• Naval Warfare

  Ocean waves farewell to UK Royal Navy service

  27th March 2018

  The UK Royal Navy’s former helicopter carrier HMS Ocean was decommissioned in a ceremony at Devonport naval base on 27 March, bringing an end to 20 …

• Land Warfare

  UOP fulfills Thailand’s Oplot tank order

  30th March 2018

  Ukroboronprom (UOP) has completed production of Oplot-T main battle tanks for the Royal Thai Army, the company announced on 26 March. The combat vehicles have …

• Defence Helicopter

  Ukraine developing flexible fuel tanks for Mi-24

  24th April 2018

  UkrOboronProm is working on a Ukrainian project to produce flexible fuel tanks for the Mi-24 helicopter, the company announced on 20 April.UkrOboronProm has teamed with …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment expands Puma UAS family

  3rd April 2018

  AeroVironment has introduced a new version of its Puma UAS, the Puma 3 small UAS, at the AUSA Global Force Symposium 2018. The new UAS …

• Defence Notes

  Saudi intercepts ‘ballistic missile’ fired by Yemeni rebels

  20th April 2018

  Saudi air defences intercepted a ‘ballistic missile’ fired by Yemeni rebels at the kingdom's southern coastal city of Jizan, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the rebels …

• Defence Notes

  Ukraine offers to provide NATO with cargo aircraft

  27th April 2018

  Ukraine's state-run Antonov Airlines has said it is willing to provide more cargo planes to NATO after a Russian company said it would halt its …

• Defence Notes

  US troop withdrawal not linked to Korean peace pact

  2nd May 2018

  South Korean President Moon Jae-in has dismissed claims that US troops stationed in the country would have to leave if a peace treaty was signed …

• Defence Notes

  China to hold military drills in Taiwan Strait

  18th April 2018

  China was scheduled to hold live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait on 18 April, flexing its military muscle after warning Taipei about seeking independence or …

• Military Logistics

  New facility for RAF’s P-8 Poseidon fleet

  24th April 2018

  Work has begun at RAF Lossiemouth on a new £132 million facility which will be home to the UK’s new Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) …

• Digital Battlespace

  AUSA Global: Army cultivating EW and cyber skills in Asia-Pacific

  27th March 2018

  The US Army is standing up a multi-domain, prototyping task force in the Asia-Pacific region to hone EW and cyber skills. During a 26 March …

• Defence Notes

  Syria strikes kill 26 fighters, mostly Iranians: monitor

  30th April 2018

  Missile strikes overnight in central Syria killed at least 26 pro-regime fighters, most of them Iranians, a monitor said on 30 April. The Syrian Observatory …

• Digital Battlespace

  Chemring wins orders from UK MoD

  23rd April 2018

  Chemring Group has won contracts worth £23 million from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), the company announced on 19 April. The orders cover countermeasures …

• Digital Battlespace

  Blighter books Indian Blighter order

  26th April 2018

  Blighter Surveillance Systems has received a contract for its Blighter B400 series E-scan micro Doppler ground surveillance radars from India’s Tata Power Company, Blighter announced …

• Defence Helicopter

  Quad A 2018: BAE wins missile warning contract

  26th April 2018

  BAE Systems has secured a contract worth up to $97.9 million to develop a missile warning system that will protect US Army aviation pilots and …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Airbus Helicopters, Schiebel demo MUM-T

  27th April 2018

  Airbus Helicopters and Schiebel have demonstrated Manned Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) capabilities between an H145 helicopter and Camcopter S-100 UAS, Airbus announced on 24 April.The flights …

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 ...