• 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.

• Land Warfare

  Japan orders three Mission Master UGVs

  8th April 2024

  Part of Rheinmetall's Mission Master family, the Mission Master Silent Partner (SP) is an eight-wheeled UGV designed to fulfil various logistics and battlefield support roles. Since 2017, several countries, including the UK, Netherlands and an undisclosed Middle Eastern country, have made purchases for trials and development purposes.

• Land Warfare

  Finland orders third batch of Leopard bridge vehicles

  19th December 2023

  Austria, which has been operating Leopard 2 MMBTs and Leopard 2L tracked bridge laying vehicles, will see the new Leopard 2Ls built on the country’s existing Leopard 2A4 tanks.

• Land Warfare

  Patria orders Kongsberg Protector’s for common APCs

  27th March 2024

  Patria developed the Patria 6x6 APC, unveiled at the June 2018 Eurosatory exhibition, as a successor to the XA-series Pasi APC and was selected for the Common Armoured Vehicle System (CAVS) programme.

• Land Warfare

  Germany orders more Patriot air defence systems

  26th March 2024

  The US Army has acquired more than 1,100 launchers of which it has exported at least 200 launchers, while more than 10,000 Patriot missiles have been produced to date.

• Air Warfare

  Boeing starts construction on first final assembly facility outside North America

  27th March 2024

  The site will manufacture the MQ-28 Ghost Bat, the first combat aircraft manufactured, engineered and designed in Australia in more than 50 years.

• Air Warfare

  Turkey inches closer to F-16 fighter deal

  4th March 2024

  The majority of US senators have declared their support for the sale of F-16s to Turkey despite concerns regarding the country’s past military behaviour, thereby emphasising the importance of the US in fulfilling its commitments to NATO allies and enhancing Turkey’s military capabilities.

• Training

  SkyAlyne awarded $8.2 billion contract for Canada’s Future Aircrew Training programme

  31st May 2024

  A multi-billion-dollar contract will see a joint initiative between CAE and KF Aerospace provide state-of-the-art aircrew training for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).

• Digital Battlespace

  China’s AI developments in electronic surveillance extends to battlefield

  8th March 2024

  ‘Nowhere to hide’ as Chinese progress in AI-enabled surveillance technological has enabled it to identify and suppress enemy communications systems.

• Defence Notes

  Haiti crisis forces Caribbean militaries to prepare for intervention

  12th March 2024

  As gangs gain control of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s Caribbean neighbours have been preparing to intervene in the failed state, with the US and other partners waiting in the wings with equipment and financial support.

• Land Warfare

  US Army seeks industry input to progress with the CPI2 programme

  17th November 2023

  The service issued a request for white papers to demonstrate interest in solutions that meet CPI2’s power and communication requirements.

• Air Warfare

  UK finalises Chinook heavy-lift helicopter deal following years of delays

  15th March 2024

  The UK MoD has finalized a deal for 14 new CH-47 Chinook helicopters after affordability concerns, citing cost reductions and critical reforms for smoother US procurement process.

• Defence Notes

  How UAE defence giant EDGE Group plans to double its exports

  24th April 2024

  The UAE defence conglomerate has put an aggressive strategy in place to increase its share of exports while navigating the growing gap between East and West.

• Land Warfare

  European Common Armoured Vehicle System picks up speed

  16th August 2024

  The Common Armoured Vehicle System (CAVS) programme is replacing vehicle types for three countries with Germany also considering it.

• Air Warfare

  V-22 Osprey cleared for flight but cause of fatal crash not disclosed

  12th March 2024

  V-22s have been cleared for flight three months after a fatal crash which led to a grounding but processes involved in the clearance mean it will be weeks or even months before full operations return.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  MQ-1 Gray Eagle [US Army]

  Programme Background Required Quantity Although the US Army first envisioned a requirement for 132 MQ-1C Gray Eagles, the US Army's Army Acquisition Objective (AAO) was ...

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

  Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) Warrior [India]

  Programme Background Make In India The 'Make In India' is an initiative by the Indian government to grow the domestic manufacturing industry. In the context ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8, APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Bulldog FV432 Mk 3 Replacement [UK]

  Programme Background Requirement Serving in several iterations since 1963, the FV432 Mk3 'Bulldog' remains operational and deployed as command vehicles, ambulances, and recovery vehicles within the British Army. Although ...

• Military UAS - small

  Black Hornet 3 PRS (UK)

  Programme Background The British Army operated approximately 160 first-generation Black Hornet PD-100 nano UAS between 2013 and 2017, when the decision was made to retire ...

