• Digital Battlespace

  US awards CIRCM contract to Northrop

  1st September 2015

  Northrop Grumman has been awarded a $35.37 million contract by the US Army for a next-generation helicopter survivability system, beating out a bid from rival …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  China unveils ‘game-changing’ CH-5

  1st September 2015

  State television in China has revealed the existence of a new CH-5 UCAS, a new type of platform equipped with a sense-through-the-wall radar. China Central …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AEODRS Inc 2 set for EMD phase

  1st September 2015

  The US Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) has approved Milestone B for the Advance Explosive Ordnance Disposal Robotic System (AEODRS) Increment 2 tactical operations variant. …

• Land Warfare

  New Zealand downselects new rifle

  1st September 2015

  The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has selected a replacement rifle for the incumbent 5.56mm Steyr AUG A1 under the Individual Weapon Replacement programme. The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  FAA releases B4UFLY beta app

  1st September 2015

  The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has launched the beta version of the B4UFLY app for unmanned aerial system (UAS) operators, it announced on 28 …

• Naval Warfare

  P-8A Poseidon for RAAF ordered

  1st September 2015

  The US Navy has ordered 13 Full-Rate Production (FRP) Lot 2 P-8A Poseidon aircraft from Boeing Defense in a nearly $1.5 billion contract, it was …

• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop-led team outlines WGS proposal

  31st August 2015

  A Northrop Grumman-led team has submitted a proposal to the Australian government for utilisation of the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) system. The team also includes …

• Digital Battlespace

  DoD awards FHE manufacturing contract

  31st August 2015

  FlexTech Alliance has been awarded a cooperative agreement by the US Department of Defense (DoD) to establish and manage a Manufacturing Innovation Institute (MII) for …

• Naval Warfare

  CVN 72 begins steam system tests

  28th August 2015

  Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, has reintroduced steam to the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) aircraft carrier to allow final testing …

• Military Logistics

  USAF concerned over KC-46A delays

  28th August 2015

  Continuing delays to the maiden flight of the USAF’s next generation aerial tanker has increased concerns among Pentagon officials. This has prompted a revision of …

• Defence Helicopter

  Viper gains first export customer

  28th August 2015

  Pakistan continues to build up its attack helicopter capability and is now to receive new-build aircraft from the US, according to a contract awarded to …

• Naval Warfare

  AN/AQS-20A sonar set for improvements

  28th August 2015

  Raytheon and the US Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) are working to improve the capabilities of the US Navy’s AN/AQS-20A minehunting sonar, the company announced …

• Defence Notes

  AIM-9X fired from MML

  27th August 2015

  Raytheon and the US Army have successfully test fired an AIM-9X Block II missile from the Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment 2-I (IFPC 2-I) Block …

• Digital Battlespace

  Helinet deploys downlink for Suffolk police

  27th August 2015

  Helinet Technologies has deployed a customised microwave downlink solution for the aviation section of the Suffolk County Police Department in the state of New York, …

• Digital Battlespace

  KC-10 Extender programme milestone

  27th August 2015

  The US Air Force (USAF) received the 150th KC-10 Extender aerial refuelling tanker aircraft from a Northrop Grumman maintenance depot, the company announced on 26 …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - small

  Puma 3 AE (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Military Aid - $300 Million On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine to "bolster Urkaine's capacity ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1165 Special Ops HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HHMWV, or Humvee, has been in US service since 1983. The M1165A1B3 is a special operations variant of the platform.  In 2015, the US ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 300 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Presidential Drawdown (16 March 2022 & 13 April 2022) On 16 March 2022, President Biden announced $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine through ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank [US]

  Programme Background As IAI stated in a 19 January 2023 press release, it had been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract by the Irregular Warfare Technical Support ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 600 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background $300 Million USAI (1 April 2022) On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine following ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Puma LE [Kosovo]

  Background Contract Award On 21 January 2022, the US Department of Defence (DoD) announced that AeroVironment had been awarded an $11.01 million firm-fixed contract for Puma ...

• Loitering munitions

  ALTIUS-600M (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background On 24 February 2023, the US DoD announced that the Biden Administration had released an additional aid package under the Ukraine Security Assistance ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1152A1B2/M1165A1B3 HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HMMWV has been in US service since the 1980s. Despite the introduction of newer platforms, the US DoD continues to utilise the platform ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1165A1B3 HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HMMWV has been in US service since the 1980s. Despite the introduction of newer platforms, the US DoD continues to utilise the platform ...

