• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Tapas in user configuration has a long road ahead

  2nd March 2018

  Delayed by over five years, and even seemingly confused over whether to call it Tapas or Rustom II, the Indian Defence Research Development Organisation’s (DRDO) MALE …

• Defence Notes

  Baltic presidents to visit Trump

  22nd February 2018

  US President Donald Trump will welcome his counterparts from three Baltic states in Washington on 3 April to discuss security and economic ties, the Estonian …

• Defence Notes

  New US advisors hope to give Afghan soldiers vital boost

  5th March 2018

  A brigade of seasoned American soldiers has arrived in Afghanistan in recent days on a much-trumpeted mission to offer a new type of training – …

• Digital Battlespace

  EO/IR Special Report: Market overview (video)

  12th February 2018

  The military EO/IR systems market is estimated to be worth around $10 billion and projected to reach $14.2 billion by 2022, at a CAGR of …

• Defence Notes

  Mideast peace proposal nearly ready, says US

  23rd February 2018

  The US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said on 22 February that a proposal for a long awaited peace plan between Israelis and …

• Naval Warfare

  French Navy champions maritime security in Pacific

  27th February 2018

  As the only European nation with a permanent naval presence in Asia-Pacific, the French Navy takes maritime security in the region seriously. FS Vendemiaire, a …

• Military Logistics

  RAN’s Hobart completes first RAS

  20th February 2018

  The Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN's) HMAS Hobart has completed its first replenishment at sea (RAS) with HMAS Anzac off the east coast of Australia, the …

• Training

  HAL’s Hawk I flies with RTOS

  12th February 2018

  Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has successfully completed the first flight of its Hawk I training aircraft with its newly developed Real Time Operating System (RTOS), …

• Land Warfare

  Indian Army buying more BMP-2s, updating tank fleet

  22nd February 2018

  India's Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the acquisition of 156 BMP-2/BMP-2K IFVs on 20 February, which will be licence-produced by the state-owned Ordnance Factory Board …

• Defence Notes

  US Army eyeing FY18 modernisation funding boost

  21st February 2018

  If US Army leaders get their way, service modernisation coffers will see an infusion of fiscal year 2018 dollars in the near future. Earlier this …

• Military Logistics

  Marshall to continue Swedish C-130 support

  13th February 2018

  Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group has received a contract from the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration to continue supporting the Swedish Air Force’s fleet of C-130 …

• Defence Notes

  Marines drink cobra blood in US-Thai war drills

  19th February 2018

  US and Thai marines slurped snake blood and ate scorpions in a jungle survival programme on 19 February as part of the two nations' annual …

• Defence Notes

  Singapore Airshow 2018: Leonardo to deepen Asia-Pacific footprint

  12th February 2018

  Leonardo is planning a significant network expansion in the Asia-Pacific region, with the company expecting to increase the number of regional offices it has by …

• Defence Notes

  West 2018: DoD acknowledges ‘risk imbalance’

  6th February 2018

  In his opening keynote address at West 2018, co-sponsored by AFCEA International and the US Naval Institute, Patrick Shanahan, Deputy Secretary of Defense, acknowledged what …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Singapore Airshow 2018: Wing Loong wings into Southeast Asia

  6th February 2018

  The Wing Loong UCAV from China made its Southeast Asian debut at Singapore Airshow 2018, with mock-ups of both an armed Wing Loong I and …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Wing Loong I-D [Eygpt]

  Programme Background Context According to SIPRI, 10 Wing Loong I UAVs were acquired from China in 2016, with deliveries occurring from 2016 to 2018. The Chinese Sohu newspaper reported that ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  San Antonio LPD 17 Flight I [USN]

  The LPD 17 Flight I ships are the first flight of the San Antonio-class Landing Platform Docks (LPD). Procured between FY1996 and FY2017, the vessels ...

• Tanks

  Arjun Mark-II

  Programme Background While original plans envisioned the production of up to 250 Arjun Mk IIs, the programme's many delays have prompted the Indian Army to ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  PKX-B Batch II (9-22) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Contracts Award On 24 November 2022, HJ Heavy Industries was awarded a contract worth KRW212 billion ($160 million) to build four PKX-B Batch-II ...

• Tanks

  Al-Khalid-I

  Programme Background Pakistan operates a vast fleet of Chinese and Ukrainian MBTs primarily aimed at deterring regional rivals such as India. In order to build ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  PKX-B Batch II (1-4) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Contracts Award On 24 November 2022, HJ Heavy Industries was awarded a contract worth KRW212 billion ($160 million) to build four PKX-B Batch-II fast attack ...

