded AeroVironment a $4.9 million series-production contract for the loitering munition, satisfying the US Army's Lethal Miniature ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Switchblade 300 (USA)

  Programme Background AeroVironment has been providing the Switchblade 300 loitering munition to the US Army under the long-standing Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile Systems (LMAMS) programme ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  US Army Maneuver Support Vessel Light (MSVL)

  Programme BackgroundThe Maneuver Support Vessel (Light) or MSV(L) contract was awarded by the US Army to Vigor in 2017 and are being built to replace ...

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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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. 

• 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) ...

• JPT

  Designed for military applications, the Joint Platform Tablet (JPT) features a rugged design, including a military-grade aluminium case, dual-core processor, 128GB removable hard drive and ...

• 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 ...

• REBS

  The Rapidly Emplaced Bridge System (REBS) is a 13m dry-gap bridge. It was designed by GDELS to meet a US Army requirement to provide a ...

• 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). ...

• DSB

  WFEL was selected in 1996 to develop the M18 Dry Support Bridge (DSB) for the US Army. The company designed, manufactured and integrated the DSB ...

• 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 ...