• Loitering munitions

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Background Presidential Drawdown Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, on 21 April 2022, President Biden announced an $800 million Presidential Drawdown security ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS): Switchblade [US]

  Background DoD Contract On 27 August 2024, the US DoD announced that AeroVironment had been awarded a ceiling $990 million hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to provide “an ...

• Military UAS - small

  Puma 2 AE [Estonia]

  Programme Background The US DoD announced that it had awarded AeroVironment an $8.868 million firm-fixed-price contract to supply an undisclosed number of RQ-20B Puma AE ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-46A (3-6) [Japan]

  On 30 October 2020, the US DoD announced that it awarded a $342 million contract to Boeing for two Japanese KC-46A tanker aircraft. Work will be performed ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  ACV-30 PRTV [USA]

  Background The Armoured Combat Vehicle (ACV) programme is intended to provide a replacement for the USMC's fleet of Amphibious Assault Vehicle 7 (AAV7) tracked vehicles. ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  XQ-58A Valkyrie [USMC]

  Programme Background Contract Award On 30 December 2022, the US DoD announced that it had awarded Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems a $15.52 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Pistols

  M9

  M9 is the US DoD designation for the military-specification 9mm Beretta 92FS, selected in 1985 to replace the 45cal M1911A1 in US service. Sales to ...

• Crew-served grenade launchers

  Striker 40/MK47

  General Dynamics is systems integrator for the Striker 40 (MK47 AGL in US service). The complete system comprises the weapon, AN/PWG-1 Lightweight Video Sight and ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  AN/ARC-231 Skyfire

  The AN/ARC-231 Skyfire is an airborne VHF/UHF/LOS and DAMA SATCOM system. This system supports US DoD requirements for airborne, multi-band, multi-mission, secure anti-jam voice, data ...

• Air-to-air missiles

  9M39 Igla-V

  The 9M39 Igla-V (‘needle’) is a Russian IR homing SAM adapted for helicopter use. It is an air-launched version of the Igla MANPADS, which the ...

• Air: aerial targets

  BQM-177A/i

  The BQM-177A subsonic aerial target (SSAT) was designed for the USN, and the BQM-177i is the export variant. The BQM-177 provides realistic threat emulation for ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  Global Observer

  The AeroVironment Global Observer HALE UAV was a developmental HALE UAV designed for various civil, commercial and government applications.  Development of the platform began in 2007 ...

• Weapon sights for day use

  CompM4/M4s

  The US DoD has bought over one million Aimpoint sights since 1997. The US Army is now fielding the CompM4s as the latest version of ...

• Heavy machine guns

  M2HB

  US Ordnance is one of two US M2HB heavy machine gun manufacturers which has received multi-year contracts to supply weapons to the US DoD. The ...

• Core systems: image intensifiers

  XD-4 I2 Tube

  XD-4 tubes are available for US DoD NV devices such as the AN/PVS-5, 7, 14, 15, 17 and 18, the AN/AVS-6 and 9 and European ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M-ATV

  The Oshkosh 4x4 MRAP All-Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV) family of vehicles is designed to provide high levels of protection and mobility in off-road combat environments such ...

• EW test systems

  AN/USM-670A JSECST

  The Joint Service Electronic Combat Systems Tester (JSECST) is a platform-independent EW and RF system/cable tester, with core hardware and software that require 'no modifications' ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MD-1377 JIPM

  The MD-1377 Joint Internet Protocol Modem (JIPM) combines flexible satellite networking with information assurance capabilities to deliver secure, high-speed IP communications to military and government ...

• Transponders and IFF

  AN/APX-117/-118/-123/-124 IFF CXP

  Common Transponder (CXP) products incorporate the features required in today’s global military and civil ATC environments. Dependent on configuration, the CXP contains an M4/M5 crypto ...

• Data links

  TIGER

  The Tactical Data Link Integration Exerciser (TIGER) stimulates systems under test with tactical scenarios. Among TIGER’s capabilities is the abilities, it can simulate multiple tracks: ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Striker

  Striker is a visor-projected 24h helmet-mounted display (HMD) for fixed- and rotary-wing applications. The fixed-wing variant is in service on Eurofighter Typhoon and Saab Gripen ...