• Defence Notes

  US concerns over EU defence pact cloud NATO meet

  14th February 2018

  US concerns over the EU's landmark defence cooperation pact and increasingly strained relations between Washington and Turkey look set to loom large as NATO defence …

• Defence Notes

  US says NATO closing gaps in alliance unity

  15th February 2018

  NATO has reached an understanding on defence ties with the European Union (EU) while top allies Washington and Ankara are finding ‘common ground’ in a …

• Special Operations

  Global SOF 2018: “Risk perception” impacts European SOF aviation development

  26th February 2018

  One of the challenges encountered in the ongoing development and expansion of special operations aviation elements across many regions involves differences in “risk perception” that …

• Special Operations

  New body armour design sees European SOF evaluation

  15th February 2018

  BCB International has launched a new plate carrier vest, with the body armour now being evaluated by a European special forces unit. The Kastell Pro …

• Military Logistics

  Park Air ATM system for Montenegro

  19th February 2018

  Park Air Systems has received a contract from the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) to supply a new communication system to Golubovci Airbase in …

• Defence Notes

  UK to invest in chemical weapons defence centre

  15th March 2018

  Britain will invest £48 million in a new chemical weapons defence centre and vaccinate thousands of British soldiers against anthrax, the country’s defence minister said …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Patroller to play key role in OCEAN2020

  13th February 2018

  Safran’s Patroller UAS will play a central role in the OCEAN2020 project being led by Leonardo. The European Defence Fund programme aims to develop a …

• Defence Notes

  Opinion: UK needs Saudi defence relationship

  16th March 2018

  The recent visit by the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammad Bin Sultan (MBS) to the United Kingdom has generated a flurry of announcements about the future …

• Defence Helicopter

  Nepal’s army eyes renewed helicopter fleet

  29th March 2018

  With its sights fixed on the task of renewing its helicopter and aircraft fleet, the Nepali Army Air Wing decommissioned two Alouette III helicopters on …

• Land Warfare

  Austria completes Pandur EVO blast trials

  22nd February 2018

  The Austrian Army has completed ballistic and mine protection testing for its new Pandur EVO 6x6 armoured vehicle, ahead of an expected handover later this year. …

• Naval Warfare

  French Navy champions maritime security in Pacific

  27th February 2018

  As the only European nation with a permanent naval presence in Asia-Pacific, the French Navy takes maritime security in the region seriously. FS Vendemiaire, a …

• Military Logistics

  AUSA Global: Army looks to new depot metrics

  27th March 2018

  As part of its effort to ‘challenge and change the status quo,’ US Army Materiel Command (AMC) is looking to new ‘output’ metrics for work …

• Defence Helicopter

  UK MoD extends TACDS support contract

  21st March 2018

  Petards has received a contract extension from the UK Ministry of Defence’s Air Platform Systems Platform Protection team to support in use ALE 47 and …

• Defence Helicopter

  Heavy-lift of hope for German helicopter market

  23rd March 2018

  As political stability returns to Germany with Angela Merkel returning as chancellor for her fourth term, upcoming defence procurement decisions for the nation’s heavy-lift programme …

• Military Logistics

  Saab awarded flight safety equipment work

  22nd March 2018

  Saab has signed an agreement with the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) regarding the maintenance of technical system support for flight safety equipment, the company …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A330 MRTT (1-9) [NATO]

  Programme Background Following operations in Libya and extensive analyses by the European Defence Agency (EDA), it was agreed at the NATO Summit in 2012 that ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A330 MRTT Follow-On (NATO)

  Following operations in Libya and extensive analyses by the European Defence Agency (EDA), it was agreed at the NATO Summit in 2012 that the EDA ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawks [Norway]

  Programme Background NH90 NFH cancellation  The Norwegian government announced the termination of the NH90 NFH helicopter contract for 14 NH90s with NHIndustries in June 2022. Seahawk Acquisition ...

• Tanks

  New MBT [Romania]

  Programme Background Requirement The Romanian Army's MBT fleet is composed of T-55 variants that are due to be retired in the mid-2020s. Although Romania's TR-85 ...

• Tanks

  M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 [Romania]

  Programme Background Requirement The Romanian Army's MBT fleet is composed of T-55 variants that are due to be retired in the mid-2020s. Although Romania's TR-85 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) - (Greece)

  Programme Background EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) was announced in early 2022 and the project contract was awarded ...

