• Digital Battlespace

  German Air Force GM 400 radar enters service

  5th November 2013

  The first of six Ground Master 400 (GM 400) long-range air defence radar systems supplied by ThalesRaytheonSystems (TRS) to the German Air Force has entered …

• Digital Battlespace

  India launches mission to Mars

  5th November 2013

  India has successfully launched its first interplanetary Mars orbiter satellite to research the Martian atmosphere. The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), or Mangalyaan, was launched on …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment awarded DARPA TERN contract

  5th November 2013

  AeroVironment will work with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop a medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) UAS designed to operate from small ships to …

• Digital Battlespace

  P-8A Poseidon deliveries continue on schedule

  4th November 2013

  The US Navy has taken delivery of the 12th production P-8A Poseidon aircraft from Boeing on schedule on 25 October. The aircraft will join other …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  First flight for MQ-8C Fire Scout

  1st November 2013

  The latest variant of the US Navy's Fire Scout UAV has flown for the first time in California, during which it stayed airborne for seven …

• Land Warfare

  BAE awarded Paladin artillery upgrade contract

  31st October 2013

  Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) of the upgrade to the Paladin self-propelled artillery system is set to begin after a US Army contract awarded to BAE Systems. …

• Land Warfare

  Raytheon targets new paths for Ai3 interceptor

  31st October 2013

  Despite stalled production, the future of the Ai3 counter-rocket, artillery, mortar (C-RAM) interceptor programme could take two different paths: fielding or becoming a programme of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Europe reignites UCAV development efforts

  29th October 2013

  Following lulls in the development of Europe’s two flagship UCAV programmes, flight testing has restarted for Neuron while Taranis is believed to have finally completed …

• Land Warfare

  Rheinmetall demos mobile HEL effector

  28th October 2013

  New advances in high-energy laser (HEL) technology for air defence were displayed by Rheinmetall during a live demonstration at the Ochsenboden firing range on 24 …

• Digital Battlespace

  JSOW C-1 networked with US Navy E-2D aircraft

  28th October 2013

  The newest version of the Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) C-1 has been networked with the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft as part of the US Navy’s …

• Naval Warfare

  DCNS begins sea trials of second FREMM frigate

  25th October 2013

  The second of the Aquitaine class frigates being built by DCNS for the French Navy, FREMM frigate Normandie, put to sea for the first time on …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Austria selects Cassidian Tracker UAS

  25th October 2013

  Cassidian announced on 25 October that the Austrian Ministry of Defence has ordered six Tracker mini UAS with a total of 18 aircraft. The purchase …

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2013: Lockheed readies for JLTV production move

  24th October 2013

  The planned move of production of the Lockheed Martin Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) is to begin shortly with the movement of tooling and testing …

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2013: ST Kinetics secures ammo contracts

  23rd October 2013

  ST Kinetics has secured a total of more than $30 million of international orders for its 40mm ammunition. The company announced at the AUSA exhibition …

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2013: Textron unveils new direct fire Commando vehicle

  22nd October 2013

  A new variant of the Commando 4x4 armoured vehicle fitted with a 90mm gun has been unveiled at AUSA by Textron Marine & Land Systems …

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 ...