• Defence Notes

  Russian equipment losses underline hardy Ukrainian resistance

  25th February 2022

  Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it has been met with a level of resistance powerful enough to destroy a wide range of equipment from helicopters and fighter jets to armoured vehicles.

• Air Warfare

  Air Warfare magazine: Sixth-generation fighters; MALE UAVs and more

  8th February 2022

  Read the latest edition of Air Warfare for free in our app or on your desktop.

• Digital Battlespace

  Sea Tigers to fly with SOVERON

  25th January 2022

  New shipborne helicopters for the German Navy will be equipped with software-defined radios.

• Air Warfare

  Pakistan Navy inducts Sea Kings and Chinese-built frigate

  25th January 2022

  The Pakistan Navy has been boosted by the arrival of its most advanced warship ever, as well as second-hand Sea King naval helicopters.

• Defence Helicopter

  One down, 16 to go as Spain receives first remanufactured Chinook

  2nd February 2022

  Spain is part of a European trend to modernise CH-47 Chinooks.

• Defence Helicopter

  Collins Aerospace demonstrates Air Launched Effects capabilities

  1st February 2022

  Collins Aerospace has made new progress when demonstrating Air Launched Effects (ALE) capabilities under the US Army's Future Vertical Lift (FVL) effort.

• Defence Helicopter

  Future requirements and negotiations to decide UK NMH fleet total

  14th December 2021

  The UK MoD is still to decide on the exact number of aircraft to order under the New Medium Helicopter programme — but there is little room for delay.

• Land Warfare

  Göker design emphasises versatility

  19th February 2022

  Göker performs multiple functions with a different CONOPS from previous Turkish 35mm guns.

• Defence Notes

  Putin’s war in Ukraine has far-reaching implications for Asian militaries

  3rd March 2022

  There is potential for future Asian imports of Russian equipment to be hammered hard, and for increasing difficulties in maintaining current equipment, after Putin's ill-advised invasion of Ukraine.

• Training

  Canada moves on FAcT with RfQ

  4th March 2022

  Canada has released its RfP for the Royal Canadian Air Force's Future Aircrew Training requirement — but who can catch SkyAlyne?

• Defence Helicopter

  Military helicopter operators urge common HUMS standards

  23rd February 2022

  Delegates at a helicopter conference in London heard calls for common standards to be introduced for health and usage monitoring systems (HUMS) on rotary-wing platforms.

• Digital Battlespace

  Emirati A330 MRTTs to feature Israeli self-protection kit

  4th January 2022

  In another sign of tighter UAE-Israel defence relations, UAEAF multirole tanker aircraft will be equipped with J-MUSIC and PAWS.

• Air Warfare

  Singapore Airshow 2022: Military air programmes in Asia-Pacific - opportunities and threats

  16th February 2022

  In a special report, Shephard Defence Insight investigates the market landscape for fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and UAVs in the Asia-Pacific region.

• Defence Notes

  UK MoD Equipment Plan is affordable, but watchdog warns of risks

  22nd February 2022

  The National Audit Office has warned that the MoD’s 10-year Equipment Plan could be ‘over-optimistic’.

• Air Warfare

  Sweden terminates NH90 and Black Hawk power unit contract

  25th January 2022

  Sweden has terminated a contract with W5 Solutions for helicopter ground power units.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M - France

  Programme Background In April 2021, the French government signed a deal for the purchase of eight H225M Airbus helicopters to replace its ageing fleet of SA330 ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  TH-73 Advanced Helicopter Training System - AHTS (TH-57 Replacement)

  Contenders for the competition included the Leonardo single engine TH-119 – a military variant of the AW119Kx – and Bell’s newly upgraded single engine 407GXi. ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145 Helicopter [Honduras]

  Programme Background  The Honduran Government has purchased a total of four H145 Helicopters manufactured by Airbus to develop the armed forces preparedness against natural disasters ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  Maritime Operations Helicopters

  The three maritime operations helicopters will be used for logistics and personnel transport, alongside transportation of PASKAL naval special forces in operations in the area. ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Bell 412EPI-Indonesia

  Programme Background PTDI is assembling Bell helicopters in its factory in Bandung.  The first Bell 412EPI was delivered to Indonesian Army on 29 December 2020 ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  Kondor Naval Helicopters (Poland)

  Programme Background In 2018, the Polish MoD announced its requirement to purchase up to eight naval helicopters to replace in-service SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopters. Polish ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Spain HT-29 Caiman (NH90 TTH) - Army First Batch

  HT-29 Caiman GSPAs (NH90 TTH) will be assembled at Airbus Helicopters’ facility in Albacete and will replace AS332 Super Puma fleet in service. Even though ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  AW101 [Poland]

  According to the media reports, Airbus couldn't provide a competitive offer for the programme due to the offset requirements.  The deliveries were to be completed ...

