• Land Warfare

  UK artillery seeks greater range and accuracy

  21st September 2022

  The Integrated Review and MoD Command Paper underlined the value of improving the British Army’s artillery capabilities — but the UK will have to break a trend of failed procurements to succeed in future.

• Training

  British Army faces critical digitisation and modernisation challenges

  23rd September 2022

  The UK Integrated Review outlined how the UK plans to compensate for the loss of numbers with more advanced technologies, novel training solutions and the acceleration of digitisation across all forces. A year on, it is still unclear how the British Army will reach the desired sophistication and readiness levels.

• Land Warfare

  Geopolitical context may force the British Army to revisit the decisions taken under the IR

  26th September 2022

  Lessons learned from the war in Ukraine have been putting in check decisions taken under Integrated Review.

• Naval Warfare

  French Navy goes Belgian-Dutch for new minehunting motherships

  31st October 2022

  France is capitalising on Naval Group’s work for the Belgian-Dutch rMCM programme for its own mine countermeasure vessel needs.

• Naval Warfare

  Maritime first is the right defence posture for the UK

  22nd September 2022

  The RN seemed the apparent winner when the Integrated Review was first published. Despite the war in Ukraine reminding the West of the importance of solid land and air capabilities, a maritime or navy-first defence posture is still the best option for the UK.

• Land Warfare

  NATO members and Finland to embark on European Sky Shield Initiative

  14th October 2022

  The European Sky Shield Initiative would allow all participating nations to jointly develop an air and missile defence system using interoperable solutions.

• Land Warfare

  UK MoD receives first 10 EOD and ECM specialist vehicles from Marshall Land Systems

  22nd September 2022

  Company announced the delivery of the first 10 of 120 specialist military vehicles on 22 September. The platforms will be based throughout the UK, Northern Ireland, Cyprus and Gibraltar.

• Defence Notes

  External crises may prompt revision of Integrated Review, Command Paper (Opinion)

  26th September 2022

  While the Integrated Review was broadly correct in some of its assumptions, events in Ukraine have challenged the thinking behind cuts to UK capability.

• Defence Notes

  The Disintegrating Review: where next for the UK?

  21st September 2022

  The UK is not short of strategic documents outlining ambitious plans for its armed forces, but the ever-changing threat landscape poses a different set of questions.

• Naval Warfare

  Royal Navy grows Remus 100 fleet with latest arrivals

  21st September 2022

  Three more Remus 100 UUVs have been delivered to the UK RN.

• Land Warfare

  DVD 2022: RBSL fires UK designed and developed 120mm mortar Boxer module

  22nd September 2022

  Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) has fired a UK-designed and developed 120mm mortar Boxer module on Salisbury Plain.

• Training

  Immersive tactical training simulator for British Army reaches FOC

  21st September 2022

  ICAVS(D) is one of the first pathfinder projects for the Collective Training Transformation Programme.

• Defence Notes

  US to send extra HIMARS ammo to Ukraine

  17th October 2022

  Ukraine is receiving more GMLRS rounds for HIMARS but air defence systems are a more pressing requirement.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Mosquito remarks bite for RAF

  3rd November 2022

  The rip-roaring assessment of Project Mosquito was one of the most interesting takeaways from Mike Wigston's DSEI 2021 speech, but so short-lived was the programme that a physical demonstrator was never built.

• Training

  Spot the real enemy (Opinion)

  26th September 2022

  A sequence of damaging news stories emerged about the RAF in August while the UK was left without a functioning government. While all matters deserve scrutiny, issues with the pilot training pipeline are the ones that can truly affect UK security with no effective solutions on the horizon. Instead of blaming diversity for an inadequate training intake, the enduring problems should be examined.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H135 (UK)

  Programme BackgroundAirbus Helicopters UK announced on 2 February 2022 that it has won an order to provide five additional H135 twin-engine helicopters for the MoD. The ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Global Combat Air Programme [UK]

  Programme Background The next-generation platform concept is part of the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, which sought to deliver a Future Combat Air System ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Fleet Solid Support (FSS) (1-3) [UK]

  Programme Background Requirement The 2015 Strategic Defence & Security Review (SDSR) highlighted the requirement for three Military Afloat Reach & Sustainability (MARS) Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Magni-X (UK)

  Programme Background On 12 January 2022, Elbit Systems UK announced it had been awarded a contract from the UK MoD's Defence Equipment & Support's Future Capability ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Typhoon Tranche 3A - Qatar

  As a part of the agreement to sell Typhoon, the UK is establishing a ‘Joint Operations Squadron’ (to be known as 12 Squadron) with the ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  Ukraine - UK supplied Fast Inshore Attack Craft (FIAC)

  Programme Background It was first reported in late September 2020 that the UK could provide eight Barzan-class fast attack craft to Ukraine. The platform has been ...

