• Training

  Raydon secures $20 million VCOT contract

  21st August 2017

  Raydon Corporation has received a $20 million contract to expand the US Army National Guard’s training infrastructure. Under the contract, Raydon will supply ten Virtual …

• Military Logistics

  US Navy commissions new sea base

  17th August 2017

  The US Navy (USN) will commission a dedicated replacement to the ageing Afloat Forward Staging Base Interim (AFSBI) USS Ponce on 17 August in a …

• Defence Helicopter

  India to place order for six Apaches

  18th August 2017

  Boeing is set to receive a $651 million order from India, with the Ministry of Defence clearing a proposal to procure six AH-64E Apache helicopters …

• Special Operations

  US SOF considers new water purifier

  16th August 2017

  The Sustainment and Distribution Company of the US Army’s 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) is trialling a new water purification system, the army announced on …

• Defence Notes

  Analysis: Djibouti – China’s first base challenges American dominance

  16th August 2017

  For a strategic planner looking for a critical maritime chokepoint, beyond canals there are only two really scary ones on the planet worthy of attention …

• Land Warfare

  Lockheed Martin receives ATACMS contract

  17th August 2017

  Lockheed Martin has received a $161 million contract from the US Army for Army Tactical Missile System(ATACMS) missiles, the company announced on 14 August. The …

• Land Warfare

  Latvia agrees Stinger purchase from Denmark

  22nd August 2017

  The Latvian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has agreed to acquire an undisclosed number of Stinger air defence systems from the Danish Armed Forces, it was announced …

• Military Logistics

  US Navy tests EMALS at sea

  15th August 2017

  The US Navy has successfully executed its first at-sea aircraft launch and recovery event on-board the newly commissioned aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford using …

• Special Operations

  Colombia assists counter-narcotics training

  15th August 2017

  The Colombian Army’s special counter-narcotics brigade (BRCNA) has recently concluded a two-week long training course for military and police officers from around the region. More …

• Digital Battlespace

  Milrem UGV performs MANET role

  18th August 2017

  Communications specialist, Silvus Technologies, has integrated a mobile ad hoc network payload on board an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) for the first time as it seeks …

• Digital Battlespace

  US Army orders more MFoCS

  10th August 2017

  Leonardo DRS has received orders to supply additional Mounted Family of Computer Systems (MFoCS) to the US Army, the company announced on 8 August. The …

• Digital Battlespace

  Aussie GPS technology used on US cube satellite

  20th July 2017

  Australian GPS technology, developed by the University of New South Wales in partnership with the Defence Science and Technology Group, has been included in the …

• Defence Notes

  PLAAF restructures its Airborne Corps

  6th September 2017

  Greater clarity has begun to emerge about the radical restructuring of China’s airborne force – what was once referred to as the 15th Airborne Corps …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MQ-8B Fire Scout in two-part demo

  18th August 2017

  A detachment from the US Navy’s Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23 has carried out a two part exercise with the MQ-8B Fire Scout UAS, Northrop …

• Military Logistics

  Lockheed wins SOF GLSS contract

  15th August 2017

  Lockheed Martin has been selected as the prime contractor for US Special Operations Command’s (USSOCOM's) next-generation logistics and sustainment support programme, the company announced on …

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 ...