• Defence Notes

  Former UK defence chiefs warn of significant capability gaps

  14th November 2017

  Assumptions made by the UK Ministry of Defence during the 2010 and 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Reviews (SDSR) could leave the country exposed to …

• Land Warfare

  US Army goes on Christmas spending spree

  22nd December 2017

  Christmas has come early for the US Army as the service announced several contracts for key programmes on 21 December, totalling billions of dollars. The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Teledyne participates in Iceland’s EOD exercise

  11th December 2017

  Teledyne Gavia and Teledyne SeaBotix have participated in exercise Northern Challenge 2017 in Iceland - an annual Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) multinational exercise that supports …

• Land Warfare

  Russian airborne troops continue recapitalisation

  21st December 2017

  Russia’s airborne troops, an elite and highly-mobile independent branch of country’s military numbering 45,000 personnel, has continued a comprehensive recapitalisation in 2017.  Col Gen Andrey …

• Digital Battlespace

  Qatar to acquire additional Rafale aircraft

  13th December 2017

  Qatar Emiri Air Force has signed an agreement with Dassault Aviation to acquire an additional 12 Rafale omnirole combat aircraft.The new aircraft will join the …

• Defence Notes

  Opinion: Is carrier commissioning the beginning of the end for UK shipbuilding?

  7th December 2017

  Thursday 7 December marks the day when the ‘Queen Elizabeth’ is commissioned as the Royal Navy’s newest aircraft carrier. It will have been over 30 …

• Defence Helicopter

  LifePort’s BPS approved for Bell 412EP

  14th December 2017

  Sikorsky company LifePort has received a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) from the FAA to equip Bell 412EP aircraft with Ballistic Protection Systems (BPS), Lockheed Martin …

• Special Operations

  SOCOM moves from ThunderDrone to Game of Drones

  19th December 2017

  In the aftermath of its recently-completed ThunderDrone Prototype Rodeo, held in early November at the SOFWERX facility in the Ybor City area of Tampa, Florida, …

• Military Logistics

  European nations extend logistics support to MINUSMA

  6th November 2017

  Four European countries have agreed to extend their air transport services to the UN’s peacekeeping operation in Mali into 2020. Belgium, Denmark, Norway and Portugal …

• Defence Helicopter

  Pakistan and USMC to procure AH-1Z gun turrets

  18th December 2017

  The Pakistan government and USMC are set to procure an arsenal of 41 A/A49E-7 (V4) gun turrets for their respective Bell AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter fleets. Contractor General …

• Land Warfare

  GDA 2017: Raytheon to assist Qatari Patriot capability

  6th December 2017

  Raytheon has been awarded a $150 million FMS contract to assist the Gulf state of Qatar with its missile defence programme, one of a number …

• Defence Notes

  Analysis: ADIZ in South China Sea unlikely for now say experts

  6th December 2017

  Last week the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) deployed J-11B fighters to Woody Island in the South China Sea. Simultaneously, Y-9 transport aircraft from …

• Naval Warfare

  GDA 2017: Lurssen highlights shipbuilding capabilities (video)

  13th December 2017

  Fresh from what some perceived as an unlikely victory in the Australian Sea 1180 programme, German ship designer and builder Lurssen arrived at Gulf Defence …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Tethered UAS sought by UK MoD

  19th December 2017

  The UK MoD is looking to procure 14 tethered UAS platforms for use at its sites, supplying elevated ISR capabilities for a minimum endurance of …

• Military Logistics

  Dstl working on new armour project

  7th December 2017

  A new armour to protect British armed forces personnel from bullets on the battlefield is being developed by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), …

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 ...