• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Brimstone planned for Protector UAS

  13th December 2016

  Plans are underway for UK’s Protector UAS is to be armed with the Brimstone precision strike missile when it enters service with the Royal Air …

• Land Warfare

  FWS-CS sight for US Army

  5th December 2016

  A $384 million contract announced on 30 November will see BAE Systems deliver specialized crew served weapon sights to the US Army over the next …

• Military Logistics

  Rheinmetall, Day & Zimmermann form JV

  7th December 2016

  Rheinmetall and Day and Zimmermann (D&Z) have established a new joint venture company to target the US ammunition market, Rheinmetall announced on 2 December. The …

• Military Logistics

  AEDC tests new TF33 engine components

  9th December 2016

    Newly redesigned components of the Pratt and Whitney TF33 engine have undergone testing at the US Air Force’s Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC). The …

• Digital Battlespace

  DARPA awards cyber contracts to Raytheon

  8th December 2016

  Raytheon will work on developing technologies to tackle cyber attacks on US power grid infrastructure under a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency …

• Training

  Kratos achieves milestone for BQM-177A

  2nd December 2016

  Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has completed the final development programme milestone for the BQM-177A Subsonic Aerial Target (SSAT) programme, the company announced on 29 …

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2016: Projection meets audio advancements in simulation (video)

  5th December 2016

  Projection experts Barco showcased its  exhibit the newest member to its 4K UHD laser phosphor projector family at I/ITSEC in Orlando.  The company also demonstrated its …

• Naval Warfare

  Analysis: Waters rage in South China Sea (Part 1)

  7th December 2016

  On 12 July the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), at The Hague, handed down a landmark decision in a case the Philippines had brought against …

• Defence Notes

  US approves JASSM-ER sale to Poland

  2nd December 2016

  The US has approved a foreign military sale to Poland valued at $200 million for Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles Extended Range (JASSM-ER), the Defense Security …

• Naval Warfare

  LCS 10 completes US Navy trials

  29th November 2016

  Austal has announced that the future USS Gabrielle Giffords littoral combat ship (LCS 10), has successfully completed US Navy acceptance trials. The trials were conducted in …

• Naval Warfare

  Russia looks to secure Arctic route

  9th December 2016

  Russia is lining up the creation of a string of bases and observation posts in the Arctic region over the next two years, while procurement …

• Naval Warfare

  UK leads US Task Force 50

  30th November 2016

  The British Royal Navy has taken charge of US Task Force 50 in the Gulf for the first time, it was announced on 26 November. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Northrop Grumman details Tern progress

  2nd December 2016

  Northrop Grumman has cleared two milestones for the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA’s) Tactically Exploited Reconnaissance Node (TERN) programme, the company announced on …

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2016: US Army about to embark on new era of fixed-wing training

  28th November 2016

  Construction has been completed on the US Army’s new fixed-wing training centre at Dothan, Alabama.  Over the next two months, CAE and its subcontractors will …

• Land Warfare

  Light at end of India’s long M777 tunnel

  28th November 2016

  The governments of India and the US have finally agreed on a Foreign Military Sale of 145 M777 ultra-lightweight howitzers for the Indian Army, the …

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, Reconnaissance/patrol vehicles

  JLTV Oshkosh Contract (US Navy) [US]

  As of November 2020, the US DoD had signed 14 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all branches of ...

• 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 ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A Joint Strike Fighter - USAF

  According to the US FY2021 budget document, Turkey's removal from the JSF program and transition to the alternate supply chain sources may challenge to achieve ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Puma LE (Kosovo)

  Programme Background 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 LE. ...

• Fighter - naval

  F-35B STOVL - US Navy

  The JSF programme will develop and field a family of aircraft that meets the needs of the US DoD and US allies with the F-35A ...

• MPVs - 4x4, Reconnaissance/patrol vehicles

  JLTV Oshkosh Contract [US Air Force]

  As of November 2020, the US DoD had signed 14 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all branches of ...

• 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

  Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS) [US Army]

  Programme Background DoD Contract On 27 August 2024, the US DoD announced that AeroVironment had been awarded a $990 million hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to provide "an ...

• Fighter - naval

  F-35C Carrier Variant

  The US Navy is planning to order 130 F-35Cs between FY2026 and FY2030 under the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. The purchase is estimated be ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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. ...

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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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

  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 ...

• Autonomous GPADS

  Airborne Systems has developed a family of smart systems ranging in payload capacity from 90-4,536kg. Utilising the technology developed and used in ram-air canopies, Guided ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Data links, Land: Radio and SATCOM, UAS: communication systems

  QNT-200

  The Collins QNT-200 is a dual-channel software-defined radio (SDR) designed for size, weight and power-constrained platforms. Using IP-based mesh networks, it offers high-bandwidth mobile networking ...