• Defence Helicopter

  BAE to demonstrate optical seeker for DARPA

  9th May 2018

  BAE Systems has received a $13.1 million contract from DARPA to demonstrate a new optical seeker for precision-guided munitions, the company announced on 7 May. …

• Land Warfare

  Latvia begins trials for new tactical 4x4

  15th May 2018

  Testing has begun on four platforms selected by the Latvian Ministry of Defence for phase two of the nation's acquisition of new 4x4 tactical vehicles. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DSA 2018: Turkish robots march into Malaysia

  18th April 2018

  On 18 April, Aselsan signed a cooperation agreement with Malaysian firm DefTech at the DSA 2018 exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, with the focus on robotics …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Lockheed upgrades Indago 3 with IR payload

  7th May 2018

  Lockheed Martin has upgraded its Indago 3 small quadrotor UAS with high resolution infrared (IR) sensors capable of performing day or night operations, the company …

• Military Logistics

  Rockwell awarded KC-135 work

  12th April 2018

  Rockwell Collins has received multiple repair contracts from the US Air Force (USAF) to support Global Air Traffic Management (GATM) components on the KC-135 tanker …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2018: Show talking points (video)

  3rd May 2018

  Shephard editors Richard Thomas and Helen Haxell talk through the news at AUVSI's Xponential this week in Denver. The team share their thoughts on the narrative …

• Defence Notes

  US jets intercept Russian bombers off Alaskan coast

  12th May 2018

  US fighter jets intercepted two long-range Russian 'Bear' bombers in international airspace off western Alaska, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said 12 May. The …

• Defence Helicopter

  Airbus Helicopters signs two HCare Smart contracts

  10th April 2018

  Airbus Helicopters has signed contracts with the Brazilian armed forces and the Mexican Air Force for its HCare maintenance programmes, the company announced on 5 …

• Naval Warfare

  Hanoi demands Beijing withdraw missiles from disputed islands

  9th May 2018

  Hanoi has demanded Beijing remove military equipment from contested islands in the South China Sea, saying reported missile installations are a ‘serious violation’ of Vietnam's …

• Defence Notes

  Boeing says it will follow US policy on Iran

  8th May 2018

  Boeing said on 8 May it will continue to take its cue from US government policy on sales to Iran after President Donald Trump announced …

• Defence Helicopter

  Washington clears way for Bahrain AH-1Z sale

  10th May 2018

  The US state department has approved a proposed FMS for 12 Bell AH-1Z Vipers to Bahrain, at an estimated cost of $911.4 million.  Alongside the attack …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  SOFEX 2018: Opportunities in the air for UAV exports to Middle East

  7th May 2018

  As the Trump administration looks to looks to open up the export restrictions concerning unmanned technologies, one company that could see gains, especially in the …

• Training

  ITEC 2018: VT MAK updates its software suite

  9th May 2018

  Software integration specialists, VT MAK, has just unveiled the latest releases of its flagship software products, VR-Forces, VR-Vantage and VR-Engage to coincide with ITEC 2018. …

• Digital Battlespace

  Industry readies for Patriot radar replacement requirements

  2nd May 2018

  The US Army is expected to release technical requirements for the replacement Patriot radar system in the coming months, ahead of the next phase of …

• Land Warfare

  Saudi Arabia requests M109A5/A6 howitzer structures

  10th April 2018

  The government of Saudi Arabia has requested a foreign military sale of 155mm M109A5/A6 medium self-propelled howitzer structures for conversion to M109A6 Paladin howitzer systems …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Light attack, Trainer

  PC-21 (Project Air 5428) [Australia]

  The new PTS, including aircraft, flight training simulators and learning environments is being acquired from a single capability contractor, Team 21, which consists of Lockheed ...

• Transport, Transport/tanker aircraft

  Project Air 7404 [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement Australia is thinking ahead to an enlarged transport fleet to replace the current C-130Js. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was the second ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A (Project Air 6000 Phase 2A/B) [Australia]

  Programme Background The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) took delivery of 18 F-35A aircraft as of March 2020 and the remaining aircraft are expected to ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton (5-6) [Australia]

  Background Four Contracted Units In the summer of 2020, Northrop Grumman announced that the Australian Government provided $333 million for three MQ-4C Tritons and associated GCS. ...

• Medium Range Missile Defence Systems: 20-90km range

  Medium Range Air Defence [Australia]

  Background Faced with a growing threat from China and a vast land and sea territory to protect, Australia is seeking to establish a medium-range ground-based ...

• Patrol boats

  Evolved Cape Class (13-14) [Australia]

  Programme Background Austal was awarded a contract to build six 'Evolved'Cape-class patrol boats for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) on 1 May 2020 (see separate ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) [Australia]

  Background Older Efforts On 23 April 2021, the US State Department's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) approval announcement revealed that Australia had requested to buy up ...

