Defence Notes

US diplomats taken off train in Russian nuclear sub port: reports

17th October 2019

Russian authorities removed three US diplomats from a train in an Arctic shipyard city where nuclear submarines are made, news agencies reported on 16 October. …

Defence Notes

First Rafale handed over to Indian Air Force

9th October 2019

The first Rafale aircraft has been handed over to the Indian Air Force by Dassault Aviation at the company’s final assembly facility in Mérignac, France. …

Defence Notes

India takes first delivery in controversial French jet deal

8th October 2019

India received on 8 October the first of 36 Rafale fighter jets ordered from France in 2016 in a multi-billion-dollar deal that Paris hopes will …

Training

Sitzler awarded ADF training area upgrade work

8th October 2019

Sitzler has been awarded a $22 million contract by the Australian Department of Defence for the development phase of the $514 million Northern Territory Training …

Uncrewed Vehicles

FLIR acquires Aria assets

4th October 2019

FLIR Systems has acquired the intellectual property and a number of the operating assets of Aria Insights. Aria – previously known as CyPhy - developed …

Digital Battlespace

GPS OCX completes development phase

2nd October 2019

Raytheon has announced that its GPS Next-Generation Operational Control System (GPS OCX) has completed full software and hardware development and entered into the system integration …

Digital Battlespace

Podcast: Five Eyes Connectivity - SATCOM

26th September 2019

Welcome to Shephard Studio’s special series on Five Eyes Connectivity, sponsored by our partner Viasat.  Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and more. In the Five Eyes Connectivity podcast …

Military Logistics

French Air Force receives KC-130J tanker

23rd September 2019

The French Ministry of Defence has taken delivery of its third C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, delivered in the KC-130J tanker configuration.The aircraft will give the …

Loitering munitions

Harop [Azerbaijan]

Programme Background According to a December 2020 report by the Centre for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), Azerbaijan acquired an estimated 50 Harop loitering munitions ...

Military helicopters - attack

AH-1Z Romania

The Romanian MoD has a long-standing requirement for new rotary platforms, including troop transport, supply and attack configurations. According to the the Military Strategy document, ...

APCs/IFVs - 8x8

Piranha V

264 of the Piranha Vs will be assigned to the Danish Army's 1st Brigade, following its reorganisation in January 2019. Each of its three armoured ...

APCs/IFVs - 4x4

Paraguay VAMTAC ST5

Programme Background Paraguay's Joint Task Force is in need of new armoured vehicles that can provide sufficient protection against the small arms, mines and IEDs ...

Military helicopters - attack

Mi-28UB - Russia

Programme BackgroundThe Russian MoD plans to acquire up to 60 Mi-28UB aircraft for the Russian Air Force by mid-2020s. Moscow signed a contract with Russian Helicopters ...

Military helicopters - attack

Mi-28UB - Russia Forecast

Programme Background The Russian MoD plans to acquire up to 60 Mi-28UB aircraft for the Russian Air Force by mid-2020s. Moscow signed a contract with Russian ...

Light attack, Trainer

Tejas LCA - India Follow-On

According to the HAL's chairman R Madhavan, 'apart from all the capabilities of IOC aircraft, the FOC variant additionally comes with an air-to-air refuelling capability, close-combat ...

APCs/IFVs - 4x4

Cobra II Armoured Tactical Vehicle - 2 (EGM-ZTA-2)

Some of the Cobra IIs delivered to the SGD are armed with an Aselsan SARP RWS. Based on the value of the June 2016 contract ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

KUS-FT (South Korea)

Programme Background Requirement The ROKA had identified a need for tactical UAVs that can be employed at the divisional level to carry out ISTAR missions ...

OPVs

OPV P71 (Malta)

Programme Background Malta is to receive an offshore patrol vessel (OPV) called P71 to complement the P61 OPV. Plans were first announced for a new OPV ...

