• Training

  USAF issues Bandit design contract for UAV-based red air training

  15th March 2022

  As part of the Bandit programme, Blue Force Technologies will mature a high-performance UAV design for adversary air training with US pilots.

• Defence Notes

  Turkish stance on expansion raises thorny issues for NATO (Opinion)

  8th June 2022

  With Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan putting national interests first in stating his objections, is there still a path for NATO to welcome two new members in Finland and Sweden?

• Defence Helicopter

  DoD seeks rapid integration of presidential helicopter simulators

  18th February 2022

  Sikorsky is to assist efforts to integrate and field simulators for the VH-92A helicopter.

• Digital Battlespace

  Rheinmetall unveils Oerlikon AMMR radar

  4th April 2022

  A new modular software-defined radar from Rheinmetall Italia is designed for or C-UAS, SHORAD and VSHORAD applications.

• Land Warfare

  Lithuania seeks new armoured vehicles

  8th April 2022

  Lithuania is interested in 155mm self-propelled howitzers and IFVs in addition to military engineering and demining vehicles.

• Defence Helicopter

  Collins Aerospace demonstrates Air Launched Effects capabilities

  1st February 2022

  Collins Aerospace has made new progress when demonstrating Air Launched Effects (ALE) capabilities under the US Army's Future Vertical Lift (FVL) effort.

• Land Warfare

  Climate-altered battlefield will reshape procurement processes (Opinion)

  11th April 2022

  Although climate change has been a global concern in the last decades, recently it became a pressing issue for the military and defence domains.

• Land Warfare

  Brazilian Army progresses with Cascavel upgrade

  7th March 2022

  The Brazilian Army is making headway on the modernisation of part of its VBR MSR EE9-Cascavel fleet and has received four proposals to initially upgrade nine vehicles at a cost of about R$87 million ($17 million).

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Elbit Systems UK and MoD begin talks on Watchkeeper MLE upgrade

  25th January 2022

  Talks have begun on a mid-life extension (MLE) upgrade for the UK's Watchkeeper tactical UAV.

• Land Warfare

  France bets on armoured vehicles to ensure deterrence

  21st March 2022

  The French Army is betting on the acquisition and modernisation of armoured vehicles to ensure deterrence in multiple scenarios and avoid being in high-intensity conflicts. Currently, it is carrying out the Scorpion programme, which is intended to deliver around 4,500 new and upgraded platforms by 2034.

• Naval Warfare

  HII launches tenth National Security Cutter

  4th April 2022

  The penultimate Legend-class National Security Cutter for the US Coast Guard was launched on 3 April.

• Land Warfare

  USMC to revise Force Design 2030 but MBT removal plans remain unchanged

  10th May 2022

  The USMC is working on an updated version of the Force Design 2030 vision. Although the new document will take into account the current geopolitical scenario, it will not reassess the decision to divest the MBT fleet.

• Air Warfare

  Leonardo seals C-27J deal for Slovenia

  31st March 2022

  Leonardo is providing a C-27J aircraft under a government-to-government agreement between Italy and Slovenia.

• Training

  W5 Solutions identifies growth in live fire market

  9th March 2022

  W5 Solutions is in the process of acquiring fellow Swedish company MR Targets with the aim of strengthening its position in the live-fire range target market.

• Land Warfare

  Challenger 3 upgrade includes three phases but ammo requirements remain unclear

  21st April 2022

  There are three distinct phases to the Challenger 3 MBT upgrade plan for the British Army, but the MoD is still considering its 120mm ammunition options.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  MQ-9 Reaper [France]

  Programme Background Total Procurement In June 2013, Northrop Grumman announced that France had requested the purchase of 16 Reapers plus associated systems from the US ...

• Maritime patrol

  Long Range Patrol Aircraft [The Philippines]

  Programme Background On 10 July 2023, Elbit Systems announced that it had secured a contract for two long-range patrol aircraft. Although the customer was not ...

• Trainer

  M-346 [Greece]

  Programme Background In April 2021, Elbit Systems was awarded a $1.65 billion contract to set up Hellenic Air Force International Flight Training Centre. The deal includes ...

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

  Hermes 900 (Uganda)

  Programme Background In September 2018, The East African reported that Uganda had received 24 Hermes 900 platforms from Elbit Systems. Evidence of the platform being ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) Project [UK]

  Programme Background Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) Project The British Army launched the RAS project to provide the "direction required to exploit emerging technologies to ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2 [Kenya]

  Programme Background Training On 23 August 2024, Baykar posted on social media that trainees from Kenya had completed their Bayraktar TB2 training at the Baykar Flight ...

