• Naval Warfare

  Future of the South African Navy looks bleak despite new ships entering service

  29th November 2023

  The commissioning of SAS King Shaka Zulu, a Multi-Mission Inshore Patrol Vessel, into the South African Navy masks serious problems for the service as fleet availability falls dangerously low and capability atrophies.

• Training

  Leonardo ups the ante on M345 trainer jet pitch to Slovakia

  6th September 2023

  Leonardo has cemented partnerships with Slovak defence companies LOTN, VRM and Slavia Production Systems in an effort to bolster a proposal to supply its M345 jet trainer to Slovakia as the country's air force transitions to an F-16 fighter fleet.

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2023: GM Defense shows the flexibility of ISV vehicles with two new variants

  16th October 2023

  The C-UAS and the Mission Power demonstrators were among the most recent additions to the Infantry Squad Vehicle family.

• Defence Helicopter

  Bell signs Czech AH-1Z and UH-1Y support deal

  7th July 2023

  Czech signs deal to support new Bell-Textron helicopters and commits older helicopters as donations to Ukraine.

• Defence Helicopter

  Bell H-1 fleet achieves half a million flight hours

  30th June 2023

  The current fleet of AH-1Z Vipers and UH-1Y Venoms have surpassed the 500.000-flight hour mark.

• Naval Warfare

  Indonesia receives two minehunters and makes progresses on two Arrowhead 140 frigates

  5th September 2023

  Two German-built minehunters have been accepted into the Indonesian navy, while PT PAL is busy building two new frigates for the Indonesian Navy.

• Naval Warfare

  Indonesia commissions next KCR-60M missile boats and constructs new OPVs

  9th June 2023

  Indonesian is building two OPVs, and two additional missile boats were recently commissioned as well.

• Defence Helicopter

  Heli-One partners with Airbus for UK MoD's New Medium Helicopter programme

  12th July 2023

  Heli-One is partnering with Airbus to provide gearbox maintenance services for the H175M helicopter if Airbus wins the UK MoD's New Medium Helicopter competition.

• Air Warfare

  Malaysian Army leases Black Hawk helicopters

  7th June 2023

  Malaysia is leasing a quartet of Black Hawks, giving the army its first taste of operating the American-built helicopter.

• Air Warfare

  Australian Army aviation reconstitutes with host of new platforms

  8th March 2023

  New aviation platforms are all on the way for Australian Army - UH-60M Black Hawk, AH-64E Apache Guardian and Integrator UAVs.

• Land Warfare

  Inflation hits US Army modernisation plans

  26th April 2023

  As the increase in the branch’s budget proposal did not cover the inflation rates, the army is losing its spending power, impacting its acquisition and development programmes.

• Air Warfare

  Sikorsky delivers 5,000th H-60 helicopter

  23rd January 2023

  The Black Hawk has been in service for over four decades, but both the US Army and Sikorsky believe the helicopter will have a role for at least another 40 years.

• Training

  India draws mixed lessons from multinational military exercises

  8th June 2023

  India is participating in an increasing number of military exercises with international partners, allowing exchanges of ideas and the opportunity to work with new equipment.

• Air Warfare

  Norway chooses MH-60R Seahawk as NH90 replacement

  14th March 2023

  Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawks could conduct anti-surface warfare and search and rescue operations alongside UAVs such as the Skeldar V-200 for Norway.

• Air Warfare

  Australia says ‘goodbye Taipans, hello Black Hawks’

  18th January 2023

  After considerable dithering over the fate of the MRH90 helicopter fleet, Australia has made a decision to replace the European-designed type.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-60M Black Hawk-USA

  The UH-60M Black Hawk is a digitally networked platform with greater range and lift to support maneuver commanders through air assault, general support, command and ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Additional UH-60M Procurement [Sweden]

  Programme Background Requirement In November 2022, General Micael Byden of the Swedish Armed Forces announced that the country would replace its NH90 fleet. At the ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-60M Black Hawks [Greece]

  Programme Background In October 2023, Greece submitted a formal request to acquire 49 Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters as replacements for the Army's Bell UH-1s after launching ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-60M Black Hawk (First 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 helicopters - multirole

  HM-3 Cougar & HM-2 Black Hawk Replacement [Brazil]

  Programme Background As reported by Janes in August 2023, Army Commander General Tomás Miguel Miné Ribeiro Paiva stated on 20 July that the Army was aiming ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-60M (Australia)

  Programme Background Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton said, 'The Black Hawk makes perfect sense, and they are much cheaper to fly than what the Taipans ...

