• Defence Notes

  I/ITSEC 2023: How wide is the gap between the US and China’s capabilities?

  29th November 2023

  While Washington sees Beijing as its most comprehensive and serious challenger, the Jinping administration has been taking the lead in R&D within certain domains.

• Naval Warfare

  Boeing bullish about further P-8 sales in Singapore

  22nd February 2024

  The Singapore Airshow 2024 exhibitor cited the P-8 Poseidon’s maturity, established supply chain and large user base as the platform’s major selling points, with Singapore requirements and follow-on orders from India to be targeted.

• Land Warfare

  US Missile Defense Agency’s budget could be cut by $2.6 billion over the next three years

  20th April 2024

  The reduction would impact several acquisition and development programmes, creating capabilities gaps in US missile defence architecture.

• Land Warfare

  Estonia builds up defences by strengthening its CV90 fleet

  25th January 2024

  Estonia has been enhancing its defence capabilities by acquiring and upgrading various armoured vehicles including the CV90 infantry fighting vehicle, the Otokar Arma (6x6) armoured personnel carrier (APC) and the Nurol Makina NMS (4x4) armoured vehicle.

• Training

  How generative AI can improve military training

  3rd January 2024

  Using generative AI for military training can provide advantages such as analysing adversaries' behaviour and predicting their strategies.

• Defence Notes

  US FY2024 funding package passes as China closes military capability gap

  26th March 2024

  The Pentagon has been operating under temporary funding since October 2023, which has impacted its main acquisition and development programmes, increasing the capability gap between the US and China.

• Defence Notes

  Aging infrastructure is endangering US military’s capacity to innovate

  26th February 2024

  The US’s ability to prepare for future conflicts had been placed at risk with many Pentagon laboratories and testing centres being housed in poorly maintained and aging structures.

• Land Warfare

  Supacat pushes Jackal base for different vehicle types and develops new variants

  2nd February 2024

  The Jackal 3, the latest version of the vehicle in service with the British Army, may be heavier but it has improved capability and ergonomics.

• Training

  Simulated M4 carbine addition to XR platform declared as ‘major leap forward’

  23rd November 2023

  HGXR and Haptech have teamed up to create a realistic virtual military training system that uses a simulated M4 carbine with recoil and data capture features.

• Land Warfare

  Thales’ personal EW system Storm 2 set for 2025 launch

  15th December 2023

  Information on Storm 2 was first revealed by Shephard in May last year when the primary focus of the system was counter-IED. The concepts of operation for the system have since changed .

• Land Warfare

  How soldier centred-design requirements will reshape future US Army’s capabilities

  7th December 2023

  The service has plans in place to involve soldiers in the early stages of acquisition and development programmes in addition to conducting more soldier touchpoint events.

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2023: GMS demos AI-powered X9 Spider manpack

  19th October 2023

  General Micro Systems' solution merges battlefield processing of video, sensors, data and comms with mobile artificial intelligence capabilities.

• Land Warfare

  Pentagon runs out of funds to support Ukraine

  11th January 2024

  DoD authorities have been urging the US Congress to approve the national security supplemental request to ensure future donations to Kyiv.

• Land Warfare

  AUKUS members seek solutions to integrate their ground capabilities

  25th March 2024

  The three countries plan to explore technologies to strengthen their collaboration in various land-related areas including artificial intelligence, autonomy, cyber, EW, hypersonic, quantum computing and logistics.

• Defence Notes

  A full year of continuing resolutions would be ‘devastating’ for defence plans, warns US senator

  8th December 2023

  The chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations alerted that a full year of continuing resolutions would force the Pentagon to freeze 330 new programmes including the B-21 stealth bomber, C3BM developments and shipbuilding projects.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  VCR (Spain - Second Batch)

  Programme Background Purpose The VCR programme is to replace several legacy wheeled and tracked vehicles currently in service with the Spanish Army including the BMR-600 6x6, ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  VCR (Spain - Third Batch)

  Programme Background Purpose The VCR programme is to replace several legacy wheeled and tracked vehicles currently in service with the Spanish Army including the BMR-600 ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  VCR (Spain - First Batch)

  Programme Background Purpose The VCR programme is to replace several legacy wheeled and tracked vehicles currently in service with the Spanish Army including the BMR-600 6x6, ...

• Tanks

  Al-Khalid-I

  Programme Background Pakistan operates a vast fleet of Chinese and Ukrainian MBTs primarily aimed at deterring regional rivals such as India. In order to build ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  San Antonio LPD 17 Flight I [USN]

  The LPD 17 Flight I ships are the first flight of the San Antonio-class Landing Platform Docks (LPD). Procured between FY1996 and FY2017, the vessels ...

