• Training

  Russia trains CAR army in weapons use

  27th March 2018

  Inside a sprawling former ‘imperial palace’ near Bangui, Russian instructors have set up a camp where they are training soldiers of the Central African Republic …

• Naval Warfare

  Sea-Air-Space 2018: US Navy prepares for extended range guided missile

  9th April 2018

  The US Navy is ploughing ahead with development of an Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile—Extended Range (AARGM-ER) missile and rocket motor source selection is underway. During a …

• Defence Helicopter

  Army says key FVL decisions are coming

  16th March 2018

  US Army Chief of Staff Gen Mark Milley side stepped assertions that development of the new Future Vertical Lift (FVL) helicopter is slipping but acknowledged …

• Land Warfare

  Jordan receives more Marder vehicles from Germany

  21st March 2018

  A batch of refurbished ex-German Army Marder infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) have been delivered to the Jordanian armed forces. Deliveries of 25 modernised Marder 1A3 IFVs …

• Military Logistics

  Rocky boots take to the air

  17th March 2018

  Although not quite the same as an air-worthiness certificate, six S2V military boot designs from Rocky Boots have recently been designated as ‘safe to fly’ by …

• Defence Helicopter

  CH-53K arrives in Germany

  4th April 2018

  A Sikorsky CH-53K heavy lift helicopter has arrived in Holzdorf, Germany, for its international debut at the ILA Berlin Air Show 2018, Lockheed Martin announced …

• Land Warfare

  Brazilian Army marks Guarani delivery milestone

  20th March 2018

  The Brazilian Army has received its 300th Guarani Personnel Transport Vehicle (VBTP-MR), a milestone that has been delayed after the landmark programme was scaled back …

• Land Warfare

  MBDA eyes key air defence programmes

  28th March 2018

  Missile manufacturer MBDA is positioning itself for a number of air defence modernisation programmes that are on the horizon including in Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and …

• Military Logistics

  India seals contract for final C-17A

  5th April 2018

  India has finally inked a $262 million contract for the final ‘white tail’ Boeing C-17A Globemaster III transport aircraft, with notification occurring on 30 March. …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sea-Air-Space 2018: USMC says CH-53K 'not a zero risk proposition'

  9th April 2018

  Despite Pentagon reports of development and testing challenges, the CH-53K King Stallion helicopter is on track to meet initial operational capability in 2019, according to …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Leica partners with DJI on new drone solution

  11th April 2018

  Leica Geosystems, headquartered in Switzerland, is showcasing a prototype of its newest UAS solution for the first time at the Commercial UAV Expo in Amsterdam. …

• Land Warfare

  US Army mine detectors to 'see' buried bombs

  14th March 2018

  The US Army is developing a new technology that visually alerts soldiers to hidden IEDs in the ground rather than just providing them with an …

• Digital Battlespace

  Leidos to continue geospatial intelligence support

  12th March 2018

  Leidos has received a follow-on contract to support the geospatial requirements, standards and systems across the US Army, the company announced on 7 March. The …

• Defence Notes

  Libyan strongman bombed Chad rebels, his forces say

  29th March 2018

  The armed forces of Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar said on 29 March that their warplanes had attacked Chadian rebels in the country's southern desert last …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Smart city integration key stage of unmanned journey

  13th April 2018

  While industries such as agriculture, energy and mining have embraced the use of drones the next stage of the unmanned journey will be integrating the …

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 ...

• Main battle tanks

  NGCV: DLP

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

• AGMV 1.1

  Programme Background The US Army has been seeking a lightweight, air-droppable, high mobility vehicle since as early as 2014, when it initiated its Ultra Light ...

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

  Heavy Lift VTOL (HVTOL) (Forecast) [US Army]

  Background USMC In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, which had been specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  AMPV [USA]

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

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV Oshkosh Contract [US Army]

  Programme 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 ...

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

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 2) [US Army]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was intended to ...

