• Defence Notes

  Analysis: Where could Trump strike North Korea?

  21st April 2017

  A virtual 'hit list' of viable targets the US military could strike if it ever decided to employ force against North Korea, which Shephard has …

• Military Logistics

  US Army looks to intellectual data rights

  20th April 2017

  US Army leaders will likely seek to own intellectual data rights in many future contracting scenarios, with many feeling that their lack of those rights …

• Defence Helicopter

  Quad A 2017: BAE Systems, Leonardo DRS sign MoU

  20th April 2017

  BAE Systems and Leonardo DRS have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide advanced threat detection capabilities for US Army fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, …

• Military Logistics

  Services express F-35 sustainment strategy concerns

  20th April 2017

  While US Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy leaders are clearly excited to receive the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, they identify lingering concerns surrounding the …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Army targets force projection improvements

  20th April 2017

  The US Army has begun using administrative unit movements to help practice and refine what some view as lost skill sets necessary for rapid force …

• Defence Helicopter

  Quad A 2017: Army seeks helicopter missile warning system

  19th April 2017

  The US Army has issued a request for information (RfI) in support of the Limited Interim Missile Warning System (LIMWS) programme as it seeks a …

• Military Logistics

  Oshkosh to recapitalise US Army’s FHTVs

  19th April 2017

  Oshkosh Defense has received multiple delivery orders from the US Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) to recapitalise its family of heavy tactical vehicles (FHTV), …

• Defence Helicopter

  Quad A 2017: Fresh life breathed into UH-60L

  19th April 2017

  The US Army's programme to upgrade its legacy UH-60L Black Hawks with a new digital cockpit is proceeding apace, following the first flight of the …

• Training

  T-72 converted to unmanned tank target

  18th April 2017

  Kratos Defense and Security Solutions' Micro Systems has converted a Russian T-72 tank to operate in an unmanned configuration, the company announced on 13 April.Micro …

• Training

  US Navy, USCG partner for SLEP

  17th April 2017

  The US Navy is teaming up with the US Coast Guard (USCG) to execute a Service Life Extension Plan (SLEP) on the Yard Patrol (YP) …

• Defence Helicopter

  ​Quad A 2017: V-280 on time, on the money

  25th April 2017

  With five months to go until the V-280 Valor embarks on its first flight, testing and simulations are keeping the tiltrotor's aggressive timeline on track.The …

• Military Logistics

  Canada requests C-17 sustainment support

  21st April 2017

  The US State Department has made a determination approving a potential $195 million foreign military sale to Canada for sustainment support of its C-17 military …

• Defence Notes

  LRDR passes preliminary design review

  21st April 2017

  Lockheed Martin has announced that its Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) has passed preliminary design review (PDR), clearing the way for detailed design to move …

• Defence Helicopter

  Mi-171 delivered to Pakistan

  20th April 2017

  Russian Helicopters has made its first Mi-171E civil multirole helicopter delivery to the Pakistani province of Punjab, according to a 19 April company statement.Under the …

• Land Warfare

  Iraq requests massive equipment FMS

  20th April 2017

  The US State Department has made a determination approving a potential $295.6 million foreign military sale to Iraq for equipment for two Peshmerga infantry brigades …

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 ...