• Defence Notes

  DSEI 2015: Saab eyes UK expansion

  9th September 2015

  Swedish company Saab has expressed its desire to expand in the UK, in a possible sign of growing confidence in the British economy and the …

• Naval Warfare

  New Japan Coast Guard units deployed

  9th September 2015

  The Japan Coast Guard (JCG) will deploy a new unit in Okinawa prefecture in two to three years’ time, with its primary role to warn Chinese …

• Land Warfare

  Canada selects Chemring RF initiator

  9th September 2015

  Chemring Technology Solutions has been awarded a contract by the Canadian Department of Defence (DoD) to supply its Breach MC radio frequency (RF) initiator for …

• Digital Battlespace

  Boeing signs Aussie military comms contract

  8th September 2015

  The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) has signed the contract with Boeing Defence Australia for the upgrade of its military communications, the DoD announced on …

• Military Logistics

  Australia finally moves on AIR 5428

  8th September 2015

  The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) has selected Lockheed Martin Australia as the preferred tenderer for the Australian Defence Force’s new (ADF) Pilot Training System, …

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy extends Aegis modernisation contract

  7th September 2015

  The US Navy has awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin that will continue the modernisation of its Aegis naval combat hardware and software, the company …

• Defence Helicopter

  Raytheon bags AN/AQS-22 sonar contract

  4th September 2015

  Raytheon has been awarded a $33 million contract to produce, deliver, integrate, and test AN/AQS-22 Airborne Low Frequency Sonar (ALFS) systems to the US Navy, it …

• Digital Battlespace

  MUOS-4 launch completes smoothly

  4th September 2015

  The fourth Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite of the US Navy, MUOS-4, has been successfully launched and is responding normally to ground control, Lockheed …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Army finally commits to guided rockets

  4th September 2015

  The US Army has begun to acquire smart guidance kits for its 70mm (2.75in) rocket systems and is fielding them to frontline units for evaluation, …

• Training

  Ukraine gets Cubic training systems

  4th September 2015

  The Ukrainian Army has received new training systems worth $1.7 million from Cubic Global Defense, the company announced on 2 September. The training systems are …

• Defence Helicopter

  MSPO 2015: Caracal fights on

  4th September 2015

  The Polish procurement of the EC725/H225M Caracal for their utility helicopter requirement is in the final stages of a re-adjustment, it has emerged. Airbus Helicopters, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UMEX, Cyberhawk team for UAV inspections

  3rd September 2015

  Unmanned Experts (UMEX) and Cyberhawk Innovations have teamed up to target the unmanned critical infrastructure inspection market in the US, the companies announced on 31 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UAV prepares for 300km flight

  3rd September 2015

  A new civilian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is being prepared for a 300km UAV flight across the North Sea between Norway and Scotland, it was …

• Land Warfare

  China shows off seven ballistic missiles

  3rd September 2015

  Central to China’s massive military parade in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on 3 September were missiles of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Second Artillery Corps …

• Military Logistics

  US Army awards PD AMIS contract

  3rd September 2015

  The US Army has awarded a contract to Engility to provide policy, technical and programme management support for the army’s Product Director Automated Movement and …

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 ...