• Defence Notes

  ‘Balloongate’ lays bare Chinese hypocrisy over military surveillance (Opinion)

  13th February 2023

  China pretends that it does not spy on others. The recent balloon saga showed up that it not only conducts surveillance of multiple countries, but that it is willing to violate their airspace to do so.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Third order for German 2-in-1 drone for Ukraine

  1st June 2023

  On 31 May, Quantum Systems announced that the Ukrainian MoD had ordered 300 additional Vector drones under a third order that the German government is funding.

• Air Warfare

  Sukhoi Su-35 fighters for Iran to arrive imminently amid controversy over jet's combat success

  15th May 2023

  Iran is poised to receive Sukhoi Su-35 fighters as part of its modernisation efforts while reports claim substantial losses of Russian fighters in the conflict with Ukraine.

• Naval Warfare

  Indo-Pacific-geared corvette design unveiled by Abu Dhabi Ship Building

  24th May 2023

  At the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA 2023) event in Malaysia, Emirati shipbuilder Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) has unveiled a new 92m corvette design.

• Air Warfare

  Lockheed Martin wins new Hellfire and JAGM missile contract

  3rd April 2023

  Lockheed Martin has been awarded a multiple-year production contract worth over $400 million by the US Army for Joint-Air-to-Ground Missiles (JAGM) and Hellfire missiles, covering procurement and production support for the service and international customers.

• Land Warfare

  SOF Week: How augmented reality is reshaping night vision capabilities

  8th May 2023

  Augmented Reality (AR) can improve the situational awareness of soldiers and enhance protection by enabling faster target location and identification.

• Digital Battlespace

  SOF Week 2023: How Collaborative Autonomy can revolutionise multi-domain missions

  10th May 2023

  USSOCOM is betting on meshed networking technology to enable a single operator to control multiple swarming uncrewed systems across air, land and sea.

• Naval Warfare

  Cairo adds more American ships to its fleet

  27th March 2023

  The Egyptian Navy recently has taken delivery of three former USN Cyclone-class patrol coastal ships.

• Land Warfare

  US Army taps Lockheed Martin to develop future long-range manoeuvrable missile

  28th March 2023

  The US Army has selected Lockheed Martin to develop an advanced propulsion Long Range Manoeuvrable Fires (LRMF) missile to be used with existing launchers.

• Defence Helicopter

  US Coast Guard to upgrade radars for MH-60 and MH-65 helicopter fleets

  11th April 2023

  New Honeywell IntuVue RDR-7000 weather radars will be installed on USCG MH-60 and MH-65 helicopters.

• Air Warfare

  MQ-28 Ghost Bat ‘could fit the bill’ for UK's Loyal Wingman capability needs, says Boeing

  26th May 2023

  The affordability of the MQ-28A Ghost Bat will play a crucial role in determining its suitability for the UK's defence needs. With studies under way to determine the affordability threshold, discussions also focus on the contribution this capability could make to the domestic industrial base.

• Air Warfare

  Indonesia orders GM400α radars to enhance its patchy air surveillance

  23rd June 2023

  Indonesia has inked a long-awaited deal for multiple air surveillance radars that will close gaps in the military's ability to monitor aircraft movements.

• Air Warfare

  US Air Force fighter unit transitions to aggressor squadron

  17th May 2023

  The 926th Wing's 706th Fighter Squadron has been redesignated as the 706th Aggressor Squadron, enhancing Nellis Air Force Base's air combat training capabilities.

• Digital Battlespace

  Raytheon takes networking to the tactical edge for US Air Force's JADC2 enterprise

  13th December 2022

  Raytheon will develop a tactical edge networking capability as part of the USAF's Advanced Battle Management effort.

• Air Warfare

  Bell makes move on FLRAA test lab construction despite ongoing Defiant protest

  27th March 2023

  Bell Textron began laying the foundations for a new testing facility for its V-280 Valor helicopter despite protest over its US Army Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) contract win.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Puma 3 AE (Ukraine)

  Programme Background Military Aid - $300 Million On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine to "bolster Urkaine's capacity ...

• APCs/IFVs - 4x4, Reconnaissance/patrol vehicles

  JLTV Oshkosh Contract (US Navy)

  As of November 2020, the US DoD had signed 14 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all branches of ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 300 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Presidential Drawdown (16 March 2022 & 13 April 2022) On 16 March 2022, President Biden announced $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine through ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Puma LE (Kosovo)

  Programme Background On 21 January 2022, the US Department of Defence (DoD) announced that AeroVironment had been awarded an $11.01 million firm-fixed contract for Puma LE. ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A Joint Strike Fighter - USAF

  According to the US FY2021 budget document, Turkey's removal from the JSF program and transition to the alternate supply chain sources may challenge to achieve ...

