• Defence Notes

  Lockheed Martin UK untroubled by RAF C-130J early retirement or F-35 sustainment costs

  19th July 2021

  Lockheed Martin UK will not suffer in any meaningful way from the early retirement of RAF C-130J tactical transport aircraft and has addressed recent criticism of F-35 operating costs.

• Naval Warfare

  As Vikrant heads to sea, India must look at more carriers

  6th August 2021

  India's second aircraft carrier commences maiden sea trials, but more carriers are needed.

• Air Warfare

  Three down, one to go for Thai medium tactical airlift requirement

  22nd June 2021

  The Royal Thai Army has ordered another C295W aircraft from Airbus.

• Air Warfare

  Cash-strapped Uruguay to acquire new helicopter

  28th July 2021

  The Uruguayan Air Force is likely to buy either a Bell 212 or Bell 412, tapping into Global Peace Operations Initiative funds.

• Defence Helicopter

  Australia grounds its MRH90 fleet

  24th June 2021

  European-built helicopters have an unenviably poor reputation in the ADF, a sentiment exacerbated by the latest grounding of the MRH90.

• Land Warfare

  Italy to upgrade army support capabilities

  17th August 2021

  The latest Italian defence multi-year plan has identified key areas across the Army's support capabilities that need to be modernised.

• Military Logistics

  Airbus carries on with Lakota support

  8th June 2021

  US Army issues a new contract for UH-72 contractor logistics support.

• Defence Helicopter

  The Survivor - 40 Years of the Chinook in the UK (Studio)

  16th July 2021

  Over the past 40 years, the helicopter known as Bravo November has become symbolic of the qualities of the CH-47 Chinook, earning itself the nickname The Survivor along the way.

• Land Warfare

  M-SHORAD to include above-armour sights

  21st July 2021

  L3Harris is providing fully digital WESCAM MX-GCS sights for installation on US Army vehicles in the Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense programme.

• Air Warfare

  Boeing expresses optimism for ‘robust’ Asia-Pacific opportunities

  27th July 2021

  Boeing is bullish about the future of its aircraft, helicopters and UAVs in the Asia-Pacific region.

• Air Warfare

  Australia receives latest pair of new Chinooks

  8th July 2021

  Australia has a quartet of CH-47F Chinooks on order, and the first pair has just flown in from the US.

• Defence Notes

  Breakthrough on Turkish sanctions remains far from reality

  30th July 2021

  The US government is not for changing course on Turkish sanctions but Ankara continues to show it is more than capable of bypassing them.

• Air Warfare

  Germany spends big on Poseidon but at what cost for MAWS?

  25th June 2021

  The funding of five P-8 Poseidon MPA will mean Germany retains critical capabilities once a fleet of P-3C Orions retire — but will the decision cause unrest with France?

• Defence Notes

  Boeing announces Q2 aircraft deliveries

  14th July 2021

  US defence giant Boeing delivered a total of 43 military aircraft in the second quarter of 2021

• Defence Notes

  UK again delays space strategy publication

  9th July 2021

  The UK's National Space Strategy was long supposed to be published, but a new, unexplained delay makes for industry uncertainty.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow On

  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 helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M - France

  Programme Background In April 2021, the French government signed a deal for the purchase of eight H225M Airbus helicopters to replace its ageing fleet of SA330 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M [Ireland]

  Programme Background On 30 December 2024 Ireland announced a contract with Airbus for four new H145M helicopters to replace the Air Corps existing fleet of ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  TH-73 Advanced Helicopter Training System - AHTS (TH-57 Replacement)

  Contenders for the competition included the Leonardo single engine TH-119 – a military variant of the AW119Kx – and Bell’s newly upgraded single engine 407GXi. ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145 Helicopter [Honduras]

  Programme Background  The Honduran Government has purchased a total of four H145 Helicopters manufactured by Airbus to develop the armed forces preparedness against natural disasters ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  Maritime Operations Helicopters

  The three maritime operations helicopters will be used for logistics and personnel transport, alongside transportation of PASKAL naval special forces in operations in the area. ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  SW4 Puszczyk Replacement [Poland]

