• Special Operations

  Special ops flock to Flintlock

  8th March 2017

  The international special operations community has once again amassed across West Africa as part of Exercise Flintlock, designed to further develop the capabilities of indigenous …

• Training

  Modifications to C-17 MTS complete

  8th March 2017

  TRU Simulation and Training has completed modification work to C-17 maintenance training platforms for US Air Force (USAF) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) end …

• Defence Notes

  Hobart completes Sea Acceptance Trials

  8th March 2017

  The Royal Australian Navy's (RAN's) first air warfare destroyer, the future HMAS Hobart, has successfully completed Sea Acceptance Trials following 21 days at sea off …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  ​Heli-Expo 2017: VSR700 ready to fly

  7th March 2017

  The shipborne VSR700, a unmanned helicopter VTOL system, is fast approaching its first flight without a safety pilot.The aircraft is derived from a light civil …

• Land Warfare

  Enhanced Tamir extends intercept range

  7th March 2017

  Testing on the Iron Dome air defence missile system has taken place using a new variant of the Tamir interceptor missile for the first time.An …

• Land Warfare

  EDA looks to increase artillery accuracy

  7th March 2017

  The European Defence Agency (EDA) has detailed the results of its Course Correction Fuze (CCF) project, which was carried out to increase the accuracy of …

• Defence Notes

  China boosts defence budget by 7%

  7th March 2017

  China's National People's Congress (NPC) provided no breakdown on numbers on its defence budget increase, but NPC spokesperson Fu Ying confirmed an increase of 7%. …

• Naval Warfare

  USCG receives tenth C-130J Super Hercules

  6th March 2017

  The US Coast Guard (USCG) has accepted delivery of its tenth C-130J Super Hercules long range surveillance aircraft at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics' Greenville, South Carolina, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Avalon 2017: ADF progresses UAV capability

  6th March 2017

  Australia's latest acquisition - the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 system - was on display at the Avalon Air Show near Melbourne, where the three branches of …

• Defence Helicopter

  Avalon 2017: Orbital ATK promotes C-27J palletised ISR

  6th March 2017

  Orbital ATK is in discussions with the Royal Australian Air Force about ISR mission pallets that could enhance capabilities. The company already supplies roll-on/roll-off modules …

• Defence Helicopter

  ​Heli-Expo 2017: UAV camera systems offered to helicopter market

  6th March 2017

  Enstrom Helicopters has partnered with aerial imagery provider Vertivue to promote the new Skybox stabilised camera system on the 480B helicopter at Heli-Expo 2017.The Skybox …

• Defence Helicopter

  Boeing unveils MH-139 helicopter

  6th March 2017

  Boeing's bid for the US Air Force's UH-1N Replacement Program will be based on the Leonardo Helicopters AW139, with the company unveiling its MH-139 helicopter …

• Land Warfare

  New Russian self-propelled gun incoming

  6th March 2017

  Russia is developing a new prototype 152mm self-propelled gun that is set to provide more firepower for airborne forces. The Russian Central Research Institute of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  New payloads for WASP aerostat

  3rd March 2017

  The US Department of Defense's (DoD's) Winch Aerostat Small Platform (WASP) tactical aerostats will now be capable of hosting simultaneous communications and optical payloads following …

• Defence Helicopter

  Avalon 2017: Tiger and Taipan to improve availability

  3rd March 2017

  Even as other manufacturers were slowly circling for the kill at the Avalon Air Show by offering the Australian Army replacement attack helicopters, Airbus Helicopters …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Land 400 Phase 3 (Logistics, Ammunition Carrier and Mortar Carrier Variants) [Australia]

  Programme Background The Australian DoD released the initial RfI for the Land 400 Phase 3 programme in November 2015. Following consultations with local industry, the ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Land 400 Phase 3 (Amphibious Vehicles) [Australia]

  Programme Background The Australian DoD released the initial RfI for the Land 400 Phase 3 programme in November 2015. Following consultations with local industry, the ...

• Main battle tanks

  M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams [Poland]

  Background Requirement Since the early 2010s, Poland has wanted to upgrade its Soviet-era tank fleet due to modernisation requirements, the need to increase interoperability with NATO ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - micro

  Drone40 (Ukraine Aid) [Australia]

  Programme Background In August 2022, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), a think tank, held a podcast with Ukraine's ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, in which ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  Littoral Manoeuvre Vessel - Medium (Project Land 8710 Phase 1A) [Australia]

  Background Requirements Australia has set out requirements for a fleet of up to 18 Littoral Manoeuvre Vessels - Medium (LMV-M) with the release of a ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Land 400 Phase 2 - Boxer CRV [Australia]

  Programme Background History The Land 400 Phase 2 programme will procure a replacement for the ASLAV, a derivative of the General Dynamics Land Systems Light Armoured Vehicle ...

• Main battle tanks

  Viatura Blindada de Combate-Carro de Combate (VBC-CC) [Brazil]

  Programme Background Several key technical requirements have been outlined by the Brazilian MoD. Among the most important are that the platform should weigh less than ...