ISR/special mission, Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

Q02 (Qatar)

Programme Background Reiner developed the Q01 jointly with the Emirate of Qatar, primarily for the Qatar Armed Forces. It was introduced at the ILA Berlin Air ...

Loitering munitions

SkyStriker [Azerbaijan]

Programme Background In January 2019, Azerbaijan revealed several examples of the SkyStriker in service with the Azerbaijani Border Guard. Azerbaijan utilised the system in the ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

CU172 Blackjack (First Batch) (Canada)

Programme Background Requirement The Canadian Army identified a requirement for two new tactical UAV systems after recognising that the squadron and company level Aerovironment RQ-11 ...

APCs/IFVs - 8x8

Vilkas (Lithuania - Additional Units)

Programme Background  Lithuania's Boxers are manufactured by the ARTEC production lines in Germany and the Netherlands. KMW is responsible for producing 56 of the vehicles ...

OPVs

Taepyungyang Class (3016)

The South Korean Coast Guard (KGC) currently operates 13 Taepyungyang-class large patrol vessels or also referred to as an offshore patrol vessel (OPV) but the Eastern ...

Trainer

IA-100

FAdeA (Fábrica Argentina de Aviones) first unveiled the IA-100 basic training aircraft at FIDAE 2016 in Chile. Aimed at the South American military and civil ...

Artillery rockets

EXTRA

The Extended Range Artillery (EXTRA) is a guided rocket developed by Israel Military Industries. The munitions can be fired from IMI’s Lynx and various other ...

Military - USVs

SeaFly-01

The SeaFly-01 USV, developed by Beijing Sifang Automation, was showcased at the 11th Zhuhai Airshow in China in November 2016. Phase one tests of the ...

Military - USVs

High-Speed Intercept Boat

Poly Technologies displayed its High-Speed Intercept Boat at DSA in Malaysia in 2016. 

Galaxy R8700

The Altavian Galaxy R8700 is an octocopter UAV designed for inspection of mining, construction, urban and small project sites. It was unveiled in August 2016. 

Military - UUVs

Phantom T5

The Phantom T5 UUV was introduced in 2016. The ROV incorporates many of the old Phantom characteristics in a smaller system, with vectored thrusters added. 

Land: air defence radar

RLS-50

OKB TSP gave its first public display of the RLS-50 3D air surveillance mobile radar at ADEX 2016, at Baku, in September 2016. Its beam ...

PD6-AW

Prodrone's PD6-AW all-weather hexarotor drone is designed for professional filming, photography, land surveying, inspections and other roles. The platform was unveiled in April 2016. 

APCs/IFVs - 4x4

Bars-6

Bogdan publicly unveiled the 7t Bars-6 (Panther) 4x4 light APC at IDEX 2015, and in July 2016, the company introduced an upgraded version ready for ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

Mini UAV Fixed Wing I

The Jordan Design and Development Bureau (JODDB) unveiled the hand-launched Mini UAS (also known as Mini UAV Fixed-Wing I) at SOFEX 2016, along with a wider family ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

Mysterious Bee

The Mysterious Bee hybrid, fixed-wing/quadcopter UAV was unveiled at the Zhuhai Airshow 2016. It is designed to operate from ships, small islands, mountainous areas and ...

Awing-F100J

Awing-F100J is the latest UAV from Tianjin-based Quadrant Space (Tianjin) Technology and was displayed at the 11th Zhuhai Airshow in China for the first time ...

T333

The T333 is a coaxial dual-rotor UAV. It is an upgrade to the TD220 unmanned helicopter and was displayed for the first time at the ...

Land: RWS

Asgard RCT

The Asgard RCT (Remote Control Turret) is the unmanned member of the Asgard 127 modular one-person turret family introduced in 2016. It is suitable for ...

Military - UUVs

Echo Voyager

In March 2016, Boeing Defense, Space & Security introduced the Echo Voyager UUV. It is a 51ft (15.5m) long vehicle that can operate autonomously for ...