• Defence Notes

  D&S 2015: Embedded training for Thai T-50

  4th November 2015

  Thailand’s lead-in fighter trainer (LIFT) aircraft being procured from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) will be the first equipped with an Embedded Tactical Training System (ETTS). …

• Defence Notes

  Turkey requests JDAM kits

  3rd November 2015

  The government of Turkey has requested the purchase of Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) from the US under a foreign military sale, the Defense Security …

• Naval Warfare

  Lockheed laid keel for LCS 15

  3rd November 2015

  Lockheed Martin has laid the keel for the US Navy's fifteenth Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) at Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Marinette, Wisconsin, the company announced …

• Land Warfare

  Cobham to develop C-IED system

  3rd November 2015

  The US Army has awarded a contract to Cobham to develop next-generation technologies for the detection of landmines and other explosive hazards hidden in the …

• Military Logistics

  Stellex acquires MHI ship repair

  3rd November 2015

  Stellex Capital Management (Stellex) has completed the acquisition of Marine Hydraulics International (MHI), Stellex announced on 2 November.  MHI provides marine repair and conversion services …

• Digital Battlespace

  US Army orders counterfire radars

  3rd November 2015

  The US Army has ordered seven additional AN/TPQ-53 (Q-53) counterfire target acquisition radars from Lockheed Martin, the company announced on 2 November. The order is valued …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Global Hawk in Ex Southern Katipo

  2nd November 2015

  An RQ-4 Global Hawk from the US Air Force (USAF) will take part in the New Zealand Defence Force’s (NZDF’s) largest military exercise, Exercise Southern …

• Land Warfare

  BAE Systems to complete M109A7 LRIP

  2nd November 2015

  BAE Systems has been awarded a low-rate initial production (LRIP) contract option worth $245.3 million by the US Army to complete low rate initial production …

• Military Logistics

  US looks to increase MRTT usage

  2nd November 2015

  With many its allies now deploying A330 aerial refuelling aircraft to the Middle East and its own next-generation KC-46A tanker still two years away, the …

• Military Logistics

  Airbus to overcome A400M capability issues

  2nd November 2015

  Continuing trials to expand the capabilities of the A400M transport aircraft have identified several issues with the aircraft, including its inability to refuel helicopters or simultaneously …

• Military Logistics

  USMC advances hybrid power

  30th October 2015

  Demands for electrical power by military forces in the field have increased with greater reliance on electronics in a range of C2, life support, and …

• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop announces JCREW contract

  30th October 2015

  Northrop Grumman is to undertake low-rate initial production of the Joint Counter Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Device (RCIED) Electronic Warfare (JCREW) Increment 1 Block 1 (I1B1) …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Insitu UAS conducts railway monitoring

  30th October 2015

  Insitu conducted a commercial beyond visual line of sight operation with its ScanEagle unmanned aerial system (UAS) on 25 October for railway safety and infrastructure …

• Military Logistics

  KC-46 test programme continues

  29th October 2015

  The KC-46 Pegasus programme's first test aircraft has arrived at Edwards Air Force Base where it will undergo Ground Effects and Fuel Onload Fatigue testing, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Aerosonde sees fee-for-service growth

  29th October 2015

  Textron Systems Unmanned Systems is performing 4,000 hours of fee-for-service operations with the Aerosonde UAS each month, it has been revealed. The OEM is currently …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - small

  Puma 3 AE (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Military Aid - $300 Million On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine to "bolster Urkaine's capacity ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1165 Special Ops HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HHMWV, or Humvee, has been in US service since 1983. The M1165A1B3 is a special operations variant of the platform.  In 2015, the US ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 300 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Presidential Drawdown (16 March 2022 & 13 April 2022) On 16 March 2022, President Biden announced $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine through ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank [US]

  Programme Background As IAI stated in a 19 January 2023 press release, it had been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract by the Irregular Warfare Technical Support ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 600 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background $300 Million USAI (1 April 2022) On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine following ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Puma LE [Kosovo]

  Background Contract Award On 21 January 2022, the US Department of Defence (DoD) announced that AeroVironment had been awarded an $11.01 million firm-fixed contract for Puma ...

• Loitering munitions

  ALTIUS-600M (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background On 24 February 2023, the US DoD announced that the Biden Administration had released an additional aid package under the Ukraine Security Assistance ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1152A1B2/M1165A1B3 HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HMMWV has been in US service since the 1980s. Despite the introduction of newer platforms, the US DoD continues to utilise the platform ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1165A1B3 HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HMMWV has been in US service since the 1980s. Despite the introduction of newer platforms, the US DoD continues to utilise the platform ...

