• Digital Battlespace

  AUSA 2018: US Army looks to beef up drone defences with Q-53

  10th October 2018

  The US Army is set to take on several modified AN/TPQ-53 counter-rocket, artillery and mortar (C-RAM) radars from Lockheed Martin that will have an expanded …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Poland examines new UAS possibilities

  15th October 2018

  AeroVironment (AV) is looking to make inroads in Poland as it held a series of demonstration flights of its small unmanned aerial systems in early …

• Defence Notes

  Harris, L3 merging to form a defence-technology giant

  15th October 2018

  Harris and L3 Technologies, two American companies specialising in military communications and technology, announced their merger on Sunday, giving birth to a giant in the …

• Naval Warfare

  Euronaval 2018: 'Light' boom as Type 31e passes PQQ

  25th October 2018

  Numerous shipbuilders and designers showcased a range of light multirole frigates and corvettes at this year’s Euronaval in Paris as demand for such platforms increases. …

• Military Logistics

  One Network to enhance USAF’s PBL

  19th September 2018

  One Network Enterprises’ Real Time Value Network (RTVN) has been selected by AAR to support repairs to major landing gear components of select US Air …

• Defence Helicopter

  Australia retires the Kiowa

  19th October 2018

  The Australian Army formally retired the Bell 206B-1 Kiowa on 18 October, a date that also marked the 50th anniversary of the service’s Aviation Corps. …

• Military Logistics

  LCA Tejas in air-to-air refuelling trials

  17th September 2018

  The Indian Air Force (IAF) has successfully carried out a mid-air refuelling wet contact trial with the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas MK-1, the Indian …

• Land Warfare

  Kongsberg receives CROWS contract

  18th September 2018

  Kongsberg has received a contract from the US Army for production, system support and technical engineering support for the family of CROWS remote weapon stations, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Gray Eagle-ER follow-on tests complete

  20th September 2018

  The US Army has completed testing of the MQ-1C Gray Eagle Extended Range (ER) as part of follow-on test and evaluation work to assess the …

• Land Warfare

  India to receive S-400 missile systems

  9th October 2018

  Rosoboronexport has signed a contract to supply S-400 Triumf long-range air defence missile systems to India, Rostec announced on 5 October. The S-400 system is capable …

• Special Operations

  Netherlands to continue ISIS Operations

  25th September 2018

  Dutch special forces will continue to support the development of Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) and Kurdish Special Mission Units (SMUs) through to the end …

• Military Logistics

  Construction starts on USNS John Lewis

  27th September 2018

  General Dynamics-National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (GD-NASSCO) has begun construction of the US Navy's first John Lewis-class Fleet Replenishment Oiler, the future USNS John Lewis. …

• Special Operations

  Netherlands to get new SOCOM training facility

  21st September 2018

  Special operations forces from the Netherlands are set to benefit from a new training facility to support counter-terrorism (CT) and urban warfare mission sets, according …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DroneShield launches DroneCannon

  15th October 2018

  DroneShield has launched the DroneCannon Remote Weapon, the company announced on 10 October. DroneCannon is a lightweight, soft kill counter-UAS jammer designed for use on …

• Special Operations

  SOF school teaches coastal patrol skills

  2nd October 2018

  As United States Special Operations Command’s only international security force assistance training center, the Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School (NAVSCIATTS) trains and …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Data links

  Data links | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-390 [Brazil]

  Programme Background Requirement The aircraft deliveries were scheduled to start by the end of 2016 and continue over a period of ten years. However,  the first ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  C-130H Replacement [Sweden]

  Programme Background Requirements Sweden has five C-130H aircraft (designated Tp-84) and one KC-130H. Two C-130Es bought in the 1960s have retired, but the six H ...

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

  Hermes 900 [Chile]

  Methodology Unit cost In 2024, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) acquired one Hermes 900 for 50 million reais ($9.14 million), giving each drone an estimated ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  H145M [Brazil]

  Background  Brazilian leadership announced in February 2022 that the Sabre Mil Mi-35M Hind-E attack helicopters were being retired from active service. This decision came as a ...

