• Defence Helicopter

  Pentagon eyes new 'knife fighter' helicopter

  25th June 2018

  US Army leaders are moving forward with plans to develop and field a new attack reconnaissance helicopter and are shooting to have two prototypes in …

• Defence Notes

  Pentagon to prepare military bases for migrant children

  22nd June 2018

  The Pentagon will prepare to house up to 20,000 unaccompanied migrant children on military bases, a US military spokesman said on 21 June. The decision …

• Defence Notes

  Britain to intensify defence against space 'threats'

  21st May 2018

  Britain will boost the number of defence personnel working in the space sector by a fifth over five years to counter ‘intensifying threats’, UK Defence …

• Defence Notes

  Russia says OPCW preparing 'pseudo' report on Syria chemical attacks

  22nd June 2018

  Russia on 22 June predicted the global chemical weapons watchdog would present ‘pseudo evidence’ in a report on an alleged chemical attack on the Syrian …

• Defence Notes

  To compete with China, a top US general calls for increased R&D spending

  21st June 2018

  The US military must increase spending to develop emerging technologies, with long-range precision strike and hypersonic weapons, to head off a violent conflict with China, …

• Digital Battlespace

  Viasat receives MIDS-LVT contract

  25th June 2018

  Viasat has received an IDIQ contract from the US Air Force for the supply of supplemental units, maintenance and support services for Viasat's AN/USQ-140(V) Multifunctional …

• Defence Helicopter

  New crash-protected memory module available

  28th June 2018

  Curtiss-Wright has developed a crash-protected memory module (CPMM) for use in flight data recorder (FDR) applications where captured cockpit image, voice, data link and flight …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Australia confirms Triton order

  26th June 2018

  On 26 June the Australian government announced it was investing A$1.4 billion ($1.04 billion) to acquire the first of six Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton UAVs …

• Naval Warfare

  Bangladesh seeks second-hand frigates from China

  28th May 2018

  A tender notice from Bangladesh’s MoD, seeking two Chinese-origin Type 053H3 frigates, closed on 20 May. The tender was issued to ‘assess the market price’ …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Navy sets sights on ageing OH-58 upgrade

  28th June 2018

  The US Naval Air Systems Command is calling for prospective industry parties to put forward their bids to upgrade the avionics suite of its ageing Bell OH-58 …

• Defence Notes

  South Korea holds war games to defend against Japan

  18th June 2018

  South Korea began two days of war games on 18 June to practice defending the disputed Dokdo islands off its east coast against an unlikely …

• Naval Warfare

  UDT 2018: Saab to display full size torpedo model

  20th June 2018

  Among Saab’s displays at the forthcoming Undersea Defence Technology conference and exhibition will be a full size model of its new lightweight torpedo (SLWT), with …

• Land Warfare

  Australia consults on Land 400 Phase 3 programme

  20th June 2018

  The Australian Department of Defence has commenced a consultation process with industry for its latent Land 400 Phase 3 requirement, which will see the army’s …

• Defence Helicopter

  Mi-35Ms en route to Kazakhstan

  19th June 2018

  A new contract covering four Mi-35M Hind attack helicopters has been signed between Russia and Kazakhstan. Its existence was officially confirmed on 29 May by …

• Naval Warfare

  Russian nuclear submarine test fires Bulava missiles

  23rd May 2018

  A Russian nuclear submarine on 22 May successfully fired four Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile from the White Sea on Russia's northwestern coast, the military said …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A330 MRTT (1-9) [NATO]

  Programme Background Following operations in Libya and extensive analyses by the European Defence Agency (EDA), it was agreed at the NATO Summit in 2012 that ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A330 MRTT Follow-On (NATO)

  Following operations in Libya and extensive analyses by the European Defence Agency (EDA), it was agreed at the NATO Summit in 2012 that the EDA ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawks [Norway]

  Programme Background NH90 NFH cancellation  The Norwegian government announced the termination of the NH90 NFH helicopter contract for 14 NH90s with NHIndustries in June 2022. Seahawk Acquisition ...

• Tanks

  New MBT [Romania]

  Programme Background Requirement The Romanian Army's MBT fleet is composed of T-55 variants that are due to be retired in the mid-2020s. Although Romania's TR-85 ...

• Tanks

  M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 [Romania]

  Programme Background Requirement The Romanian Army's MBT fleet is composed of T-55 variants that are due to be retired in the mid-2020s. Although Romania's TR-85 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) - (Greece)

  Programme Background EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) was announced in early 2022 and the project contract was awarded ...

