• Land Warfare

  Italy picks Rheinmetall and Leonardo for MBT and IFV and gives MGCS a boost

  3rd July 2024

  Italy has been looking replace its Ariete MBTs but has gone back and forth between a future European tank, more Leopards, an upgrade of existing vehicles and other options. It now seems to have thrown its hand in with the Main Ground Combat System (MGCS).

• Air Warfare

  V-22 Osprey cleared for flight but cause of fatal crash not disclosed

  12th March 2024

  V-22s have been cleared for flight three months after a fatal crash which led to a grounding but processes involved in the clearance mean it will be weeks or even months before full operations return.

• Land Warfare

  Avon Protection wins respirator contract worth up to $47 million from UK MoD

  10th May 2024

  Avon Protection’s General Service Respirator (GSR) is a twin-canister, single-visor mask which uses filtration technology to ensure protection while allowing communication.

• Land Warfare

  Logos fire detector ordered for US Army

  1st March 2024

  Serenity, a hostile fire detection (HFD) system, combines EO and acoustic sensors to pinpoint the origin of heavy weapons and explosive detonations up to 10km away in any direction.

• Air Warfare

  Greece and Israel cosy up over Rafael’s Spyder air defence system

  24th April 2024

  Ongoing discussions between Greece and Israeli arms manufacturer Rafael to acquire Spyder air defence systems underscored the resilience of international business ties despite geopolitical tensions.

• Land Warfare

  BAE Systems delivers Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle to US Army

  7th March 2024

  BAE Systems' Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) was developed in response to a US Army requirement to replace ageing M113 APCs. The US Army has an acquisition objective of a total of 2,897 AMPVs under this approximately US$14.5 billion programme.

• Air Warfare

  Boeing tests new MQ-25 Stingray software for crewed-uncrewed teaming

  1st May 2024

  The new software was said to significantly reduce the time it takes for an F/A-18 to communicate with an MQ-25.

• Training

  Saab wins three-year extension to British Army live training contract

  9th April 2024

  Instrumented Live Training (ILT-D) is an appended precision laser based tactical engagement system for vehicles, armoured platforms, heavy weapon systems and anti-tank weapons used in force-on-force exercises as part of collective training.

• Air Warfare

  AN/APR-39E(V)2 radar warning receivers contracted for initial production

  13th March 2024

  Northrop Grumman’s AN/APR-39(V) series of Radar Warning Receivers (RWRs) have been designed to equip a wide array of aircraft. Specifications regarding the waveband have not been revealed but the equipment will likely be able to detect emissions from radars transmitting in wavebands of two gigahertz/GHz to 18GHz.

• Land Warfare

  Hanwha manoeuvres for Malaysian rocket artillery requirement

  13th May 2024

  Hanwha is positioning its Chunmoo self-propelled rocket launcher to replace Malaysia's ASTROS systems by joining forces with a local investment firm.

• Digital Battlespace

  First South Korean 425 Project observation satellite launched

  8th April 2024

  In 2015, South Korea named a consortium of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Hanwha Systems, along with Thales Alenia Space providing the SAR payload derived from its HE-R1000 product, as preferred bidder to develop new Korea 425 Project reconnaissance satellites.

• Land Warfare

  US Army to increase investments in missile capabilities by 62% in FY2025

  15th March 2024

  The total amount allocated to missile capability purchasing over the next fiscal year will be $6.2 billion and will comprise additional funds for several programmes.

• Land Warfare

  R600MC tested in Counter-UAS role from S-MET UGV

  9th May 2024

  Developed in cooperation with Javelin Joint Venture, the R600MC integrates four launchers (two in a pod on each side) for the FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank guided missile along with 30x113mm cannon and +M240B 7.62mm coaxial machine gun.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Autonomous navigation drives UUVs proliferation in the Indo-Pacific

  7th March 2024

  The US Department of Defence has teamed up with Anduril Industries to develop advanced AI-driven long-range uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs), countering China’s escalating UUV advancements.

• Land Warfare

  Palantir bags $178 million US Army TITAN deep sensing contract

  8th March 2024

  Palantir has committed to constructing 10 TITAN ground stations and deploying five basic variants on the US Army’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, with frontline soldier input ensuring essential capabilities have been integrated into each system.

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 ...