• Naval Warfare

  Type 076 apparition emerges from the Chinese mist

  29th July 2020

  Speculation has been rife on the internet about an innovative new class of ship for the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN): a landing helicopter dock …

• Naval Warfare

  IAI completes LORA firing trial

  3rd June 2020

  Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) announced on 2 June that it has completed a dual operational firing trial of its Long-Range Artillery Weapon System (LORA). The …

• Defence Helicopter

  Honeywell and US Army to test next-gen Chinook engine

  5th June 2020

  Honeywell and the US Army have signed an agreement to demonstrate and trial its upgraded T55-GA-714C engine on the heavy-lift CH-47 Chinook helicopter. The latest …

• Land Warfare

  Nemo could find a home on US Army mortar carriers

  19th May 2020

  Patria is to conduct a joint feasibility study with the US Army into whether the Finnish company’s Nemo 120mm turreted mortar can be integrated into …

• Digital Battlespace

  Leonardo set for BriteCloud 55-T tests despite COVID complications

  22nd May 2020

  Leonardo’s US electronics division plans to test the latest variant of its BriteCloud expendable active decoy (EAD), which is designed to equip large fixed-wing military …

• Defence Notes

  COVID-19 propels reforms in Indian defence production

  19th May 2020

  Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced more measures to boost self-sufficiency in defence production, among them raising from 49% to 74% the foreign direct investment …

• Special Operations

  Software acquisition rises in importance for USSOCOM

  15th May 2020

  US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) will officially stand up a new Program Executive Office (PEO) on 1 June to support programmes of record with software …

• Digital Battlespace

  Saab hails X-band AESA trial

  24th April 2020

  Saab completed the first flight trial of its new X-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) fighter radar on 8 April. The company stated on 24 …

• Naval Warfare

  Russia’s newest frigate travels to Baltic Sea for final trial

  10th April 2020

  The newest frigate to join the Russian Navy’s Northern Fleet, Project 22350 Admiral Kasatonov (pictured), has passed through the Great Belt Strait as it travels …

• Military Logistics

  South Korea orders next-gen tactical trucks

  16th April 2020

  On 13 April, it was announced that Kia Motors in South Korea had been awarded a KRW1.7 trillion ($1.36 billion) contract to provide new 2.5t …

• Land Warfare

  US tests common hypersonic glide vehicle

  20th March 2020

  The US Army and US Navy on 19 March successfully joint tested a hypersonic glide body during a trial carried out at the Pacific Missile …

• Training

  UK trials platoon collective VR - again

  12th March 2020

  Following last year’s VR in Land Training (VRLT) trials, conducted by the British Army between January and May in conjunction with BISim, the UK MoD …

• Naval Warfare

  MBDA succeeds in first trial firing of Sea Venom

  6th March 2020

  MBDA has carried out its first qualification firing trial for the Sea Venom/ANL anti-ship missile. The test was carried out at the DGA Essais de …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Indian Army loiters with intent

  17th March 2020

  The Indian Army released a global RfI on 6 March for approximately 100 man-portable loitering munitions that possess a line-of-sight range of at least 15km. …

• Military Logistics

  Australian Army to trial 3D printing

  24th February 2020

  The Australian Army is set to trial new 3D printing technology already being used by the Royal Australian Navy. A partnership between the Australian Department …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Project Vixen [UK]

  Programme Background Project Goal The Royal Navy uses Leonardo crewed Merlin (AW101) helicopters fitted with CROWSNEST pods to provide airborne early warning capabilities for carriers. An early ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Akinci [Pakistan]

  Programme Background 'Brotherly Ties'  On 14 January 2022, the Pakistan government unveiled its first-ever National Security Policy. As reported by Shephard, the policy emphasised 'brotherly ties' with ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) Project [Japan]

  Programme Background Requirement The Japanese Coast Guard (JCG) operated a few dozen Chinese-made UAVs that conducted SAR and surveillance activities. The drones performed well and ...

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

  Camcopter S-100 [Greece]

  Programme Background Trails A 2 August 2021 Schiebel press release announced the company had demonstrated the Camcopter S-100's capabilities to the Hellenic Navy. The UAV was ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPVs) [India]

  Programme Background Requirements The units will perform multi-role support functions such as maritime surveillance& patrol, launching/recovery of torpedoes and operation of various types of aerial, ...

