• Defence Notes

  Russia launches biggest ever war games

  11th September 2018

  Russia launched on 11 September what it called its largest ever military drills, with hundreds of thousands of troops taking part along with Chinese soldiers …

• Military Logistics

  DynCorp receives aircraft maintenance contract

  30th August 2018

  DynCorp International has received a contract to support the US Air Force at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, the company announced on 27 August. The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Insitu unveils Integrator Extended Range

  21st September 2018

  Insitu has introduced a new variant of its Integrator UAS, Integrator Extended Range (ER), for military operations. Integrator ER is a beyond line of sight, …

• Training

  SES to support ACC training and testing operations

  17th September 2018

  SES Government Solutions has partnered with prime contractor Bushtex to provide commercial Ku bandwidth to the US Air Combat Command, SES announced on 11 September. …

• Defence Notes

  Britain's RAF intercepts six Russian bombers over Black Sea

  15th August 2018

  Britain's Royal Air Force said Wednesday it had intercepted six Russian bomber planes flying close to NATO air space over the Black Sea. The Eurofighter …

• Digital Battlespace

  Free flight demo of MALD-X completed

  29th August 2018

  The US Department of Defense has completed a series of free flight demonstrations of the Miniature Air Launch Decoy-X (MALD-X) missile.MALD-X is a new version …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  ADAS 2018: Jamming with Orion

  26th September 2018

  TRD (Singapore) is highlighting two variants of its Orion counter-UAS (C-UAS) equipment at ADAS. The first is the lightweight Orion-H handheld jammer gun (pictured). Weighing …

• Military Logistics

  RFA Tideforce arrives for customisation

  21st August 2018

  The Royal Navy’s fourth and final Tide-class tanker, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Tideforce, has arrived in Cornwall for customisation. The vessel’s customisation work will …

• Digital Battlespace

  Five Eyes nations turn to software to boost interoperability

  27th September 2018

  Interoperability between the Five Eyes nations is likely to be significantly enhanced in the future as connected devices integrate more software-defined features, including radio waveforms, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Leonardo integrates avionics into TH-119

  19th September 2018

  Leonardo has integrated and 'powered on' the first Genesys Aerosystems avionic system on the TH-119 single engine helicopter, the company announced on 14 September. The …

• Military Logistics

  MDM 2018: Bell looks to VTOL resupply

  28th September 2018

  In addition to unveiling the full-size model of its V-247 aircraft, Bell utilised this week’s Modern Day Marine expo to provide an update on its …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  NWUAV begins NW-88 UAV engine testing

  24th September 2018

  Northwest UAV (NWUAV) has completed the first test runs on its new NW-88 multi-fuel twin-cylinder UAV engine in its on-site engine test cell, the company …

• Training

  NZ to purchase NH90 simulator

  13th August 2018

  NH90 flight training for Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) pilots is to move in-country, the New Zealand government announced on 9 August. The training, …

• Naval Warfare

  Opinion: Retention in the Royal Navy

  22nd August 2018

  The old strapline ‘Join the Navy, see the world’ used to be on many naval recruitment posters. Tapping into a desire by young people to …

• Digital Battlespace

  GPS III SV02 ready for launch

  24th August 2018

  Lockheed Martin’s second GPS III satellite (GPS III SV02) built for the US Air Force is complete, fully tested and ready to launch, the company …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Light attack, Trainer

  PC-21 (Project Air 5428) [Australia]

  The new PTS, including aircraft, flight training simulators and learning environments is being acquired from a single capability contractor, Team 21, which consists of Lockheed ...

• Transport, Transport/tanker aircraft

  Project Air 7404 [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement Australia is thinking ahead to an enlarged transport fleet to replace the current C-130Js. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was the second ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A (Project Air 6000 Phase 2A/B) [Australia]

  Programme Background The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) took delivery of 18 F-35A aircraft as of March 2020 and the remaining aircraft are expected to ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton (5-6) [Australia]

  Background Four Contracted Units In the summer of 2020, Northrop Grumman announced that the Australian Government provided $333 million for three MQ-4C Tritons and associated GCS. ...

• Medium Range Missile Defence Systems: 20-90km range

  Medium Range Air Defence [Australia]

  Background Faced with a growing threat from China and a vast land and sea territory to protect, Australia is seeking to establish a medium-range ground-based ...

• Patrol boats

  Evolved Cape Class (13-14) [Australia]

  Programme Background Austal was awarded a contract to build six 'Evolved'Cape-class patrol boats for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) on 1 May 2020 (see separate ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) [Australia]

  Background Older Efforts On 23 April 2021, the US State Department's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) approval announcement revealed that Australia had requested to buy up ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Project Air 7003 [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement The Royal Australian Air Force has been without a UAS capability since the Heron was withdrawn in mid-2017. According to Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, ...

