• Naval Warfare

  DSEI 2021: MoD awards Thales naval laser demonstration contract

  14th September 2021

  Thales will develop a naval directed-energy weapon that will be fitted onto a Type 23 frigate for testing.

• Training

  USN and USMC hit the beach with new LCAC 100

  2nd September 2021

  With the US Navy/USMC SSC LCAC 100 platforms now entering service, a new training centre has been officially opened to train crews at Camp Pendleton.

• Digital Battlespace

  Singapore tests AI-powered command system

  23rd September 2021

  Singapore is developing and trying out ever more capable battlefield command systems.

• Training

  Indonesia and Thailand eye T-50 repeat orders

  22nd July 2021

  It has been a while since KAI received any orders for the T-50 jet, but a couple of deals are on the cards.

• Defence Notes

  British Army in the crosshairs as difficult choices confront new CDS (Opinion)

  2nd November 2021

  Admiral Sir Tony Radikin will take the reins as the new Chief of the Defence Staff on 30 November — while there are some reasons to be positive about the future, he must also juggle some potentially tricky priorities.

• Digital Battlespace

  Putting the soldier at the centre of AI design (Studio)

  14th October 2021

  Militaries are turning to soldier-centred design to maximise the benefits of AI technology, placing humans at the centre of their development efforts.

• Defence Notes

  Pentagon report highlights China’s ambition to ‘fight and win wars’

  5th November 2021

  Strategic competition continue to heat up between China and the US, as the former prioritises developing a modern military with burgeoning nuclear warheads.

• Naval Warfare

  DSEI 2021: Babcock secures first Arrowhead 140 export

  16th September 2021

  The deal is the first win for the frigate design developed with the export market in mind.

• Defence Notes

  Iranian words and deeds raise the regional stakes

  15th August 2021

  The US officially points the finger at Tehran after the 30 July UAV attack on a vessel in the Gulf of Oman, while the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps continues to ratchet tensions with a grandiose new claim.

• Air Warfare

  AFSOC seeks shift in VTOL and amphibious capabilities

  25th September 2021

  AFSOC has an eye on the future with plans to test an amphibious MC-130J and acquire high-speed VTOL aircraft.

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2021: Raytheon unleashes HELWS on experimental basis

  16th September 2021

  High-energy weapon to be installed on British Army Wolfhound for evaluation.

• Air Warfare

  DARPA looks to BAE Systems for active flow control design

  7th September 2021

  BAE Systems supports DARPA CRANE programme to improve aircraft performance with active flow control.

• Naval Warfare

  No progress on UK Bay-class support ship conversion

  27th September 2021

  Modifications to one of the RN's Bay-class support ships were first announced in March 2021 in the Defence Command Paper.

• Naval Warfare

  DSEI 2021: Babcock eyes Type 31 export success

  15th September 2021

  Babcock is targeting export success with the Arrowhead 140 design – known in the UK as the Inspiration-class Type 31.

• Land Warfare

  US Army advances future long-range fires

  8th September 2021

  As the US Army drives its new programmes for long-range precision fires weapons forward, two of them are expected to come to fruition in the next couple of years.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  The Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  The Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement The FVL-MS programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft utilised ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Project Proteus [UK]

  Project Proteus is an RN and Leonardo effort to design and develop an uncrewed helicopter demonstrator that could provide an innovative alternative to existing crewed ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Project Proteus [UK]

  Project Proteus is an RN and Leonardo effort to design and develop an uncrewed helicopter demonstrator that could provide an innovative alternative to existing crewed ...

• Tiltrotors

  V-22 Osprey [Japan]

  Programme Background Procurement Contracts The Japanese government is the first export customer of the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey, having ordered 17 helicopters from the US across ...

• Military UAS - MALE, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  MQ-8C Fire Scout (USA)

  Programme Background Timeline According to the Naval Air Systems Command, having first ordered the MQ-8B in 2009, the UAV has become a pillar of the ...

• Military UAS - small

  Heavy Lift Capability (UASHLC) [UK]

  Programme Background Requirement & Objective The RN identified a requirement to acquire an RPAS to transport cargo and supplies between ships and personnel. When mature, it ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawk (Saudi Arabia)

  The sale is aimed at improving Saudi Arabia’s capability to meet current and future threats from enemy weapon systems, provide the capability to identify, engage ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Data links

  Data links | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Military UAS - MALE, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Project Proteus [UK]

  Programme Background Requirements The RN requires an uncrewed helicopter to test the viability of larger uncrewed aircraft for the RN, possibly providing an alternative to crewed ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - MALE, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Korean Future Vertical Lift (KFVL)

  Unveiled at KADEX 2024, the Korean Future Vertical Lift (KFVL) is a family of uncrewed helicopters from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). Despite being in the ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Aerosonde Mk 4.8 HQ FTUAS

  From the Texton family of Aerosonde UAS, the Aerosonde Mk 4.8 Hybrid Quad (HQ) FTUAS is a tactical drone purpose-built to meet the US Army's Future Vertical Lift ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  HQ-60

  Similarly to other platforms in the L3 Technologies Hybrid Quadrotor (HQ) and Fixed-Wing Rotator family (see separate entries) of VTOL fixed-wing UAVs, the HQ-60 has ...

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

  V-247 Vigilant

  The V-247 Vigilant is a tiltrotor UAV from Bell. Officially introduced in 2016, it features an open modular architecture and can host several payloads. These include ...

• Baby Shark 260

  The Foxtech Baby Shark 260 is a fixed-wing VTOL UAV for commercial and civil operations, which has four spar-mounted rotors to provide vertical lift, a pusher ...

• Air: Displays

  F-15 Replacement Vertical Situation Display

  BAE Systems Replacement Vertical Situation Display (RVSD) replaces the legacy VSD units on F-15E aircraft. The AMLCD display offers a larger display size and is compatible ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  X-Sight

  Elbit X-Sight is a developmental helmet-mounted display system designed for helicopters. According to the manufacturer, it will offer a high field of view and colour binocular ...

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

  H6 Poseidon

  Manufactured by Swarmly, the H6 Poseidon is a fixed-wing VTOL-capable UAV. The second largest member of the Poseidon family, the vertical lift is provided through ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Proteus

  Proteus is a technology demonstrator that Leonardo is developing in collaboration with the UK MoD's Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S;) Future Capabilities Group and the ...

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

  Veloce-15

  The ST Engineering Veloce-15 (V-15) is a hybrid fixed-wing UAV with four rotors for vertical lift and a tail-mounted two-bladed pusher propeller for horizontal propulsion.  ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Bell 360 Invictus

  The Bell 360 Invictus is the company's prototype for the US Army's Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) programme.  The helicopter features retractable weapon bays, two ...

• Military UGVs

  Avenger

  In January 2017, Med-Eng announced the launch of a new bomb disposal and tactical robot, called the Avenger, at the SHOT Show in Las Vegas. ...

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

  Ultra

  The Ultra UAV, or HCMC, is a fixed-wing twin-engined cargo-carrying platform manufactured by Windracers. The platform is mainly aimed at the commercial market and has conducted trials ...

• EO/IR systems

  VLP-16

  Velodyne's VLP-16 Puck is a small and compact lidar that is power and performance optimised for usage across a variety of applications. This ranges from ...

• Nimbus 1800

  Foxtech's Nimbus 1800 is a tri-copter, lightweight, fixed-wing VTOL UAV designed for civilian and commercial mapping and inspection roles. It has a 2.8kg weight without ...