• Defence Notes

  Avalon 2015: USAF confident F-35 will meet targets

  25th February 2015

  The re-baselining of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter programme has been successful and ongoing improvements in areas such as support and …

• Digital Battlespace

  Avalon 2015: Australian Wedgetail fully operational by mid-year

  25th February 2015

  Full operating capability (FOC) is expected to be declared for the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) Wedgetail E-7A airborne early warning and control aircraft before …

• Defence Helicopter

  IDEX 2015: DCI expands training offer

  25th February 2015

  The recently appointed CEO of the French training services enterprise DCI, Jean-Michel Palagos, has ambitious plans for the business and has set an annual growth …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Avalon 2015: Global Hawk flies in for airshow

  23rd February 2015

  The US Air Force will be exhibiting a Global Hawk RQ-4 high-altitude long-endurance UAV at the Australian Airshow near Melbourne after flying an aircraft to …

• Defence Helicopter

  China and Russia edge closer to heavy-lift platform

  4th February 2015

  Despite some slow progress in recent years, the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) continues to jointly develop a heavy-lift helicopter with its partner Russian …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Nigeria suspected of using Chinese UCAS

  29th January 2015

  Photographs of a crashed UCAS in Nigeria – apparently a Chinese-built CH-3A – began circulating online on 25 January 2015 and show that two intact …

• Defence Helicopter

  Boeing awarded Indonesian AH-64E Apache contract

  27th January 2015

  Boeing has been awarded a contract to manufacture eight AH-64E Apache attack helicopters for Indonesia, according to a US DoD announcement on 26 January. This …

• Defence Helicopter

  Netherlands resumes deliveries of NH90

  22nd January 2015

  The Netherlands resumed acceptance of the NH90 NATO Frigate Helicopter (NFH) in December, as the ‘action plan’ developed by NHIndustries to resolve corrosion issues seems …

• Naval Warfare

  Are ballistic blinds the answer to petro-piracy?

  21st January 2015

  Owners and operators of vessels can now fit ballistic blinds themselves thanks to a new ‘self-install’ system from Marine Armor System (MAS) that offers crews …

• Naval Warfare

  How naval technology aided AirAsia airliner search in Indonesia

  19th January 2015

  Naval assets and technology proved instrumental in locating the wreckage of AirAsia flight QZ8501, which crashed into the Java Sea with 162 passengers and crew …

• Military Logistics

  Italian Air Force orders three M-346 aircraft

  5th January 2015

  A contract signed on 22 December will see Alenia Aermacchi supply three additional M-346 advanced trainer aircraft to the Italian Air Force along with ground …

• Land Warfare

  I/ITSEC: MASA technology used for New Zealand

  26th November 2014

  Simulation engine MASA Sword was used as part of the SUMAN Warrior training exercise in New Zealand held in September 2014, it has been revealed. …

• Land Warfare

  General Dynamics, ST Kinetics target US military market

  20th November 2014

  General Dynamics and Singapore Technologies Kinetics (ST Kinetics) subsidiary Advanced Material Engineering (AME) have teamed to manufacture 40mm air burst ammunition for the US military …

• Land Warfare

  Airshow China: Controversial cruise missile breaks cover

  13th November 2014

  A new cruise missile named the CX-1 garnered attention and courted controversy at Airshow China in Zhuhai.  A supersonic product from the 1st Academy of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Airshow China: Rise of the robots

  13th November 2014

  It is generally unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) that attract the lion’s share of attention at Airshow China, this year held from 11-16 November.  However, unmanned …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - multirole

  S-70M Black Hawk [Indonesia]

  Programme Background On 23 August 2023, Lockheed Martin announced that Sikorsky had signed an agreement with PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) for a strategic partnership in ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Heron Mk 1 Replacement [Singapore]

  Programme Background Ahead of the Singapore Airshow, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) outgoing chief, Major General Kelvin Khong, stated that the service would ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Hermes 450 Replacement [Singapore]

  Programme Background Ahead of the Singapore Airshow, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) outgoing chief, Major General Kelvin Khong, stated that the service would replace its ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Ship-Bourne VTOL UAV [Singapore]

  Programme Background Multi-Role Combat Vessel  The Republic of Singapore Navy will retire its class of six Victory-class corvettes and replace them with a new platform ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | Invincible Class (Type 218SG) (5-6) [Singapore]

  In March 2025, the Singapore Ministry of Defence (Mindef) announced it would acquire two more submarines to complement its four Types 218SG Invincible-class submarines. Speaking to ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | Invincible Class (Type 218SG) (5-6) [Singapore]

  In March 2025, the Singapore Ministry of Defence (Mindef) announced it would acquire two more submarines to complement its four Types 218SG Invincible-class submarines. Speaking to ...

