• Digital Battlespace

  Australia opens Adelaide cyber security centre

  28th November 2018

  The Australian Department of Defence officially opened a new Joint Cyber Security Centre in Adelaide, South Australia, on 23 November. The centre is a part …

• Defence Helicopter

  Boeing offered relief on CH-47F Block II

  11th January 2019

  Boeing has been issued with a new IDIQ low rate initial production notice by the US Army, which could see the service buy up to …

• Land Warfare

  Russia delivers on Vietnam and Laos tanks

  20th December 2018

  Russia is delivering T-90S and T-72B1 tanks to Vietnam and Laos respectively, fulfilling recent contracts placed by the Southeast Asian countries. The first batch from …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US DoD evaluates DroneShield products

  13th December 2018

  DroneShield’s DroneSentry and DroneGun Tactical products have been evaluated by the US Department of Defense Asymmetric Warfare Group, the company announced on 10 December. The …

• Military Logistics

  Bidders for Fleet Solid Support ships selected

  6th December 2018

  The UK Ministry of Defence has selected four shipbuilding firms and a British consortium to compete for the Fleet Solid Support ships contract. The Fleet …

• Military Logistics

  Canada facing fighter pilot shortage

  21st November 2018

  Canada's air force will soon get more planes but is facing a pilot shortage, so it still won't be able to meet new continental and …

• Special Operations

  USASOC conducts AI/ML workshop

  17th December 2018

  The US Army Special Operations Command has completed a workshop focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), in an effort to better understand …

• Military Logistics

  RAF A400M Atlas in 23t airdrop

  27th November 2018

  A Royal Air Force (RAF) A400M Atlas has delivered a cargo load weighing 23t by parachute over Salisbury Plain in a record-breaking test of the …

• Defence Notes

  Croatia cancels Israeli F-16 deal after Washington snub

  10th January 2019

  The Croatian MoD has cancelled a deal with Israel for the procurement of 12 F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft after the Trump administration failed to approve the order. …

• Military Logistics

  USAF logisticians look beyond ‘War Wagons’

  11th December 2018

  The US Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) is looking for next-generation logistics trailers that would be used to support Aircraft Battle Damage Repair (ABDR) operations. …

• Naval Warfare

  Valiant name confirmed for second Dreadnought SSBN

  6th December 2018

  In keeping with the UK MoD’s penchant for batches of announcements or orders, its submarine industry was the recipient of two doses of good will …

• Naval Warfare

  Canadian Coast Guard receives new SAR lifeboats

  20th December 2018

  The Canadian Coast Guard has received two new high-endurance SAR lifeboats that will be deployed for SAR missions in the West Coast region. The new …

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2018: Marathon longevity for robotic targets

  27th November 2018

  Marathon Targets' autonomous robot targets are continuing to provide service to warfighters in live training environments more than a decade after their entry into the …

• Military Logistics

  Lockheed, Airbus sign agreement on aerial refuelling

  11th December 2018

  Lockheed Martin and Airbus have signed an agreement to explore opportunities to meet growing demand for aerial refuelling for US defence customers. Under the agreement, …

• Defence Notes

  US defense chief quits as Trump pulls from Syria, Afghanistan

  21st December 2018

  US Defense Secretary James Mattis resigned Thursday, leading a chorus of protests at home and abroad after President Donald Trump ordered a complete troop pull-out …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Light attack, Trainer

  PC-21 (Project Air 5428) [Australia]

  The new PTS, including aircraft, flight training simulators and learning environments is being acquired from a single capability contractor, Team 21, which consists of Lockheed ...

• Transport, Transport/tanker aircraft

  Project Air 7404 [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement Australia is thinking ahead to an enlarged transport fleet to replace the current C-130Js. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was the second ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A (Project Air 6000 Phase 2A/B) [Australia]

  Programme Background The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) took delivery of 18 F-35A aircraft as of March 2020 and the remaining aircraft are expected to ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton (5-6) [Australia]

  Background Four Contracted Units In the summer of 2020, Northrop Grumman announced that the Australian Government provided $333 million for three MQ-4C Tritons and associated GCS. ...

• Medium Range Missile Defence Systems: 20-90km range

  Medium Range Air Defence [Australia]

  Background Faced with a growing threat from China and a vast land and sea territory to protect, Australia is seeking to establish a medium-range ground-based ...

• Patrol boats

  Evolved Cape Class (13-14) [Australia]

  Programme Background Austal was awarded a contract to build six 'Evolved'Cape-class patrol boats for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) on 1 May 2020 (see separate ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) [Australia]

  Background Older Efforts On 23 April 2021, the US State Department's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) approval announcement revealed that Australia had requested to buy up ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Project Air 7003 [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement The Royal Australian Air Force has been without a UAS capability since the Heron was withdrawn in mid-2017. According to Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, ...