• APCs/IFVs - 4x4, Reconnaissance/patrol vehicles

  JLTV Oshkosh Contract (US Air Force)

  As of November 2020, the US DoD had signed 14 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all branches of ...

• Fighter - naval

  F-35B STOVL - US Navy

  The JSF programme will develop and field a family of aircraft that meets the needs of the US DoD and US allies with the F-35A ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS) [US Army]

  Programme Background DoD Contract On 27 August 2024, the US DoD announced that AeroVironment had been awarded a $990 million hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to provide "an ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank [US]

  Programme Background As IAI stated in a 19 January 2023 press release, it had been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract by the Irregular Warfare Technical Support ...

• Air: aerial targets, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A [US Navy]

  Background Previous Purchases The BQM-177A was designed for the USN and has been in service with the USN for many years. Indeed, in August 2022, Shephard reported ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 600 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background $300 Million USAI (1 April 2022) On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine following ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Presidential Drawdown (21 April 2022) Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, on 21 April 2022, President Biden announced an $800 ...

• Fighter - naval

  F-35C Carrier Variant

  The US Navy is planning to order 130 F-35Cs between FY2026 and FY2030 under the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. The purchase is estimated be ...

• Loitering munitions

  ALTIUS-600M (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background On 24 February 2023, the US DoD announced that the Biden Administration had released an additional aid package under the Ukraine Security Assistance ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawk (India)

  Programme Background On 25 February 2020, a letter of acceptance for 24 MH-60Rs, worth approximately $2.12 billion, was signed by India and the US in Delhi. ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Pistols

  M9

  M9 is the US DoD designation for the military-specification 9mm Beretta 92FS, selected in 1985 to replace the 45cal M1911A1 in US service. Sales to ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  Igla/SA-18

  The 9K38 Igla (US DoD designation SA-18, NATO reporting name Grouse ) IR-homing MANPADS was developed by KBM and entered service in 1983 to meet the requirements ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank

  Point Blank Weapon System is a hand-launched electro-optical VTOL-capable loitering munition developed by Isreal Aerospace Industries (IAI). IAI has been awarded a contract by the US ...

• Air: aerial targets, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A/i

  The BQM-177A subsonic aerial target (SSAT) was designed for the USN, and the BQM-177i is the export variant. The BQM-177 provides realistic threat emulation for ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  BAT-850

  Pathfinder's BAT-850 VSAT is a carbon fibre, tri-band terminal with auto-acquisition capability. Suitable for flyaway (case-based) and vehicle-mounted applications, it is in service with the ...

• Autonomous GPADS

  Airborne Systems has developed a family of smart systems ranging in payload capacity from 90-4,536kg. Utilising the technology developed and used in ram-air canopies, Guided ...

• Crew-served grenade launchers

  Striker 40/MK47

  General Dynamics is systems integrator for the Striker 40 (MK47 AGL in US service). The complete system comprises the weapon, AN/PWG-1 Lightweight Video Sight and ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  URC-300

  The URC-300 is a software-defined radio designed for line-of-sight, ground-to-air communications in particular. Introduced in 2020, it adheres to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards as well ...

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

  ScanEagle 3

  Insitu unveiled the ScanEagle 3 at the Xponential exhibition in Denver in May 2018. The platform has twice the payload capacity of its ScanEagle predecessor ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Banshee Tactical Radio

  Developed by Fenix Group, the Banshee Tactical Radio (BTR) is a communications system that uses 4G/LTE connectivity to provide secure mesh networking capability on the ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  AN/ARC-231 Skyfire

  The AN/ARC-231 Skyfire is an airborne VHF/UHF/LOS and DAMA SATCOM system. This system supports US DoD requirements for airborne, multi-band, multi-mission, secure anti-jam voice, data ...

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

  Global Observer

  The AeroVironment Global Observer HALE UAV was a developmental HALE UAV designed for various civil, commercial and government applications.  Development of the platform began in 2007 ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  CLWS

  Developed by Boeing, Compact Laser Weapon System (CLWS or CLaWS) is a medium-range, low-power laser C-UAS system. According to the reports, the CLWS prototype has ...

• Air-to-air missiles

  9M32 Strela-2

  The 9M32 Strela-2 is a helicopter-launched version of the Russian first-generation, shoulder-launched, short-range SAM,  the 9K32. Designated by the US DoD as the SA-7A with ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MIDS JTRS

  The MIDS JTRS is a four-channel radio designed to run the Link 16 waveform and up to three additional communication protocols, including the Airborne Networking ...