• Submarines: conventional, attack

  Invincible Class (Type 218SG) (5-6) [Singapore]

  Programme Background Timeline In March 2025, the Singapore Ministry of Defence (Mindef) announced it would acquire two more submarines to complement its four Types 218SG Invincible-class ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Parrot Anafi (Singapore)

  Programme Background On 7 February 2022, the Singapore Army posted photographs on Facebook that showed the Anafi UAV used as training devices in a five-day ...

• Maritime patrol

  Maritime Patrol Aircraft [Singapore]

  Programme Background Deployed from Changi West airbase, and jointly operated by the RSAF and Republic of Singapore Navy, the ageing Fokker 50 fleet is primarily ...

• Amphibious assault ships, Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Landing Ship Tank Replacement [Singapore]

  Programme Background Requirements Singapore needs to replace its four in-service Endurance-class ships, which will be retired in the late 2020s. In 2014, Singapore announced the ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Orbiter 4 (Singapore)

  Programme Background Contract Announcement Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen announced the acquisition during the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) Committee of Supply debate on 2 March 2022. Following ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | Landing Ship Tank Replacement [Singapore]

  Singapore needs to replace its four in-service Endurance-class ships, which will be retired in the late 2020s. The country has already announced the intention to replace ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Maritime Patrol Aircraft [Singapore]

  Singapore requires a replacement platform for five Fokker 50 Maritime Enforcer Mk.2 aircraft. The total programme cost for five long-range maritime patrol aircraft is estimated to be ...

• Data links

  Data links | Maritime Patrol Aircraft [Singapore]

  Singapore requires a replacement platform for five Fokker 50 Maritime Enforcer Mk.2 aircraft. The total programme cost for five long-range maritime patrol aircraft is estimated to be ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | Maritime Patrol Aircraft [Singapore]

  Singapore requires a replacement platform for five Fokker 50 Maritime Enforcer Mk.2 aircraft. The total programme cost for five long-range maritime patrol aircraft is estimated to be ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Veloce-60

  The Veloce-60 was a fixed-wing UAV first displayed by ST Engineering at Singapore Airshow 2020. It had VTOL capabilities with a rear-mounted piston engine to power a ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Viper 40

  The Viper 40 is a tube-launched loitering munition from SpearUAV. Part of the wider Viper family of drones, the variant can uniquely be launched from ...

• Military UGVs

  Taurus

  Unveiled at Singapore Airshow 2024, the Taurus is a medium UGV from ST Engineering. The multi-role vehicle can be used for surveillance, casualty evacuation, logistics transport and ...

• Tiltrotors, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Lanying R6000

  First shown at the 2024 Singapore Airshow, the Lanying R6000 is an optionally crewed helicopter from United Aircraft Group. It is comparable to the V-22 ...

• Air-to-surface missiles

  CM-502KG

  The CM-502KG is a Chinese air-to-surface missile. It is a variant of the CM-502G, similar in size to the AR-1. It has more than twice ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  TD220

  The TD220 is an electric, coaxial dual-rotor UAV manufactured by Zhong Hang Zhi (ZHZ). The aircraft, which debuted at the 2014 Singapore Airshow, is designed ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Veloce-15

  The ST Engineering Veloce-15 (V-15) is a hybrid fixed-wing UAV with four rotors for vertical lift and a tail-mounted two-bladed pusher propeller for horizontal propulsion.  ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  DrN-35DH

  The DrN-35DH is a hexacopter UAV that ST Engineering showed at the Singapore Airshow 2024. Designed for ISR operations, it carries two cameras, with a primary gimbaled EO/IR ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Hermes 650 Spark

  Unveiled at the Singapore Airshow 2024, the Hermes 650 Spark is a MALE fixed-wing drone from Elbit Systems. The Akshi 7 is an Indian rebranded version ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  DrN-15 (series)

  The DrN-15 is a hexacopter mini-UAV from ST Engineering. The platform is highly customizable and can carry various payloads depending on a user's requirements.  All DrN ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Wing Loong 10

  The Wing Loong 10 is a HALE UAV, known as the WL-10 in the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) and formally known as the Cloud ...

• Air: fixed-wing flight simulators

  Singapore BWC

  The Singapore Basic Wings Course (BWC) is a 20-year service contract awarded to Lockheed Martin in November 2006 to provide the Republic of Singapore Air ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Super Heron HF

  The Super Heron Heavy Fuel (HF) MALE UAS is a heavy-fuel version of the Heron Mk 1 manufactured by Isreal Aerospace Industries' Malat Division. The platform ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Viper 750

  The Viper 750 is a tube-launched loitering munition from SpearUAV. Part of the wider Viper family of drones, the variant can uniquely be launched from ...

• Anti-ship missiles

  Sea Breaker

  Sea Breaker is a precision-guided, long-range, autonomous missile system manufactured by Rafael. Debuted at DSEI 2021, the platform delivers pinpoint strikes from stand-off ranges up to 300km ...