• Tanks

  Arjun Mark-II

  Programme Background While original plans envisioned the production of up to 250 Arjun Mk IIs, the programme's many delays have prompted the Indian Army to ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  New Exploration and Escort Helicopter (NEES) (Phase II) [Italy]

  Programme Background Phase I In 2017, the Italian government signed a contract with Leonardo to replace its fleet of AW129 Mangusta attack helicopters with the ...

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

  Wing Loong I-D [Eygpt]

  Programme Background Context According to SIPRI, 10 Wing Loong I UAVs were acquired from China in 2016, with deliveries occurring from 2016 to 2018. The Chinese Sohu newspaper reported that ...

• Submarines: conventional, attack

  KSS-III (Boats 1-3) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Timeline The new KSS-III Dosan Ahn Chang-Ho-class submarines for the Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN) are a significant advance on the earlier KSS-II ...

• Tanks

  Al-Khalid-II

  Programme Background Pakistan operates a vast fleet of Chinese and Ukrainian MBTs primarily aimed at deterring regional rivals such as India. In order to build ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) (Phase II) [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement The Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) provides short-range day and night ISR to US Army units at the squad, platoon and other small ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) (Phase II) [USA]

  In 2018, the US Army selected the FLIR Systems Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance System (PRS) for Phase I of its Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) programme. ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) (Phase II) [USA]

  In 2018, the US Army selected the FLIR Systems Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance System (PRS) for Phase I of its Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) programme. ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  PKX-B Batch II (1-4) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Contracts Award On 24 November 2022, HJ Heavy Industries was awarded a contract worth KRW212 billion ($160 million) to build four PKX-B Batch-II fast attack ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  PKX-B Batch II (9-22) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Contracts Award On 24 November 2022, HJ Heavy Industries was awarded a contract worth KRW212 billion ($160 million) to build four PKX-B Batch-II ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  ITAS-TESS

  The Improved Target Acquisition System – Tactical Engagement Simulation System (ITAS-TESS) is a laser-based system designed to conduct simulated weapons engagement during crew and collective ...

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  Field Artillery Training Systems

  The ICE Field Artillery Training Systems for the M109A6 Paladin and M270/M270A1 MLRS provides instrumented real-time data and performance monitoring during training and live-fire missions. ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  TESS

  The Tactical Engagement Simulation System (TESS) is a transparent training instrumentation system designed for the AH-64 Apache Longbow Force-on-Force collective training for live aerial gunnery ...

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  MANWORN II DPU

  The MANWORN II Dismounted Player Unit (DPU) is a flexible position location tracking system suitable for individual through brigade-level training. MANWORN II DPU features GPS ...

• Land: vehicle simulators

  LETS

  The US Army maintains a large fleet of locomotives and rail vehicles throughout the US to facilitate the movement of equipment and supplies and provides ...

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  SMODIM

  ICE's Smart Onboard Data Interface Module (SMODIM) integrates with aircraft and ground vehicles to provide collective force-on-force participation and weapons systems training. SMODIM is the ...

• Air: mission management systems

  I-C2F

  The Integrated Command and Control Framework (I-C2F) provides an end-to-end C2 architecture delivering J1-J9 functionality across the joint battlespace. As well as C2 messaging and ...

• Sea: tactical training

  Sub Command

  Sub Command was developed by Sonalysts, released in 2001, and published by Electronic Arts. Sub Command continues the legacy of 688(I) Hunter/Killer. The player takes ...

• Military UGVs

  TMR-I MTF

  The Elektroland TMR-I MTF is the larger of the TMR-I platforms offered by the company at twice the weight of the TMR-I Khan (see separate ...

• Military - UUVs

  K-Ster I

  K-Ster I is a lightweight, self-propelled ROV developed for mine warfare applications. K-Ster I is easy to deploy from any type of naval platform, including ...

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

  Carcará I

  Carcará I is a simple flying-wing UAV developed to meet Brazilian Army specifications for an unmanned platform to provide tactical reconnaissance at platoon level. A ...

• Air: mission management systems

  I-TaCCS

  Integrated Tactical Command and Control Services (I-TaCCS) is a secure, scalable C2 system. Core applications of I-TaCCS are used by several countries, allowing interoperability within ...

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

  Skylark I-eVTOL

  The Skylark I-eVTOL is, as its name suggests, an electric-powered VTOL capable development of the Skylark I. Manufactured by Elbit Systems, the drone can be controlled ...

• Destroyers

  Udaloy II Class (Project 1155.1)

  The Udaloy II class (Project 1155.1) destroyer in service with the Russian Navy is a follow-on of the original Udaloy I-class but is more of an ...

• Land: air defence radar

  MSSR-2000-I

  In terms of performance, the MSSR-2000-I family (Monopulse Secondary Surveillance Radar 2000-I) has an instrumented range of up to 613km, and can detect up to ...