• Land Warfare

  ‘A true force multiplier’ – where AI can make the most impact in defence

  3rd October 2024

  In Conversation... ST Engineering’s Ravinder Singh talks to Shephard's Gerrard Cowan about how AI can enhance human performance, the best ways to build trust in the technology among defence customers, and the areas where AI can transform military operations

• Land Warfare

  Malaysia’s Cendana Auto unveils two new tactical 4x4 vehicles

  6th May 2024

  Malaysia has a requirement for a light strike vehicle for the 10th Parachute Brigade and a troop transport for its infantry battalions and the two new vehicles unveiled at DSA are targeted at these requirements.

• Defence Notes

  Be immersed in pioneering tech innovation at World Defense Show 2024

  13th December 2023

  Journey to the Future at World Defense Show 2024 offers an interactive experience showcasing defence tech innovation and emerging trends across five domains.

• Defence Notes

  Industry and procurement are up to the challenge of a manufacturing surge, says US Army acquisition boss

  26th January 2024

  US large vehicle defence programmes will have companies extremely busy towards the end of this decade with XM30, M1E3, M10 Booker and robotic combat vehicle likely to be rolling off production this decade and possibly simultaneously. The question is, can industry and the acquisition model handle the surge?

• Land Warfare

  Major call for shift towards defence-focused advanced manufacturing practices made at DVD 2024

  19th September 2024

  Defence leaders called on the industry to be more proactive in supply chain design, but noted that while the use of modern technological solutions to streamline the supply chain was vital, it could have significant downstream societal consequences.

• Air Warfare

  US Air Force divestment plans could create capability gaps in the Air National Guard

  24th June 2024

  The retirement of A-10s would reduce the guard fleet and its squadron structure making it more difficult for the service to accomplish its tasks worldwide.

• Naval Warfare

  New Italian FREMM funding initiated as final French FREMM enters service

  21st November 2023

  Both the Italian and French navies are taking deliveries of their FREMM frigates as part of wider surface fleet modernisation and expansion plans.

• Air Warfare

  US Air Force to increase use of generative AI

  12th June 2024

  The service recently announced the NIPRGPT effort to allow for expanding experimentation with generative AI technology.

• Land Warfare

  Lockheed Martin wins contract for more Precision Strike Missiles

  7th March 2024

  In November 2023, Lockheed Martin announced it had successfully completed a production qualification flight test of Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM) from an M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). The company has received an order for more missiles.

• Land Warfare

  Franco-German next-generation tank project moves forward

  30th April 2024

  The Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) programme was initiated in June 2018 when France and Germany signed a Letter of Intent to develop a common next-generation main battle tank (MBT) platform.

• Air Warfare

  Second known test flight of B-21 confirmed by US Air Force

  19th January 2024

  US Air Force awarded the B-21 Engineering and Manufacturing Development contract to Northrop Grumman in 2015. The design was unveiled to the public in February 2016 under the LRS-B programme and has been scheduled to enter service within the next few years.

• Defence Notes

  Majority of NATO countries will reach the 2% of the GDP mark this year

  20th June 2024

  The result, however, displeased US leadership as eight countries will miss the target in 2024.

• Naval Warfare

  Ingalls Shipbuilding awarded $155 million contract for USS Zumwalt modernisation

  30th August 2023

  HII's Ingalls Shipbuilding division has been awarded a $154.8 million contract modification for the modernisation of USS Zumwalt, integrating the Conventional Prompt Strike weapon system for enhanced capabilities.

• Defence Helicopter

  Dart Aerospace to supply high-lift heliporter to US Navy

  11th September 2023

  The Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) is has been awarded an indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract by the US DoD to provide a high-lift heliporter designed and manufactured by Dart Aerospace to the USN.

• Land Warfare

  Bahrain to buy 50 Abrams tanks under $2.2 billion deal

  20th March 2024

  Should the deal proceed, Bahrain would join the ranks of the US, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in operating the M1A2 Abram tank.

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 ...