• OPVs

  Arafura Class (Project SEA 1180) (1-6) [Australia]

  Programme Background Australia's new class of Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV), the Arafura-class, will replace the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) fleet of Armidale and Cape-class patrol ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-28 Ghost Bat [Australia]

  Background Goal As stated by the Head of Air Force Capability, Air Vice-Marshal Robert Denney, in March 2022, the Ghost Bat will be an "operational system ...

• Loitering munitions

  Mission Talon Strike [Australia]

  Background Request for Tender (RFT) On 19 May 2025, the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA), an agency aimed at streamlining defence invocation for the Australian Defence ...

• Military UAS - small

  VTOL UAV [New Zealand]

  Background Defence Capability Plan (DCP) In April 2025, the New Zealand government published the DCP, a document that is essentially a blueprint for what procurements ...

• Trainer

  Hawk 127 Replacement (Future Lead-In Fighter Training System- Project Air 6002 PH1) [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirements The RAAF is seeking a future solution that provides a ‘relevant, adaptable, affordable and safe LIFTS out to 2050’ for training pilots ...

• Military UAS - small

  DEF129 (Tactical UAS) [Australia]

  Programme Background Programme Announcement The Australian Army announced the Project Land 129 Phase 3 programme in 2017. This announcement led to the release of an industry ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Harpii Szpon (Loyal Wingman) [Poland]

  Background Market Evaluation On 6 November 2023, speaking at the IQPC International Fighter Conference (IFC) 2023 in Madrid, Major General Cezary Wiśniewski, the Deputy General Commander of the ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: Integrated Defensive Systems

  Air-5416 Project Echidna

  Air-5416 Project Echidna was an initiative launched in 2001 by BAE Systems for the Australian DoD. Its goal was to overhaul the self protection systems ...

• Trainer

  King Air trainer

  Textron / Beechcraft King Air trainers are a family twin-engine aircraft based on King Air 90, 100, 200 and 350 utility aircraft. The King Air ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  Australian Defence Force MRH90 Training

  As prime contractor for the ADF's MRH90 training programme, CAE has provided two MRH90 full-flight mission simulators (FFMS), training facilities and engineering and support services. ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  RAAF Hawk Mk 127 FMS

  Under subcontract to BAE Systems, CAE is designing and manufacturing three Hawk Mk 127 full-mission simulators (FMS) for the Royal Australian Air Force that will ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Wanderer

  The Wanderer is a low-altitude, low-cost, long-endurance UAV produced in-house by the Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF) Jericho Disruptive Innovation Group and the Australian Government's Defense Science ...

• Light attack

  Hawk 200

  The Hawk 200 is a single-seat light attack iteration of the Hawk 100 (see separate entry) and Advanced Jet Trainer or AJT (see separate entry). ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-28A Ghost Bat

  The MQ-28A Ghost Bat is a loyal wingman-type, Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), MALE fixed-wing drone being developed by Boeing Defence Australia. Its development began in ...

• Military - USVs

  Bluebottle

  Bluebottle is a persistent, autonomous, uncrewed surface vessel from Ocius Technology in service with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF). In ...

• Air: UAV simulators

  Predator Mission Trainer (PMT)

  The CAE Predator Mission Trainer (PMT) is an integrated platform that combines the features of CAE's UAS mission trainer with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' Predator-specific ...

• Maritime patrol

  Challenger 604

  Bombardier Challenger CL-604 MPAs are in service with the Royal Danish Air Force and the Korea Coast Guard. The first of three Danish aircraft entered ...

• Military UAS - micro

  Phantom 4 (Series)

  Designed for aerial photograph applications by DJI, the Phantom 4 series of UAVs includes the Phantom 4 Pro, Phantom 4 Pro V2.0, Phantom 4 Advanced ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  Hawkei

  Thales Australia developed the 4x4 Hawkei for the Australian Army's Land 121 Phase 4 Protected Mobility Vehicle – Light (PMV-L) project.  The prototype was unveiled in ...

• Air: COMINT and ELINT systems

  AN/ALR-2001

  BAE Systems’ AN/ALR-2001 Electronic Support Measure (ESM) is thought to be based on Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) Elta Systems division’s EL/M-8382 ESM. The AN/ALR-2001 is ...

• Air-to-surface missiles

  AGM-88E AARGM

  The AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) is a supersonic, medium-range, air-launched tactical missile compatible with US and allied strike aircraft. Designed to upgrade the AGM-88 ...

• Military UAS - mini

  M Solar-X

  First revealed in August 2020, in February 2024, at its symposium, the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) showcased the M Solar-X. This solar-powered fixed-wing drone was ...