• Air Warfare

  Iraq emerges as customer for Turkish Aselpod airborne targeting system

  21st March 2023

  An Iraqi Air Force Aero L-159 light attack jet has been photographed fitted with an Aselsan Aselpod targeting system, suggesting that Iraq is the export customer announced in by the company in autumn 2022.

• Naval Warfare

  BAE delivering Type 26 frigate Maritime Indirect Fire Systems

  3rd March 2023

  BAE is on contract to build eight Type 26 frigates for the Royal Navy.

• Training

  Malaysia confirms KAI's trainer/light attack win for KA-50

  1st March 2023

  The Malaysian MoD has officially confirmed selection of the KAI FA-50 as the winner of the country's Fighter Lead In Trainer-Light Combat Aircraft competition, although the delivery schedule has now been pushed back by two years.

• Air Warfare

  Poland to arm AW149 helicopters with Hellfire missiles

  21st March 2023

  The 800 Hellfire missiles requested by Poland via a US Foreign Military Sale will equip the country's AW149 helicopter fleet, with a follow-on request likely to arm Apache helicopters and potentially other platforms.

• Defence Notes

  China cannot bring peace in Ukraine, Monsieur Macron! (Opinion)

  12th April 2023

  The French president has dangerously aligned himself with Chinese talking points, and seems willing to leave Taiwan to its own fate, according to his recent visit to China.

• Training

  Boeing partners with Shield AI on autonomous pilot programme

  17th March 2023

  The agreement between Boeing and Shield AI will explore autonomous systems implemented into existing and future aircraft.

• Air Warfare

  India orders six additional Do 228 aircraft

  13th March 2023

  HAL will build another six Dornier 228 light transport aircraft for the Indian military.

• Naval Warfare

  Fourth Evolved Cape-class patrol boat reaches Australia’s navy

  17th February 2023

  Deliveries of Evolved Cape patrol boats to Australia's navy have now reached the halfway stage.

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2022: First team to bid for British Army CTTP strategic partnership reveals itself

  24th November 2022

  The British Army's Collective Training Transformation Programme (CTTP) is worth at least $742 million. With the first industry bid team going public, more are expected to follow suit.

• Air Warfare

  Taiwan expands its UAV inventory to meet future threats

  14th March 2023

  Taiwan is busy developing new types of UAVs to equip its armed forces.

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy orders new San Antonio LPD as class's future remains uncertain

  3rd April 2023

  The USN has awarded HII a $1.3 billion contract for the detail design and construction of the third Flight II San Antonio-class LPD, LPD-32, while question marks loom over the future of the class.

• Air Warfare

  Bahrain completes attack helicopter fleet renewal

  22nd February 2023

  Bell has completed the contract for 12 AH-1Z rotorcraft for delivery to Bahrain.

• Training

  BISim rolls out major revamp to VBS4 and bags new Mantle ETM customer, says CCO

  10th November 2022

  The VBS4 updates include a range of new features and general improvements, while the latest version of the terrain enterprise Mantle ETM supports Common Database (CDB) format.

• Naval Warfare

  Argentina turns to local industry in naval modernisation push

  23rd March 2023

  Local companies will build a new landing ship and floating dock, modernise in-service corvettes and develop a naval surveillance radar.

• Naval Warfare

  Anadolu showcases Turkiye's indigenous endeavours, but will its drone carrier concept take off?

  20th April 2023

  In April, Turkey commissioned TCG Anadolu, the country's future drone-carrying amphibious assault ship, highlighting the capabilities of its indigenous defence industry.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Wing Loong I-D [Eygpt]

  Programme Background Context According to SIPRI, 10 Wing Loong I UAVs were acquired from China in 2016, with deliveries occurring from 2016 to 2018. The Chinese Sohu newspaper reported that ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  San Antonio LPD 17 Flight I [USN]

  The LPD 17 Flight I ships are the first flight of the San Antonio-class Landing Platform Docks (LPD). Procured between FY1996 and FY2017, the vessels ...

• Tanks

  Arjun Mark-II

  Programme Background While original plans envisioned the production of up to 250 Arjun Mk IIs, the programme's many delays have prompted the Indian Army to ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  PKX-B Batch II (9-22) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Contracts Award On 24 November 2022, HJ Heavy Industries was awarded a contract worth KRW212 billion ($160 million) to build four PKX-B Batch-II ...

• Tanks

  Al-Khalid-I

  Programme Background Pakistan operates a vast fleet of Chinese and Ukrainian MBTs primarily aimed at deterring regional rivals such as India. In order to build ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  PKX-B Batch II (1-4) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Contracts Award On 24 November 2022, HJ Heavy Industries was awarded a contract worth KRW212 billion ($160 million) to build four PKX-B Batch-II fast attack ...

