• Defence Notes

  Thales simulators support RAF Tornados

  21st December 2012

  Thales UK-ACE has been playing a key simulation and training role in support of a Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornado fast jet squadron detachment handover …

• Digital Battlespace

  India receives P-8I maritime patrol aircraft

  20th December 2012

  India has taken on-site delivery of its first P-8I maritime patrol aircraft in Seattle following the completion of assembly by Boeing. This is the first …

• Defence Helicopter

  Huey IIs arrive in Lebanon

  19th December 2012

  The US Army Project Office for Non-Standard Rotary Wing Aircraft has confirmed the delivery of six Bell Huey II helicopters to the Lebanese Air Force …

• Military Logistics

  Elbit Systems to upgrade IAF's C-130H aircraft

  19th December 2012

  Elbit System will upgrade the Israeli Air Force's (IAF’s) C-130H Hercules transport aircraft under a new contract announced on 19 December. The contract, awarded by …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Gabbiano T-20 radar demonstrated on Hermes 459 UAS

  14th December 2012

  Selex Galileo has announced that its Gabbiano T-20 radar has successfully demonstrated its ground-mapping and target detection capabilities in a series of recent flight trials …

• Defence Helicopter

  Puma HC1 completes last sortie at RAF Benson

  14th December 2012

  The Royal Air Force (RAF) has announced that the Puma HC1 has flown its last sortie at RAF Benson. The HC1 fleet is currently undergoing …

• Land Warfare

  Supacat delivers REDFIN 1B prototype to ADF

  14th December 2012

  Supacat has announced that it has delivered a prototype of its new special operations vehicle to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) for the Special Operations …

• Land Warfare

  ATK wins USMC 120mm mortar system contract

  13th December 2012

  ATK will develop a solution to meet the US Marine Corps’ (USMC) requirement for a rifled, 120mm, Precision Extended Range Mortar (PERM) under a new …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  NAC UAV facilities expanded

  12th December 2012

  West Wales Airport and Newquay Cornwall Airport have formed a partnership that will supply the UK Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) industry with additional capacity for …

• Military Logistics

  Nordic cooperation on air transport intensifies

  12th December 2012

  The Nordic defence ministers have signed a letter of intent to promote future collaboration on air transportation, it has emerged. Increased concerted effort on tactical …

• Land Warfare

  Thales delivers Talisman training system

  11th December 2012

  Thales UK has delivered an interactive training solution, the Thales Talisman Training System (T3S), to UK forces preparing to use the Talisman system in support …

• Naval Warfare

  BAE Systems wins £1.2 billion for fourth Astute submarine

  10th December 2012

  BAE Systems has been awarded a contract by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) worth £1.2bn for Audacious, the fourth submarine in the Astute class. …

• Military Logistics

  A400M completes F&R flight-test phase

  10th December 2012

  Airbus Military has announced that the A400M airlifter has successfully completed 300 hours of Function & Reliability (F&R) flight-testing, marking an important milestone of the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  First Centaur OPA delivered to Swiss DoD

  7th December 2012

  The Swiss Department of Defence (DoD) has taken delivery of the world’s first production Centaur Optionally-Piloted Aircraft (OPA) system from Aurora Flight Sciences. The Centaur …

• Defence Helicopter

  Danish government signs for MH-60R Seahawk helicopter

  7th December 2012

  The government of Denmark has signed an official letter of offer and acceptance formalising its intent to buy MH-60R Seahawk helicopters for its Maritime Helicopter …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton (28-68) [USN]

  Background Requirement The MQ-4C Triton programme, developed under the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) programme, required an uncrewed system to provide persistent, broad-area intelligence, surveillance ...

• Military UAS - MALE, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  MQ-8C Fire Scout (USA)

  Programme Background Timeline According to the Naval Air Systems Command, having first ordered the MQ-8B in 2009, the UAV has become a pillar of the ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Medium Landing Ship (1-10) [USMC]

  Programme Background Development As part of the US Marine Corps' future force structure, it is developing a new platform under the Medium Lading Ship programme ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Medium Landing Ship (11-33) [USMC]

  Programme Background Requirements As part of the US Marine Corps' future force structure, it is developing a new platform under the Medium Lading Ship programme ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton (1-27) [USN]

  Background Requirement The MQ-4C Triton programme, developed under the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) programme, required an uncrewed system to provide persistent, broad-area intelligence, surveillance ...

