• Special Operations

  Afghan Special Operations Command to double in size

  1st September 2017

  The Afghan National Army Special Operations Command (ANASOC) officially transitioned into a Special Operations Corps on 20 August, which will see the organisation almost double …

• Special Operations

  Venezuela activates new Special Operations Command

  1st September 2017

  The Venezuelan Armed Forces (FANB) formally activated a new Special Operations Command in Maracay, Aragua State on 17 August. The new Special Operations Command is …

• Training

  Black Construction secures new contract

  31st August 2017

  Black Construction has received a contract worth $78 million from the US Naval Facilities Engineering Commandto design and construct a live-fire training range complex at …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MSPO 2017: Raptor hoverbike draws attention

  5th September 2017

  Defence shows and exhibitions often showcase unexpected platforms or designs to the visiting public and VIPs, occasionally presenting a system or technology that flies in …

• Land Warfare

  MSPO 2017: Romania pursues ambitious modernisation

  29th August 2017

  In early August the Romanian Supreme Council for National Defence (CSAT) took a broad decision to begin large-scale redevelopment of the country’s armed forces, boosting …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DSEI 2017: Navies look to unman ASW

  5th September 2017

  As western navies continue to struggle to fund large naval projects and overall fleet numbers decline to levels not seen in centuries, both industry and …

• Military Logistics

  PLAN commissions largest supply ship

  4th September 2017

  The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) commissioned its first Type 901 fast supply ship in the southern city of Zhanjiang in Guangdong Province on 1 …

• Defence Helicopter

  Varley USA delivers initial H-60 toolkits

  25th August 2017

  Varley USA has delivered new H-60 Bridge Tool Kits to the US Army, US Army National Guard and US Coast Guard, the company announced on …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Rockwell Collins tech in BVLOS UAS flight

  1st September 2017

  Rockwell Collins and Black & Veatch have successfully demonstrated a beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) UAS flight along almost ten miles of power line infrastructure, the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MQ-1C surpasses flight test goal

  29th August 2017

  General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ (GA-ASI's) MQ-1C Gray Eagle Extended Range UAS has flown for more than 40 hours during an endurance flight test, the company …

• Defence Notes

  MSPO 2017: Israeli companies seek Polish growth

  5th September 2017

  Poland’s ambitious plans to spend billions of dollars modernising its armed forces has unsurprisingly garnered attention from some of the industry’s leading defence contractors, not …

• Land Warfare

  MSPO 2017: Rafael pushes Trophy in Eastern Europe

  3rd September 2017

  As Russia continues to modernise its land capabilities and pose a potential threat to the region, countries in the Eastern Europe are looking at boosting …

• Military Logistics

  US Navy launches Hershel Woody Williams ship

  25th August 2017

  The US Navy has launched Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) Hershel Woody Williams at the General Dynamics NASSCO (GD-NASSCO) shipyard, it was announced on 22 August. …

• Special Operations

  Harris antennas for AC/MC-130J aircraft

  28th August 2017

  BAE Systems has selected Harris Corporation’s advanced electronic warfare transmitter technology to protect the US Air Force Special Operations AC/MC-130J aircraft from electronic threats, the …

• Training

  Malaysian Army inducts simulation system

  27th August 2017

  The Malaysian Army inaugurated its Immersive Virtual Training Simulator (VIRTSIM) on 14 August at Syed Sirajuddin Camp in Gemas. Developed by Motion Reality in the US, …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Background Presidential Drawdown Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, on 21 April 2022, President Biden announced an $800 million Presidential Drawdown security ...

• 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 - 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. ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  XQ-58A Valkyrie [USMC]

  Programme Background Contract Award On 30 December 2022, the US DoD announced that it had awarded Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems a $15.52 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to ...

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 ...

• 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

  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

  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 - 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 ...

• Directed energy weapons

  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 ...

• 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 ...