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

  Watchkeeper X [Romania]

  Programme Background 2021 In mid-2021, the Romanian manufacturer Aerostar signed a collaboration with U-TacS to produce the Watchkeeper X in Romania potentially. U-TacS is a ...

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

  Hermes 900 [Thailand]

  Programme Background Requirement The Naval Acquisition Management Office (NAMO) of the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) announced its intention to acquire one MALE UAV system comprising three ...

• 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 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 UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Matrice 300 (Ukraine)

  Programme Background On 11 December 2021, Ukrainian media reported that the Administration of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine had acquired  60 Matrice 300 rotary-wing ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530F -Kenya

  Crew transition training took place at the MD Helicopters headquarters in Mesa, Arizona, with field service support, armament, and gunnery training scheduled to occur at ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  F-5E/F Adversary Trainer US Navy

  The F-5N is a single seat, dual engine supersonic land based fighter. It is designed to a service life of 9000 flight hours. The aircraft ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Land 400 Phase 2 - Boxer CRV [Australia]

  Programme Background History The Land 400 Phase 2 programme will procure a replacement for the ASLAV, a derivative of the General Dynamics Land Systems Light Armoured Vehicle ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  AW101-Norway

  AgustaWestland is also providing initial support and training services, including spares at each of the operating bases and aircrew training. It will then provide performance ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air combat Training Centers

  Training centres and networked simulation devices for collective training in a realistic operational context at various levels (squadron, distant, joint, coalition) – Rafale Simulation Center, ...

• Air: UAV simulators

  UAV Simulators

  Elbit Systems has developed simulation systems to train personnel in UAV operation, from generic UAV training for initial screening procedures up to full mission, high-fidelity ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  Air Combat Training

  Boeing has experience in delivering training for fixed-wing air combat platforms including F-15C/E, F-16, F/A-18E/F, EA-18G, F-22 and MV/CV-22.

• Air: Displays

  F-16 Center Pedestal Display

  Produced by Elbit Systems of America, the F-16 Center Pedestal Display (CPD) provides a high-resolution colour display that replaces several legacy instruments on F-16 aircraft. 

• Air: air combat simulators

  USAF F-16 Training System

  L3Harris Technologies is supporting approximately 180 F-16 pilot and maintenance trainers as part of the USAF’s F-16 Training System. Programme contract options extend through 2019. ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  SkyBreaker

  Elbit Systems' SkyBreaker is an airborne Mission Training Centre that enables networked training between various trainees and platforms, including a range of air force platforms. ...

• Land: C2 simulators

  BGSC

  The Battle Group Simulation Center (BGSC) is a commander’s open training tool for doctrine and tactics. BGSC uses AI-based, adaptive-behaviour CGF. Applications include: conventional and ...

• Air: mission management systems

  Naval Command Center

  The Elbit Systems Naval Command Center (NCC) provides the infrastructure, systems and functionality required to achieve maritime domain awareness in conjunction with applicable means, evaluating ...

• Land: air defence simulators

  Live Training System for Air Defence

  Elbit Systems' Live Training System for Air Defence is integrated on various short- and medium-range air defence systems. The Live Training System provides networked and ...

• Air: fixed-wing flight simulators

  VMTS

  Elbit Systems' Virtual Mission Training System (VMTS) provides realistic training at a reduced cost in a fighter-like environment, claims the company. Using a data link, ...

• Air: fixed-wing flight simulators

  F-35 Training System

  BAE Systems is involved in F-35 Lightning II Training System design and sustainment, working with prime contractor Lockheed Martin. BAE Systems leads the instructional systems ...

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  Instrumented Ground Combat Training Systems

  Cubic supplies combat training systems for CTCs, homestations and forward-deployed environments. The systems are designed to support missions including force-on-force, urban operations, joint, combined arms ...

• Major networking projects

  DAP

  Israel’s Digital Army Program (DAP) offers interoperability of tri-service (air, land, sea) platforms and sensors for force-wide collaboration. The system is implemented in the IDF ...

• Air: fixed-wing flight simulators

  Tzofit Training Centre

  In June 2009, Elbit inaugurated the Beechcraft King Air B200 Tzofit Training Centre for IDF pilots. Elbit Systems serves as the project’s prime contractor, while ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72A/B Lakota

  In 2006, the US Army selected a version of the medium-sized, twin-engine H145, designated the UH-72A Lakota,  to meet its requirement for a new Light ...