• Military Logistics

  Analysis: Groundhog Day for KC-46A

  22nd July 2016

  Only days after it was announced that the US Air Force's KC-46A tanker had successfully completed testing required for an initial production decision, manufacturer Boeing …

• Training

  Cubic to continue USAF air advisor training

  19th July 2016

  Cubic Global Defense will continue to support the US Air Force (USAF) Expeditionary Center’s Advisor Academic Services under a $6.2 million follow-on award announced on …

• Military Logistics

  KC-46A boom fix shows good results

  19th July 2016

  The US Air Force’s (USAF) KC-46 Pegasus aerial refuelling aircraft has connected in flight with an F-16 Fighting Falcon and a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft …

• Naval Warfare

  Farnborough 2016: USCG flexes its Spartan muscles (video)

  13th July 2016

  Only three months after the first HC-27J unit was activated on the West Coast, the US Coast Guard (USCG) has brought one of the aircraft …

• Digital Battlespace

  Farnborough 2016: Raytheon evolves MALD

  12th July 2016

  Raytheon has been awarded a $34.8 million contract to develop a new version of its Miniature Air Launched Decoy-Jammer (MALD-J) missile, the company announced during …

• Military Logistics

  Boeing bags KC-46 training contract

  11th July 2016

  Boeing has been awarded a $78 million contract, with options, from the US Air Force (USAF) to train maintenance personnel for its KC-46 Pegasus aerial …

• Training

  Farnborough 2016: Textron buys ATAC

  11th July 2016

  There is much talk within the training and simulation community about the live and virtual balance. Although increasing amounts of training are moving into the …

• Military Logistics

  USAF opts for tablet-based training

  6th July 2016

  Samsung Electronics America and Intelligent Decisions have received a contract from the US Air Force (USAF) for the supply of Samsung Galaxy Tab S2s to …

• Defence Helicopter

  Farnborough 2016: USAF introduces first HH-60G OLR helicopter

  30th June 2016

  The US Air Force (USAF) has introduced the first of 21 HH-60G Pave Hawk Operational Loss Replacement (OLR) helicopters, it was announced on 28 June. …

• Digital Battlespace

  Raytheon GPS OCX ticking along

  29th June 2016

  Raytheon has achieved a new milestone in the development of the US Air Force's (USAF) Global Positioning System Next Generation Operational Control System, or GPS …

• Defence Helicopter

  MD 530F shipment arrives in Kabul

  27th June 2016

  A shipment of five additional rotorcraft from MD Helicopters arrived in the Afghan capital on 17 June.  The MD 530F Cayuse Warrior scout helicopters will …

• Digital Battlespace

  Raytheon achieves two milestones in development of GPS OCX

  22nd June 2016

  Raytheon has cleared both a critical design review and a qualification milestone as part of its development of the US Air Force's (USAF) Global Positioning …

• Military Logistics

  First Y-20s delivered to PLAAF

  17th June 2016

  The People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) received its first examples of the Y-20 transport aircraft built by the Xian Aircraft Industrial Corporation (XAC) on …

• Military Logistics

  L-3 wins USAF KC-10 support contract

  14th June 2016

  L-3 Communications’ Vertex Aerospace division has received an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity $1.9 billion contract from the US Air Force (USAF) to provide full contractor logistics support …

• Training

  Aptima to develop DCGS training system

  14th June 2016

  Aptima has received a $12.42 million contract from the US Air Force (USAF) for the development of a virtual training environment for Distributed Common Ground …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-9A Reaper [USAF]

  Background First order Following a development that began in 1998, in October 2002, the USAF ordered the first four MQ-9s of the production series. In ...

• Military UAS - mini

  RQ-20B Puma [USAF]

  Background Requirement According to Trace Stevenson, the AeroVironment (AV) Vice President and product line general manager, the USAF Security Forces required a small UAV to ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV (USAF) (Batch 1) [USA]

  Baclground 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 ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) (Increment 1) [USAF]

  Background Requirements The programme’s requirements are based on the USAF’s belief that mass is necessary to compete effectively against an adversary in symmetrical warfare. However, ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  HH-60W - Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH)

  Background In 2010, the USAF announced the replacement of the HH-60G with a new Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH), and in 2012, the request for proposals ...

