• Training

  CAE bags M1A2 tank engine trainer contract

  15th January 2018

  CAE USA has received a contract from the US Army to provide a suite of M1A2 Abrams engine trainers, the company announced on 9 January. …

• Training

  HATS programme accepts first students

  22nd January 2018

  The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the Australian Army have begun training rotary wing crew at a new joint helicopter school as part of the …

• Defence Notes

  French defence spending spike to hit NATO target

  8th February 2018

  France has announced plans to boost defence spending by more than 40%, bringing it into line with NATO targets after complaints from US President Donald …

• Naval Warfare

  Cyprus, Turkey spar after warships block gas drilling

  12th February 2018

  Cyprus has insisted Turkey had breached ‘international law’ on 11 February after Ankara's warships blocked an Italian drilling ship on course to explore for gas …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  New UAS eyed for USCG's National Security Cutters

  8th February 2018

  After several fits and starts, the US Coast Guard (USCG) is finally moving forward with plans to acquire a mid-range UAS capability to launch off …

• Defence Notes

  Russian warplane flies within metres of US jet

  30th January 2018

  A Russian fighter jet flew perilously close to a US Navy reconnaissance plane over the Black Sea on 30 January, officials said, a manoeuvre the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Russia’s Southern MD receives two Ka-52s

  25th January 2018

  The helicopter regiment of the Russian armed forces’ Southern Military District (MD) has received two Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopters, the Russian Ministry of Defence announced …

• Defence Helicopter

  Body part recovered after Japanese military helicopter crash

  6th February 2018

  Japanese authorities announced on 6 February that they had recovered a body part during the search for a crew member missing in a deadly military …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Army realigns AH-64E Apache FOTE

  12th January 2018

  The US Army is realigning its Follow-On Test and Evaluation (FOTE) of technology insertions for the AH-64E Apache helicopter, the army announced on 9 January. …

• Digital Battlespace

  Elbit’s in-fill radar and tower system certified

  6th February 2018

  Elbit Systems of America’s in-fill radar system and tower has been certified by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency for operational use, it …

• Defence Notes

  Russia dismisses evidence of Iran-made missiles to Yemen

  31st January 2018

  Russia on 31 January dismissed evidence presented by the US and UN experts that Iran had supplied missiles to Yemen's Houthi rebels as inconclusive, signalling …

• Special Operations

  Green Berets strengthen cooperation in Japan

  15th January 2018

  A select group of US Army Green Berets strengthened cooperation with Japanese paratroopers via their participation in a mass airdrop at an exercise area adjoining …

• Defence Helicopter

  HAL defaults on Dhruv spares

  15th January 2018

  The Indian Army is facing a peculiar dilemma. While Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is supplying multirole Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) at the speed of summer …

• Defence Notes

  Clamour of calls for more UK military funds

  23rd January 2018

  Michael Fallon, former Defence Secretary of the UK, has joined calls for more British military spending, as the head of the army said the country …

• Defence Helicopter

  Arnold prepares new rocket launcher for market

  5th February 2018

  The more precise a weapon is the less collateral damage and innocent casualties are affected by the technology. Companies are continually advancing their technologies to …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  MQ-1 Gray Eagle [US Army]

  Background Required Quantity Although the US Army first envisioned a requirement for 132 MQ-1C Gray Eagles, the US Army's Army Acquisition Objective (AAO) was increased ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker DVH [USA]

  Background The US Army has been operating the Stryker since 2002. The Stryker DVH is an upgraded variant that has additional armour on its underside ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV (US Army) (Batch 1) [USA]

  Background As of January 2021, the US DoD had signed 15 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all branches ...

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

  Heavy Lift VTOL (HVTOL) [US Army]

  Background USMC First, Army Second In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial Resupply ...

• Main battle tanks

  Decisive Lethality Platform [USA]

  Background The DLP is one of five vehicle families being developed for the US Army's NGCV programme. Expanded to include five programmes in October 2018, ...

