• Land Warfare

  France details Leclerc tank upgrade

  6th July 2021

  As European armies embark on upgrades to their heavy armoured forces, France finally initiates its Leclerc tank upgrade programme that has been planned for the past six years.

• Land Warfare

  Tempo continues on VBL Ultima and Hornet production

  23rd July 2021

  Efforts are stepping up to provide 800 enhanced VBL vehicles for the French Army and new remote weapon stations for vehicles in the Scorpion programme

• Defence Helicopter

  MD Helicopters receives Afghan contracts

  16th June 2021

  MD Helicopters has been awarded two independent contract awards worth $43.9 million from the US Army to conduct work in Afghanistan.

• Land Warfare

  FN Herstal unveils Evolys multipurpose machine gun

  6th May 2021

  Belgian firearms manufacturer FN Herstal has unveiled a new machine gun.

• Air Warfare

  France proceeds alone with enhanced NH90

  8th July 2021

  SOF variant of NH90 offers a number of improvements but France must still convince other operators to adopt it.

• Special Operations

  French SOF awaits next VPS 2 batch

  28th April 2021

  An extra 35 special patrol vehicles were ordered for French SOF because of delays in the VLFS programme.

• Land Warfare

  Sumitomo withdraws from Japanese machine gun tender

  21st April 2021

  Japanese small-arms production could take a hit as one major domestic manufacturer relinquishes its lead role.

• Land Warfare

  Brazilian Army approves 7.62mm IA2 rifle

  10th March 2021

  A 7.62mm version of IA2 will join the 5.56mm variant that is already in use with the Brazilian Army.

• Land Warfare

  New calibre joins NATO STANAG club

  26th February 2021

  5.7x28mm is included in the latest standardisation agreement from NATO.

• Land Warfare

  Jaguar prowls into action

  22nd April 2021

  The newest robotic ground vehicle for the IDF is designed for integration with tactical forces in mobile, dismounted operations.

• Land Warfare

  FN Herstal launches new ballistic calculator

  17th February 2021

  FN Elity is designed to be fitted on any squad or sniper team weapon.

• Land Warfare

  FN Herstal announces two new weapon mounts

  15th February 2021

  FN M3M and FN Light MWM are designed to mount a range of FN Herstal machine guns.

• Air Warfare

  Thailand receives more Russian-built helicopters

  7th April 2021

  Russian Mi-17V-5 and American S-70i Black hawks are among the newest helicopters in Thai military service.

• Land Warfare

  France enhances sidearm stocks

  22nd January 2021

  The French Army has received 520 Glock-17s to the 126th Infantry Regiment (126E RI), as part of a broader effort to improve its small arms inventory.

• Defence Notes

  Myanmar military pleads ‘major cabinet reshuffle’ in coup

  4th February 2021

  Myanmar's military proves it cannot loosen its grip on the country, but it will still have no trouble obtaining equipment from non-Western sources.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530G Lebanon

  The Armed MD 530G Scout Attack Helicopter features next-generation all-glass cockpit that includes: two Genesys Aerosystems IDU-680 6” x 9” LCD primary displays, Tek Fusion ...

• APCs/IFVs - 4x4, Mine-protected vehicles

  CLRV

  Programme Background Requirement The Luxembourg MoD wants to replace the Luxembourg Army's fleet of 42 AM General M1151 HMMWV Up-Armoured (UA) and 48 KMW Dingo ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  Indonesian Navy PC-60M

  Programme Background Local Indonesian shipyard PT Caputra Mitra Sejati has designed and developed a class of fast patrol boats that have been ordered by the ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  L-39NG Senegal

  The aircraft will feature five hard-points, two external fuel tanks with 350 lt capacity, Mk 81 and Mk 82 bombs, guided and unguided rockets, single ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Heavy machine guns

  FN M2HB-QCB

  FN Herstal is the original designer and manufacturer of the Quick Change Barrel (QCB) version of the Browning M2HB 50cal HMG. FN Herstal has produced ...

• Submachine guns

  FN SCAR-SC

  FN Herstal unveiled the 5.56mm FN SCAR-SC (Subcompact Carbine), the newest member of the SCAR (SOF Combat Assault Rifle) family originally developed for the US ...

• Land: fire control systems

  FN FCU Mk3

  In February 2017, FN Herstal introduced the FN FCU Mk3 fire control unit for 40mm grenade launchers as a successor to the previous FN FCU-850N ...

• Medium/general-purpose machine guns

  FN MAG

  FN Herstal is the original designer and manufacturer of the 7.62mm FN MAG (General Support Machine Gun). More than 230,000 have been produced since 1958, ...

• Helicopter guns

  FN MAG 58M on Pintle

  The FN MAG 58M machine gun is a single-barrel, fully automatic 7.62x51mm NATO machine gun designed to be pintle-mounted on FN Herstal’s mounts in rotary-wing ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Varan

  Streit unveiled the Varan 6x6 amphibious armoured vehicle at the IDEX defence exhibition in February 2013. The vehicle can be fitted with additional ballistic protection ...

• Pistols

  FN 509

  FN Herstal launched its FN 509 pistol in 2018. The pistol was designed for commercial, law enforcement and military use. The semi-automatic FN 509 has ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  FN D-PC

  FN D-PC is a Digital Pod Controller capable of controlling two mission stores, either FN Herstal digital pods or up to 19 tubes rocket launchers ...

• Helicopter guns

  FN RMP

  FN Herstal has designed and manufactured the FN RMP (Rocket Machine Gun Pod), a self-contained, all-in-one weapon system. The system includes a 50cal FN M3P ...

• Pistols

  FN Five-seveN

  FN Herstal developed the FN Five-seveN pistol in the 1990s to complement its FN P90 personal defence weapon – both fire a 5.7x28mm cartridge developed ...

• Submachine guns

  FN P90

  FN Herstal introduced the FN P90 PDW in 1990 to fire its 5.7x28mm cartridge. Both were developed with the aim of providing a more efficient ...

• Helicopter guns

  FN M3M (GAU-21) on Pintle

  The FN M3M Pintle weapon system includes a 50cal FN M3M (GAU-21) machine gun with spade grips, a medium pintle head including a soft mount, ...

• Individual grenade launchers

  FN GL1

  The 40mm low-velocity FN Herstal FN GL1 was designed to integrate under the FN F2000 Standard or Tactical assault rifle (see separate entry) as a ...

• Land: manned turrets

  TORC30

  The TORC30 is a stabilised unmanned turret armed with a Rheinmetall MK30-2/ABM 30mm cannon being developed by Ares, an Elbit subsidiary, and the Brazilian Army’s ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  FN D-HUD

  The FN Digital Head-Up Display (D-HUD) is a sighting system designed to improve the accuracy of axial-mounted rockets and machine guns on rotary-wing aircraft. It incorporates ...