• Defence Notes

  Farnborough 2018: Rolls-Royce unveils hybrid flying taxi

  17th July 2018

  Rolls-Royce has revealed its plans to develop a hybrid electric vehicle, dubbed the ‘flying taxi’, which takes off and lands vertically and could be airborne …

• Defence Helicopter

  US 'committed to NATO'

  22nd June 2018

  The US will continue to show its commitment to NATO, a senior US Army commander said on 21 June as a fresh batch of military …

• Naval Warfare

  UDT 2018: Bids in for UK ORCA programme

  20th June 2018

  Bids for the UK Royal Navy’s programme to replace the combat management system (CMS) on its mine countermeasure vessels (MCMVs) were submitted in May, as …

• Defence Notes

  Pentagon chief Mattis reduced to carrying out orders he dislikes

  27th June 2018

  From housing undocumented migrants to scrapping joint exercises with South Korea or setting up a new Space Force - US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis, one-time …

• Naval Warfare

  US touts enduring Pacific presence as carrier visits Manila

  26th June 2018

  A US aircraft carrier visited the Philippines on 26 June, the third such call in four months, as its commander cited America's ‘enduring presence’ in …

• Defence Notes

  Israel graduates first women tank commanders

  28th June 2018

  The Israeli army on Thursday graduated the first four women from its tank commanders' school, a step toward the formation of all-female tank crews. Another …

• Defence Helicopter

  MD Helicopter to continue Afghan MD 530F support

  21st June 2018

  MD Helicopter has received a modification from the US Army for its work on a US foreign military sales contract.Under the original contract, awarded in …

• Military Logistics

  GDELS to supply IRB to Brazilian Army

  26th June 2018

  General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) has received a contract from the Brazilian Army for the production and delivery of its Improved Ribbon Bridge (IRB), …

• Special Operations

  Rheinmetall receives laser light contract

  6th July 2018

  Rheinmetall has received a contract from Germany’s procurement authority to supply a lightweight, assault rifle-mounted laser light package for German Army special operators, the company …

• Digital Battlespace

  Altamira receives RF contract from AFRL

  12th July 2018

  Altamira Technologies has received the US Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) $24.6 million distributed radio frequency sensing (DRS) contract to provide next-gen radio frequency (RF) …

• Defence Notes

  Violence halts UN aid convoys from Jordan to Syria's Daraa

  28th June 2018

  The UN said on 28 June that it had halted cross-border convoys carrying desperately needed aid from Jordan to southern Syria over security concerns amid …

• Training

  Farnborough 2018: USAF C-17 AMTS falls to Boeing

  17th July 2018

  Boeing has been awarded a contract that is potentially worth up to $986 million to ‘operate, sustain, modify and upgrade’ the USAF’s C-17 Globemaster III …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  ELNS prototype in flight testing

  13th July 2018

  CTSi and its partner L3 Technologies have completed flight-testing of the Enhanced Link Navigation System (ELNS) designed for use in highly contested and GPS-denied environments, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Bell Boeing receives CMV-22B production contract

  5th July 2018

  Bell Boeing has received a $4.19 billion contract modification for the manufacture and delivery of V-22 aircraft for the US military and the government of …

• Defence Notes

  Football offers NATO respite from ugly divisions

  11th July 2018

  Football came to the rescue of tense NATO leaders at a summit on 11 July, providing them with a welcome diversion from the tensions roiling …

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 ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Ajax IFV [UK]

  Programme Background Prior to commencing development of the Ajax the UK utilised the Warrior was its primary IFV. However, the Warrior entered service in 1987 making ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) Warrior [India]

  Programme Background Make In India The 'Make In India' initiative is an effort by the Indian government to boost domestic manufacturing. In the context of ...

• Military UAS - small

  Black Hornet 3 PRS (UK)

  Programme Background The British Army operated approximately 160 first-generation Black Hornet PD-100 nano UAS between 2013 and 2017, when the decision was made to retire ...