• Tanks

  Al-Khalid-II

  Programme Background Pakistan operates a vast fleet of Chinese and Ukrainian MBTs primarily aimed at deterring regional rivals such as India. In order to build ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  PKX-B Batch II (5-8) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Contracts Award On 24 November 2022, HJ Heavy Industries was awarded a contract worth KRW 212 billion ($160 million) to build four PKX-B ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  Fast Interceptor Craft - Indigenous (FIC-I) (India)

  Programme Background Requirements The craft are required to have a length of 13-17m, a sustained speed of 45kt, a range of at least 200nm at 15kt, ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  New Exploration and Escort Helicopter (NEES) (Phase II) [Italy]

  Programme Background Phase I In 2017, the Italian government signed a contract with Leonardo to replace its fleet of AW129 Mangusta attack helicopters with the ...

• Submarines: conventional, attack

  KSS-III (Boats 1-3) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Timeline The new KSS-III Dosan Ahn Chang-Ho-class submarines for the Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN) are a significant advance on the earlier KSS-II ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  RQ-4 Global Hawk (Japan)

  Programme Background Selection & Contract AwardIn 2015, Northrop Grumman's RQ-4 Global Hawk UAS and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft were selected by Japan to ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) (Phase II) [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement The Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) provides short-range day and night ISR to US Army units at the squad, platoon and other small ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) (Phase II) [USA]

  In 2018, the US Army selected the FLIR Systems Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance System (PRS) for Phase I of its Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) programme. ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) (Phase II) [USA]

  In 2018, the US Army selected the FLIR Systems Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance System (PRS) for Phase I of its Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) programme. ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Subsystems: software

  SWORD

  The SWORD is a high-level, automated war-game solution for training, analysis and planning. Developed in close relation with armies worldwide, the SWORD immerses brigade and ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  TAOS

  In Tactical Aircraft Online Services (TAOS), live Aero L-29 jets are flown by experienced combat pilots alongside a wingman flying a ground-based flight simulator, controlled ...

• Land: fire support simulators

  FIDex

  Fidelity has merged the technology of its JTAC and IDF product lines. It released FIDex (Fidelity Extreme) at I/ITSEC 2011 with its first demo of ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators, Land: tactical engagement simulators

  VBS Blue IG

  At I/ITSEC 2017, Bohemia Interactive Simulations (BISim) unveiled a new simulation technology to help international militaries train for operations. VBS Blue IG, an upgrade from the ...

• Subsystems: visual

  EP-8100

  At I/ITSEC 2015, Collins Aerospace (formerly Rockwell Collins) unveiled its EP-8100 image generation system, which is driven by real-time, simulation-specific graphics cards and software. It ...

• Subsystems: visual

  WholeEarth Synthetic Environment

  Rockwell Collins unveiled its enhanced synthetic training environment, WholeEarth, at I/ITSEC 2015 and the official release occurred in May 2016. The high-resolution complete Earth database ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  ULV MicroVSAT

  Ultra I&C;'s ULV MicroVSAT is a tri-band, lightweight SATCOM terminal that emphasises portability. First introduced in 2022, the modem-agnostic system supports WGS, Intelsat Flex, Inmarsat GX ...

• APCs/IFVs - 4x4

  Cockerill i-X

  The Cockerill i-X is a wheeled armoured vehicle designed as a light armoured platform with a modular turret for intercepting enemy forces. John Cockerill Defense unveiled the new ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  ALTIUS-600 / ALTIUS-600M

  Part of the ALTIUS family, the ALTIUS-600 is an air-launched, tube-integrated UAV that Area-I has designed to conduct ISR, SIGINT collection and electronic warfare missions.  At AUSA 2022, Anduril ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Wing Loong I

  Designed by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, a subsidiary of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, the Wing Loong I is the first member of the ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Skylark I-LEX

  The Skylark I-LEX is a mini-UAV manufactured by Elbit Systems.  Unveiled at the Paris Air Show 2015, the UAV is designed for ISR operations. It enables ...

• Self-propelled rocket launchers

  Pinaka

  The Pinaka 214mm MRL was developed indigenously by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from 1986 to meet the Indian Army's requirement for an ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-I

  Anka-I is a SIGINT/COMINT variant of Turkey’s Anka-S and is operated by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization. The COMINT capability allows operators to track, geolocate and ...

• Air: aerial targets

  QF-16 FSAT

  The QF-16 Full Scale Aerial Target (FSAT) is an optionally piloted supersonic aerial target developed to replace the QF-4 in USAF service. Retired F-16 fighters are ...

• Air: mission management systems

  I-C2F

  The Integrated Command and Control Framework (I-C2F) provides an end-to-end C2 architecture delivering J1-J9 functionality across the joint battlespace. As well as C2 messaging and ...