Defence Notes

French DGA takes delivery of Rafale C137 aircraft

2nd October 2012

Dassault Aviation and Thales have announced that the the French defence procurement agency (DGA) has officially taken delivery of the Rafale C137, the first production …

Digital Battlespace

New HC-130J aircraft for US Coast Guard

2nd October 2012

Lockheed Martin has announced that it has received a contract worth $218 million for three additional HC-130Js for the US Coast Guard. This order will …

Digital Battlespace

VSI receives Danish F-16 night vision contract

1st October 2012

Vision Systems International (VSI) has announced that it has been awarded a contract from the Royal Danish Air Force (RDAF) to provide its Night Vision …

Land Warfare

Australia deploys new Giraffe radars in Afghanistan

1st October 2012

The Australian Department of Defence (DOD) has announced that two new Counter Rocket Artillery and Mortar (C-RAM) Giraffe radars are now operational at the multinational …

Land Warfare

Sagem unveils latest addition to Sigma 30 family

1st October 2012

Sagem has unveiled the latest version of its Sigma 30 family of artillery navigation and pointing systems, the Sigma 30-700. According to the company, the …

Military Logistics

Norway accepts new Super Hercules

1st October 2012

Lockheed Martin announced on 28 September that the Royal Norwegian Air Force has formally accepted a C-130J Super Hercules to replace the aircraft that was …

Uncrewed Vehicles

BAE Systems to help develop USAF dismount detection radar

28th September 2012

BAE Systems has revealed that it has been selected by Raytheon to help the US Air Force (USAF) develop its Dismount Detection Radar (DDR). In …

Defence Helicopter

Russian Helicopters expands after-sales service offerings

28th September 2012

Russian Helicopters has announced that its customers in the CIS and Europe will soon have access to an advanced after-sales service system built on integrated …

Land Warfare

General Dynamics to begin Abrams modernisation engineering development

28th September 2012

General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) has been awarded an eight-year, $395 million contract for research, development and testing in preparation for the US Army’s Abrams …

Digital Battlespace

Harris announces orders for new Falcon III RF-7800H radio

27th September 2012

Harris Corporation has announced that it has received initial orders totalling $5.6 million for its newly introduced Falcon III RF-7800H high-frequency wideband manpack radio.  The …

Defence Helicopter

AAS-72X+ Armed Aerial Scout voluntary flight demos begin

27th September 2012

EADS North America announced on 26 September that it has begun its voluntary flight demonstration (VFD) for the US Army’s Armed Aerial Scout helicopter programme. …

Light attack, Trainer

Hürkuş-C Advanced Armed Trainer (Turkey)

The Hurjet-C development programme funding was included in the Hurkus-B procurement contract awarded by  the Turkish Undersecretariat for Defence Industries in December 2013.  The Hurjet will ...

APCs/IFVs - 4x4

NMS 4x4

Prior to the announcement that Qatar had signed a contract for 214 NMS, there were reports in 2017 that the Qatar Armed Forces were seeking ...

Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

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

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

Military UAS - tactical

Desert Hawk III Replacement (UK)

Programme Background The British Army has taken 222 Lockheed Martin Desert Hawk III UAVs into its core fleet, after having originally procured the system to ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

Tactical Drone System (SDT) [France]

Programme Background Tactical Drone System (SDT) programme The French Army launched the SDT programme to replace the Sagem (now Safran) Sperwer Intermediate Tactical Drone System ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

CU172 Blackjack (First Batch) (Canada)

Programme Background Requirement The Canadian Army identified a requirement for two new tactical UAV systems after recognising that the squadron and company level Aerovironment RQ-11 ...

Maritime patrol

P-8 Poseidon [South Korea]

Programme Background South Korea is facing an imminent submarine threat from North Korea. The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) is operating an aging fleet of P-3C ...

Military UAS - small

Small UAV (Colombia)

Programme Background Many of the Colombian military's UAVs are operated by the Colombian Air Force, but the Colombian Army has also employed several different types ...

Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial Resupply System (JTAARS) / Medium ULS-A [USMC]

Programme Background US Marine ULS-A programmes The US Marines are seeking a family of Unmanned Logistics Systems-Air (ULS-A), which will provide logistics and ground units with ...

