• Training

  Exclusive: Full list of British Army $1 billion collective training programme bidders revealed

  23rd November 2023

  Internal documents obtained by Shephard have revealed a covert line up of companies, including Elbit Systems, joining the competition for the British Army Collective Training System (ACTS, previously known as CTTP).

• Air Warfare

  Boeing gets another boost with 36 Apaches approved for South Korea amid flurry of FMS deals

  20th August 2024

  The approval of four Foreign Military Sale (FMS) requests this week follows the green light for the sale to Israel of 50 F-15IA multi-role fighter aircraft and mid-life update kits for the country’s existing F-15s and other equipment in deals worth $20 billion.

• Land Warfare

  US Missile Defense Agency’s budget could be cut by $2.6 billion over the next three years

  20th April 2024

  The reduction would impact several acquisition and development programmes, creating capabilities gaps in US missile defence architecture.

• Digital Battlespace

  Space defence assets under growing threat says Lockheed executive

  19th September 2024

  Chinese innovation and interference means it will only continue to get harder for western nations to defend their space assets.

• Air Warfare

  Romania approved for $340 million Sidewinder purchase

  15th May 2024

  The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a short-range air-to-air missile (AAM). The heat-seeking AIM-9X Block 1 Sidewinder, the most widely used AAM on US and allied fighter aircraft, can also be mounted on helicopters.

• Naval Warfare

  Indonesia chooses French Naval Group to support building of two submarines

  2nd April 2024

  Indonesia has signed a contract with Naval Group to support the construction of two Scorpene Evolved Full LIB submarines via technology transfer.

• Air Warfare

  Boeing applauds imminent E-7A deal and negotiation process

  21st July 2024

  The US Air Force (USAF) Is looking to replace its E-3 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) with Boeing’s E-7s.

• Land Warfare

  Latest UK Army Warfighting Experiment urban exercise underway

  13th November 2024

  The series of exercises focuses on war fighting in the urban environment with the intention of aligning experimentation to tactical functions and integrating them all during a final experiment.

• Defence Notes

  What the US expects from a third year of war in Ukraine

  22nd February 2024

  On the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the uncertainty regarding the future of the conflict has split opinions in Washington, placing military assistance to Kyiv and sanctions on Moscow in a nebulous zone.

• Land Warfare

  How soldier centred-design requirements will reshape future US Army’s capabilities

  7th December 2023

  The service has plans in place to involve soldiers in the early stages of acquisition and development programmes in addition to conducting more soldier touchpoint events.

• Naval Warfare

  Clock ticks for the US Navy to present a recovery plan for faulty welds in its vessels

  8th October 2024

  The branch should submit the rework plan to the House of Representatives by 11 October.

• Defence Notes

  UK begins latest round of negotiations on defence exports to Ukraine

  9th August 2024

  Ministers from both country’s governments have met to ease the procurement pathway following the signing of a new treaty by both parties.

• Land Warfare

  Leopard MBT: Alpha beast finally gets to work after a long slumber (updated 2024)

  14th May 2024

  Leopard MBTs are German-made main battle tanks that have been in service since the Cold War and have undergone several upgrades to remain competitive in modern warfare. This article traces the history and development of the Leopard 1 and 2, its variants, its operational service and its future prospects.

• Naval Warfare

  Kongsberg contracted for Dutch and Belgian frigate propellers and drive shafts

  19th April 2024

  In July 2023, Damen and Thales signed contracts to design, build and deliver four new anti-submarine warfare (ASW) frigates for Belgium and the Netherlands.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  FTUAS competitor trials were “very successful”, says US Army official

  1st October 2024

  Prototypes from Griffon Aerospace and Textron Systems recently passed through MOSA conformance trials and flight tests.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Wing Loong I-D [Eygpt]

  Programme Background Context According to SIPRI, 10 Wing Loong I UAVs were acquired from China in 2016, with deliveries occurring from 2016 to 2018. The Chinese Sohu newspaper reported that ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  San Antonio LPD 17 Flight I [USN]

  The LPD 17 Flight I ships are the first flight of the San Antonio-class Landing Platform Docks (LPD). Procured between FY1996 and FY2017, the vessels ...

• Tanks

  Arjun Mark-II

  Programme Background While original plans envisioned the production of up to 250 Arjun Mk IIs, the programme's many delays have prompted the Indian Army to ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  PKX-B Batch II (9-22) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Contracts Award On 24 November 2022, HJ Heavy Industries was awarded a contract worth KRW212 billion ($160 million) to build four PKX-B Batch-II ...

• Tanks

  Al-Khalid-I

  Programme Background Pakistan operates a vast fleet of Chinese and Ukrainian MBTs primarily aimed at deterring regional rivals such as India. In order to build ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  PKX-B Batch II (1-4) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Contracts Award On 24 November 2022, HJ Heavy Industries was awarded a contract worth KRW212 billion ($160 million) to build four PKX-B Batch-II fast attack ...