• Military UAS - small

  Bug Nano UAS (UK)

  Programme Background The British Army previously took delivery of 160 first-generation Black Hornet PD-100 nano UAS in 2013 to support operations in Afghanistan. After these ...

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

  Naval Collaborative Combat Air Vehicle (N-CCAV) [India]

  Programme Background CATS Warrior The Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) is a planned, uncrewed and crewed family of aircraft in development by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited ...

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

  Orbiter 3 (Croatia)

  Programme Background The Croatian government launched a competitive tender for the procurement of a short-range UAV in October 2017. Although the tender was opened on ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6, LTVs - 4x4

  Supacat HMT 400 & 600 [UK - Option]

  Programme Background Programme Requirements The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) stated in a Contract Notice that it had a requirement for at least 70 new HMT platforms ...

• Tanks

  NGCV: DLP

  Programme Background Requirement The DLP is one of five vehicle families being developed for the US Army's NGCV programme. Expanded to include five programmes in ...

• Reconnaissance/patrol vehicles

  AGMV 1.1

  Programme Background The US Army has been seeking a lightweight, air-droppable, high mobility vehicle since as early as 2014, when it initiated its Ultra Light ...

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

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

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

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  AMPV (USA)

  Programme Background The US Army initiated the AMPV programme to acquire a replacement for several variants of the M113 tracked APC, which has been in ...

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

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 2) [USA]

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

• MPVs - 4x4, Reconnaissance/patrol vehicles

  JLTV Oshkosh Contract [US Army]

  Programme Background As of January 2021, the US DoD had signed 15 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System (LMAMS) (Forecast) [US Army]

  Programme Background Contracted Units As covered in a separate programme entry, the US Army first procured AeroVironment's Switchblade 300 over a decade ago, beginning the service's ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  AN/PRC-170

  The AN/PRC-170 Javelin is a single-channel, small-form-factor radio that supports TSM waveform. Produced by Thales, it provides voice and data communications across multipath and dynamic environments. ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MUBC

  The Modular Universal Battery Charger (MUBC) is a scalable charging system for a range of military and commercial batteries. It provides for the addition of ...

• 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 ...

• Land: battle management systems

  Joint Battle Command - Platform

  Joint Battle Command - Platform (JBC-P) is a networked mission command information system designed for the US Army and USMC. It can provide real-time blue ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Shadowcat

  General Dynamics Shadowcat radio provides low-visibility communications in a small form factor package. Capable of forming mesh networks, it provides voice, video and data communications ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-HL

  Manufactured by InstantEye Robotics, the InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-Heavy Lift (HL) is a rotary-wing UAV that is involved in the US Army's Render Safe Sets, Kits & ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  OH-58D Kiowa Warrior

  The OH-58D Kiowa Warrior is a two-person, light scout helicopter with a day/night mast-mounted sight, glass cockpit and four-bladed rotor system. Following the retirement of ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Warrior

  The Warrior IFV entered service with the British Army in mid-1987. A total of 789 vehicles were delivered in IFV, infantry command, anti-tank, recovery, repair, ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530F Cayuse Warrior

  An evolution of the OH-6 Cayuse light observation helicopter, the MD 530F was initially Federal Aviation Administration-certified in July 1985 as the Model 369FF. It ...

• Land: vehicle simulators

  Convoy/C-IED Training System

  Laser Shot’s Convoy/Counter IED Training System consists of an immersive training environment that places soldiers in high-fidelity, virtual scenarios in order to train on a ...

• Land: NVGs

  AN/PSQ-20B ENVG

  The AN/PSQ-20B ENVG (Enhanced Night Vision Goggle) is a helmet-mounted dual-waveband monocular night vision system. As a fusion system that combines image intensification technology with ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  Falcon II Nyx

  The Falcon II Nyx is a rotary-wing drone from Wave Aerospace. It is in the US Army's Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment (AEWE) programme. Primarily designed to operate in ...

• Land: soldier modernisation systems - national programmes

  DANES

  Initial efforts to field a complete soldier system through the Danish Army Network-Enabled Soldier (DANES) concept were abandoned, following an evaluation of the US Land ...

• Air: Defensive Systems - Laser Warning Receivers

  AN/AVR-2B(V)

  UTC-ISR Systems' laser warning systems detect, prioritise in order of lethality and characterise laser rangefinders, laser designators and laser beam-riding missile threats. They are designed ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  OH-58 Kiowa

  The single-engine OH-58 Kiowa, derived from the Bell 206, entered US Army service in 1969 as a light observation helicopter. More than 2,200 were built for ...