• Uncrewed Vehicles

  NAO report exposes Protector cost increases and delays

  28th June 2021

  Financial issues surrounding the UK's Protector UAV procurement have come to light from a National Audit Office report.

• Land Warfare

  L3Harris delivers final bomb disposal robot

  29th June 2021

  L3Harris has delivered the final EOD robot to the UK MoD for Project STARTER.

• Military Logistics

  JASDF takes small digitisation step with smart base experiment

  20th July 2021

  Japan's military is lagging in terms of its digitisation, but a smart base experiment could begin to turn the tide.

• Training

  ANDSF training – where did it go so wrong? (Analysis)

  17th August 2021

  NATO and ISAF forces in Afghanistan have been training the ANDSF for many years, but when it came to the acid test of independent combat, Afghan forces were simply not up to the task. Why?

• Land Warfare

  UK MoD invests £3.2 million on new NGV technology

  25th June 2021

  ​The UK MoD has awarded Cambridge-based company Thermoteknix Systems a £3.2 million contract to provide-state-of-art thermal imaging clip-on systems for the British Army.

• Naval Warfare

  Ukraine to acquire Sandown minehunters, eight missile boats from UK

  23rd June 2021

  The UK has stepped up efforts to bolster Ukraine’s navy with a comprehensive agreement covering new ships, training, and the regeneration of naval facilities.

• Defence Notes

  UK procurement fiascos and FLRAA update (Podcast)

  2nd July 2021

  Welcome to Episode 26 of the third series of The Weekly Defence Podcast. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and more.

• Defence Notes

  RN looks forward to remote tower control

  7th July 2021

  The first remote air traffic control tower for the UK armed forces is planned to go live next year.

• Land Warfare

  UK to integrate lightweight active protection systems on Challenger 3 tanks

  24th June 2021

  Trophy MV from Rafael will undergo detailed integration and system trials on Challenger 3.

• Defence Notes

  Ajax adds to woeful litany of British Army procurement failures (Opinion)

  6th July 2021

  Given the latest delay to a key programme, how much confidence should there be in the underequipped British Army achieving key vehicle procurement ambitions laid out in the recent Integrated Review?

• Naval Warfare

  Japan, South Korea, France in talks for JPALS

  26th July 2021

  Raytheon's Joint Precision Approach and Landing System that helps aircraft safely land on carriers in conditions up to sea state five has seen several nations' interest as they look to develop their own aircraft carrier programmes.

• Air Warfare

  Boeing receives CH-47ER delivery order for UK

  23rd June 2021

  OEM Boeing will deliver the first of 14 heavy-lift CH-47ER aircraft to the RAF in 2026.

• Digital Battlespace

  Horizon counts down to Amber CubeSat launch

  7th July 2021

  Amber CubeSat combines maritime domain awareness data with information from stationary and mobile towers.

• Air Warfare

  Lockheed Martin to integrate new weapons into F-35

  22nd June 2021

  Three ‘unique weapons capabilities’ will be installed on F-35A and F-35B aircraft, says NAVAIR.

• Naval Warfare

  BAE nets 'Google for warships' data management contract

  6th July 2021

  A new approach by the RN to data storage and management seeks easier access to vital vessel maintenance and support information.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H135 (UK)

  Programme BackgroundAirbus Helicopters UK announced on 2 February 2022 that it has won an order to provide five additional H135 twin-engine helicopters for the MoD. The ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Global Combat Air Programme [UK]

  Programme Background The next-generation platform concept is part of the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, which sought to deliver a Future Combat Air System ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Fleet Solid Support (FSS) (1-3) [UK]

  Programme Background Requirement The 2015 Strategic Defence & Security Review (SDSR) highlighted the requirement for three Military Afloat Reach & Sustainability (MARS) Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ...

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

  Magni-X (UK)

  Programme Background On 12 January 2022, Elbit Systems UK announced it had been awarded a contract from the UK MoD's Defence Equipment & Support's Future Capability ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Typhoon Tranche 3A - Qatar

  As a part of the agreement to sell Typhoon, the UK is establishing a ‘Joint Operations Squadron’ (to be known as 12 Squadron) with the ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  Ukraine - UK supplied Fast Inshore Attack Craft (FIAC)

  Programme Background It was first reported in late September 2020 that the UK could provide eight Barzan-class fast attack craft to Ukraine. The platform has been ...

