• Digital Battlespace

  China steals US hydrophones

  3rd July 2018

  An arrest of a Chinese citizen accused of illegally exporting hydrophones to China has set off alarm bells amongst US experts on naval warfare in …

• Training

  Farnborough 2018: German personnel training for Heron TP to begin soon

  18th July 2018

  Fresh from the confirmation that the German armed forces will indeed operate the Heron TP UAV – despite protests by US-based General Atomics (GA-ASI) over …

• Training

  Farnborough 2018: ATAC grows its Mirage F1 fleet

  13th July 2018

  US adversary air specialists, Textron-owned ATAC, has now received the first 13 of a total of 63 Mirage F1 aircraft from the French Government. The …

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy’s LCS Wichita completes acceptance trials

  17th July 2018

  The Lockheed Martin-led industry team has completed acceptance trials of Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) 13, the future USS Wichita, in the waters of Lake Michigan, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Five dead in South Korea military helicopter crash

  17th July 2018

  Five people were killed and one injured when a South Korean military helicopter crashed on 17 July, at a marine base in the country's southeast, …

• Military Logistics

  Marines look to enhance MEDEVAC

  23rd July 2018

  The United States Marine Corps Systems Command (MARCORSYSCOM) Program Manager Supply and Maintenance Systems (PM SMS), Health Systems Team is exploring potential enhancements to its …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  ELNS prototype in flight testing

  13th July 2018

  CTSi and its partner L3 Technologies have completed flight-testing of the Enhanced Link Navigation System (ELNS) designed for use in highly contested and GPS-denied environments, …

• Training

  RAAF receives C-130J FuT from CAE

  20th June 2018

  CAE has delivered a new C-130J Fuselage Trainer (FuT) to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) at Richmond Air Force Base, the company announced on …

• Land Warfare

  Singapore’s SPYDER attains FOC

  9th July 2018

  The Republic of Singapore Air Force’s Surface-to-air PYthon-5 and DERby (SPYDER) ground-based air defence system has achieved full operational capability, the government of Singapore announced …

• Land Warfare

  KBRwyle receives Patriot support contract

  11th July 2018

  KBRwyle has received a $133 million task order from the US Army's Lower Tier Project Office to provide technical and engineering services to the Patriot …

• Military Logistics

  US Army explores ‘softer side’ of airdrops

  27th June 2018

  Against a backdrop of recent activities focused on the ability to airdrop ‘heavy’ logistics payloads, the US Army is also exploring new options for providing …

• Defence Notes

  Qatar and US launch expansion of Al-Udeid airbase

  24th July 2018

  The US and Qatar launched a plan on 24 July to expand Al-Udeid airbase, the biggest military facility used by Washington in the Gulf as …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Farnborough 2018: In the hands of the HaWC

  19th July 2018

  Esterline’s next-generation of ruggedised handheld controllers for the unmanned sector, and other domains, is on course to be market ready by autumn of this year. …

• Naval Warfare

  BAE Pacific 24 boat build set to grow

  5th July 2018

  The Royal Navy (RN) is likely to order more Pacific 24 Mk IV Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIB) from BAE Systems once the initial order for …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Lightning strikes for MQ-9B

  22nd June 2018

  General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has carried out successful lightning tests on its second full-scale MQ-9B in Poway, California, the company announced on 19 June.  …

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 ...