• Defence Helicopter

  HAL’s LCH prototype fires rockets

  15th March 2016

  A HAL Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) in TD-3 weaponised configuration has successfully fired 70mm rockets in testing, HAL announced on 14 March.  This marks the latest milestone in …

• Defence Notes

  Brunei’s defence budget rises

  15th March 2016

  Brunei’s defence budget will grow nearly 5% in 2016-17, as announced by the Brunei Legislative Council last week. The total defence budget amounts to BN$564.7 …

• Naval Warfare

  Raytheon receives SM-6 order

  10th March 2016

  Raytheon has been awarded $270 million to exercise fiscal 2016 options by the US Navy for Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) production and spares requirements, it announced …

• Naval Warfare

  Indonesia clashes with China

  22nd March 2016

  A spat has arisen between Indonesia and China over an incident at sea involving a Chinese fishing boat and maritime security vessels in the South …

• Land Warfare

  Size matters in Nordic consolidation

  18th March 2016

  In a further move in the ongoing consolidation of the Nordic defence industry, Kongsberg has agreed to purchase 49.9% of vehicle manufacturer Patria from the …

• Naval Warfare

  SM-6 engages surface target

  8th March 2016

  Raytheon successfully conducted a flight test of its Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) in which the missile engaged a surface target - the decommissioned USS Reuben James …

• Defence Helicopter

  Heli-Expo 2016: Black Hawks swoop on market (video)

  7th March 2016

  The presence of three ex-US Army UH-60A Black Hawks, all now owned by private companies, was one of the big talking points at this year's …

• Military Logistics

  Singapore Airshow: RAAF C-27J training spools up

  17th February 2016

  One of the highlights of the Singapore Air Show is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) C-27J Spartan tactical transport aircraft in the static park. …

• Defence Helicopter

  Finmeccanica painting a new future

  17th March 2016

  Finmeccanica will be rebranding under the name 'Leonardo', it was announced on 16 March, as the company reported a net profit of €527 million for …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Wave Glider tackles illegal fishing

  16th March 2016

  The ocean is becoming more automated as Liquid Robotics’ Wave Glider, an unmanned ocean robot, embarks on a mission to tackle illegal fishing around the …

• Training

  US, Japan conduct joint training

  4th March 2016

  Units from the US Navy conducted a Fleet Synthetic Training-Joint (FST-J) exercise with Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) units in February, the US Navy announced …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  New markets, more pilots for Sky-Futures

  11th March 2016

  Unmanned aerial system (UAS) inspection provider Sky-Futures will expand its pilot numbers and technological base, following the signing of a ‘strategic partnership’ with Bristow Group. …

• Digital Battlespace

  AHRLAC development to continue

  10th March 2016

  Boeing will collaborate with South Africa-based Paramount Group on an advanced mission system for a variant of the Advanced High Performance Reconnaissance Light Aircraft (AHRLAC), …

• Training

  Reiser selects Quantum3D visuals for FFS

  10th March 2016

  Quantum3D has been selected by Reiser Simulation and Training to provide image generators and synthetic visual databases for its civil Full-Flight Simulator (FFS) for 4t …

• Land Warfare

  David's Sling deliveries begin

  9th March 2016

  Israel's Missile Defense Organization (IMDO), along with the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA), has started making deliveries of major components of the David's Sling aerial …

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, Reconnaissance/patrol vehicles

  JLTV Oshkosh Contract (US Navy) [US]

  As of November 2020, the US DoD had signed 14 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all branches of ...

• 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 ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A Joint Strike Fighter - USAF

  According to the US FY2021 budget document, Turkey's removal from the JSF program and transition to the alternate supply chain sources may challenge to achieve ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Puma LE (Kosovo)

  Programme Background 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 LE. ...

• Fighter - naval

  F-35B STOVL - US Navy

  The JSF programme will develop and field a family of aircraft that meets the needs of the US DoD and US allies with the F-35A ...

• MPVs - 4x4, Reconnaissance/patrol vehicles

  JLTV Oshkosh Contract [US Air Force]

  As of November 2020, the US DoD had signed 14 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all branches of ...

• 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

  Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS) [US Army]

  Programme Background DoD Contract On 27 August 2024, the US DoD announced that AeroVironment had been awarded a $990 million hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to provide "an ...

• Fighter - naval

  F-35C Carrier Variant

  The US Navy is planning to order 130 F-35Cs between FY2026 and FY2030 under the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. The purchase is estimated be ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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. ...

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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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

  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 ...

• Autonomous GPADS

  Airborne Systems has developed a family of smart systems ranging in payload capacity from 90-4,536kg. Utilising the technology developed and used in ram-air canopies, Guided ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Data links, Land: Radio and SATCOM, UAS: communication systems

  QNT-200

  The Collins QNT-200 is a dual-channel software-defined radio (SDR) designed for size, weight and power-constrained platforms. Using IP-based mesh networks, it offers high-bandwidth mobile networking ...