• 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 helicopters - multirole

  UH-60M Black Hawk-Saudi Arabia

  At the end of June 2017, Sikorsky had received the green light from the US Army for a five year contract worth $3.8 billion for ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-60M - Jordan

  On 7 July 2020, the US State Department announced that it has approved a possible FMS of one UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter and related equipment ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-2 (Japan)

  Programme Background The UH-2 is a Japanese militarised version of Bell’s civilian 412EPX, with the two OEMs cooperating on this particular programme. The Acquisition, Technology ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-2 Forecast (Japan)

  Programme Background The UH-2 is a Japanese militarised version of Bell’s civilian 412EPX, with the two OEMs cooperating on this particular programme. The Acquisition, Technology ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-1Y Venom (Czechia)

  Programme Background Czech Armed Forces intended to use the UH-1Y Venom helicopters in various missions including utility, search and rescue, aerial reconnaissance, air-to-ground support and ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) Alternative [USA]

  Programme Background FARA Programme As covered in more detail in a separate entry on Defence Insight, the US Army initiated the FARA project in 2018 to develop a ...

• 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 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  MH-139 (UH-1N Huey Replacement)

  Other bidders included Sikorsky with HH-60U offer and Sierra Nevada with upgrading offer of UH-60As to UH-60L configuration.In February 2018, Leonardo filed a protest to ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-60L/M Black Hawk

  The Sikorsky UH-60/S-70 is a medium transport/utility helicopter that entered US Army service in 1979 as the UH-60A Black Hawk. It was succeeded in 1987 by ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  US Army Flight School XXI OFT/RCTD

  L3Harris Technologies is a major subcontractor to CSC on the US Army’s Flight School XXI (FSXXI) programme. L3Harris Technologies has built or is under contract ...

• Helicopter engines

  T700-701D

  Designed to be rugged, reliable and maintainable, the T700-701D turboshaft engine powers the Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk and Boeing AH-64E. The 701D provides improved durability ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  S-70i Black Hawk

  The S-70i is an international variant of Sikorsky's UH-60/S-70. It is produced by Sikorsky subsidiary PZL Mielec in Poland and by Turkish Aerospace Industries. The aircraft’s ...

• Air: mission management systems

  CMA-2082MC

  Produced by CMC Electronics, CMA-2082MC provides radio and flight management functions in a single unit. It allows the centralised control of several subsystems, including navigation, ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-60J/JA

  The UH-60J is a license-built version of Sikorsky's S-70, built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan for transport and search and rescue missions. 

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  Flight2

  The Flight2 integrated flight and mission management system provides increased situation awareness that enables reduced pilot workload, while enhancing flight safety and improving mission effectiveness. ...

• Air: maintenance simulators

  UH-60 Rotor Brake Trainer

  This trainer provides a full-scale device to prepare Black Hawk maintenance personnel to maintain the UH-60M rotor brake system. The trainer consists of a student ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  UH-60 Avionics Trainer

  This full-sized trainer provides an environment for training and evaluating utility helicopter service personnel in fault isolation and maintenance of the US Army's UH-60M avionics ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems, Land: Radio and SATCOM

  FlexLink

  FlexLink Adaptive Connectivity Solution is a developmental communications system that emphasises Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) design. Designed by Collins Aerospace, it can create cross-domain networks operating in ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  ROC Army UH-60M OFT

  L3 Link (now L3Harris Technologies) gained ready-for-training certification in 2015 on two UH-60M OFT delivered to the Taiwan Army. These training devices are similar to ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  HH-60W

  The HH-60W Jolly Green II is being developed by Sikorsky, based on the UH-60M Black Hawk, to meet the Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH) programme requirements of ...

• Light mortars

  WW90

  Norinco's WW90 crew-served 60mm light mortar is offered to export customers with a choice of two barrel lengths: the WW90-60L with a 1.3m barrel and ...

• Air: maintenance simulators

  UH-60 BST

  The Black Hawk Stabilator Trainer (BST) part-task trainer is designed to train the US Army 15T 10/30 maintainer to support the UH-60M tail rotor drive ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  60m Fast Attack Craft

  The 60m Fast Attack Craft (FAC) is a gunboat designed by PT PAL. According to the Indonesian shipbuilder, the 60m FAC can perform ASuW missions and ...