• OPVs

  Arafura Class (Project SEA 1180) (1-6) [Australia]

  Programme Background Australia's new class of Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV), the Arafura-class, will replace the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) fleet of Armidale and Cape-class patrol ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-28 Ghost Bat [Australia]

  Background Goal As stated by the Head of Air Force Capability, Air Vice-Marshal Robert Denney, in March 2022, the Ghost Bat will be an "operational system ...

• Loitering munitions

  Mission Talon Strike [Australia]

  Background Request for Tender (RFT) On 19 May 2025, the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA), an agency aimed at streamlining defence invocation for the Australian Defence ...

• Military UAS - small

  VTOL UAV [New Zealand]

  Background Defence Capability Plan (DCP) In April 2025, the New Zealand government published the DCP, a document that is essentially a blueprint for what procurements ...

• Trainer

  Hawk 127 Replacement (Future Lead-In Fighter Training System- Project Air 6002 PH1) [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirements The RAAF is seeking a future solution that provides a ‘relevant, adaptable, affordable and safe LIFTS out to 2050’ for training pilots ...

• Military UAS - small

  DEF129 (Tactical UAS) [Australia]

  Programme Background Programme Announcement The Australian Army announced the Project Land 129 Phase 3 programme in 2017. This announcement led to the release of an industry ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Harpii Szpon (Loyal Wingman) [Poland]

  Background Market Evaluation On 6 November 2023, speaking at the IQPC International Fighter Conference (IFC) 2023 in Madrid, Major General Cezary Wiśniewski, the Deputy General Commander of the ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: Integrated Defensive Systems

  Air-5416 Project Echidna

  Air-5416 Project Echidna was an initiative launched in 2001 by BAE Systems for the Australian DoD. Its goal was to overhaul the self protection systems ...

• Trainer

  King Air trainer

  Textron / Beechcraft King Air trainers are a family twin-engine aircraft based on King Air 90, 100, 200 and 350 utility aircraft. The King Air ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  Australian Defence Force MRH90 Training

  As prime contractor for the ADF's MRH90 training programme, CAE has provided two MRH90 full-flight mission simulators (FFMS), training facilities and engineering and support services. ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  RAAF Hawk Mk 127 FMS

  Under subcontract to BAE Systems, CAE is designing and manufacturing three Hawk Mk 127 full-mission simulators (FMS) for the Royal Australian Air Force that will ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Wanderer

  The Wanderer is a low-altitude, low-cost, long-endurance UAV produced in-house by the Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF) Jericho Disruptive Innovation Group and the Australian Government's Defense Science ...

• Light attack

  Hawk 200

  The Hawk 200 is a single-seat light attack iteration of the Hawk 100 (see separate entry) and Advanced Jet Trainer or AJT (see separate entry). ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-28A Ghost Bat

  The MQ-28A Ghost Bat is a loyal wingman-type, Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), MALE fixed-wing drone being developed by Boeing Defence Australia. Its development began in ...

• Military - USVs

  Bluebottle

  Bluebottle is a persistent, autonomous, uncrewed surface vessel from Ocius Technology in service with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF). In ...

• Air: UAV simulators

  Predator Mission Trainer (PMT)

  The CAE Predator Mission Trainer (PMT) is an integrated platform that combines the features of CAE's UAS mission trainer with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' Predator-specific ...

• Maritime patrol

  Challenger 604

  Bombardier Challenger CL-604 MPAs are in service with the Royal Danish Air Force and the Korea Coast Guard. The first of three Danish aircraft entered ...

• Military UAS - micro

  Phantom 4 (Series)

  Designed for aerial photograph applications by DJI, the Phantom 4 series of UAVs includes the Phantom 4 Pro, Phantom 4 Pro V2.0, Phantom 4 Advanced ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  Hawkei

  Thales Australia developed the 4x4 Hawkei for the Australian Army's Land 121 Phase 4 Protected Mobility Vehicle – Light (PMV-L) project.  The prototype was unveiled in ...

• Air: COMINT and ELINT systems

  AN/ALR-2001

  BAE Systems’ AN/ALR-2001 Electronic Support Measure (ESM) is thought to be based on Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) Elta Systems division’s EL/M-8382 ESM. The AN/ALR-2001 is ...

• Air-to-surface missiles

  AGM-88E AARGM

  The AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) is a supersonic, medium-range, air-launched tactical missile compatible with US and allied strike aircraft. Designed to upgrade the AGM-88 ...

• Military UAS - mini

  M Solar-X

  First revealed in August 2020, in February 2024, at its symposium, the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) showcased the M Solar-X. This solar-powered fixed-wing drone was ...