• Naval Warfare

  Bahrain receives upgraded Al Manama ship

  25th January 2018

  Leonardo has delivered the first of six upgraded Al Manama naval vessels to the Royal Bahrain Naval Force, the company announced on 23 January. The …

• Digital Battlespace

  EO/IR Special Report: CorvusEye scans the region

  12th February 2018

  Harris Corporation was promoting its CorvusEye wide-area motion imagery (WAMI) sensor to the Asia-Pacific region at Singapore Airshow 2018. Although the system comes with ITAR …

• Military Logistics

  Airbus delivers 15th A400M to Germany

  18th January 2018

  Airbus Defence and Space has delivered the 15th A400M multi-role military transporter aircraft to the German Air Force, the company announced on 15 January. Germany …

• Special Operations

  Global SOF 2018: SOF intelligence fusion presents physical challenges

  21st February 2018

  While the US and its allies have long acknowledged the digital challenges of gathering, integrating and sharing ISR data across multi-national organizations, that coordination also …

• Training

  ADECS 2018: RAAF training commences on upgraded Hawk Mk 127 fleet

  26th January 2018

  With 20 of the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) BAE Systems Hawk Mk 127 fleet of 33 aircraft now converted to Lead-In Fighter Capability Assurance …

• Special Operations

  Turkey strikes Kurdish militants in Iraq

  23rd January 2018

  Turkey has launched air strikes in northern Iraq on Kurdish militants planning an attack, the Turkish Army announced on 23 January. The strikes took place …

• Training

  HAL’s Hawk I flies with RTOS

  12th February 2018

  Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has successfully completed the first flight of its Hawk I training aircraft with its newly developed Real Time Operating System (RTOS), …

• Training

  AECOM receives rotary wing training services contract

  22nd January 2018

  AECOM has received a nine-year contract from the US Army to provide rotary wing flight training instructor support services at Fort Rucker, Alabama, the company …

• Special Operations

  Composite Command for Belgium, Denmark and Netherlands SOF

  19th January 2018

  A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding the generation of the Composite Special Operations Component Command (C-SOCC) by Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands is, pending political …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Opportunity knocks for GA's drones

  20th February 2018

  With the potential easing of export restrictions of technology sensitive to the US missile technology control regime and a growing demand for long-endurance UAVs, General …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  ​Singapore Airshow 2018: China promotes weaponised VTOL UAV

  9th February 2018

  The China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC) provided new details about its latest U8EW VTOL UAV at this week’s Singapore Airshow. The U8E …

• Digital Battlespace

  ADECS 2018: Chinese EW capabilities roll inexorably onwards

  23rd January 2018

  The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is on the verge of commissioning its seventh intelligence collection vessel. The Type 815A spy ship was launched at …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Northrop selected for OFFSET programme

  16th February 2018

  Northrop Grumman has been selected as a Phase 1 Swarm Systems Integrator for DARPA's Offensive Swarm-Enabled Tactics (OFFSET) programme, the company announced on 13 February.  …

• Military Logistics

  MAGPIE maintenance trainer in development

  22nd January 2018

  Charles River Analytics is developing a game-based virtual aircraft maintenance trainer for the US Air Force (USAF) that will allow for larger class sizes and …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  GA-ASI names industry partners for Stingray

  16th February 2018

  General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) will collaborate with a range of industry partners for its MQ-25 Stingray UAS offering to the US Navy. The UAS …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Data links

  Data links | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-390 [Brazil]

  Programme Background Requirement The aircraft deliveries were scheduled to start by the end of 2016 and continue over a period of ten years. However,  the first ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  C-130H Replacement [Sweden]

  Programme Background Requirements Sweden has five C-130H aircraft (designated Tp-84) and one KC-130H. Two C-130Es bought in the 1960s have retired, but the six H ...

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

  Hermes 900 [Chile]

  Methodology Unit cost In 2024, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) acquired one Hermes 900 for 50 million reais ($9.14 million), giving each drone an estimated ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  H145M [Brazil]

  Background  Brazilian leadership announced in February 2022 that the Sabre Mil Mi-35M Hind-E attack helicopters were being retired from active service. This decision came as a ...

