• Defence Notes

  Japan set to make its F-15 fleet more lethal

  30th October 2019

  Japan is moving forward an ambition to modernise its Boeing F-15J fighter fleet, with the US State Department approving, on 29 October, the major upgrade …

• Naval Warfare

  Hensoldt UK introduces Manta NEO INS

  8th November 2019

  Hensoldt UK has introduced its newest generation of integrated navigation systems (INS) for vessels, the Manta NEO.  Deriving from the legacy Manta variant, the NEO …

• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop contracted to sustain and modernise JSTARS

  1st October 2019

  Northrop Grumman has been awarded a $495 million contract to carry out modernisation and sustainment work for the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System …

• Land Warfare

  Mistral 3 in test firing demo

  15th November 2019

  MBDA’s Mistral 3 missile has taken part in a test firing to demonstrate its enhanced capabilities, the company announced on 15 November. The demonstration saw …

• Digital Battlespace

  Kratos announces new C5 product orders

  11th November 2019

  Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’ Kratos Microwave Electronics Division (KMED) has received order worth $15 million in support of command, control, communication, computing and combat …

• Naval Warfare

  OCEAN2020 demonstration kicks off

  20th November 2019

  The first OCEAN2020 demonstration is set to commence today, 20 November, in the Gulf of Taranto. OCEAN2020 is a European Defence Fund pan-European military research …

• Digital Battlespace

  German Air Force explores passive aggressive surveillance

  1st November 2019

  The Luftwaffe (German Air Force) is blazing a trail with its interest in passive radar, with the technology promising to enhance its ground-based air surveillance …

• Digital Battlespace

  DSEI Japan 2019: Japan developing an active protection system

  18th November 2019

  Perhaps the most interesting item on display at the Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency’s (ATLA) Technology Symposium in Tokyo, held on 12-13 November, was an …

• Digital Battlespace

  L3Harris to demo F-16 EW prototype

  15th November 2019

  L3Harris Technologies is to demonstrate a new electronic warfare (EW) solution prototype for the US Air Force F-16 fighter, the company announced on 14 November. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Lockheed and USAF carry out ATHENA C-UAV testing

  8th November 2019

  Lockheed Martin has demonstrated alongside the US Air Force the ability of its Advanced Test High Energy Asset (ATHENA) laser weapon system to engage and …

• Digital Battlespace

  AOC 2019: Saab pushes latest countermeasures for international market

  5th November 2019

  Sweden’s Saab opted to use the AOC exhibition and conference in Washington, DC, in late-October to push its range of airborne countermeasure and surveillance systems, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AQS-24 performance envelope expands

  11th October 2019

  Recent testing carried out by Northrop Grumman on the AQS-24 minehunting sonar has doubled the current AQS-24 Program of Record depth performance metric.The test team …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UK government awards C-UAV technology contracts

  7th November 2019

  The UK government has awarded £2 million in funding to support 18 projects that will develop new technologies that are able to detect, disrupt and …

• Digital Battlespace

  Germany looks into radar picture improvements

  1st November 2019

  The Luftwaffe (German Air Force) may embark upon a major procurement of new ground-based air surveillance radars over the coming five years which could see …

• Naval Warfare

  Deal done for UK’s future Type 31 frigates

  15th November 2019

  With minimal fuss and an absence of fanfare, the UK MoD has awarded a contract to Babcock on 15 November for the build and delivery …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  RQ-4 Global Hawk (Japan)

  Programme Background Selection & Contract AwardIn 2015, Northrop Grumman's RQ-4 Global Hawk UAS and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft were selected by Japan to ...

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

  Long-Range Drones [Norway]

  Programme Background Andøya Ambition On 3 April 2023, the Norwegian MoD released a statement confirming its plans for Andøya, the northernmost island in its Vesterålen archipelago. In addition ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  IAR-99 Replacement (Romania)

  On 29 August 2017, Leonardo announced that the IAR-99 trainer technology demonstrator (TD) will be fitted with company's Vixen 500E AESA radar. The Vixen 500E AESA ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• AEW&C

  E-2D (France)

  Programme Background In July 2020, France revealed its intention of buying a fleet of three E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Aircraft with a $2 billion potential FMS deal, ...

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

  MQ-4C Triton (Option) [Australia]

  Programme Background Four Contracted Units In the summer of 2020, Northrop Grumman announced that the Australian Government provided $333 million for three MQ-4C Tritons and associated ...

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

  AdvaNced airCraft Infrastructure-Less Launch And RecoverY (ANCILLARY) [US]

  Programme Background Aims & Timeline As stated by DARPA, the ANCILLARY programme aims to develop and fly an X-plane that will provide a "leap-ahead" in long-endurance, ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-16V [Türkiye]

  Programme Background Requirement Turkish Air Force ordered 100 F-35A aircraft as a partner nation, however, the country was removed from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA)

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA)

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

• Data links

  Data links | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA)

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA)

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA)

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) [USA]

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar, Air: surveillance radar, Air: UAS radar

  Osprey 30

  The Osprey multi-mode surveillance radar is a low SWaP system that provides an affordable second-generation AESA surveillance capability as the primary sensor on airborne assets ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-83 SABR

  The AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) is being developed as an upgrade option for the F-16. It is designed to replace the existing AN/APG-66 ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-80

  The AN/APG-80 is an agile beam radar with an AESA antenna designed to continuously search for and track multiple targets within the forward hemisphere of ...

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar

  AN/APQ-181

  The AN/APQ-181 is a low-probability-of-intercept radar fitted to USAF Northrop Grumman B-2 stealth bombers. During the B-2 Radar Modernization Program – completed in 2012 – the ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-81

  The AN/APG-81 is an AESA multifunction radar for the F-35 joint strike fighter that incorporates the agile beam-steering capabilities developed for the F-22’s APG-77. Its ...

• 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 ...

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar, Air: UAS radar

  AN/ZPY-5 VADER

  The Vehicle and Dismount Exploitation Radar (VADER) is being developed for use with the Sky Warrior UAV to enable accurate ground moving target indication data ...

• Air: Integrated Defensive Systems

  Defensive Management System-Modernisation

  The Defensive Management System-Modernisation (DMS-M) is the overarching effort to substantially enhance the Northrop Grumman B-2A Spirit strategic bomber’s Integrated Self-Protection System (ISPS) which includes ...

• Air-to-surface missiles

  Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW)

  The Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW) is an air-to-ground weapon that will provide strike capability to defeat rapidly relocatable targets as part of an enemy’s anti-access/area denial ...

• Land: air defence radar

  AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR

  AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) is a multi-mission system designed to support worldwide expeditionary requirements. It provides detection and tracking capabilities and offers traffic ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  H-1 Family of Avionics

  Northrop Grumman produces a family of avionics for Bell H-1-series helicopters.

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  Grifo-346

  The Grifo-346 is a combat aircraft X-band radar covering +/-60° in azimuth and elevation and a weight under one kilogram. It can track up to ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  MQ-8C Fire Scout

  The MQ-8C is a newer version of the Fire Scout and is based on a Bell 407 commercial helicopter. It offers a greater range, endurance and ...

• Loitering munitions

  Jackal

  The Jackal is a turbojet loitering munition designed by Northrop Grumman in partnership with AeroVironment.  It features an open architecture that provides the capability to support ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-77

  The AN/APG-77 is a low-probability-of-intercept fire control radar for the F-22 Raptor. It is designed to significantly improve capability in air-to-air combat, allowing the pilot ...