• 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 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Ka-226T-India-Air Force

  An official contract announcement is expected during the Aero India 2021 exhibition in Bangalore, although negotiations have dragged on for more than five years and ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  AH-X

  There is no mention of the AH-X in the 2019-2023 Medium Term Defence Plan, so it is possible that the requirement has quietly been postponed. ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M (Contracted) [Germany]

  Programme Background Previous Usage The German Armed Forces ordered 15 H145M helicopters, with the initial two delivered in December 2015, for the Kommando Spezialkräfte. These ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  Naval Utility Helicopters (India)

  Programme Background The program will witness the formation of a joint venture between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and another local or foreign manufacturer. In June ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H-145M (Serbia)

  Serbia's aircraft will be equipped with a fast roping system, high-performance camera, fire support equipment, ballistic protection as well as an electronic countermeasures system. The ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Système de Drone Aérien pour la Marine (SDAM) [France]

  Programme Background Requirement The requirement for the SDAM programme is a rotary-wing VTOL-capable UAV with a modular configuration capable of hosting a range of payloads. ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - light/training, Military helicopters - multirole

  H135M

  The H135M (formerly known as the EC635 and also designated as H135) is a light utility variant of the EC135 twin-engine, multipurpose 3t helicopter. In ...

• Model 301 Fire Attack

  The Model 301 is a belly tank/refill hose system for Airbus Helicopters AS365-series helicopters.

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M

  The H145M (formerly known as the EC645 T2) is the military version of the H145 medium-sized (3.7t) helicopter. It is marketed as a multi-role platform ...

• Model 316 Fire Attack

  The Model 316 is a belly tank/refill hose system for Airbus Helicopters H225 and AS332 L-series helicopters.

• Air: mission management systems

  Helionix

  The Helionix digital avionics suite was developed from the need for a more powerful avionics system with greater functions and computing capacity, alongside a user-friendly interface. ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H175M

  The Airbus H175M is the military variant of the H175, a seven-tonne class aircraft powered by twin PT6C 67E engines. The civilian variants produced by Airbus ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H215M

  The H215M (formerly the AS532 ALe) is the most recent addition to the Cougar family.  It is a medium-weight (9t-class), twin-engine helicopter, combining the AS532's ...

• Helicopter engines

  Arriel 2+/2D

  Unveiled in 2011, the Arriel 2+ is an upgrade of the Arriel 2 and is intended for single- and twin-engine helicopters. It incorporates a new ...

• Helicopter engines

  LTS101

  The LTS101 was first certified in 1975. Since then, over 2,100 engines have been delivered to customers worldwide, logging over 11 million service hours. The ...

• Air: mission management systems

  APM 2000

  The current generation of autopilots is the APM 2000 family, fitted on major worldwide platforms. The APM 2000 is based on an integrated digital computer. ...

• AC67 Airbus Helicopters H135 interior

  Bucher has developed the AC67 medical interior for the Airbus Helicopters H135 in cooperation with ADAC Luftrettung.The lightweight, modular design features a floor with integrated ...

• Air: Defensive Systems - Radar Warning Receivers

  EWR-99

  Dassault is not traditionally associated with electronic warfare subsystems, instead being equated with the manufacture of combat aircraft and business jets. Nonetheless, the company did, ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  H125M

  The H125M (formerly the AS550 B3e Fennec) is a military version of the civil H125. The helicopter has a reduced radar signature due to the use ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M

  The medium-weight, 11t-class H225M (formerly known as the EC725) is the latest military Super Puma/Cougar family member.  Technical features include a modular design of mechanical ...

• H160

  Airbus Helicopters unveiled a full-scale model of the H160 medium twin rotorcraft on 3 March 2015 at Heli-Expo. The utility helicopter, the first to be ...