• Main battle tanks

  Leopard 2A4 [Czech Republic]

  Background  The Czech Republic currently operates a small fleet of T-72s, which, while undergoing upgrades and life extension programmes, are increasingly obsolete. In October 2022, ...

• Submarines: nuclear/attack

  Second Hand SSNs [Australia]

  Programme background Timeline In September 2021, it was announced in a trilateral announcement between Australia, the US and the UK that Australia, in a shock ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Chios class LST replacement [Greece]

  Background Requirements The Hellenic Navy’s Chios-class tank landing ship platforms have been in service for almost 30 years. Shephard estimates they will start reaching their out-of-service date (OSD) ...

• Self-propelled rocket launchers

  HIMARS (Batch 2) [Australia]

  Programme background Prior to selecting HIMARS in January 2023, Australia did not operate an MLRS system. However, the effectiveness of Ukrainian HIMARS convinced the Australian government ...

• Medium UGVs

  Mission Master (RPV Sprial 2) [UK]

  Background First announced in April 2017 and referred to in early MOD documents as the ‘last mile resupply’ initiative, the British Army is reportedly evaluating ...

• Military - USVs

  Bluebottle USV (16-55) [Australia]

  Programme Background Timeline The RAN purchased a number of the 6.8m-long Bluebottles, including five under an A$4.9 million ($3.3 million) contract signed in November 2022. ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Project Land 400 Phase 3 [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement: 2015 RfI The Land 400 Phase 3 programme will procure a new tracked IFV to replace the Australian Army's legacy fleet of ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Project Air 7003 [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement The Royal Australian Air Force has been without a UAS capability since the Heron was withdrawn in mid-2017. According to Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  Carl-Gustaf M3

  The Carl-Gustaf M3 is the third generation of the 84mm shoulder-fired recoilless antitank gun, first fielded by the Swedish Army in 1946. Since then, it ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  120mm KE DM63 / DM53 A1 Tank Ammunition

  The 120mm kinetic energy tank ammunition is manufactured by Rheinmetall. There are several variations of the ammunition, including the DM63, which can be fired from ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  120MM HEAT-TP F1A

  Franco-German KNDS-Nexter produce the 120mm High-Explosive Anti-Tank Training-Purpose F1A (HEAT-TP F1A) round to enable reduced-cost training for Main Battle Tank crews. 

• Main battle tanks

  M1/M1A1 Abrams

  The 105mm-armed M1 Abrams tracked MBT was introduced into US Army service in 1980 as a replacement for the 105mm-armed M60 MBT. In April 1991, ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  120mm PELE Tank Ammunition

  The 120mm Penetrator with Enhanced Lateral Effect (PELE) tank ammunition is an inert round produced by Rheinmetall. It is suitable for use against semi-hard targets ...

• Light mortars

  60mm Mortar Ammunition

  US-based LD Systems' 60mm Mortar ammunition fulfils the NATO standard for lightweight mortar ammunition.

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  120mm L55A1

  The 120mm L55A1 is a smoothbore high-pressure gun based on the L55 tank gun. The L55A1 has been qualified and in service since 2019. It ...

• Naval: RF/IR/acoustic decoys

  Nulka

  The Nulka is an active anti-ship missile decoy originally conceived in Australia, and developed under a joint Australian-US programme. BAE Systems Australia is prime contractor, while ...

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  120mm L55 Tank Gun

  The 120mm L55 is a smoothbore tank gun produced by Rheinmetall. It is designed for use on the Leopard main battle tank, to which it ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  M1147 Advanced Multi-Purpose (AMP)

  The M1147 Advanced Multi-Purpose (AMP) is a 120mm tank round developed by Northrop Grumman Defence Systems. Various customers, including Bahrain, Israel, and the US, use the tank ...

• Main battle tanks

  M1A2 SEPv3

  The M1A2 System Enhancement Package 3 (M1A2 SEPv3, also known as M1A2C) is the latest production-standard variant of the Abrams MBT. Designed primarily to address ...

• Land: RWS

  R400 Slinger

  The R400 Slinger is a counter-uncrewed aerial system (C-UAS) remote weapon system (RWS) being developed in Australia. The development is a response to growing international ...

• Unguided Medium Calibre Ammunition

  Next Generation Combat Vehicle Ammunition

  The Next Generation Combat Vehicle Ammunition (NGVA) is a family of ammunition being developed by the US Army's Armaments Center and manufactured by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems ...

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  CVTESS

  Saab's Combat Vehicle Tactical Engagement Simulation System (CVTESS) is a laser-based simulator which supports every version of the Abrams Main Battle Tank and the Bradley ...

• Submarines: nuclear/attack

  SSN AUKUS

  The SSN-AUKUS will be the submarine design resulting from the AUKUS trilateral pact between Australia, the US and the UK. Expected to incorporate technology from ...