• Loitering munitions

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Background Presidential Drawdown Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, on 21 April 2022, President Biden announced an $800 million Presidential Drawdown security ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS): Switchblade [US]

  Background DoD Contract On 27 August 2024, the US DoD announced that AeroVironment had been awarded a ceiling $990 million hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to provide “an ...

• Military UAS - small

  Puma 2 AE [Estonia]

  Programme Background The US DoD announced that it had awarded AeroVironment an $8.868 million firm-fixed-price contract to supply an undisclosed number of RQ-20B Puma AE ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-46A (3-6) [Japan]

  On 30 October 2020, the US DoD announced that it awarded a $342 million contract to Boeing for two Japanese KC-46A tanker aircraft. Work will be performed ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  ACV-30 PRTV [USA]

  Background The Armoured Combat Vehicle (ACV) programme is intended to provide a replacement for the USMC's fleet of Amphibious Assault Vehicle 7 (AAV7) tracked vehicles. ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  XQ-58A Valkyrie [USMC]

  Programme Background Contract Award On 30 December 2022, the US DoD announced that it had awarded Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems a $15.52 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Pistols

  M9

  M9 is the US DoD designation for the military-specification 9mm Beretta 92FS, selected in 1985 to replace the 45cal M1911A1 in US service. Sales to ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  Igla/SA-18

  The 9K38 Igla (US DoD designation SA-18, NATO reporting name Grouse ) IR-homing MANPADS was developed by KBM and entered service in 1983 to meet the requirements ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank

  Point Blank Weapon System is a hand-launched electro-optical VTOL-capable loitering munition developed by Isreal Aerospace Industries (IAI). IAI has been awarded a contract by the US ...

• Military UAS - small

  ScanEagle 3

  Insitu unveiled the ScanEagle 3 at the Xponential exhibition in Denver in May 2018. The platform has twice the payload capacity of its ScanEagle predecessor ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  BAT-850

  Pathfinder's BAT-850 VSAT is a carbon fibre, tri-band terminal with auto-acquisition capability. Suitable for flyaway (case-based) and vehicle-mounted applications, it is in service with the ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  URC-300

  The URC-300 is a software-defined radio designed for line-of-sight, ground-to-air communications in particular. Introduced in 2020, it adheres to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards as well ...

• Air: aerial targets

  BQM-177A/i

  The BQM-177A subsonic aerial target (SSAT) was designed for the USN, and the BQM-177i is the export variant. The BQM-177 provides realistic threat emulation for ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Banshee Tactical Radio

  Developed by Fenix Group, the Banshee Tactical Radio (BTR) is a communications system that uses 4G/LTE connectivity to provide secure mesh networking capability on the ...

• Crew-served grenade launchers

  Striker 40/MK47

  General Dynamics is systems integrator for the Striker 40 (MK47 AGL in US service). The complete system comprises the weapon, AN/PWG-1 Lightweight Video Sight and ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  AN/ARC-231 Skyfire

  The AN/ARC-231 Skyfire is an airborne VHF/UHF/LOS and DAMA SATCOM system. This system supports US DoD requirements for airborne, multi-band, multi-mission, secure anti-jam voice, data ...

• Air-to-air missiles

  9M39 Igla-V

  The 9M39 Igla-V (‘needle’) is a Russian IR homing SAM adapted for helicopter use. It is an air-launched version of the Igla MANPADS, which the ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  Global Observer

  The AeroVironment Global Observer HALE UAV was a developmental HALE UAV designed for various civil, commercial and government applications.  Development of the platform began in 2007 ...

• Directed energy weapons

  CLWS

  Developed by Boeing, Compact Laser Weapon System (CLWS or CLaWS) is a medium-range, low-power laser C-UAS system. According to the reports, the CLWS prototype has ...

• Weapon sights for day use

  CompM4/M4s

  The US DoD has bought over one million Aimpoint sights since 1997. The US Army is now fielding the CompM4s as the latest version of ...

• Data links, Land: Radio and SATCOM, UAS: communication systems

  QNT-200

  The Collins QNT-200 is a dual-channel software-defined radio (SDR) designed for size, weight and power-constrained platforms. Using IP-based mesh networks, it offers high-bandwidth mobile networking ...