• Training

  Aero Vodochody, IAI sign agreement

  26th April 2018

  Aero Vodochody and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) have signed a partnership agreement concerning technical and marketing cooperation for light attack and training aircraft, AERO Vodochody …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Leonardo positions AWHERO for Australian market

  27th March 2018

  Leonardo is showcasing its AWHERO rotary UAS to national and local authorities in Australia through 30 March, the company announced on 22 March. The company …

• Defence Helicopter

  Greece fires warning shots at Turkish helicopter

  10th April 2018

  Greek soldiers fired warning shots at a Turkish helicopter after it approached the small island of Ro, which marks their border in the Aegean Sea, …

• Land Warfare

  Australia orders artillery ammo

  26th March 2018

  Rheinmetall has received a contract from the Australian Defence Force to supply various projectile types from the company’s Assegai family, along with fuses and propelling …

• Digital Battlespace

  UK MoD sees role for military in space industry

  30th April 2018

  As the rapid growth trajectory of the global space industry continues the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is keen to establish a role for the …

• Defence Notes

  US F-16 crashes near Las Vegas

  5th April 2018

  A US F-16 fighter jet crashed on Wednesday near Las Vegas, the third US military aircraft crash in two days. 'An air force F-16 assigned …

• Defence Helicopter

  DefExpo 2018: Boeing helicopter deliveries on track for India

  12th April 2018

  The first of 22 Boeing AH-64E Apaches for the Indian Air Force (IAF) entered the production line at the company’s Mesa facility in the US …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  S-100 integrated with PT-8 Oceanwatch

  2nd May 2018

  The PT-8 Oceanwatch payload has been integrated into the Camcopter S-100 UAS, Schiebel announced on 2 May. PT-8 Oceanwatch is a small target detection payload …

• Defence Helicopter

  DefExpo 2018: India approves Ka-226T configuration

  11th April 2018

  On the opening day of the DefExpo exhibition in Chennai, India approved the technical configuration of the 200 Kamov Ka-226T helicopters that it will buy …

• Naval Warfare

  China plans live-fire exercise in Taiwan Strait

  12th April 2018

  China announced plans on 12 April to hold live-fire naval drills in the narrow strait separating the mainland from Taiwan, an act that could ratchet …

• Land Warfare

  US prepares for interim air defence on Stryker in 2020

  9th April 2018

  Industry is preparing to pitch prototypes for the US Army's interim Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD) programme, with plans to integrate technology onto a Stryker …

• Defence Notes

  Saudi Arabia downs Yemeni rebel missile

  27th April 2018

  Saudi Arabia's air defences on 27 April intercepted a missile fired by Yemeni rebels, days after the insurgents' second-in-command was killed in an air raid …

• Defence Helicopter

  Boeing CH-47 to be offered with R&D SDAR

  27th April 2018

  Boeing has signed an agreement with Rohde & Schwarz (R&S;) to offer the R&S; next-generation software-defined airborne radio for H-47 Chinook helicopters, Boeing announced on …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Bell to demo Autonomous POD Transport to US military

  2nd May 2018

  Bell is preparing to show off a new UAS capable of ferrying medical supplies, food or even weapons to troops in remote locations. Under development …

• Digital Battlespace

  German, Dutch armies look to deepen C4I integration

  17th April 2018

  Cooperation between Dutch and German armies looks set to deepen further as both countries explore ways of increasing interoperability in key areas such as communications …

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 ...