• Defence Notes

  India intends to place fighters farther east

  11th May 2018

  India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands are in a key strategic location astride the western approaches to the Malacca, Sunda, Lombok and Ombai Wetar Straits. To …

• Land Warfare

  Australia sees Spike in missile capability

  31st May 2018

  Australia has selected the Rafael Spike LR2 multipurpose missile to equip its army’s future Rheinmetall Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles (CRV), according to testimony given by …

• Defence Helicopter

  Klimov to develop new rotorcraft engine

  12th June 2018

  Russian engine-maker Klimov has revealed details on its new research and development programme undertaken within the frame of the so-called Advanced Helicopter Engine (AHE) initiative. …

• Digital Battlespace

  EW Europe 2018: Preparing for radar 'war modes'

  4th June 2018

  For pilots and crew, survival in the air is increasingly reliant on the ability to use electronic warfare tactics and technology to avoid and counter the …

• Defence Notes

  Palestinians join world chemical arms watchdog

  23rd May 2018

  The Palestinians have joined the global convention to halt the spread of toxic arms, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) announced on …

• Special Operations

  SOFIC 2018: MRZR-X supports UK MoD

  26th May 2018

  Polaris Government and Defense will support the UK Ministry of Defence’s (MoD’s) Army Warfighting Experiment (AWE) with a single MRZR-X unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), company …

• Training

  Norway accepts DECKsim trainer

  6th June 2018

  The latest version of SEA’s portable DECKsim virtual reality trainer has been officially accepted by the Royal Norwegian Navy (RNN), the company announced on 30 …

• Digital Battlespace

  Thales, CarteNav to develop new ISR solution

  4th June 2018

  Thales and PAL Aerospace’s subsidiary CarteNav Solutions will collaborate on the development of a new airborne ISR solution to support counter-piracy, border disputes and migration …

• Training

  ITEC 2018: US agrees FMS training deal with RNLAF

  9th May 2018

  The US State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract to the Dutch Government for $110 million for continued F-16 training for …

• Training

  ITEC 2018: Dutch Air Force acquires UAV simulator

  9th May 2018

  The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) 306 Squadron at Leeuwarden Air Base has received a desk-top simulator for UAV training, the Dutch Ministry of Defence …

• Naval Warfare

  Pakistan turns to China for modern frigates

  5th June 2018

  The Pakistan Navy (PN) signed a deal with the China Shipbuilding Trading Company (CSTC) on 1 June for two additional Type 054A multi-mission frigates. The …

• Defence Notes

  Taiwan scrambles fighter jets to track China bomber drill

  25th May 2018

  Taiwan on 25 May scrambled fighter jets to shadow Chinese bombers conducting a drill around the island, just hours after Beijing welcomed Burkina Faso's move …

• Special Operations

  SOFIC 2018: Virtual symposium launched to support industry

  16th May 2018

  The US Special Operations Command’s (USSOCOM’s) Science and Technology (S&T;) Directorate has launched a virtual symposium to support industry efforts to identify and enable disruptive …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  GA-ASI, P&W carry out MQ-25 engine test

  5th June 2018

  General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI)  has carried out a successful powered run of the Pratt & Whitney (P&W;) PW815 engine that will power its proposed …

• Military Logistics

  GE Aviation to upgrade KC-135’s IDAR

  31st May 2018

  GE Aviation has received a contract to upgrade the Integrated Data Acquisition Recorder (IDAR) on the US Air Force’s KC-135 fleet, the company announced on …

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 ...