• Tanks

  Al-Khalid-II

  Programme Background Pakistan operates a vast fleet of Chinese and Ukrainian MBTs primarily aimed at deterring regional rivals such as India. In order to build ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  PKX-B Batch II (5-8) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Contracts Award On 24 November 2022, HJ Heavy Industries was awarded a contract worth KRW 212 billion ($160 million) to build four PKX-B ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  Fast Interceptor Craft - Indigenous (FIC-I) (India)

  Programme Background Requirements The craft are required to have a length of 13-17m, a sustained speed of 45kt, a range of at least 200nm at 15kt, ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  New Exploration and Escort Helicopter (NEES) (Phase II) [Italy]

  Programme Background Phase I In 2017, the Italian government signed a contract with Leonardo to replace its fleet of AW129 Mangusta attack helicopters with the ...

• Submarines: conventional, attack

  KSS-III (Boats 1-3) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Timeline The new KSS-III Dosan Ahn Chang-Ho-class submarines for the Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN) are a significant advance on the earlier KSS-II ...

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

  RQ-4 Global Hawk (Japan)

  Programme Background Selection & Contract AwardIn 2015, Northrop Grumman's RQ-4 Global Hawk UAS and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft were selected by Japan to ...

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

  Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) (Phase II) [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement The Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) provides short-range day and night ISR to US Army units at the squad, platoon and other small ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) (Phase II) [USA]

  In 2018, the US Army selected the FLIR Systems Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance System (PRS) for Phase I of its Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) programme. ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) (Phase II) [USA]

  In 2018, the US Army selected the FLIR Systems Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance System (PRS) for Phase I of its Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) programme. ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Subsystems: software

  SWORD

  The SWORD is a high-level, automated war-game solution for training, analysis and planning. Developed in close relation with armies worldwide, the SWORD immerses brigade and ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  TAOS

  In Tactical Aircraft Online Services (TAOS), live Aero L-29 jets are flown by experienced combat pilots alongside a wingman flying a ground-based flight simulator, controlled ...

• Land: fire support simulators

  FIDex

  Fidelity has merged the technology of its JTAC and IDF product lines. It released FIDex (Fidelity Extreme) at I/ITSEC 2011 with its first demo of ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators, Land: tactical engagement simulators

  VBS Blue IG

  At I/ITSEC 2017, Bohemia Interactive Simulations (BISim) unveiled a new simulation technology to help international militaries train for operations. VBS Blue IG, an upgrade from the ...

• Subsystems: visual

  EP-8100

  At I/ITSEC 2015, Collins Aerospace (formerly Rockwell Collins) unveiled its EP-8100 image generation system, which is driven by real-time, simulation-specific graphics cards and software. It ...

• Subsystems: visual

  WholeEarth Synthetic Environment

  Rockwell Collins unveiled its enhanced synthetic training environment, WholeEarth, at I/ITSEC 2015 and the official release occurred in May 2016. The high-resolution complete Earth database ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  ULV MicroVSAT

  Ultra I&C;'s ULV MicroVSAT is a tri-band, lightweight SATCOM terminal that emphasises portability. First introduced in 2022, the modem-agnostic system supports WGS, Intelsat Flex, Inmarsat GX ...

• APCs/IFVs - 4x4

  Cockerill i-X

  The Cockerill i-X is a wheeled armoured vehicle designed as a light armoured platform with a modular turret for intercepting enemy forces. John Cockerill Defense unveiled the new ...

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

  ALTIUS-600 / ALTIUS-600M

  Part of the ALTIUS family, the ALTIUS-600 is an air-launched, tube-integrated UAV that Area-I has designed to conduct ISR, SIGINT collection and electronic warfare missions.  At AUSA 2022, Anduril ...

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

  Wing Loong I

  Designed by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, a subsidiary of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, the Wing Loong I is the first member of the ...

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

  Skylark I-LEX

  The Skylark I-LEX is a mini-UAV manufactured by Elbit Systems.  Unveiled at the Paris Air Show 2015, the UAV is designed for ISR operations. It enables ...

• Self-propelled rocket launchers

  Pinaka

  The Pinaka 214mm MRL was developed indigenously by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from 1986 to meet the Indian Army's requirement for an ...

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

  Anka-I

  Anka-I is a SIGINT/COMINT variant of Turkey’s Anka-S and is operated by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization. The COMINT capability allows operators to track, geolocate and ...

• Air: aerial targets

  QF-16 FSAT

  The QF-16 Full Scale Aerial Target (FSAT) is an optionally piloted supersonic aerial target developed to replace the QF-4 in USAF service. Retired F-16 fighters are ...

• Air: mission management systems

  I-C2F

  The Integrated Command and Control Framework (I-C2F) provides an end-to-end C2 architecture delivering J1-J9 functionality across the joint battlespace. As well as C2 messaging and ...