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

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 1) [USA]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow On

  Programme Background In March 2019, Airbus stated that it expected orders from the US Army for between 12 and 15 UH-72A helicopters. In March 2020, ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker (Sergeant Stout) [USA]

  Programme Background As part of the Army Transformation Initiative the US DoD is fundamentally reorganising the structure of the US Army. As part of this all Infantry ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System (LMAMS) [US Army]

  Background First Contract In June 2011, the US awarded AeroVironment a $4.9 million series-production contract for the loitering munition, satisfying the US Army's Lethal Miniature ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Switchblade 300 (USA)

  Programme Background AeroVironment has been providing the Switchblade 300 loitering munition to the US Army under the long-standing Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile Systems (LMAMS) programme ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) [Tranche 1] / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) (USA)

  Programme Background The Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) Programme The RPUAS programme will provide the Battalion and below-ground manoeuvre elements within the US Army with an ...

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

  Group 4/5 UAV [US Army]

  Background Request for Information (RFI) On 5 June 2024, the American DoD published an RfI with an original response date of 19 July 2024. The ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  US Army Maneuver Support Vessel Light (MSVL)

  Programme BackgroundThe Maneuver Support Vessel (Light) or MSV(L) contract was awarded by the US Army to Vigor in 2017 and are being built to replace ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  US Army AVCATT PDSS

  L3Harris Technologies is the prime contractor for the US Army’s Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer (AVCATT) Post Deployment Software Support (PDSS) programme. L3Harris Technologies is ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  US Army Flight School XXI OFT/RCTD

  L3Harris Technologies is a major subcontractor to CSC on the US Army’s Flight School XXI (FSXXI) programme. L3Harris Technologies has built or is under contract ...

• Maritime patrol

  US-2

  The ShinMaywa US-2 is an amphibious short take-off and landing aircraft used primarily by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) for SAR. 

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  OH-58 Kiowa

  The single-engine OH-58 Kiowa, derived from the Bell 206, entered US Army service in 1969 as a light observation helicopter. More than 2,200 were built for ...

• Towed guns

  M198

  The US Army developed the M198 155mm towed howitzer from 1969 to replace the M114 155mm howitzer. From 1978, 1,600 weapons were built by Rock ...

• Towed mortars

  M120/M120A1

  The M120/M120A1 120 mm Towed Mortar System is a US-built version of the Soltam K6 mortar that was accepted into US Army service in 1990.

• Light tanks

  M10 Booker

  The US Army awarded General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) a contract worth US$1.14 billion to supply 96 light tanks under the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) ...

• JPT

  Designed for military applications, the Joint Platform Tablet (JPT) features a rugged design, including a military-grade aluminium case, dual-core processor, 128GB removable hard drive and ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72A/B Lakota

  In 2006, the US Army selected a version of the medium-sized, twin-engine H145, designated the UH-72A Lakota,  to meet its requirement for a new Light ...

• Armoured engineer vehicles

  M1150 ABV

  The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) project, launched by the USMC in 2002, is a joint programme to meet the requirements of both the US ...

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

  RQ-7 Shadow 200

  The Shadow 200, designated RQ-7B by the US Army, is flown by the army brigade combat teams and combat aviation brigades along with the UAV ...

• REBS

  The Rapidly Emplaced Bridge System (REBS) is a 13m dry-gap bridge. It was designed by GDELS to meet a US Army requirement to provide a ...

• Land: Electronic Attack - Jamming

  AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III

  Sierra Nevada’s AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III is the standard Counter Improvised Explosive Device (CIED) manpack system in service with the US Army and US Marine Corps (USMC). ...

• DSB

  WFEL was selected in 1996 to develop the M18 Dry Support Bridge (DSB) for the US Army. The company designed, manufactured and integrated the DSB ...

• Individual grenade launchers

  M320 GLM

  The M320 Grenade Launcher Module (GLM) is a further development of the HK AG36 (see separate entry) to meet a US Army requirement. The M320 ...