• Military UAS - micro

  eBee Vision [US]

  Background Multiple orders In November 2025, the US Army acquired three eBee Vision systems to enhance training operations at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Germany. A ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  AMPV [USA]

  Background Platform development The US Army initiated the AMPV programme to acquire a replacement for several variants of the M113 tracked APC, which has been ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker (Sergeant Stout) (Batch 2) [USA]

  Background As part of the Army Transformation Initiative, the US DoD is fundamentally reorganising the structure of the US Army. The development of the Sergeant ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 2) [US Army]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was intended to ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 1) [USA]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker (Sergeant Stout) [USA]

  Background As part of the Army Transformation Initiative, the US DoD is fundamentally reorganising the structure of the US Army. As part of this all Infantry Brigade ...

• Self-propelled guns

  Mobile Tactical Cannon [USA]

  Background The US Army began using the M777 in 1995. Since then, it has served as a field artillery piece providing fire support for American ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow-On [USA]

  Programme Background In March 2019, Airbus stated that it expected orders from the US Army for between 12 and 15 UH-72A helicopters. In March 2020, ...

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

  Group 4/5 UAV [US Army]

  Background Request for Information (RFI) On 5 June 2024, the American DoD published an RfI with an original response date of 19 July 2024. The ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) [Tranche 1] / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) (USA)

  Programme Background The Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) Programme The RPUAS programme will provide the Battalion and below-ground manoeuvre elements within the US Army with an ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  US Army AVCATT PDSS

  L3Harris Technologies is the prime contractor for the US Army’s Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer (AVCATT) Post Deployment Software Support (PDSS) programme. L3Harris Technologies is ...

• Maritime patrol

  US-2

  The ShinMaywa US-2 is an amphibious short take-off and landing aircraft used primarily by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) for SAR. 

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  US Army Flight School XXI OFT/RCTD

  L3Harris Technologies is a major subcontractor to CSC on the US Army’s Flight School XXI (FSXXI) programme. L3Harris Technologies has built or is under contract ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  OH-58 Kiowa

  The single-engine OH-58 Kiowa, derived from the Bell 206, entered US Army service in 1969 as a light observation helicopter. More than 2,200 were built for ...

• Towed guns

  M198

  The US Army developed the M198 155mm towed howitzer from 1969 to replace the M114 155mm howitzer. From 1978, 1,600 weapons were built by Rock ...

• Towed mortars

  M120/M120A1

  The M120/M120A1 120 mm Towed Mortar System is a US-built version of the Soltam K6 mortar that was accepted into US Army service in 1990.

• Light tanks

  M10 Booker

  The US Army awarded General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) a contract worth US$1.14 billion to supply 96 light tanks under the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72A/B Lakota

  In 2006, the US Army selected a version of the medium-sized, twin-engine H145, designated the UH-72A Lakota,  to meet its requirement for a new Light ...

• Armoured engineer vehicles

  M1150 ABV

  The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) project, launched by the USMC in 2002, is a joint programme to meet the requirements of both the US ...

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

  RQ-7 Shadow 200

  The Shadow 200, designated RQ-7B by the US Army, is flown by the army brigade combat teams and combat aviation brigades along with the UAV ...

• Land: Electronic Attack - Jamming

  AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III

  Sierra Nevada’s AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III is the standard Counter Improvised Explosive Device (CIED) manpack system in service with the US Army and US Marine Corps (USMC). ...

• Individual grenade launchers

  M320 GLM

  The M320 Grenade Launcher Module (GLM) is a further development of the HK AG36 (see separate entry) to meet a US Army requirement. The M320 ...

• Unguided Mortar Ammunition

  M821A3 High Explosive Mortar Round

  The M821A3 High Explosive Mortar Round is an 81mm mortar round manufactured by Day & Zimmerman for the US Army.

• Unguided Mortar Ammunition

  M933A1 High Explosive Mortar Round

  The M933A1 High Explosive Mortar Round is a 120mm mortar round manufactured by Day & Zimmermann for the US Army.

• Unguided Mortar Ammunition

  M934A1 High Explosive Mortar Round

  The M934A1 High Explosive Mortar Round is a 120mm mortar round produced by Day & Zimmermann for the US Army.