• Military UAS - small

  Bug Nano UAS (UK)

  Programme Background The British Army previously took delivery of 160 first-generation Black Hornet PD-100 nano UAS in 2013 to support operations in Afghanistan. After these ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Naval Collaborative Combat Air Vehicle (N-CCAV) [India]

  Programme Background CATS Warrior The Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) is a planned, uncrewed and crewed family of aircraft in development by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Orbiter 3 (Croatia)

  Programme Background The Croatian government launched a competitive tender for the procurement of a short-range UAV in October 2017. Although the tender was opened on ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Protected 4x4 Replacement [Argentina]

  Programme Background Argentina currently operates the AML, Spartan 4x4 APC and Dongfeng Warrior CSK131, with 45 still in service across the three vehicles. It also previously operated ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8, APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Land Mobility Programme (Heavy Protected Mobility) [UK]

  Programme Background Requirement Serving in several iterations since 1963, the FV432 Mk3 'Bulldog' remains operational and deployed as command vehicles, ambulances, and recovery vehicles within the British Army. Although ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6, LTVs - 4x4

  Supacat HMT 400 & 600 [UK]

  Programme Background Programme Requirements The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) stated in a Contract Notice that it had a requirement for at least 70 new HMT platforms ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Boxer (MIV) [UK]

  Programme Background History The UK MoD announced in March 2018 that it would re-join the Boxer programme and pursue a sole-source acquisition of the 8x8 ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV (US Army) (Batch 1) [USA]

  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 branches ...

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

  Heavy Lift VTOL (HVTOL) [US Army]

  Background USMC First, Army Second In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial Resupply ...

• Main battle tanks

  Decisive Lethality Platform [USA]

  Background The DLP is one of five vehicle families being developed for the US Army's NGCV programme. Expanded to include five programmes in October 2018, ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  AMPV [USA]

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

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  AN/PRC-170

  The AN/PRC-170 Javelin is a single-channel, small-form-factor radio that supports TSM waveform. Produced by Thales, it provides voice and data communications across multipath and dynamic environments. ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 400

  At AUSA 2025, AeroVironment (AV) unveiled the Switchblade 400, a rocket-launched, medium-range, man-portable loitering munition. AV states the aircrat has been designed to defeat tanks and heavy ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MUBC

  The Modular Universal Battery Charger (MUBC) is a scalable charging system for a range of military and commercial batteries. It provides for the addition of ...

• Land: soldier modernisation systems - industry programmes

  Warrior Systems

  General Dynamics Mission Systems is prime contractor and system integrator for the US Army’s Warrior soldier systems, which include Air Warrior, Future Force Warrior, Land Warrior ...

• Land: battle management systems

  Joint Battle Command - Platform

  Joint Battle Command - Platform (JBC-P) is a networked mission command information system designed for the US Army and USMC. It can provide real-time blue ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Shadowcat

  General Dynamics Shadowcat radio provides low-visibility communications in a small form factor package. Capable of forming mesh networks, it provides voice, video and data communications ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-HL

  Manufactured by InstantEye Robotics, the InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-Heavy Lift (HL) is a rotary-wing UAV that is involved in the US Army's Render Safe Sets, Kits & ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  OH-58D Kiowa Warrior

  The OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, manufactured by Bell Helicopter Textron, is a two-person, light scout helicopter with a day/night mast-mounted sight, glass cockpit and four-bladed rotor system. ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530F Cayuse Warrior

  An evolution of the OH-6 Cayuse light observation helicopter, the MD 530F was initially Federal Aviation Administration-certified in July 1985 as the Model 369FF. It ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Warrior

  The Warrior IFV entered service with the British Army in mid-1987. A total of 789 vehicles were delivered in IFV, infantry command, anti-tank, recovery, repair, ...

• Land: vehicle simulators

  Convoy/C-IED Training System

  Laser Shot’s Convoy/Counter IED Training System consists of an immersive training environment that places soldiers in high-fidelity, virtual scenarios in order to train on a ...

• Unguided Medium Calibre Ammunition

  M792 High Explosive Incendiary Tracer

  The M792 High Explosive Incendiary Tracer (HEI-T) is a 25mm medium calibre round manufactured by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems.

• Land: NVGs

  AN/PSQ-20B ENVG

  The AN/PSQ-20B ENVG (Enhanced Night Vision Goggle) is a helmet-mounted dual-waveband monocular night vision system. As a fusion system that combines image intensification technology with ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  Falcon II Nyx

  The Falcon II Nyx is a rotary-wing drone from Wave Aerospace. It is in the US Army's Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment (AEWE) programme. Primarily designed to operate in ...

• Land: soldier modernisation systems - national programmes

  DANES

  Initial efforts to field a complete soldier system through the Danish Army Network-Enabled Soldier (DANES) concept were abandoned, following an evaluation of the US Land ...