• APCs/IFVs - 4x4, Reconnaissance/patrol vehicles

  Multi-Role Vehicle (Protected) (MRV-P) Package 1 (UK)

  Programme Background Requirement The MRV-P programme was intended to procure replacements for a diverse fleet of 4x4 and 6x6 vehicles purchased during the wars in Iraq ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  RQ-7B Shadow v2 Block III (USA)

  Programme Background The first iteration of the Shadow UAS, the Shadow 600, was first introduced in 1992 and since then Textron has had a longstanding ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  DEF129 Small UAS Plus [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement The army wanted up to 17 SUAS+ systems with a life of six years. The tender said the UAV would be issued ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Hermes 900 StarLiner [Switzerland]

  Programme Background Contract Information In September 2015, under the Reconnaissance Drone System 15 (ADS 15), the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (VBS) awarded ...

• APCs/IFVs - 4x4

  4x4 Armoured Vehicle [Estonia]

  Programme Background The Estonian military wants to replace its fleet of soft-skin troop transports with 4x4 and 6x6 armoured vehicles. This will improve the survivability ...

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munitions (Forecast) [Germany]

  Programme Background Three Systems In April 2023, Germany reportedly ordered three different loitering munition systems to further assess their suitability for use by the German Armed ...

• APCs/IFVs - 4x4

  4x4 Armoured Vehicle (Unknown)

  Programme Background The Estonian military wants to replace its fleet of soft-skin troop transports with 4x4 and 6x6 armoured vehicles. This will improve the survivability ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  V-Bat 128 (Canada)

  Programme Background Requirement Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) is seeking a platform for the CCG that will significantly expand its surveillance range during search ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Heavy IFV [Poland]

  Programme Background Requirement Due to the perceived threat from Russia and the conflict in Ukraine, Poland has accelerated and expanded its plans to modernise its ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  TAPAS BH-201 [India]

  Programme Background Requirements As of late 2023, the Indian tri-service plan was reportedly to acquire 155 indigenously produced MALE UAVs alongside 31 MQ-9B drones from General Atomics (GA-ASI), ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UGVs

  Mission Master XT

  Part of Rheinmetall's Mission Master family, The Mission Mater Extreme Terrain, or Mission Master XT, is a rugged UGV designed to accompany troops in challenging environments ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Tigon

  Hanwha Defense Systems selected DSA 2018 in Kuala Lumpur as the location to unveil its Tigon 6x6 armoured wheeled vehicle. The company conducted a fortnight-long ...

• Matternet M2

  The Matternet M2 quadcopter UAV has been certified by the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation for full logistics operations over cities. The platform is ...

• Special operations vehicles

  VOS-APP

  The Arquus VOS-APP is a 6x6 support vehicle currently under trial with the French SOF. Acting as a replacement for the 1970s-vintage ACMAT VLRA, the VOS-APP is the ...

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

  KUS-VT tiltrotor

  The KUS-VT is a tiltrotor UAV that first flew in October 2013 and was exhibited at ADEX 2013. The aircraft is designed to have a ...

• Armoured engineer vehicles

  M1150 ABV

  The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) project, launched by the USMC in 2002, is a joint programme to meet the requirements of both the US ...

• 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-launched ASW torpedoes, Ship-launched torpedoes, Submarine-launched torpedoes

  MU90

  The MU90 is a lightweight torpedo manufactured in collaboration between Leonardo, Naval Group and Thales. It is a fire-and-forget torpedo that can be launched from ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Mojave

  Unveiled in December 2021, the Mojave is a MALE UAV in development by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI). It is based on the avionics and flight control ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Archer

  The Archer is a short-range UAV being developed for India by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).  Based on the Rustom I and inspired by Bayrakar's ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Flamingo Mk3

  The Flamingo Mk3 entered production in July 2017 and is based on the Flamingo Mk2. The Mk3 has been designed to provide a 65% increase ...

• Air: Electronic Attack - Jamming

  Miysis DIRCM

  Leonardo’s Miysis Directed Infrared Countermeasure (DIRCM) system provides high power, all aspect protection against modern and legacy Infrared Man-Portable Air Defence Systems (IR MANPADS) for ...

• Loitering munitions

  Mace

  Mace is a loitering munition developed by UAC, a Czech-Ukrainian company that is a subsidiary of DeViro. The electric-powered, catapult-launched UAV can host various warheads, including HEAT, thermobaric and ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  United 40 Block-5

  The United 40 was unveiled at the Dubai Airshow 2011 and is a MALE UAV with a twin-wing configuration and a hybrid turbine-electric engine. The ...

• Mine-protected vehicles

  Phantom 380-X1

  The Phantom 380-X1 is a 4x4 multipurpose armoured vehicle produced by Thailand's Panus. It is powered by a six-cylinder turbo engine with an undercarriage capable ...