• Digital Battlespace

  DIMDEX: Middle Eastern C4ISR requirements evolve

  26th March 2014

  The Middle East is experiencing a change of mindset in the area of C4ISR procurement, according to Thales. Speaking to Shephard at DIMDEX on 26 …

• Digital Battlespace

  IAI announces new air defence radar contract

  24th March 2014

  Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will supply air defence and traffic control radar systems to an unnamed customer under a new contract announced on 23 March. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Brimstone integration on Reaper success, MBDA says

  21st March 2014

  MBDA has revealed details about the integration of the Dual-Mode Brimstone munition on board a UK Royal Air Force (RAF) MQ-9 Reaper UAV following a …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Navy to study MH-53E engine fire risk

  20th March 2014

  The US Navy plans to award Sikorsky a contract to study ways to ‘reduce or eliminate’ the risk of engine-fires on its MH-53E Sea Dragon …

• Defence Notes

  China becomes fourth-largest arms exporter

  18th March 2014

  China has become the world’s fourth largest weapons exporter amid continued growth in international arms sales, according to a new study by Sweden-based think-tank SIPRI.  …

• Defence Helicopter

  Russia stages helicopter exercises near Ukraine border

  18th March 2014

  The Russian army started a new round of military exercises close to the border with Ukraine on 17 March. Held at a training center in …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Bluefin, Sonardyne team for AUV market

  17th March 2014

  Sonardyne International and Bluefin Robotics will collaborate to integrate Sonardyne’s Solstice Side Scan Sonar with the Bluefin 12 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). The companies made …

• Defence Helicopter

  Longbow International to support UK Apache radars

  13th March 2014

  Longbow International will support the fire control radars on the British Army’s fleet of Apache AH Mk 1 helicopters under a $96 million contract from …

• Naval Warfare

  French Navy’s Normandie frigate continues sea trials

  12th March 2014

  The second frigate of the French Navy’s FREMM programme, Normandie, has completed its third series of sea trials off the Brittany coast. The vessel returned …

• Land Warfare

  AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR system approved for LRIP

  11th March 2014

  Northrop Grumman has announced that its AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) system has been approved for Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) by the US …

• Naval Warfare

  Boeing maritime surveillance demonstrator takes off

  6th March 2014

  The Maritime Surveillance Aircraft (MSA) demonstrator under development by Boeing has completed its first flight from Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. The four hour flight, conducted …

• Land Warfare

  Brazilian Army selects Saab RBS 70

  3rd March 2014

  Saab will supply the RBS 70 Very Short Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) system to the Brazilian Army under a £7.4 million contract announced on 3 …

• Digital Battlespace

  Boeing P-8A Poseidon enters full-rate production

  26th February 2014

  The US Navy has placed an order with Boeing for 16 additional P-8A Poseidon aircraft, pushing the programme from preliminary low-rate production into full-rate production. …

• Land Warfare

  AUSA Winter: JTLV a benchmark for future programmes

  21st February 2014

  The source selection evaluation criteria for the downselect of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) programme were released last week, it has emerged. Speaking to …

• Land Warfare

  BAE Systems’ HAMMER system completes US Army CDR

  19th February 2014

  BAE System's potential solution for the US Army's Joint Effects Targeting System (JETS) target location designation system programme has reached a new milestone with its …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Loitering munitions

  Long Range One-way Platforms [US]

  Solicitation In October 2024, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) released a solicitation for long-range, one-way platforms. The DIU noted recent conflicts highlighted the asymmetric impact of low-cost, ...

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

  DTIF GUARD (Ireland)

  Programme Background The Problem As stated by the project's website, Ireland is the "softest target in EU for smugglers" due to its 3171km of coastline, ...

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

  Seeker 400 - First Batch (UAE)

  Programme Background The UAE has a long history of transactions with Denel Dynamics. The country has been purchasing various Seeker systems from as far back ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  NH90 NFH-Italy

  Programme Background  The Italian Navy has taken delivery of its first NH90 NFH helicopter in Full Operational Capability (or Step B) configuration in November 2013. ...

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

  CH-4 (First Batch) [Pakistan]

  Programme Background First Batch According to the Pakistan Exim Trade Info website, five aircraft were delivered to the country on 15 January 2021. According to a ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Micro UAV (Argentina)

  Programme Background Tender The EA and MoD in April 2021 announced Public Tender 0090/2021 (UOC: 84/135) which saw the General Directorate of Material begin the process ...