  Programme Background  In 2002, Poland order 47 SW4 training helicopters from Italian manufacturer Leonardo; as of Spring 2025, the Ministry of Defence is looking to ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  NH-90 [Spain]

  Programme Background Along with a range of other air programmes, the Spanish Government announced the nation has set aside 1 billion euros (USD$1.162 billion) to ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Future Aircrew Training Program (Helicopter Procurement) - Canada

  Programme Background The FAcT requires to graduate 120 pilots, 40 combat systems officers and 36 airborne electronic sensor operators per year with 15% fluctuation. Training services ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Bell 412EPI-Indonesia

  Programme Background PTDI is assembling Bell helicopters in its factory in Bandung.  The first Bell 412EPI was delivered to Indonesian Army on 29 December 2020 ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Spain HT-29 Caiman (NH90 TTH) - Army First Batch

  HT-29 Caiman GSPAs (NH90 TTH) will be assembled at Airbus Helicopters’ facility in Albacete and will replace AS332 Super Puma fleet in service. Even though ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  AW101 [Poland]

  According to the media reports, Airbus couldn't provide a competitive offer for the programme due to the offset requirements.  The deliveries were to be completed ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  AH-X [Japan]

  There is no mention of the AH-X in the 2019-2023 Medium Term Defence Plan, so it is possible that the requirement has quietly been postponed. ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M [Spain]

  Programme Background  In May 2025, Spain announced the National Helicopter Plan as part of the country's wider effort to rearm in response to American pressure. ...

• Military helicopters - light/training, Military helicopters - multirole

  H135M [Spain]

  Programme Background Spain announced the National Helicopter Plan in May 2025 culminating in five contracts awarded to Airbus on 18 December 2025, including procurement programmes ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - light/training

  H145

  The light, twin-engine EC145 began as an initiative to increase the cabin size of the BK 117 C1 aircraft, involving Kawasaki of Japan and Airbus ...

• Model 301 Fire Attack

  The Model 301 is a belly tank/refill hose system for Airbus Helicopters AS365-series helicopters.

• Military helicopters - light/training, Military helicopters - multirole

  H135M

  The H135M (formerly known as the EC635 and also designated as H135) is a light utility variant of the EC135 twin-engine, multipurpose 3t helicopter. In ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M

  The H145M (formerly known as the EC645 T2) is the military version of the H145 medium-sized (3.7t) helicopter (covered in a separate entry). It is ...

• 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 ...

• Model 316 Fire Attack

  The Model 316 is a belly tank/refill hose system for Airbus Helicopters H225 and AS332 L-series helicopters.

• AC67 Airbus Helicopters H135 interior

  Bucher has developed the AC67 medical interior for the Airbus Helicopters H135 in cooperation with ADAC Luftrettung.The lightweight, modular design features a floor with integrated ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H215M

  The H215M (formerly the AS532 ALe) is the most recent addition to the Cougar family.  It is a medium-weight (9t-class), twin-engine helicopter, combining the AS532's ...

• Air: mission management systems

  Helionix

  The Helionix digital avionics suite was developed from the need for a more powerful avionics system with greater functions and computing capacity, alongside a user-friendly interface. ...

• Helicopter engines

  Arriel 2+/2D

  Unveiled in 2011, the Arriel 2+ is an upgrade of the Arriel 2 and is intended for single- and twin-engine helicopters. It incorporates a new ...

• Helicopter engines

  LTS101

  The LTS101 was first certified in 1975. Since then, over 2,100 engines have been delivered to customers worldwide, logging over 11 million service hours. The ...

• EO/IR systems

  Viviane

  Viviane is an out-of-production gyro-stabilised night and adverse weather observation system with missile sight.  Manufactured by Safran, it was fitted to French Army Gazelles. It contained a ...

• Air: mission management systems

  APM 2000

  The current generation of autopilots is the APM 2000 family, fitted on major worldwide platforms. The APM 2000 is based on an integrated digital computer. ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H175M

  The Airbus H175M is the military variant of the H175 and works to fill a gap in the H175 helicopter family, as well as offer ...

• H160

  Airbus Helicopters unveiled a full-scale model of the H160 medium twin rotorcraft on 3 March 2015 at Heli-Expo. The utility helicopter, the first to be ...