• Defence Helicopter

  Quad A 2019: MD Helicopters Swift disqualified from FARA

  17th April 2019

  The US Army has officially disqualified MD Helicopters' Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) Swift demonstrator from competition consideration.  In response, the OEM is claiming the decision …

• Defence Notes

  Podcast: US Army procurement priorities, Airbus' pitch for the US Navy and the future of the European space business

  5th April 2019

  Welcome to Episode 11 of The Weekly Defence Podcast. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and more. Sign up to an early email alert of future podcasts here.

• Defence Helicopter

  Insight: Rostvertol’s heavy-lifting boosts Russia's helicopters

  15th April 2019

  Rostvertol’s manufacturing complex and airfield are situated in a single territory within the boundaries of Rostov on Don in the south-western part of Russia. 

• Defence Helicopter

  MDHI enhances MD 969 capabilities

  18th April 2019

  MD Helicopters (MDHI) has enhanced the capabilities of its MD 969 twin attack helicopter with the integration of Systima Technologies’ seven-Shot common launch tube (CLT) …

• Defence Helicopter

  Honeywell's T55 engine powers SB>1 Defiant

  23rd April 2019

  Honeywell's T55 turboshaft engines have been successfully tested on the Sikorsky-Boeing SB>1 Defiant demonstrator, the company announced on 15 April. The engines lifted the SB>1 …

• Defence Helicopter

  Hensoldt, Airbus Helicopters sign agreement for AMPS

  21st March 2019

  Hensoldt has signed a framework agreement with Airbus Helicopters for of its Airborne Missile Protection System (AMPS), the company announced on 15 March.  The agreement …

• Defence Helicopter

  Collins Aerospace to support US FVL

  16th April 2019

  Collins Aerospace has been selected by the US Army to provide expertise for the development of Future Vertical Lift (FVL), the company announced on 14 …

• Military Logistics

  Australia leases Falcon 7X trio for VIP transportation

  12th April 2019

  The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is leasing three VIP aircraft – Dassault Falcon 7X airframes – to replace the incumbent fleet of Bombardier CL-604 …

• Defence Helicopter

  Finishing touches for Spanish Navy’s AB-212 upgrades

  18th April 2019

  Whilst delivery of the seven modernised AB-212 helicopters for the Spanish Navy is complete, Sener, one of the parties on the upgrade programme, continues in …

• Naval Warfare

  IMDEX Asia 2019: Japan Coast Guard launches new large vessels

  23rd April 2019

  Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) in Japan launched a 6,500t patrol ship on 8 March. Destined for the Japan Coast Guard (JCG), it is a modified …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  PHASA-35 solar UAV to begin test flights

  9th April 2019

  Technology manufacturer Prismatic is to commence prototype flight testing on its PHASA-35 (Persistent High Altitude Solar Aircraft) HALE UAV programme before the end of the …

• Land Warfare

  Thai army unveils VL MICA air defence system

  28th March 2019

  At the end of last year, the Royal Thai Army’s (RTA) Air Defence Command replaced its Spada surface-to-air missiles (SAM), which had been in service …

• Defence Helicopter

  PDAS flies on V-280 Valor

  19th April 2019

  Lockheed Martin's Pilotage Distributed Aperture Sensor (PDAS) system has flown aboard Bell Helicopter's V-280 Valor tiltrotor aircraft in Fort Worth, Texas, the company announced on …

• Digital Battlespace

  IAI launches Opal system

  19th April 2019

  Israel Aerospace Industries has launched its new Opal system for establishing real time connectivity and data sharing between different platforms - including manned and unmanned …

• Military Logistics

  IMDEX Asia 2019: Indonesia orders additional LSTs

  23rd April 2019

  Indonesia’s MoD ordered the 8th and 9th Teluk Bintuni-class LSTs for the Indonesian Navy on 12 April, awarding shipbuilder PT Bandar Abadi an IDR360 billion …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M - France

  Programme Background In April 2021, the French government signed a deal for the purchase of eight H225M Airbus helicopters to replace its ageing fleet of SA330 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M [Ireland]

  Programme Background On 30 December 2024 Ireland announced a contract with Airbus for four new H145M helicopters to replace the Air Corps existing fleet of ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  TH-73 Advanced Helicopter Training System - AHTS (TH-57 Replacement)

  Contenders for the competition included the Leonardo single engine TH-119 – a military variant of the AW119Kx – and Bell’s newly upgraded single engine 407GXi. ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145 Helicopter [Honduras]

  Programme Background  The Honduran Government has purchased a total of four H145 Helicopters manufactured by Airbus to develop the armed forces preparedness against natural disasters ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  Maritime Operations Helicopters