• AEW&C

  E-7A Wedgetail (1-2) [USA]

  Programme Background Shephard notes that this entry covers the two rapid-prototype E-7 aircraft, whose contract was signed in August 2024. A second programme entry covers the ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-Y tanker aircraft [USA]

  Programme Background The USAF is replacing its fleet of 396 KC-135 Stratotanker refuelling aircraft, built in the 1950s and 60s, and 59 KC-10 Extenders, which entered service ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-15EX (2025-2026) [USA]

  Methodology Units required Based off the FY2027 USAF budget request, between FY2025 and FY2026, the U.S. Air Force received funding for 40 F-15EX platforms. Congress ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-46A (USA)

  Programme Background The first five Low Rate Initial Production lots were contracted for a total of 67 aircraft for $10.94 billion. The initial contract signed ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-46A Add-On [USA]

  Background In July 2025, the former Chief of Staff for the US Air Force (USAF) Gen David Allvin confirmed that the USAF has authorised the procurement of ...

• Hybrid effector systems

  US Air Force Air Base Defence Missile Defence [US]

  Background The US Air Force's (USAF) Air Base Air Defence Missile Defence (ABAD MD) programme is part of the Air Force Physical Security System and sits ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  MH-139 (UH-1N Huey Replacement)

  Background  Competing bids In competition with the Boeing/Leonardo bid was Sikorsky with a HH-60U offer, and Sierra Nevada with an upgrading offer of UH-60As to ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV (USAF) (Batch 2) [USA]

  Background According to the FY2021 USAF budget request documents, the USAF procured 103 JLTVs in FY2019, 146 in FY2020 and 142 in FY2021. In 2023, ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  Next-Generation Air-Refueling System (NGAS) [USA]

  Background The U.S. Air Force originally planned the KC-Y programme as a follow-on acquisition of an estimated 179 tankers to bridge the gap between the delayed ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  C-37A [USA]

  Programme Background The USAF was using C-20B transport aircraft, variant of civilian Gulfstream III, to provide worldwide airlift for DoD and government officials. With the ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - HALE

  EX-3 Revenant

  The EX-3 Revenant is a developmental fixed-wing aircraft being developed by Exosonic. It is a Mach 1.2 supersonic UAV designed to be a 5th-generation representative, modular, autonomous ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Next Generation Survivor Radio

  The Next Generation Survivor Radio (NGSR) is a software-defined radio being developed by General Dynamics Mission Systems. It is expected to enter into service after June 2026.

• Air: aerial targets

  QF-16 FSAT

  The QF-16 Full Scale Aerial Target (FSAT) is an optionally piloted supersonic aerial target developed to replace the QF-4 in USAF service. Retired F-16 fighters are ...

• Major networking projects

  C2 ConstellationNet

  According to David Tillotson, director of C4ISR architecture AF/XI, in a report to Congress: 'The ConstellationNet is the communications network – air, space and terrestrial ...

• Air: transport/tanker simulators

  USAF KC-135 ATS

  The KC-135 Aircrew Training System (ATS) programme delivers initial qualification, requalification, continuation and upgrades training for USAF KC-135 aircrews, including pilots, co-pilots and boom operators. ...

• Major networking projects

  DCGS 10.2 Upgrade

  Raytheon’s Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) Block 10.2 upgrade allows intelligence data to be posted to the network for immediate use by analysts and warfighters, ...

• Military UAS - mini

  SPX

  The SPX drone is a fixed-wing UAV manufactured by RapidFlight. It features a modular payload bay and is fitted with RapidFlight’s Common Avionics 2.0 modular interface. ...

• Combat Search and Rescue

  HC-130P/N

  HC-130P/N is a SAR aircraft developed as extended-range version of C-130 Hercules transport airframe to execute all weather personnel recovery operations from austere airfields and ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-10 Extender

  The KC-10 Extender is a tanker/transport aircraft developed for the USAF by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). It was derived from the company’s three-engine ...

• EW test systems

  JTE

  The Joint Threat Emitter (JTE) is a multi-threat, high-fidelity simulator with realistic ERP levels, which simulates single- and double-digit surface-to-air and anti-aircraft artillery radar systems. ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  R-HUD

  The Replacement Heads-Up Display (R-HUD) is a Primary Flight Reference system designed to replace legacy HUD units on C-17 aircraft. Manufactured by Elbit Systems of ...

• Air: mission management systems

  Flat Panel Control Indicator

  BAE Systems Flat Panel Control Indicator (FPCI) is designed to replace legacy Navigation Control Indicators in F-15C/D aircraft. It features a new AMLCD display and ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Wasp III

  Produced from 2007 until 2012, the Wasp III was a hand-launched UAV produced by AeroVironment. The platform was powered by rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and featured two camera ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  RQ-4 Global Hawk

  The Global Hawk is a HALE UAV manufactured by Northrop Grumman. Primarily designed to carry ISTAR payloads, the platform has accumulated more than 200,000 flight hours ...

• Bomber

  B-2 Spirit

  The B-2 Spirit is a multirole stealth bomber manufactured by Northrop Grumman for the USAF. The Spirit is a flying wing aircraft, meaning that it ...