• Tanks

  Al-Khalid-II

  Programme Background Pakistan operates a vast fleet of Chinese and Ukrainian MBTs primarily aimed at deterring regional rivals such as India. In order to build ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  PKX-B Batch II (5-8) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Contracts Award On 24 November 2022, HJ Heavy Industries was awarded a contract worth KRW 212 billion ($160 million) to build four PKX-B ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  Fast Interceptor Craft - Indigenous (FIC-I) (India)

  Programme Background Requirements The craft are required to have a length of 13-17m, a sustained speed of 45kt, a range of at least 200nm at 15kt, ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  New Exploration and Escort Helicopter (NEES) (Phase II) [Italy]

  Programme Background Phase I In 2017, the Italian government signed a contract with Leonardo to replace its fleet of AW129 Mangusta attack helicopters with the ...

• Submarines: conventional, attack

  KSS-III (Boats 1-3) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Timeline The new KSS-III Dosan Ahn Chang-Ho-class submarines for the Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN) are a significant advance on the earlier KSS-II ...

• 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 - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) (Phase II) [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement The Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) provides short-range day and night ISR to US Army units at the squad, platoon and other small ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) (Phase II) [USA]

  In 2018, the US Army selected the FLIR Systems Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance System (PRS) for Phase I of its Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) programme. ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) (Phase II) [USA]

  In 2018, the US Army selected the FLIR Systems Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance System (PRS) for Phase I of its Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) programme. ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Subsystems: software

  SWORD

  The SWORD is a high-level, automated war-game solution for training, analysis and planning. Developed in close relation with armies worldwide, the SWORD immerses brigade and ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  TAOS

  In Tactical Aircraft Online Services (TAOS), live Aero L-29 jets are flown by experienced combat pilots alongside a wingman flying a ground-based flight simulator, controlled ...

• Land: fire support simulators

  FIDex

  Fidelity has merged the technology of its JTAC and IDF product lines. It released FIDex (Fidelity Extreme) at I/ITSEC 2011 with its first demo of ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators, Land: tactical engagement simulators

  VBS Blue IG

  At I/ITSEC 2017, Bohemia Interactive Simulations (BISim) unveiled a new simulation technology to help international militaries train for operations. VBS Blue IG, an upgrade from the ...

• Subsystems: visual

  EP-8100

  At I/ITSEC 2015, Collins Aerospace (formerly Rockwell Collins) unveiled its EP-8100 image generation system, which is driven by real-time, simulation-specific graphics cards and software. It ...

• Subsystems: visual

  WholeEarth Synthetic Environment

  Rockwell Collins unveiled its enhanced synthetic training environment, WholeEarth, at I/ITSEC 2015 and the official release occurred in May 2016. The high-resolution complete Earth database ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  ULV MicroVSAT

  Ultra I&C;'s ULV MicroVSAT is a tri-band, lightweight SATCOM terminal that emphasises portability. First introduced in 2022, the modem-agnostic system supports WGS, Intelsat Flex, Inmarsat GX ...

• APCs/IFVs - 4x4

  Cockerill i-X

  The Cockerill i-X is a wheeled armoured vehicle designed as a light armoured platform with a modular turret for intercepting enemy forces. John Cockerill Defense unveiled the new ...

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

  ALTIUS-600 / ALTIUS-600M

  Part of the ALTIUS family, the ALTIUS-600 is an air-launched, tube-integrated UAV that Area-I has designed to conduct ISR, SIGINT collection and electronic warfare missions.  At AUSA 2022, Anduril ...

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

  Wing Loong I

  Designed by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, a subsidiary of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, the Wing Loong I is the first member of the ...

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

  Skylark I-LEX

  The Skylark I-LEX is a mini-UAV manufactured by Elbit Systems.  Unveiled at the Paris Air Show 2015, the UAV is designed for ISR operations. It enables ...

• Self-propelled rocket launchers

  Pinaka

  The Pinaka 214mm MRL was developed indigenously by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from 1986 to meet the Indian Army's requirement for an ...

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

  Anka-I

  Anka-I is a SIGINT/COMINT variant of Turkey’s Anka-S and is operated by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization. The COMINT capability allows operators to track, geolocate and ...

• Air: aerial targets

  QF-16 FSAT

  The QF-16 Full Scale Aerial Target (FSAT) is an optionally piloted supersonic aerial target developed to replace the QF-4 in USAF service. Retired F-16 fighters are ...

• Air: mission management systems

  I-C2F

  The Integrated Command and Control Framework (I-C2F) provides an end-to-end C2 architecture delivering J1-J9 functionality across the joint battlespace. As well as C2 messaging and ...