  The three maritime operations helicopters will be used for logistics and personnel transport, alongside transportation of PASKAL naval special forces in operations in the area. ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  SW4 Puszczyk Replacement [Poland]

  Programme Background  In 2002, Poland order 47 SW4 training helicopters from Italian manufacturer Leonardo; as of Spring 2025, the Ministry of Defence is looking to ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Bell 412EPI-Indonesia

  Programme Background PTDI is assembling Bell helicopters in its factory in Bandung.  The first Bell 412EPI was delivered to Indonesian Army on 29 December 2020 ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  Kondor Naval Helicopters (Poland)

  Programme Background In 2018, the Polish MoD announced its requirement to purchase up to eight naval helicopters to replace in-service SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopters. Polish ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Spain HT-29 Caiman (NH90 TTH) - Army First Batch

  HT-29 Caiman GSPAs (NH90 TTH) will be assembled at Airbus Helicopters’ facility in Albacete and will replace AS332 Super Puma fleet in service. Even though ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  AW101 [Poland]

  According to the media reports, Airbus couldn't provide a competitive offer for the programme due to the offset requirements.  The deliveries were to be completed ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  AH-X [Japan]

  There is no mention of the AH-X in the 2019-2023 Medium Term Defence Plan, so it is possible that the requirement has quietly been postponed. ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H135 (UK)

  Programme BackgroundAirbus Helicopters UK announced on 2 February 2022 that it has won an order to provide five additional H135 twin-engine helicopters for the MoD. The ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Ka-226T-India-Air Force

  An official contract announcement is expected during the Aero India 2021 exhibition in Bangalore, although negotiations have dragged on for more than five years and ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M (Contracted) [Germany]

  Programme Background Previous Usage The German Armed Forces ordered 15 H145M helicopters, with the initial two delivered in December 2015, for the Kommando Spezialkräfte. These ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  Naval Utility Helicopters (India)

  Programme Background The program will witness the formation of a joint venture between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and another local or foreign manufacturer. In June ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - light/training

  H145

  The light, twin-engine EC145 began as an initiative to increase the cabin size of the BK 117 C1 aircraft, involving Kawasaki of Japan and Airbus ...

• Military helicopters - light/training, Military helicopters - multirole

  H135M

  The H135M (formerly known as the EC635 and also designated as H135) is a light utility variant of the EC135 twin-engine, multipurpose 3t helicopter. In ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M

  The H145M (formerly known as the EC645 T2) is the military version of the H145 medium-sized (3.7t) helicopter (covered in a separate entry). It is ...

• Model 301 Fire Attack

  The Model 301 is a belly tank/refill hose system for Airbus Helicopters AS365-series helicopters.

• Model 316 Fire Attack

  The Model 316 is a belly tank/refill hose system for Airbus Helicopters H225 and AS332 L-series helicopters.

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H175M

  The Airbus H175M is the military variant of the H175, a seven-tonne class aircraft powered by twin PT6C 67E engines. The civilian variants produced by Airbus ...

• Air: mission management systems

  Helionix

  The Helionix digital avionics suite was developed from the need for a more powerful avionics system with greater functions and computing capacity, alongside a user-friendly interface. ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H215M

  The H215M (formerly the AS532 ALe) is the most recent addition to the Cougar family.  It is a medium-weight (9t-class), twin-engine helicopter, combining the AS532's ...

• AC67 Airbus Helicopters H135 interior

  Bucher has developed the AC67 medical interior for the Airbus Helicopters H135 in cooperation with ADAC Luftrettung.The lightweight, modular design features a floor with integrated ...

• 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 ...

• Helicopter engines

  Arriel 2+/2D

  Unveiled in 2011, the Arriel 2+ is an upgrade of the Arriel 2 and is intended for single- and twin-engine helicopters. It incorporates a new ...

• Helicopter engines

  LTS101

  The LTS101 was first certified in 1975. Since then, over 2,100 engines have been delivered to customers worldwide, logging over 11 million service hours. The ...

• EO/IR systems

  Viviane

  Viviane is an out-of-production gyro-stabilised night and adverse weather observation system with missile sight.  Manufactured by Safran, it was fitted to French Army Gazelles. It contained a ...

• Air: mission management systems

  APM 2000

  The current generation of autopilots is the APM 2000 family, fitted on major worldwide platforms. The APM 2000 is based on an integrated digital computer. ...

• Air: Defensive Systems - Radar Warning Receivers

  EWR-99

  Dassault is not traditionally associated with electronic warfare subsystems, instead being equated with the manufacture of combat aircraft and business jets. Nonetheless, the company did, ...