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

  Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Unmanned Expeditionary (MUX) (Increment 1) [USMC]

  Programme Background All-in-One UAV Since 2016, the USMC has wished to acquire a UAV that could be deployed from a vessel, be used for various missions, ...

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

  Medium Range/Medium Endurance (MR/ME) [USMC]

  Programme Background Force Design 2030 The USMC Force Design 2030 is a modernisation effort to create a lighter, more agile maritime force. The update to ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  The Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  The Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  HH-60W - Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH)

  According to the FY2021 Base funding, the HH-60W helicopter unit cost is $43.2 million. The HH-60W will be capable of employment day or night, in ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement The FVL-MS programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft utilised ...

• Military UAS - small

  Long Range/Long Endurance (LR/LE) [USMC]

  Background Force Design 2030 The USMC Force Design 2030 is a modernisation effort to create a lighter, more agile maritime force. The update to the ...

• Destroyers

  Next-Generation Large Surface Combatants (LSC) - DDG(X) [USN]

  Programme Background Requirements The US Navy (USN) is acknowledging a need to move away from the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer design, which is slowly outgrowing. Flight III ...

• Military - USVs

  MUSV (1-83) [USN]

  Programme Background Requirements In March 2026, the US announced it would be replacing its Modular Attack Surface Craft (MASC) programme with a Medium Uncrewed Surface ...

• Military UAS - small

  RQ-21A Blackjack / STUASLO - Replacement Units (USN)

  Programme Background Joint USN and USMC Procurment The RQ-21 Blackjack, or STUALSO, was a combined United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) programme ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  SECAT

  In 2022, Textron Systems unveiled its new Surface Effect Cargo Amphibious Transport (SECAT) craft, designed to support logistics behind the US Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations and ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-53E Sea Dragon

  Sikorsky developed the MH-53E (S-80) Sea Dragon variant of its CH-53E to provide the USN with a dedicated airborne mine countermeasures helicopter. Equipped with enlarged ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  Tactical Mission System for Helicopter Applications

  The Saab tactical mission system is a system for transport, utility, C2 and combat helicopters intended to operate in a net-centric environment. It is designed ...

• Major networking projects

  CANES

  The Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) programme is a USN-wide effort to rationalise shipboard computing assets. It is designed to create a common ...

• Air: UAV simulators

  MQ-9 MTD

  SDS’s ROVATTS-based MQ-9 Mission Training Device (MTD) was developed to provide high-fidelity simulation to support US Air National Guard operational Reaper crew training. The PC-based ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  MQ-8C Fire Scout

  The MQ-8C is a newer version of the Fire Scout and is based on a Bell 407 commercial helicopter. It offers a greater range, endurance and ...

• Land: soldier modernisation systems - national programmes

  MERS

  The Marine Expeditionary Rifle Squad (MERS) takes a systems engineering approach to equipping the USMC’s fundamental fighting unit. The integration and configuration management of all ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  MQ-8B Fire Scout

  The MQ-8B Fire Scout is a rotary-wing UAV that provides situational awareness and precision targeting support for the US Armed Forces. The MQ-8B Fire Scout, ...

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar

  AN/ZPY-1 STARLite

  The AN/ZPY-1 Small Tactical Radar-Lightweight (STARLite) is a synthetic aperture radar and GMTI sensor for UAVs, manufactured by Northrop Grumman. It offers strip and spot synthetic ...

• Fighter - multirole, Fighter - naval

  F-35C

  The F-35C Lightning II, also known as the F-35 carrier variant (CV), is a fifth-generation multirole combat aircraft in carrier configuration. It has larger wings and ...

• Guided munitions

  AGM-154 JSOW

  The AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) is a joint United States Navy (USN)/United States Air Force (USAF) programme with the USN as the lead service. ...

• Military - UUVs

  Mission Specialist Defender

  The Mission Specialist Defender is a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) developed by VideoRay, now part of BlueHalo's unmanned maritime systems. The ROV is known ...

• Trainer

  Saab 340 trainer

  The Saab 340 trainer aircraft is based on the Saab 340 regional airliner. It is used by the USN for pilot training. The aircraft replaced ...

• Air: mission management systems

  Air Operations Systems of Systems

  Air Operations System of Systems is designed to enable management of airspaces across large states and/or regions focusing on strategic planning. The system integration approach ...

• Subsystems: software

  LiteFlite II Simulators

  The LiteFlite II was designed to provide a high-fidelity, laptop-based system with white-force/man-in-the-loop capabilities for use with a variety of simulation systems. LiteFlite II represents ...