• Defence Notes

  USAF gets 1,000th CMBRE

  15th June 2015

  Orbital ATK delivered the 1,000th Common Munitions BIT Reprogramming Equipment (CMBRE) to the US Air Force (USAF), it announced on 10 June. The CMBRE is …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Chapman launches UAV pilot school

  12th June 2015

  Chapman Aerospace has launched an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) pilot training school at its base in California, following authorisation from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) …

• Naval Warfare

  Navy christens USS Gabrielle Giffords

  12th June 2015

  The US Navy has christened the future USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) in a ceremony at the Austal USA shipyard in …

• Military Logistics

  Saab bags camo equipment order

  12th June 2015

  Saab has received order to manufacture and deliver camouflage equipment to the US Army, the company announced on 11 June. The equipment will be delivered …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Paris Air Show: Sense-and-avoid comes of age

  12th June 2015

  Development is continuing on Honeywell Aerospace’s sense-and-avoid (SAA) system, with officials saying the final product would ‘probably be another two years away’. Work on the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Paris Air Show: What’s in store?

  12th June 2015

  Although the biennial air show in Paris has become increasingly dominated by the commercial airline sector, much like its British counterpart at Farnborough, there will …

• Land Warfare

  Industry teams bid for Aussie CRV

  12th June 2015

  Australia's Request for Tender (RfT) for the Land 400 Phase 2 programme will close in August as contenders have struggled to respond. The initial date of …

• Land Warfare

  EDA orders Carl-Gustaf ammo

  11th June 2015

  The European Defence Agency (EDA) placed an order for Saab's Carl-Gustaf ammunition on 11 June on behalf of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Republic and Poland. …

• Naval Warfare

  US mulls Aegis sale to Korea

  11th June 2015

  The US State Department has approved a possible foreign military sale of Aegis combat systems to South Korea, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced on …

• Defence Helicopter

  Australian 725 Squadron to operate MH-60R

  11th June 2015

  The Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) commissioned its newest unit, 725 Squadron, which is equipped with Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawks, on 11 …

• Land Warfare

  German GBAD competition gets testy

  10th June 2015

  The competition for the new Tactical Air Defence system to be fielded by the German Air Force is heating up. And whilst the two main …

• Military Logistics

  CACI to provide EO sensor support

  10th June 2015

  CACI International has been awarded a contract to provide technical and engineering support to the Electro-Optic (EO) Technology division of the US Naval Surface Warfare …

• Digital Battlespace

  Paris Air Show: CAE wins US Army training contract

  10th June 2015

  CAE has been awarded a US Army contract for initial and annual recurrent training for more than 600 US Air Force and army fixed-wing pilots, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Slovakia set to upgrade its Mi-17s

  10th June 2015

  Slovakia is looking to upgrade a number of its Mi-17 helicopters, Prime Minister Robert Fico announced on his recent trip to Moscow. Fico said Slovakia …

• Digital Battlespace

  WIN-T Increment 2 gets FRP approval

  10th June 2015

  The US Army's Warfighter Information Network –Tactical (WIN-T) Increment 2 has received approval for full-rate production (FRP). The approval was announced on 8 June by …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Land 400 Phase 3 (Logistics, Ammunition Carrier and Mortar Carrier Variants)

  Programme Background The Australian DoD released the initial RfI for the Land 400 Phase 3 programme in November 2015. Following consultations with local industry, the ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Land 400 Phase 3 (Amphibious Vehicles) [Australia]

  Programme Background The Australian DoD released the initial RfI for the Land 400 Phase 3 programme in November 2015. Following consultations with local industry, the ...

• Tanks

  M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams [Poland]

  Programme Background Requirement Since the early 2010s Poland wanted to upgrade its Soviet-era tank fleet due to modernisation requirements, the need to increase interoperability with NATO ...

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

  Drone40 (Ukraine Aid) [Australia]

  Programme Background In August 2022, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), a think tank, held a podcast with Ukraine's ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, in which ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Land 400 Phase 2 - Boxer CRV (Australia)

  Programme Background History The Land 400 Phase 2 programme will procure a replacement for the ASLAV, a derivative of the General Dynamics Land Systems Light Armoured Vehicle ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  Littoral Manoeuvre Vessel - Medium (Project Land 8710 Phase 1A) [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirements Australia has set out requirements for a fleet of up to 18 Littoral Manoeuvre Vessels - Medium (LMV-M) with the release of ...

• Submarines: nuclear, attack

  Second Hand SSNs [Australia]

  Programme Background Timeline In September 2021, it was announced in a trilateral announcement between Australia, the US and the UK that Australia, in a shock ...