• 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, ...

• OPVs

  Arafura Class (Project SEA 1180) (1-6) [Australia]

  Programme Background Australia's new class of Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV), the Arafura-class, will replace the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) fleet of Armidale and Cape-class patrol ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-28 Ghost Bat [Australia]

  Background Goal As stated by the Head of Air Force Capability, Air Vice-Marshal Robert Denney, in March 2022, the Ghost Bat will be an "operational system ...

• Loitering munitions

  Mission Talon Strike [Australia]

  Background Request for Tender (RFT) On 19 May 2025, the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA), an agency aimed at streamlining defence invocation for the Australian Defence ...

• Military UAS - small

  VTOL UAV [New Zealand]

  Background Defence Capability Plan (DCP) In April 2025, the New Zealand government published the DCP, a document that is essentially a blueprint for what procurements ...

• Trainer

  Hawk 127 Replacement (Future Lead-In Fighter Training System- Project Air 6002 PH1) [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirements The RAAF is seeking a future solution that provides a ‘relevant, adaptable, affordable and safe LIFTS out to 2050’ for training pilots ...

• Military UAS - small

  DEF129 (Tactical UAS) [Australia]

  Programme Background Programme Announcement The Australian Army announced the Project Land 129 Phase 3 programme in 2017. This announcement led to the release of an industry ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Harpii Szpon (Loyal Wingman) [Poland]

  Background Market Evaluation On 6 November 2023, speaking at the IQPC International Fighter Conference (IFC) 2023 in Madrid, Major General Cezary Wiśniewski, the Deputy General Commander of the ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: Integrated Defensive Systems

  Air-5416 Project Echidna

  Air-5416 Project Echidna was an initiative launched in 2001 by BAE Systems for the Australian DoD. Its goal was to overhaul the self protection systems ...

• Trainer

  King Air trainer

  Textron / Beechcraft King Air trainers are a family twin-engine aircraft based on King Air 90, 100, 200 and 350 utility aircraft. The King Air ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  Australian Defence Force MRH90 Training

  As prime contractor for the ADF's MRH90 training programme, CAE has provided two MRH90 full-flight mission simulators (FFMS), training facilities and engineering and support services. ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  RAAF Hawk Mk 127 FMS

  Under subcontract to BAE Systems, CAE is designing and manufacturing three Hawk Mk 127 full-mission simulators (FMS) for the Royal Australian Air Force that will ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Wanderer

  The Wanderer is a low-altitude, low-cost, long-endurance UAV produced in-house by the Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF) Jericho Disruptive Innovation Group and the Australian Government's Defense Science ...

• Light attack

  Hawk 200

  The Hawk 200 is a single-seat light attack iteration of the Hawk 100 (see separate entry) and Advanced Jet Trainer or AJT (see separate entry). ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-28A Ghost Bat

  The MQ-28A Ghost Bat is a loyal wingman-type, Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), MALE fixed-wing drone being developed by Boeing Defence Australia. Its development began in ...

• Military - USVs

  Bluebottle

  Bluebottle is a persistent, autonomous, uncrewed surface vessel from Ocius Technology in service with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF). In ...

• Air: UAV simulators

  Predator Mission Trainer (PMT)

  The CAE Predator Mission Trainer (PMT) is an integrated platform that combines the features of CAE's UAS mission trainer with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' Predator-specific ...

• Maritime patrol

  Challenger 604

  Bombardier Challenger CL-604 MPAs are in service with the Royal Danish Air Force and the Korea Coast Guard. The first of three Danish aircraft entered ...

• Military UAS - micro

  Phantom 4 (Series)

  Designed for aerial photograph applications by DJI, the Phantom 4 series of UAVs includes the Phantom 4 Pro, Phantom 4 Pro V2.0, Phantom 4 Advanced ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  Hawkei

  Thales Australia developed the 4x4 Hawkei for the Australian Army's Land 121 Phase 4 Protected Mobility Vehicle – Light (PMV-L) project.  The prototype was unveiled in ...

• Air: COMINT and ELINT systems

  AN/ALR-2001

  BAE Systems’ AN/ALR-2001 Electronic Support Measure (ESM) is thought to be based on Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) Elta Systems division’s EL/M-8382 ESM. The AN/ALR-2001 is ...

• Air-to-surface missiles

  AGM-88E AARGM

  The AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) is a supersonic, medium-range, air-launched tactical missile compatible with US and allied strike aircraft. Designed to upgrade the AGM-88 ...

• Military UAS - mini

  M Solar-X

  First revealed in August 2020, in February 2024, at its symposium, the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) showcased the M Solar-X. This solar-powered fixed-wing drone was ...