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

  CH-4 (Second Batch) [Pakistan]

  Programme Background First Batch According to the Pakistan Exim Trade Info website, five aircraft were delivered to the country on 15 January 2021. According to ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  HH-60W - Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH)

  According to the FY2021 Base funding, the HH-60W helicopter unit cost is $43.2 million. The HH-60W will be capable of employment day or night, in ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2 [Pakistan]

  Programme Background Requirement Following a 2019 skirmish with India, Pakistan placed newfound importance on EW and ISR, primarily due to the significant advantage gained during that ...

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

  Wing Loong II (Pakistan)

  Programme Background Negotiations On 6 October 2018, the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) announced it would acquire 48 Wing Loong II UAVs in a social media post. ...

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

  Seeker 400 - Second Batch (UAE)

  Programme Background The UAE has a long history of transactions with Denel Dynamics. The country has been purchasing various Seeker systems from as far back ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-60M Black Hawk (Second Contact) [Croatia]

  Programme Background Western Technology With the help of the US, Croatia has attempted to improve its military technology, replacing Soviet equipment, such as the Mi-8/Mi-17. ...

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

  MQ-9A Reaper [Spain]

  Programme Background First Contract The US State Department approved a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of MQ-9 Block 5 aircraft and associated parts, equipment, and logistical ...

• Reconnaissance/patrol vehicles

  VBMT Rec Multirole Armoured Reconnaissance Vehicle

  Technical Requirements The Brazilian Army released two documents outlining the technical and operational requirements for the VBMT Rec in early 2020. These elucidate a number ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Long-Endurance UAV [US AFRICOM]

  Programme Background Ageing MQ-9A Reapers In November 2022, Shephard reported that GA-ASI would continue supporting contractor SMX with its MQ-9A after winning a $2.3 billion task ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Space: radar systems

  RISAT-1

  Radar Satellite-1 (RISAT-1) is a microwave remote-sensing satellite carrying an SAR payload operating in C band (5.35GHz), which enables imaging of surface features during both ...

• Naval: Radio and SATCOM

  OceanTRx 4MIL

  The OceanTRx 4MIL is a ruggedised maritime SATCOM solution featuring simultaneous multi-band communication and advanced antenna management capabilities.  It was introduced at the Euronaval 2022 ...

• Major networking projects

  Skynet 6 SATCOM

  Skynet 6 is designed to replace Skynet 5. The PFI contract for Skynet 5,  held by Paradigm Secure Communications and Airbus DS, ends in 2022. As ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Osprey u8 HGL

  Launched in 2023, Kymeta Osprey u8 HGL is a hybrid Geostationary/Low-Earth Orbit terminal that provides satellite communications on the move. Notably, it can be mounted ...

• Naval: Radio and SATCOM, UAS: communication systems

  Multi-Purpose Terminal (MPT)

  Orbit's Multi-Purpose Terminal (MPT) is a family of stabilised VSAT systems suitable for installation on smaller vessels and airborne platforms including uncrewed vehicles. 

• Space: radar systems, Space: satellite surveillance systems

  Radarsat-2

  Owned and operated by MDA, Radarsat-2 was launched in late 2007 as a follow-on radar satellite to Canada’s Radarsat-1. The satellite's resolution ranges from a ...

• Naval: Radio and SATCOM

  SURFSAT-L

  Produced by Thales, SURFSAT-L is a SATCOM terminal designed for medium to large surface vessels. According to the manufacturer, it is designed to achieve a ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MONDO Satellite Terminal

  The Multi Orbit Network, Dual Operation (MONDO) Satellite Terminal is a developmental SATCOM solution that provides continuous communication links on GEO, LEO and MEO networks. ...

• Space: satellite surveillance systems

  Helios

  The Helios system consists of the Helios 2A and Helios 2B satellites, the latter of which was launched in December 2009, five years after Helios ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Multi-Orbit Tactical Terminal

  Intelsat Multi-Orbit Tactical Terminal (MOTT) is a ruggedised terminal with a low-profile design. The vehicle-mountable terminal features an electronically steered array antenna, edge computing capabilities ...

• Data links

  GSNC

  Global Secure Network Connection (GSNC) provides a global data communications solution for military aircraft, including bomber, refuelling and transport aircraft. The GSNC system uses Iridium ...

• Space: radar systems

  ESA Sentinel-1

  Sentinel-1 is a planned constellation of four satellites with two already in orbit and two on order. They carry a payload of a C-band SAR ...

• Space: radar systems

  NISAR

  The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) is a joint programme between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to build and launch an observation ...

• Space: radar systems

  TerraSAR-X and ​TanDEM-X

  TerraSAR-X and the more advanced TanDEM-X (TerraSAR-X add-on for digital elevation measurement) are designed to operate closely together to generate an accurate 3D image of ...

• Space: satellite surveillance systems

  KH-11

  The first of 16 KH-11 satellites was launched in 1976, and five remain in service, with the latest launch believed to have been in August ...