• Fighter - multirole

  JAS 39E/F Gripen [Brazil]

  Background In 2016, Gripen’s Project and Development Center was opened in Sao Paulo to allow Sweedish and Brazillian engineers to work together in the Gripen ...

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

  Hermes 900 [Colombia]

  Methodology Unit cost In 2024, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) acquired one Hermes 900 for 50 million reais ($9.14 million), giving each drone an estimated gross ...

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

  Hermes 900 (5) [Brazil]

  Background First three batches (2014-2024) Across three purchases, Defence Insight estimates that Brazil has acquired five Hermes 900 UAVs. In 2014, Elbit reported supplying one ...

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

  Hermes 900 (1-4) [Brazil]

  Background First batch (2014) In 2014, Elbit reported supplying one Hermes 900 UAV to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB). The drone is called the RQ-900 in Brazilian ...

• Maritime patrol

  C295 add-on [Brazil]

  Programme Background  In 2014 Brazil signed a contracted for two additional C-295 SAR platforms with the option to acquire one additional platform. In 2018, reports ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Polar Support Vessel [Brazil]

  Programme Background Requirements In June 2020, the Brazilian Navy released a Request for Proposal (RfP) to procure a new Antarctic vessel to be manufactured in Brazil. The ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air-to-surface missiles

  MAR-1

  The MAR-1 is a Brazilian air-to-surface anti-radiation missile (ARM) developed by Mectron in collaboration with the Aerospace Technology and Science Department (DCTA) of the Brazilian ...

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

  Harpia

  Described as the UAV with the most onboard technology in Latin America, Harpia is a multifunctional fixed-wing Brazilian drone developed by Advanced Technologies Security & Defence.  The Uruguayan ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  EMB-312 Tucano

  The EMB-312 Tucano (Brazilian designation T-27) is a trainer and light attack aircraft developed by Embraer to meet the training requirements of the Brazilian Air ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  TPTS

  Tactical Procedures Training Simulators (TPTS), operating with SWARM software, can be used to provide most core training elements to pilots or offload training tasks from ...

• Guided munitions

  SMKB (Smart-MK-Bomb)

  The Smart-MK-Bomb, or the SMKB, is a precision guidance kit developed by Mectron and designed to turn Mk 82 and Mk 83 bombs into guided munitions.

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Albatroz Vortex

  The Albatroz Vortex from Stella Tecnologia is a development of the company's Albatroz UAV.  The key differentiator is that the Vortex is fitted with an ATJR ...

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

  Condor

  The Condor, or Atobá XR, is an in-development MALE-class UAV from Stella Technologia.  The development of the multi-role is tied to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), which has ...

• Trainer, Transport

  EMB-121 Xingu

  The EMB-121 Xingu is a twin-turboprop light transport and advanced multi-engine trainer aircraft developed by Embraer based on the EMB-110 Bandeirante. Its maiden flight was ...

• Land: battle management systems

  Arkhe Mission & Combat

  Launched in 2017, Atech's Arkhe Mission & Combat solutions offer a variety of solutions enabling operator to conduct missions from planning to execution and debriefing. It ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-390/C-390 Millennium

  The KC-390 is a high-wing, twin-turbofan, T-tail design intended to meet the needs of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) for a tanker/transport aircraft. Developed and ...

• Fighter - air superiority

  F-5E/F Tiger II

  The F-5E (single-seat)/F (twin-seat) Tiger II is an air superiority fighter developed by Northrop Grumman based on the original F-5 Freedom Fighter. Production of the ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M

  The medium-weight, 11t-class H225M (formerly known as the EC725) is the latest military Super Puma/Cougar family member.  Technical features include a modular design of mechanical ...

• EO/IR systems

  Skyward

  The SkyWard system is an advanced Infrared Search and Track (IRST) solution developed for next-generation airborne platforms, including 5th-generation fighter aircraft.  Designed with modularity in ...

• Land: air defence radar

  Saber M60

  The Saber M60 is a low-altitude air-defence radar developed by the Brazilian Army's CTEx (Army Technology Centre) in collaboration with Bradar, part of Embraer Defence ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  RBS 70 system

  The RBS 70 was developed in the 1970s to meet the Swedish Army’s requirement for a low-cost, easy-to-use MANPADS which could function in extreme climatic ...