• Defence Notes

  China snares Su-35 fighters…finally

  20th November 2015

  After protracted negotiations, Russia has finally inked a deal with China for the sale of 24 Sukhoi Su-35 multirole fighters. Sergey Chemezov, the CEO of …

• Defence Helicopter

  Argentina requests US helicopters

  20th November 2015

  The US State Department has approved a potential foreign military sale (FMS) to Argentina for Bell 412EP helicopters and associated equipment, the Defense Security Cooperation …

• Naval Warfare

  US considers Korean Harpoon sale

  19th November 2015

  The US state department is considering a potential foreign military sale (FMS) to South Korea for UGM-84L Harpoon Block II missiles and associated equipment, parts …

• Military Logistics

  BAE to maintain DDG 98

  19th November 2015

  BAE Systems has won a maintenance contract for USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98) from the US Navy. The $25.2 million competitively awarded contract was announced …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Apache and Gray Eagle team up in Korea

  19th November 2015

  The US Army is able to conduct aerial manned-unmanned teaming missions in South Korea, according to an announcement from General Atomics on 18 November. In …

• Training

  Aegis supports USMC trainer

  18th November 2015

  Aegis Technologies will continue supporting Riptide Software’s work on the United States Marine Corps’ (USMC’s) Combined Arms Command and Control Trainer Upgrade System (CACCTUS) programme, …

• Military Logistics

  USAFRICOM gets fixed wing services

  18th November 2015

  The US African Command (USAFRICOM) has awarded a contract to Erickson to provide ‘on demand’ fixed wing aerial services in the Central and East African …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  New UAS payload launcher out

  18th November 2015

  Aero Surveillance has developed a new Multi-purpose Payload Launcher (MPL 30) to allow its VTOL UAS to deploy payloads such as tear gas grenades, the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  India pulls plug on Nishant UAV

  18th November 2015

  In a blow to Indian efforts to field indigenously developed tactical UAVs, the Indian Army is abandoning the two-decade-old Nishant. Phase 1 of the Nishant …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UAS to weather the storm

  17th November 2015

  Universities in the US have begun looking at how small UAS could be used to predict extreme weather events and double warning times for those …

• Land Warfare

  IDF selects Mepro combat sight

  17th November 2015

  Meprolight has been selected to supply its Mepro M5 red dot sight to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the company announced on 17 November. The company …

• Digital Battlespace

  DLS receives MIDS-on-Ship contract

  17th November 2015

  The US Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command has awarded a contract to Data Link Solutions (DLS) to provide Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS)-On-Ship (MOS) …

• Digital Battlespace

  IAMD Battle Command System in new test

  17th November 2015

  The US Army’s Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Battle Command System (IBCS) has provided the command and control (C2) for a Patriot Advanced Capability …

• Naval Warfare

  India stands up first P-8I squadron

  17th November 2015

  The Indian Navy (IN) stood up its first P-8I squadron in a ceremony in southern India on 13 November. In attendance, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar …

• Digital Battlespace

  Next-Generation Jammer PDR complete

  16th November 2015

  Raytheon and the US Navy have completed the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) for the Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) programme, the company announced on 13 November.  …

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 ...