• Defence Notes

  Farnborough 2016: Aircraft on static display (video)

  13th July 2016

  Shephard took a tour around the static displays at Farnborough International Airshow 2016 to give you a sneak peek at what you can discover at …

• Training

  British Army trains on Watchkeeper

  13th July 2016

  Elements of the British  Army’s Tactical Unmanned Air Systems (TUAS) Regiment, 47 Regiment Royal Artillery, are conducting training on the Watchkeeper UAS on Ascension Island, …

• Naval Warfare

  Farnborough 2016: USCG flexes its Spartan muscles (video)

  13th July 2016

  Only three months after the first HC-27J unit was activated on the West Coast, the US Coast Guard (USCG) has brought one of the aircraft …

• Defence Helicopter

  Farnborough 2016: AW149 is now a butterfly with sting

  13th July 2016

  Leonardo Helicopters is debuting an armed configured variant of its AW149 multirole military helicopter at the Farnborough International Airshow FIA (FIA 2016). James Wang, senior VP of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Farnborough 2016: Evo selected in Middle East

  13th July 2016

  The Falco Evo has been selected by two countries in the Middle East, including one Arab Gulf state, both of which already operate the legacy …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AFRL contracts Kratos for LCASD

  13th July 2016

  Kratos will develop the technical baseline for a high-speed, long-range, low-cost, limited life-strike UAS under a $40.8 million contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory …

• Training

  Farnborough 2016: T-X – more than just the aircraft

  13th July 2016

  The US Air Force T-X programme, the replacement of the venerable T-38 advanced training aircraft, is a major target for four international consortia. Raytheon has …

• Defence Notes

  Farnborough 2016: UK ISTAR missions hampered by fleet depletion

  13th July 2016

  The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) ISTAR commander has fired off a stark warning about the future reduction of his fleet of five Sentinel R1 to …

• Digital Battlespace

  Farnborough 2016: Striker II HMD in new trials

  13th July 2016

  BAE Systems' Striker II Helmet-Mounted Display (HMD) fighter helmet has completed further successful trials, the company announced on 11 July. This marked the second phase …

• Digital Battlespace

  Farnborough 2016: Giving the F-35 its spark (video)

  13th July 2016

  Undoubtedly one of the stars of the 2016 Farnborough International Airshow (FIA 2016) is the next-generation F-35 Lightning, which has finally made its appearance at …

• Naval Warfare

  Chinese maritime claims don’t hold water

  13th July 2016

  On 12 July the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague ruled in favour of the Philippines over China in a dispute over maritime claims in …

• Naval Warfare

  US donates boats to Philippine police

  13th July 2016

  The Philippine National Police - Maritime Group (PNP-MG) took receipt of four new aluminium-hull patrol boats on the western island of Palawan on 8 July.  …

• Training

  Esterline avionics for RJAF PC-21s

  13th July 2016

  Esterline CMC Electronics (CMC) has been awarded a contract from Pilatus Aircraft to supply its cockpit avionics for eight Pilatus PC-21 trainer aircraft for the Royal …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Farnborough 2016: Fury seeks moving target

  12th July 2016

  The Fury guided munition, designed for use by small and medium sized UAS and special mission aircraft, will undergo final moving target testing in Q3 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Predator B to get ARDS

  12th July 2016

  General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' (GA-ASI's) Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper UAS will be integrated with the Advanced Radar Detection System (ARDS) from Raytheon Deutschland, it was announced on …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Data links

  Data links | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | M-346 FA [Brazil]

  Brazil is evaluating the procurement of up to 30 Leonardo M-346 light attack aircraft under a potential agreement with Italy, aimed at modernising its aerial ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-390 [Brazil]

  Programme Background Requirement The aircraft deliveries were scheduled to start by the end of 2016 and continue over a period of ten years. However,  the first ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  C-130H Replacement [Sweden]

  Programme Background Requirements Sweden has five C-130H aircraft (designated Tp-84) and one KC-130H. Two C-130Es bought in the 1960s have retired, but the six H ...

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

  Hermes 900 [Chile]

  Methodology Unit cost In 2024, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) acquired one Hermes 900 for 50 million reais ($9.14 million), giving each drone an estimated ...