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

  UAV Tactical Level [Norway]

  Programme Background Request for Information (RfI) In September 2022, the Norwegian Defence Material Agency (NDMA) launched a request for information in preparation for a possible ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) - (Italy)

  Programme Background EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) was announced in early 2022 and the project contract was awarded ...

• Maritime patrol

  MAWS/PATMAR [France]

  Programme Background In 2017, Germany and France announced that they would be working towards developing an MPA to replace their current fleets in service. The ...

• Tanks

  Leopard 2A8 [Netherlands]

  Programme Background Bidders and Suppliers The Leopard 2A8, the latest in the Leopard family, was selected by the Royal Dutch Army as per announcements in ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2 [Kuwait]

  Background Contract Award On 18 January 2023, Baykar announced signing a $370 million export contract with Kuwait for the Bayraktar TB2. According to the announcement, ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton - Germany (Cancelled)

  Programme Background Germany requested to buy four MQ-4C Triton HALE UAVs from Northrop Grumman. On 5 April 2018, the US State Department announced that it ...

• Corvettes

  European Patrol Corvette (EPC) [France]

  Programme Background Requirements The European Patrol Corvette (EPC) is one of the new PESCO (Permanent Structured Cooperation on Defence and Security) projects. PESCO was established ...

• AEW&C

  Alliance Future Surveillance and Control (1-6) [NATO]

  Programme Background NATO’s E-3A AWACS fleet is set to retire in 2035, after 50 years of service. To plan for the required follow-on capability, NATO's ...

• Corvettes

  European Patrol Corvette (EPC) [Italy]

  Programme Background Requirements The 2021-2023 Documento Programmatico Pluriennale (DPP) - a multi-year defence planning document from the Italian MoD - includes a plan to acquire eight "Patrol Ships", ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Land: air defence radar

  APIS

  APIS is a passive high-resolution primary radar system developed by Indra. It is the first passive system in the world capable of offering images using ...

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  AE50R

  The AE50R is an aviation gasoline single rotary engine with an output of 40.4kW. The engine is certified according to European Aviation Safety Agency Part ...

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

  LOTUS

  The LOTUS, Low Observable Tactical Unnamed System, is a tactical UAV especially designed for border patrol ISR operations.  The development of the project is funded by ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  Mistral 3

  The Mistral 3 is the latest member of the Mistral family of very short-range surface-to-air missiles. It entered service in 2018 and has been chosen ...

• Helicopter engines

  Arriel 2H

  Safran Helicopter Engines received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) engine type certification for its Arriel 2H engine, installed in the Avicopter AC312E, in April 2018. ...

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

  AR5

  First announced in October 2012, the AR5 is a MALE UAS designed for SAR, surveillance and maritime patrol missions. The AR5 can be flown manually or commanded ...

• Trainer

  Gabriel-TP

  Gabriel-TP is a low-wing, two-seat tandem trainer aircraft aimed at both military and civilian customers. It is certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in ...

• Air: NVGs

  PNL-3M Orlik

  PNL-3M are high-performance, lightweight, passive stereoscopic NVGs for helicopter crew members. Certification by European Aviation Safety Agency also enables civilian use. The device can be ...

• Loitering munitions

  Akeron RCH 170

  Unveiled in April 2025, the Akeron RCH 170 is a fixed-wing loitering munition from MBDA. Similar in design to the Switchblade 300, the catapult launched system ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  Standard 3

  Jointly developed by ATR and Thales, The Standard 3 avionics suite has been specifically designed for ATR-600 aircraft. It offers the pilot user-friendly interface, along ...

• Loitering munitions

  Akeron RCX 50

  Unveiled in April 2025, the Akeron RCX 50 is a rotary-wing loitering munition from MBDA.  According to reports, the RCX 50 is designed to support ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  DroneGun

  DroneGun enables controlled management of an adversarial UAS, causing no damage to the UAV or surrounding area. It either forces the drone to perform a ...

• Military - USVs

  NOMARS

  The No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) is a US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) effort to develop a first-of-its-kind large uncrewed surface vessel.

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  Trident 100TD2

  The Trident 100TD2 is a compression-ignition engine that is capable of operating on various types of heavy fuel. It is claimed to offer up to ...

• Space: radar systems

  ESA Sentinel-1

  Sentinel-1 is a planned constellation of four satellites with two already in orbit and two on order. They carry a payload of a C-band SAR ...