• Defence Notes

  Pentagon points to Colombian's FARC deal as inspiration for Afghanistan

  30th May 2018

  At a critical point between the Afghan government and Taliban's struggle to nail down a peaceful resolution to the 17-year violent conflict, a key US …

• Digital Battlespace

  EU states to form 'rapid response' cyber force

  21st June 2018

  Nine European Union (EU) states are to create rapid response teams to counter cyber attacks within the framework of a new EU defence pact, project …

• Special Operations

  Indonesia reactivates Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC)

  5th June 2018

  The Indonesian government has reactivated the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in response to emerging terrorism fears, administration officials have confirmed. Announced on 21st May …

• Defence Notes

  Tariff talks not denting military relations with US allies

  12th June 2018

  Ongoing tensions between America and its closest allies over tariffs and other issues have not soured military-to-military relationships, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on …

• Land Warfare

  Eurosatory 2018: Nexter moves forward on guided 155mm shells

  11th June 2018

  Following in the footsteps of ammunition manufacturers such as Orbital ATK and Raytheon, French armaments company Nexter Munitions is pressing forward with the development of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Endeavor claim 'sweet spot' for trio of UGV programmes

  28th May 2018

  Pursuing a series of UGV programmes with the US Army, Endeavor Robotics says it is in a ‘sweet spot’ in terms of meeting expected requirements …

• Digital Battlespace

  EW Europe 2018: Race to militarise AI heats up

  31st May 2018

  Touted as a game changing technology for defence systems, the race to exploit the battlefield potential of AI has heated up in recent years, contributing …

• Training

  ITEC 2018: Australian Army licenses VBSFires

  23rd May 2018

  SimCentric has announced that the Australian Defence Force (ADF) has procured a perpetual enterprise licence for VBS3Fires FST. The contract was signed this month. The …

• Land Warfare

  Eurosatory 2018: No timeframe for Czech response on CV90

  12th June 2018

  Showcasing its CV90 Mk IV at Eurosatory, officials from BAE Systems Hägglunds told Shephard they are waiting for an official response from the Czech Republic …

• Land Warfare

  Oshkosh to recapitalise army’s HEMTT, PLS vehicles

  25th May 2018

  Oshkosh Defense has received two delivery orders totalling $235.2 million from the US Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) to recapitalise vehicles in the army’s …

• Training

  FAAC to modernise Combat Convoy Simulators

  19th June 2018

  Arotech's FAAC has received a contract to modernise the US Marine Corps’ (USMC) Combat Convoy Simulators (CCS). The contract is worth up to $28.9 million …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Black Hornets create buzz in Australia

  29th May 2018

  The Australian Army marked the onset of ‘widespread proliferation’ of the FLIR Systems Black Hornet 3 micro-UAV on 23 May, as the programme progressed from …

• Land Warfare

  Eurosatory 2018: Arquus positions for future French 4x4 requirement

  12th June 2018

  Arquus, the new name for Renault Trucks Defense, is positioning itself for the future French VBAE (Armoured Engagement Assistance Vehicle) programme with its newly-developed Scarabee …

• Land Warfare

  Colt progresses on Canada's new GPMG

  22nd June 2018

  Colt Canada is in the process of finalising production and testing of low-rate versions of the C6A1 FLEX for the Canadian Army’s replacement General Purpose …

• Naval Warfare

  Aerojet Rocketdyne awarded torpedo work

  15th June 2018

  Aerojet Rocketdyne has received a $2.6 million Phase I contract from the Office of Naval Research to develop a prototype torpedo propulsion system under its …

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 ...