Loitering munitions

N-Raven / IRIX [Greece]

Programme Background Unveiled during the Defence Exhibition Athens (DEFEA 2023) exhibition, IRIX is a Greek version of the N-Raven loitering munition developed by Paramount in ...

Loitering munitions

Switchblade 300 [Australia]

Programme Background Contract Award & Delivery On 8 July 2024, the Australian Government announced its soldiers would be equipped with Switchblade 300 following an acquisition ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

Spy Ranger SMDR - Contracted (France)

Programme Background Requirement The French Army has identified a need for a new tactical UAS to replace the Drac UAS, which first entered service in ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

Patroller [Greece]

Programme Background On 20 June 2023, the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) announced at the Paris Air Show that Greece had signed a contract with Safran ...

Military UAS - tactical

RQ-7B Shadow v2 Block III (USA)

Programme Background The first iteration of the Shadow UAS, the Shadow 600, was first introduced in 1992 and since then Textron has had a longstanding ...

Loitering munitions

Loitering Munitions [Switzerland]

Programme Background Announcement In a February 2023 interview with Swiss news outlet CH-Media, Swiss army chief Thomas Süssli stated that the country was considering acquiring loitering ...

Surface-to-surface missiles

MGM-140 ATACMS

The MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) is an American surface-to-surface missile. ATACMS is described as the US Army's primary 24/7, all-weather, and surface-to-surface artillery precision ...

Land: battle management systems

AMDWS

AMDWS (Air and Missile Defense Work Station), is a collaborative battlespace awareness information management system developed by Northrop Grumman to meet the requirements of the ...

Surface-to-surface missiles

9K720 Iskander-M

The Iskander-M (NATO reporting name: SS-26 'Stone') is a short-range ballistic missile. It was the second attempt by Russia to replace the Skud after their ...

Surface-to-air missiles

GEM-T

An upgrade to the PAC-2 missile, the Guidance Enhanced Missile TBM (GEM-T) is designed to defeat tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles or enemy aircraft in ...

Surface-to-air missiles

9M317

The 9M317 (SA-17 Grizzly) is a supersonic, surface-to-air missile developed by the Soviet Union from 1988, but it was only adopted in 1998. It was ...

Land: infantry weapon simulators

DX407 GT Simulator

The DX407 is an indoor GT simulator for the Eryx short-range shoulder- and tripod-fired antitank missile. It is used for initial training and skill maintenance ...

Air: Defensive Systems - MLDS, Air: Defensive Systems - Laser Warning Receivers

LIMWS

BAE Systems is leading the US Army’s Limited Interim Missile Warning System (LIMWS) initiative. This is intended to enhance the missile protection provided to US ...

Self-propelled missile systems

Multi-Mission Launcher

The US Army is developing a Multi-Mission Launcher (MML), which is designed to fire a variety of interceptor missiles, depending on the threat. The MML ...

Surface-to-air missiles

CAMM-ER

The CAMM-ER, the Common Anti-air Modular Missile Extended Range, is part of MBDA's CAMM family of next-generation air defence missiles. The missile is conceived to provide ...

Major networking projects

IBCS

The Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS) is a C2 system designed to integrate current and future sensors. The system also improves ...

Surface-to-air missiles

MIM-104F Patriot PAC-3

The MIM-104F Phased Array Tracking to Intercept of Target (Patriot) Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) is a long-range, medium- to high-altitude, all-weather air defence missile designed to ...

Self-propelled rocket launchers

HIMARS

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control developed the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launcher to provide the US and allied armies with a ...

Self-propelled missile systems

Pantsir-S1

KBP developed the Pantsir (NATO designation SA-22 Greyhound) self-propelled anti-aircraft gun and missile system from 1989 to replace the Tunguska system in Russian Army service. 

Military helicopters - light/training, Military helicopters - multirole, Military helicopters - scout/light attack

H160M

Airbus is developing the H160M to meet the requirements of the French military for the Joint Light Helicopter (Hélicoptère Interarmées Léger, or HIL) programme. It ...

Self-propelled missile systems

Land Ceptor

MBDA Land Ceptor is a medium-to-long range ground-based air defence missile system based on the Common Anti-Air Modular Missile (CAMM) family of surface-to-air missiles developed ...