• Tanks

  M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams [Poland - Forecast]

  Programme Background Requirement The Polish Army wants to replace its legacy Soviet T-72 MBTs with new NATO-standard platforms to increase interoperability with its allies and ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | AUKUS-SSNs (1-5) [Australia]

  In September 2021, it was announced in a trilateral announcement between Australia, the US and the UK that Australia, in a shock move, will not ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | AUKUS-SSNs (1-5) [Australia]

  In September 2021, it was announced in a trilateral announcement between Australia, the US and the UK that Australia, in a shock move, will not ...

• Tanks

  Viatura Blindada de Combate-Carro de Combate (VBC-CC) [Brazil]

  Programme Background Several key technical requirements have been outlined by the Brazilian MoD. Among the most important are that the platform should weigh less than ...

• Submarines: nuclear, attack

  AUKUS-SSNs (1-5) [Australia]

  Programme Background AUKUS Australia announced on 16 September 2021 that the contract with Naval Group signed in 2016 had been cancelled. Although not a surprising ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R (Spain)

  Programme Background On 16 March 2022, the US State Department approved an FMS to Spain for eight MH-60R helicopters and associated equipment and weaponry for $950 ...

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

  Project Air 7003 (Australia)

  Programme Background Requirement The Royal Australian Air Force has been without a UAS capability since the Heron was withdrawn in mid-2017. According to Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, ...

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

  MQ-4C Triton (Contracted) [Australia]

  Programme Background Three Contracted Units In June 2018, the Government provided Second Pass (Tranche 1) Approval to procure the first of six air vehicles, supporting ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Naval: RF, IR and acoustic decoys

  Nulka

  The Nulka active anti-ship missile decoy was originally conceived in Australia, and developed under a joint Australian-US programme. BAE Systems Australia is prime contractor, while ...

• S-64 Helitanker Fire-fighting Equipment

  Erickson's 10,031l tank for the S-64 helitanker drops water, retardant or foam mix at a rate of around 95l/h. Microprocessor-controlled tank doors offer eight individual ...

• Submarines: nuclear, attack

  AUKUS SSN

  The AUKUS-SSN will be the submarine design resulting from the AUKUS trilateral pact between Australia, the US and the UK. Expected to incorporate technology from ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  HATS

  In October 2014, the Australian government approved a A$700 million (US$530 million) contract award to Boeing Defence Australia, teamed with Thales Australia, to provide the ...

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  CVTESS

  Saab's Combat Vehicle Tactical Engagement Simulation System (CVTESS) is a laser-based simulator which supports every version of the Abrams Main Battle Tank and the Bradley ...

• Tanks

  M1A2 SEPv3

  The M1A2 System Enhancement Package 3 (M1A2 SEPv3, also known as M1A2C) is the latest production-standard variant of the Abrams MBT. Designed primarily to address ...

• AEW&C

  Global 550 CAEW

  The G550 CAEW aircraft is a Gulfstream G550 adapted for AEW&C;, EW and ISTAR missions in Australia, Israel, Italy, Singapore and the US. The base platform is ...

• Frigates

  Adelaide Class

  The Adelaide-class guided missile frigates (FFG) were based on the US Navy's Oliver Hazard Perry design, with the first four ships in class built for ...

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  FGM-148 Javelin

  The Lockheed Martin-Raytheon Javelin JV developed the FGM-148 Javelin for the US Army’s requirement for an Advanced Anti-Tank Weapon System-Medium. Selected in 1989, the first ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  AS21 Redback

  First unveiled in scale model form at the Land Forces 2018 exhibition, the AS21 Redback is a tracked IFV developed to meet the Australian Army's Land ...

• Data links, UAS: communication systems

  MUMT-X

  The Manned/Unmanned Teaming - eXpanded (MUMT-X) system allows AH-64E helicopters to communicate with and control UAS in flight. Capable of transmitting data and video across four ...

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  Spike LR2

  The Spike LR2 (NT-S) is Rafael’s fifth generation of the Spike missile and is backwards-compatible with existing Spike launchers.  Two warheads have been developed: a ...

• Tanks

  M10 Booker

  The US Army has awarded General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) with a contract worth US$1.14 billion to supply 96 light tanks under the Mobile Protected ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A

  The F-35A Lightning II is a fifth-generation multirole combat aircraft with CTOL capabilities. It is a multinational programme led by the US DoD, bringing together ...

• Towed guns

  105mm Light Gun

  The 105mm Light Gun was designed and manufactured by Royal Ordnance Nottingham (now BAE Systems), with the first guns introduced to the British Army in ...