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

  UAV Tactical Level [Norway]

  Programme Background Request for Information (RfI) In September 2022, the Norwegian Defence Material Agency (NDMA) launched a request for information in preparation for a possible ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) - (Italy)

  Programme Background EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) was announced in early 2022 and the project contract was awarded ...

• Maritime patrol

  MAWS/PATMAR [France]

  Programme Background In 2017, Germany and France announced that they would be working towards developing an MPA to replace their current fleets in service. The ...

• Tanks

  Leopard 2A8 [Netherlands]

  Programme Background Bidders and Suppliers The Leopard 2A8, the latest in the Leopard family, was selected by the Royal Dutch Army as per announcements in ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2 [Kuwait]

  Background Contract Award On 18 January 2023, Baykar announced signing a $370 million export contract with Kuwait for the Bayraktar TB2. According to the announcement, ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton - Germany (Cancelled)

  Programme Background Germany requested to buy four MQ-4C Triton HALE UAVs from Northrop Grumman. On 5 April 2018, the US State Department announced that it ...

• Corvettes

  European Patrol Corvette (EPC) [France]

  Programme Background Requirements The European Patrol Corvette (EPC) is one of the new PESCO (Permanent Structured Cooperation on Defence and Security) projects. PESCO was established ...

• AEW&C

  Alliance Future Surveillance and Control (1-6) [NATO]

  Programme Background NATO’s E-3A AWACS fleet is set to retire in 2035, after 50 years of service. To plan for the required follow-on capability, NATO's ...

• Corvettes

  European Patrol Corvette (EPC) [Italy]

  Programme Background Requirements The 2021-2023 Documento Programmatico Pluriennale (DPP) - a multi-year defence planning document from the Italian MoD - includes a plan to acquire eight "Patrol Ships", ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Land: air defence radar

  APIS

  APIS is a passive high-resolution primary radar system developed by Indra. It is the first passive system in the world capable of offering images using ...

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  AE50R

  The AE50R is an aviation gasoline single rotary engine with an output of 40.4kW. The engine is certified according to European Aviation Safety Agency Part ...

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

  LOTUS

  The LOTUS, Low Observable Tactical Unnamed System, is a tactical UAV especially designed for border patrol ISR operations.  The development of the project is funded by ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  Mistral 3

  The Mistral 3 is the latest member of the Mistral family of very short-range surface-to-air missiles. It entered service in 2018 and has been chosen ...

• Helicopter engines

  Arriel 2H

  Safran Helicopter Engines received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) engine type certification for its Arriel 2H engine, installed in the Avicopter AC312E, in April 2018. ...

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

  AR5

  First announced in October 2012, the AR5 is a MALE UAS designed for SAR, surveillance and maritime patrol missions. The AR5 can be flown manually or commanded ...

• Air: NVGs

  PNL-3M Orlik

  PNL-3M are high-performance, lightweight, passive stereoscopic NVGs for helicopter crew members. Certification by European Aviation Safety Agency also enables civilian use. The device can be ...

• Trainer

  Gabriel-TP

  Gabriel-TP is a low-wing, two-seat tandem trainer aircraft aimed at both military and civilian customers. It is certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in ...

• Loitering munitions

  Akeron RCH 170

  Unveiled in April 2025, the Akeron RCH 170 is a fixed-wing loitering munition from MBDA. Similar in design to the Switchblade 300, the catapult launched system ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  Standard 3

  Jointly developed by ATR and Thales, The Standard 3 avionics suite has been specifically designed for ATR-600 aircraft. It offers the pilot user-friendly interface, along ...

• Loitering munitions

  Akeron RCX 50

  Unveiled in April 2025, the Akeron RCX 50 is a rotary-wing loitering munition from MBDA.  According to reports, the RCX 50 is designed to support ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  DroneGun

  DroneGun enables controlled management of an adversarial UAS, causing no damage to the UAV or surrounding area. It either forces the drone to perform a ...

• Military - USVs

  NOMARS

  The No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) is a US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) effort to develop a first-of-its-kind large uncrewed surface vessel.

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  Trident 100TD2

  The Trident 100TD2 is a compression-ignition engine that is capable of operating on various types of heavy fuel. It is claimed to offer up to ...

• Space: radar systems

  ESA Sentinel-1

  Sentinel-1 is a planned constellation of four satellites with two already in orbit and two on order. They carry a payload of a C-band SAR ...