• Fighter - multirole

  JAS 39E/F Gripen [Brazil]

  Background In 2016, Gripen’s Project and Development Center was opened in Sao Paulo to allow Sweedish and Brazillian engineers to work together in the Gripen ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  H145M [Brazil]

  Background  Brazilian leadership announced in February 2022 that the Sabre Mil Mi-35M Hind-E attack helicopters were being retired from active service. This decision came as a ...

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

  Hermes 900 [Colombia]

  Methodology Unit cost In 2024, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) acquired one Hermes 900 for 50 million reais ($9.14 million), giving each drone an estimated gross ...

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

  Hermes 900 (5) [Brazil]

  Background First three batches (2014-2024) Across three purchases, Defence Insight estimates that Brazil has acquired five Hermes 900 UAVs. In 2014, Elbit reported supplying one ...

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

  Hermes 900 (1-4) [Brazil]

  Background First batch (2014) In 2014, Elbit reported supplying one Hermes 900 UAV to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB). The drone is called the RQ-900 in Brazilian ...

• Maritime patrol

  C295 add-on [Brazil]

  Programme Background  In 2014 Brazil signed a contracted for two additional C-295 SAR platforms with the option to acquire one additional platform. In 2018, reports ...

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

  Hermes 900 [Undisclosed European Country]

  Background Various Contracts On 18 November 2024, Elbit Systems announced it had awarded various contacts with a combined $335 million to an undisclosed European country. ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air-to-surface missiles

  MAR-1

  The MAR-1 is a Brazilian air-to-surface anti-radiation missile (ARM) developed by Mectron in collaboration with the Aerospace Technology and Science Department (DCTA) of the Brazilian ...

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

  Harpia

  Described as the UAV with the most onboard technology in Latin America, Harpia is a multifunctional fixed-wing Brazilian drone developed by Advanced Technologies Security & Defence.  The Uruguayan ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  EMB-312 Tucano

  The EMB-312 Tucano (Brazilian designation T-27) is a trainer and light attack aircraft developed by Embraer to meet the training requirements of the Brazilian Air ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  TPTS

  Tactical Procedures Training Simulators (TPTS), operating with SWARM software, can be used to provide most core training elements to pilots or offload training tasks from ...

• Guided munitions

  SMKB (Smart-MK-Bomb)

  The Smart-MK-Bomb, or the SMKB, is a precision guidance kit developed by Mectron and designed to turn Mk 82 and Mk 83 bombs into guided munitions.

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

  Albatroz Vortex

  The Albatroz Vortex from Stella Tecnologia is a development of the company's Albatroz UAV.  The key differentiator is that the Vortex is fitted with an ATJR ...

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

  Condor

  The Condor, or Atobá XR, is an in-development MALE-class UAV from Stella Technologia.  The development of the multi-role is tied to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), which has ...

• Trainer, Transport

  EMB-121 Xingu

  The EMB-121 Xingu is a twin-turboprop light transport and advanced multi-engine trainer aircraft developed by Embraer based on the EMB-110 Bandeirante. Its maiden flight was ...

• Land: battle management systems

  Arkhe Mission & Combat

  Launched in 2017, Atech's Arkhe Mission & Combat solutions offer a variety of solutions enabling operator to conduct missions from planning to execution and debriefing. It ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-390/C-390 Millennium

  The KC-390 is a high-wing, twin-turbofan, T-tail design intended to meet the needs of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) for a tanker/transport aircraft. Developed and ...

• Fighter - air superiority

  F-5E/F Tiger II

  The F-5E (single-seat)/F (twin-seat) Tiger II is an air superiority fighter developed by Northrop Grumman based on the original F-5 Freedom Fighter. Production of the ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M

  The medium-weight, 11t-class H225M (formerly known as the EC725) is the latest military Super Puma/Cougar family member.  Technical features include a modular design of mechanical ...

• EO/IR systems

  Skyward

  The SkyWard system is an advanced Infrared Search and Track (IRST) solution developed for next-generation airborne platforms, including 5th-generation fighter aircraft.  Designed with modularity in ...

• Land: air defence radar

  Saber M60

  The Saber M60 is a low-altitude air-defence radar developed by the Brazilian Army's CTEx (Army Technology Centre) in collaboration with Bradar, part of Embraer Defence ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  RBS 70 system

  The RBS 70 was developed in the 1970s to meet the Swedish Army’s requirement for a low-cost, easy-to-use MANPADS which could function in extreme climatic ...