• 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 ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) [Japan]

  Programme Background Shephard notes that GCAP's Japanese, British and Italian components are tracked in separate entries. Programme Timeline 2020: The Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency of Japan issued ...

• Maritime patrol

  P-8A Poseidon [UK]

  Programme Background In July 2016, the UK government announced that it had ordered nine aircraft for service with the RAF. Under this frame, in January ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Armed Micro Drone [UK]

  On 19 May 2023, the UK MoD published a request for information on armed micro UAV capabilities to help it better understand the marketplace, introduce possible ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Armed Micro Drone [UK]

  On 19 May 2023, the UK MoD published a request for information on armed micro UAV capabilities to help it better understand the marketplace, introduce possible ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  New Medium Helicopter (NMH) [UK]

  Programme Background NMH Market Interest Day On 11 November 2021, the MoD communicated the requirements of the £1 billion ($1.34 billion) New Medium Helicopter (NMH) ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | F-35B Follow-On UK

  The Royal Air Force is planning to acquire 90 F-35B Joint Strike Fighters from 2026, in addition to the 48 aircraft which London had ordered for delivery ...

• Data links

  Data links | F-35B Follow-On UK

  The Royal Air Force is planning to acquire 90 F-35B Joint Strike Fighters from 2026, in addition to the 48 aircraft which London had ordered for delivery ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | F-35B Follow-On UK

  The Royal Air Force is planning to acquire 90 F-35B Joint Strike Fighters from 2026, in addition to the 48 aircraft which London had ordered for delivery ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: fixed-wing flight simulators

  UK MFTS

  The Military Flying Training System (MFTS) programme, is a private finance initiative involving the MoD and Ascent, a JV of Lockheed Martin and Babcock, which was ...

• Trainer

  Phenom 100

  Phenom 100 is a very light jet originally developed for single owner-pilot operation but later gained popularity as a jet trainer aircraft. The platform first ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  CAE 700MR

  The CAE 700MR FTD is a full mission simulator platform for military helicopter-specific flight and mission training. It is a fixed-base system based on CAE's ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  UK MSHATF

  The Medium Support Helicopter Aircrew Training Facility (MSHATF) opened for training at RAF Benson, England in July 1999. It provides training services to personnel from ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  UK/ARC341 (ADRA)

  The Advanced Digital Radio Airborne (ADRA) provides a Bowman VHF radio capability to helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. It is fully compatible with the Bowman VHF ...

• Sea: naval surveillance radar

  Quadome

  The Quadome is an AESA Naval Air and Surface surveillance Radar developed by Hensoldt UK. The radar will equip the future Fleet Solid Support ships ...

• 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 ...

• Major networking projects

  Project Marshall

  The Joint Military Air Traffic Services project was initiated by the UK MoD in November 2005 to identify and evaluate options for the future delivery ...

• Air: fixed-wing flight simulators

  ASTOR FBFCT

  The Fixed Base Flight Crew Trainer (FBFCT) is a Level 5+ FTD for the UK RAF’s Airborne Standoff Radar (ASTOR) platform. The ASTOR FBFCT is ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  ADR+ Bowman VHF/Centaur

  The ADR+ is the VHF vehicle and manpack radio member of the ADR family of VHF radios developed initially for the UK Bowman programme. The ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  BvS10 Beowulf

  BAE Systems Hägglunds launched the BvS10 Beowulf articulated tracked ATV at the September 2015 DSEI exhibition in the UK. The Beowulf is an unarmoured variant ...

• Military UGVs

  T7

  The T7 is a multi-mission robotic system designed for military, police and hazardous missions. At DSEI 2017, the UK MoD awarded the Harris Corporation a ...

• Data links

  AN/URC-138

  The AN/URC-138 is a Link 16 interoperable terminal originally developed for the Sea Harrier. It has the same Link 16 crypto as JTIDS/MIDS. The system ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Warthog

  The Warthog is based on the ST Kinetics Bronco all terrain tracked carrier (ATTC) and was developed to meet a UK MoD urgent operational requirement ...

• Air: maintenance simulators

  GenSkill

  Pennant has developed, in consultation with the UK RAF, the GenSkill trainer to introduce students to the hand skills necessary to work on aircraft components. ...