• Fighter - multirole

  JAS 39E/F Gripen [Brazil]

  Background In 2016, Gripen’s Project and Development Center was opened in Sao Paulo to allow Sweedish and Brazillian engineers to work together in the Gripen ...

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

  Hermes 900 [Colombia]

  Methodology Unit cost In 2024, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) acquired one Hermes 900 for 50 million reais ($9.14 million), giving each drone an estimated gross ...

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

  Hermes 900 (5) [Brazil]

  Background First three batches (2014-2024) Across three purchases, Defence Insight estimates that Brazil has acquired five Hermes 900 UAVs. In 2014, Elbit reported supplying one ...

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

  Hermes 900 (1-4) [Brazil]

  Background First batch (2014) In 2014, Elbit reported supplying one Hermes 900 UAV to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB). The drone is called the RQ-900 in Brazilian ...

• Maritime patrol

  C295 add-on [Brazil]

  Programme Background  In 2014 Brazil signed a contracted for two additional C-295 SAR platforms with the option to acquire one additional platform. In 2018, reports ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Polar Support Vessel [Brazil]

  Programme Background Requirements In June 2020, the Brazilian Navy released a Request for Proposal (RfP) to procure a new Antarctic vessel to be manufactured in Brazil. The ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air-to-surface missiles

  MAR-1

  The MAR-1 is a Brazilian air-to-surface anti-radiation missile (ARM) developed by Mectron in collaboration with the Aerospace Technology and Science Department (DCTA) of the Brazilian ...

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

  Harpia

  Described as the UAV with the most onboard technology in Latin America, Harpia is a multifunctional fixed-wing Brazilian drone developed by Advanced Technologies Security & Defence.  The Uruguayan ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  EMB-312 Tucano

  The EMB-312 Tucano (Brazilian designation T-27) is a trainer and light attack aircraft developed by Embraer to meet the training requirements of the Brazilian Air ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  TPTS

  Tactical Procedures Training Simulators (TPTS), operating with SWARM software, can be used to provide most core training elements to pilots or offload training tasks from ...

• Guided munitions

  SMKB (Smart-MK-Bomb)

  The Smart-MK-Bomb, or the SMKB, is a precision guidance kit developed by Mectron and designed to turn Mk 82 and Mk 83 bombs into guided munitions.

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

  Albatroz Vortex

  The Albatroz Vortex from Stella Tecnologia is a development of the company's Albatroz UAV.  The key differentiator is that the Vortex is fitted with an ATJR ...

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

  Condor

  The Condor, or Atobá XR, is an in-development MALE-class UAV from Stella Technologia.  The development of the multi-role is tied to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), which has ...

• Trainer, Transport

  EMB-121 Xingu

  The EMB-121 Xingu is a twin-turboprop light transport and advanced multi-engine trainer aircraft developed by Embraer based on the EMB-110 Bandeirante. Its maiden flight was ...

• Land: battle management systems

  Arkhe Mission & Combat

  Launched in 2017, Atech's Arkhe Mission & Combat solutions offer a variety of solutions enabling operator to conduct missions from planning to execution and debriefing. It ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-390/C-390 Millennium

  The KC-390 is a high-wing, twin-turbofan, T-tail design intended to meet the needs of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) for a tanker/transport aircraft. Developed and ...

• Fighter - air superiority

  F-5E/F Tiger II

  The F-5E (single-seat)/F (twin-seat) Tiger II is an air superiority fighter developed by Northrop Grumman based on the original F-5 Freedom Fighter. Production of the ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M

  The medium-weight, 11t-class H225M (formerly known as the EC725) is the latest military Super Puma/Cougar family member.  Technical features include a modular design of mechanical ...

• EO/IR systems

  Skyward

  The SkyWard system is an advanced Infrared Search and Track (IRST) solution developed for next-generation airborne platforms, including 5th-generation fighter aircraft.  Designed with modularity in ...

• Land: air defence radar

  Saber M60

  The Saber M60 is a low-altitude air-defence radar developed by the Brazilian Army's CTEx (Army Technology Centre) in collaboration with Bradar, part of Embraer Defence ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  RBS 70 system

  The RBS 70 was developed in the 1970s to meet the Swedish Army’s requirement for a low-cost, easy-to-use MANPADS which could function in extreme climatic ...