• Digital Battlespace

  DARPA HIVE programme continues

  13th November 2017

  The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has selected Northrop Grumman to collaborate on the development of a graph processor chip that aims to enhance …

• Land Warfare

  First upgunned Stryker arrives in Europe

  11th December 2017

  The first of the US Army’s new ‘upgunned’ Stryker vehicles, equipped with a remotely-operated 30mm weapon system, has arrived in Europe. The service announced on …

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2017: US Army trials blast test dummies (video)

  4th December 2017

  The US Army Research Laboratory is pioneering studies into test dummies that accurately represent what happens to the human body when involved in a vehicle …

• Land Warfare

  Kongsberg receives additional CROWS orders

  5th December 2017

  Kongsberg will deliver additional Protector Remote Weapon System Station (RWS) Low Profile CROWS configuration for the US Army’s M1A2 Abrams main battle tank, the company …

• Digital Battlespace

  OSI Maritime signs IBNS deal for US Navy

  5th December 2017

  OSI Maritime Systems has signed a contract with Lockheed Martin to deliver its Integrated Bridge and Navigation System (IBNS) for the US Navy’s Freedom class …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Teledyne participates in Iceland’s EOD exercise

  11th December 2017

  Teledyne Gavia and Teledyne SeaBotix have participated in exercise Northern Challenge 2017 in Iceland - an annual Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) multinational exercise that supports …

• Military Logistics

  First KC-46A delivery inches closer

  6th December 2017

  The first KC-46A tanker aircraft scheduled for delivery to the US Air Force (USAF) has successfully completed its first flight and airborne testing, Boeing announced …

• Land Warfare

  Romania signs on for Patriot

  1st December 2017

  Romania has signed an agreement to purchase Raytheon's Patriot Integrated Air and Missile Defense system from the US Army, Raytheon announced on 29 November. The …

• Military Logistics

  HMMWV pilot safety upgrade complete

  12th December 2017

  Ricardo Defense Systems (RDS) and Lightweight Innovations For Tomorrow (LIFT) have announced the successful completion of their pilot project to retrofit ten Michigan National Guard …

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2017: The race for T-X enters the final stages

  30th November 2017

  The US Air Force is continuing to mull over its options for its next advance and the contract for the TX programme is now expected …

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2017: US Army trials digital sandbox

  30th November 2017

  The US Army Research Laboratory continues to advance its Augmented Reality Sandtable (ARES), which is aiming to give soldiers greater battlefield visualisation compared with older …

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2017: US Army to acquire WIAMan

  30th November 2017

  The US Army is set to invest in the new Warrior Injury Assessment Manikin (WIAMan) anthropomorphic test device (ATD) which is set to go into …

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2017: BISim unveils new IG concept

  4th December 2017

  Bohemia Interactive Simulations (BISim) has unveiled a new simulation technology to help international militaries train for operations and cut costs. VBS Blue IG, expected to …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  FirstLook delivered to Germany as Endeavor continues bumper year

  30th November 2017

  Endeavor Robotics recently concluded the delivery of 44 FirstLook UGVs to Germany, following a competitive industry bid and trial process. The platforms are used by …

• Defence Notes

  GDA 2017: The threat from Houthi missiles (analysis)

  12th December 2017

  A bewilderingly rapid series of events have rocked the Middle East recently as the smouldering Iran-Saudi Arabia rivalry threatened to turn hot.  This is especially …

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 ...