• Digital Battlespace

  Australia awards Defence Innovation Hub contracts

  26th January 2018

  The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) has announced the latest tranche of Defence Innovation Hub contracts totalling $13.4 million. The five innovation contracts include a …

• Defence Notes

  Russian warplane flies within metres of US jet

  30th January 2018

  A Russian fighter jet flew perilously close to a US Navy reconnaissance plane over the Black Sea on 30 January, officials said, a manoeuvre the …

• Land Warfare

  EO/IR Special Report: Asian armies sensitive to vehicle EO/IR needs

  12th February 2018

  Demand for vehicle-based EO/IR systems for surveillance and observation operations is increasing rapidly across the Asia-Pacific region. Following North America, the region is anticipated to …

• Military Logistics

  Elbit to provide TLS services to ADF

  29th January 2018

  Elbit Systems of Australia has received a $150 million contract from the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) to provide through life support (TLS) services for …

• Defence Notes

  Singapore Airshow 2018: F-35B makes it debut (video)

  29th January 2018

  The USMC first entered the Asia Pacific region with its F-35B 12 months ago when the next generation fighter arrived at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in …

• Defence Helicopter

  Singapore Airshow 2018: Philippine Air Force purchases 412EPI

  6th February 2018

  A major announcement emanating from Bell Helicopter at Singapore Airshow 2018 on 6 February covered a long-expected purchase agreement for 16 Bell 412EPI helicopters for …

• Defence Helicopter

  Unmanned Systems 2018: US Army looking to accelerate FVL

  8th February 2018

  US Army leaders are examining ways to speed up the development and fielding for their Future Vertical Lift (FVL) programme by several years. Funding to …

• Defence Helicopter

  Columbia Helicopters consolidate airlift support

  6th February 2018

  Columbia Helicopters has received a modified contract from the US Transportation Command for rotary-wing airlift support. The work will be performed in Afghanistan and focus …

• Military Logistics

  Canada’s Asterix ship achieves FOC

  2nd February 2018

  The Royal Canadian Navy’s (RCN) Asterix support ship has achieved full operational capability (FOC) following the completion of testing, Davie Shipbuilding and Federal Fleet Services …

• Defence Notes

  Spain to boost defence spending

  25th January 2018

  Spain is planning to boost defence spending by 73% to $22 billion by 2024, an announcement that sparked outrage among opposition MPs who say social …

• Defence Helicopter

  Singapore Airshow 2018: India plans ballistic protection for under-fire helicopters

  29th January 2018

  India is looking at the procurement and installation of lightweight fibre-based armour plating in the cargo compartments of seven Mi-17V-5 helicopters under a national competitive …

• Defence Notes

  Russia dismisses evidence of Iran-made missiles to Yemen

  31st January 2018

  Russia on 31 January dismissed evidence presented by the US and UN experts that Iran had supplied missiles to Yemen's Houthi rebels as inconclusive, signalling …

• Defence Helicopter

  Airbus fires laser-guided rockets from H145M

  2nd February 2018

  Airbus Helicopters has demonstrated the ability to fire 70mm laser-guided rockets (LGR) from its H145M helicopter, the company announced on 31 January. The firings of …

• Digital Battlespace

  UK to launch new radar against 'severe' Russian threat

  27th January 2018

  Britain's defence minister Gavin Williamson said a new radar off Scotland's Shetland Islands would help tackle the 'severe and real' threat from Moscow. In a …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DeTect showcases Harrier system at MFIX

  2nd February 2018

  DeTect has demonstrated its Harrier counter-UAS system at the US Army’s Maneuver Fires Integrated Experiment, the company announced on 25 January. Originally built to protect …

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 ...

• 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 ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A330 MRTT Follow-On [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 ...

• Main battle 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 ...

• Main battle 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 - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Penguin C VTOL [Croatia]

  Background Announcment Redwire Corporation announced on 12 November 2025 that its wholly owned subsidiary, Edge Autonomy, had been contracted to deliver the Penguin C VTOL ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Main battle 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 - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  UAV Tactical Level [Norway]

  Background Request for Information (RfI) In September 2022, the Norwegian Defence Material Agency (NDMA) launched a request for information in preparation for a possible procurement ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Capa-X

  The Capa-X is a VTOL-capable fixed-wing drone from Survey Copter, a subsidiary of Airbus. The drone has been linked with France's Système de Drone Tactique Léger (SDTL) ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  Tryzub Laser

  Ukraine's Tryzub (Trident) laser was revealed during the European Defence Industry: Prospects for Cooperation with the Ukrainian Defence Industry conference in 2025. Video footage from ...

• 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 ...