• APCs/IFVs - 4x4, Reconnaissance/patrol vehicles

  Multi-Role Vehicle (Protected) (MRV-P) Package 1 (UK)

  Programme Background Requirement The MRV-P programme was intended to procure replacements for a diverse fleet of 4x4 and 6x6 vehicles purchased during the wars in Iraq ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) [Japan]

  Programme Background Shephard notes that GCAP's Japanese, British and Italian components are tracked in separate entries. Programme Timeline 2020: The Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency of Japan issued ...

• Maritime patrol

  P-8A Poseidon [UK]

  Programme Background In July 2016, the UK government announced that it had ordered nine aircraft for service with the RAF. Under this frame, in January ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Armed Micro Drone [UK]

  On 19 May 2023, the UK MoD published a request for information on armed micro UAV capabilities to help it better understand the marketplace, introduce possible ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Armed Micro Drone [UK]

  On 19 May 2023, the UK MoD published a request for information on armed micro UAV capabilities to help it better understand the marketplace, introduce possible ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  New Medium Helicopter (NMH) [UK]

  Programme Background NMH Market Interest Day On 11 November 2021, the MoD communicated the requirements of the £1 billion ($1.34 billion) New Medium Helicopter (NMH) ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | F-35B Follow-On UK

  The Royal Air Force is planning to acquire 90 F-35B Joint Strike Fighters from 2026, in addition to the 48 aircraft which London had ordered for delivery ...

• Data links

  Data links | F-35B Follow-On UK

  The Royal Air Force is planning to acquire 90 F-35B Joint Strike Fighters from 2026, in addition to the 48 aircraft which London had ordered for delivery ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | F-35B Follow-On UK

  The Royal Air Force is planning to acquire 90 F-35B Joint Strike Fighters from 2026, in addition to the 48 aircraft which London had ordered for delivery ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: fixed-wing flight simulators

  UK MFTS

  The Military Flying Training System (MFTS) programme, is a private finance initiative involving the MoD and Ascent, a JV of Lockheed Martin and Babcock, which was ...

• Trainer

  Phenom 100

  Phenom 100 is a very light jet originally developed for single owner-pilot operation but later gained popularity as a jet trainer aircraft. The platform first ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  CAE 700MR

  The CAE 700MR FTD is a full mission simulator platform for military helicopter-specific flight and mission training. It is a fixed-base system based on CAE's ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  UK MSHATF

  The Medium Support Helicopter Aircrew Training Facility (MSHATF) opened for training at RAF Benson, England in July 1999. It provides training services to personnel from ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  UK/ARC341 (ADRA)

  The Advanced Digital Radio Airborne (ADRA) provides a Bowman VHF radio capability to helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. It is fully compatible with the Bowman VHF ...

• Sea: naval surveillance radar

  Quadome

  The Quadome is an AESA Naval Air and Surface surveillance Radar developed by Hensoldt UK. The radar will equip the future Fleet Solid Support ships ...

• Submarines: nuclear, attack

  AUKUS SSN

  The AUKUS-SSN will be the submarine design resulting from the AUKUS trilateral pact between Australia, the US and the UK. Expected to incorporate technology from ...

• Major networking projects

  Project Marshall

  The Joint Military Air Traffic Services project was initiated by the UK MoD in November 2005 to identify and evaluate options for the future delivery ...

• Air: fixed-wing flight simulators

  ASTOR FBFCT

  The Fixed Base Flight Crew Trainer (FBFCT) is a Level 5+ FTD for the UK RAF’s Airborne Standoff Radar (ASTOR) platform. The ASTOR FBFCT is ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  ADR+ Bowman VHF/Centaur

  The ADR+ is the VHF vehicle and manpack radio member of the ADR family of VHF radios developed initially for the UK Bowman programme. The ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  BvS10 Beowulf

  BAE Systems Hägglunds launched the BvS10 Beowulf articulated tracked ATV at the September 2015 DSEI exhibition in the UK. The Beowulf is an unarmoured variant ...

• Military UGVs

  T7

  The T7 is a multi-mission robotic system designed for military, police and hazardous missions. At DSEI 2017, the UK MoD awarded the Harris Corporation a ...

• Data links

  AN/URC-138

  The AN/URC-138 is a Link 16 interoperable terminal originally developed for the Sea Harrier. It has the same Link 16 crypto as JTIDS/MIDS. The system ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Warthog

  The Warthog is based on the ST Kinetics Bronco all terrain tracked carrier (ATTC) and was developed to meet a UK MoD urgent operational requirement ...

• Air: maintenance simulators

  GenSkill

  Pennant has developed, in consultation with the UK RAF, the GenSkill trainer to introduce students to the hand skills necessary to work on aircraft components. ...