• Defence Helicopter

  CH-53K arrives in Germany

  4th April 2018

  A Sikorsky CH-53K heavy lift helicopter has arrived in Holzdorf, Germany, for its international debut at the ILA Berlin Air Show 2018, Lockheed Martin announced …

• Defence Notes

  US stands by Afghans after deadly day for journalists

  1st May 2018

  Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday the US would stand by the Afghan people and the Kabul government, a day after attacks killed dozens of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2018: SkyRaider gets first public outing ahead of further demonstrations

  30th April 2018

  Aeryon Defense looks to have stolen a march on the competition at AUVSI’s Xponential in Colorado with the first public unveiling of its new Group …

• Defence Helicopter

  Insight: Indian helicopter dreams produce nightmares

  25th April 2018

  The Indian military’s seemingly endless pursuit of new helicopters is a sorry tale of woe for both the armed forces and for foreign OEMs wanting …

• Military Logistics

  Study underway to examine US mobility requirements

  1st April 2018

  United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), together with the Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation organisation within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, have begun a …

• Defence Helicopter

  Insight: Assessing the US Navy TH-57 replacement contenders

  23rd April 2018

  The US Navy’s Advanced Helicopter Training System (AHTS) programme will see the service replace its current Bell TH-57 Sea Ranger fleet with 105 new aircraft. 

• Defence Notes

  British Red Arrows jet crashes near air base

  20th March 2018

  A British military jet used in the Red Arrows aerobatic display team crashed on Tuesday at a base in Wales, the Ministry of Defence said. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Roboteam lets loose flying robot

  23rd April 2018

  Roboteam has completed the design phase of its new flight-capable UGV and several customers within the US Department of Defense (DoD) are lined up, the …

• Land Warfare

  JLTV testing completes in California

  23rd April 2018

  The US Army and Marine Corps has completed testing of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in …

• Defence Helicopter

  German heavy-lift programme growing in support

  27th April 2018

  German industry partners to be used for the country's heavy-lift helicopter competition are increasing across both platforms as the two participant OEMs hedge their bets on the selection …

• Defence Helicopter

  Mexico requests MH-60R helicopters

  23rd April 2018

  The US State Department has made a determination approving a potential foreign military sale of MH-60R helicopters to Mexico, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced …

• Naval Warfare

  Thales’ Goalkeeper completes sea acceptance trials

  23rd March 2018

  The Royal Netherlands Navy’s first updated Goalkeeper close-in weapon system has successfully completed its sea acceptance trials, Thales announced on 20 March. Trials were performed …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Hensoldt exhibits Xpeller Rapid at ILA 2018

  25th April 2018

  Hensoldt has introduced a compact and deployable version of its Xpeller counter-UAS system called the Xpeller Rapid.Xpeller Rapid can be integrated into a vehicle or …

• Military Logistics

  Marine Corps seeks lighter machine gun ammo

  1st May 2018

  The US Marine Corps is exploring industry capabilities to provide a new lightweight .50 Caliber cartridge that will offer weight savings over currently fielded cartridges.The …

• Defence Helicopter

  Saudi Arabia requests continuation of MSS contract

  26th March 2018

  The US State Department has made a determination approving a potential foreign military sale to Saudi Arabia of continued maintenance support services (MSS), the Defense …

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 ...