Land Warfare

Arquus wins French fuel tanker order

17th May 2024

Arquus will develop three versions of the 8x8 tanker, a large armoured tanker and two smaller tankers, one protected and one unprotected.

Naval Warfare

US Navy places small boat order worth up to $290 million

17th May 2024

The Metal Shark 40 Defiant, a 40-foot, welded-aluminium pilothouse monohull patrol boat, features ballistic protection and can be armed with a range of remotely operated and crew-served weapons systems. The ReconCraft 40ft patrol boat is similar and offers waterjet, outboard and inboard/outboard propulsion.

Air Warfare

Belgian F-35A completes first flight

17th May 2024

The Belgian Air Force’s first F-35A Lightning II has taken flight, showcasing the national flag, with the first force’s first four F-35As set to head to Luke AFB for initial training amid software upgrade delays.

Naval Warfare

US and Japan sign collaborative agreement on Glide Phase Interceptor

16th May 2024

Japan and the US will aim to strengthen regional deterrence while enhancing long-standing missile defence cooperation through developing a Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI).

Naval Warfare

Babcock to support design of Swedish Navy’s new Luleå-class surface combatant

16th May 2024

It is believed the Luleå-class will be about 100m-long and displace about 3,000–4,000 tonnes. The ships will be designed to operate in the Baltics, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and will incorporate capabilities to conduct AAW, ASuW and ASW operations.

Air Warfare

US Navy’s plan to replace fleet of MH60s moves forward

16th May 2024

The US Navy’s Future Vertical Lift (Maritime Strike) has been an effort to recapitalise Sikorsky MH-60R/S naval helicopters which have an out-of-service date in the late-2030s.

Uncrewed Vehicles

UK’s EW UAS-jammer set for field testing

16th May 2024

The Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon (RFDEW) will be able to impact targets such as UAS up to 1km away by beaming radio waves to disrupt or damage critical electronic components.

Air Warfare

Heron TP flies over Germany for the first time

15th May 2024

The Heron TP is a multi-role, advanced, long-range MALE UAS. It is faster, larger and higher flying than the Heron Mk 1 on which it is based and has been equipped with automatic taxi-takeoff and landing systems, satellite communication for extended range and fully redundant avionics.

Air Warfare

GA-ASI to develop new ABAD pod for MQ-9A

15th May 2024

A collaboration between General Atomics and US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) will seek to equip the MQ-9A Reaper with enhanced threat detection and protection against Radio Frequency and Infrared threats.

Air Warfare

Romania approved for $340 million Sidewinder purchase

15th May 2024

The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a short-range air-to-air missile (AAM). The heat-seeking AIM-9X Block 1 Sidewinder, the most widely used AAM on US and allied fighter aircraft, can also be mounted on helicopters.

Military UAS - MALE

Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

Programme Background Requirement The FVL-MS programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft utilised ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

Light Utility Transformative Vertical Lift (TVL) / Large ULS-A [USMC]

Programme Background US Marine ULS-A programmes The US Marines are seeking a family of Unmanned Logistics Systems-Air (ULS-A), which will provide logistics and ground units with ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) [USA]

Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) will provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It is intended to ...

Tiltrotors

V-22 Osprey [Japan]

Programme Background Procurement Contracts The Japanese government is the first export customer of the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey, having ordered 17 helicopters from the US across ...

Military helicopters - multirole

Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) [USA]

Programme Background US Army's Future Vertical Lift Programme The FLRAA is one of three strands of a broader army programme. The others are the Future ...

Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

Heavy Lift VTOL (HVTOL) (Forecast) [US Army]

Programme Background USMC In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, which had been specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Joint Tactical Autonomous ...

Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

CH-47F Chinook

As the Army's only heavy-lift helicopter, the CH-47F Improved Cargo helicopter is an essential component of the Army's Multi-Domain Battle framework. The CH-47F and MH-47G ...

Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

Heavy-lift Helicopter STH (Germany)

Programme Background The German government issued a tender in March 2019 for the procurement of heavy-lift helicopters under the Schwerer Transporthubschrauber (STH) program, 60 units are ...

Military UAS - MALE, Military UAS - rotary-wing

MQ-8C Fire Scout (USA)

Programme Background Timeline According to the Naval Air Systems Command, having first ordered the MQ-8B in 2009, the UAV has become a pillar of the ...

Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial Resupply System (JTAARS) / Medium ULS-A [USMC]

Programme Background US Marine ULS-A programmes The US Marines are seeking a family of Unmanned Logistics Systems-Air (ULS-A), which will provide logistics and ground units with ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

ALTIUS (US)

Programme Background Testing The US Army has tested the platform since March 2020. It was launched from a US Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter that ...

Landing craft and hovercraft

Littoral Manoeuvre Vessel - Heavy (Project Land 8710 Phase 2) [Australia]

Programme Background Requirements Under Project Land 8710 Phase 2, Australia is seeking to acquire an undisclosed number of Littoral Manoeuvre Vessels to replace the Balikpapan-class. The 2020 ...

Fighter - naval

F-35C Carrier Variant

The US Navy is planning to order 130 F-35Cs between FY2026 and FY2030 under the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. The purchase is estimated be ...

Military helicopters - multirole

UH-60M Black Hawk-USA

The UH-60M Black Hawk is a digitally networked platform with greater range and lift to support maneuver commanders through air assault, general support, command and ...

Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

Tactical Resupply Unmanned Aircraft System (TRUAS) / Small ULS-A (US)

Programme Background US Marine ULS-A programmes The US Marines are seeking a family of Unmanned Logistics Systems-Air (ULS-A), which will provide logistics and ground units with ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

V-247 Vigilant

The V-247 Vigilant is a tiltrotor UAV from Bell. Officially introduced in 2016, it features an open modular architecture and can host several payloads. These include ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

Aerosonde Mk 4.8 HQ FTUAS

From the Texton family of Aerosonde UAS, the Aerosonde Mk 4.8 Hybrid Quad (HQ) FTUAS is a tactical drone purpose-built to meet the US Army's Future Vertical Lift ...

Military helicopters - multirole

S-97 Raider

The S-97 Raider helicopter is based on the five-year, company-funded X2 Technology Demonstrator project. Like the X2, the S-97 Raider will feature twin coaxial, counter-rotating ...

Military helicopters - multirole

AVX JMR

AVX Aircraft proposed a compound helicopter with coaxial rotors, small wings and dual ducted-fan propulsors for the US Army’s JMR-TD FVL programme. In April 2015, ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

H6 Poseidon

Manufactured by Swarmly, the H6 Poseidon is a fixed-wing VTOL-capable UAV. The second largest member of the Poseidon family, the vertical lift is provided through ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

HQ-60

Similarly to other platforms in the L3 Technologies Hybrid Quadrotor (HQ) and Fixed-Wing Rotator family (see separate entries) of VTOL fixed-wing UAVs, the HQ-60 has ...

Air: Helmet-mounted displays

X-Sight

Elbit X-Sight is a developmental helmet-mounted display system designed for helicopters. According to the manufacturer, it will offer a high field of view and colour binocular ...

Military helicopters - multirole

Bell 360 Invictus

The Bell 360 Invictus is the company's prototype for the US Army's Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) programme.  The helicopter features retractable weapon bays, two ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

Veloce-15

The ST Engineering Veloce-15 (V-15) is a hybrid fixed-wing UAV with four rotors for vertical lift and a tail-mounted two-bladed pusher propeller for horizontal propulsion.  ...

Land: soldier modernisation systems - industry programmes

Warrior Systems

General Dynamics Mission Systems is prime contractor and system integrator for the US Army’s Warrior soldier systems, which include Air Warrior, Future Force Warrior, Land Warrior ...

Military helicopters - multirole, Tiltrotors

TR36TD

Karem Aircraft was one of four contenders for the US Army's JMR-TD, which is a precursor to the FVL project that will replace the UH-60 ...

Air: Integrated cockpit systems

Integrated Avionics Suite

Northrup Grumman's Integrated Avionics Suite is an open architecture mission equipment package, which can be deployed on a number of rotorcraft platforms. It consists of ...

Tiltrotors

V-280 Valor

Bell Helicopter Textron is developing the V-280 Valor tiltrotor for the JMR-TD FVL project. The US Army announced in August 2014 that Bell would be ...

Air: Displays

F-15 Replacement Vertical Situation Display

BAE Systems Replacement Vertical Situation Display (RVSD) replaces the legacy VSD units on F-15E aircraft. The AMLCD display offers a larger display size and is compatible ...

Baby Shark 260

The Foxtech Baby Shark 260 is a fixed-wing VTOL UAV for commercial and civil operations, which has four spar-mounted rotors to provide vertical lift, a pusher ...