• 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.

• Air Warfare

  Australian Integrator UAVs maximise local content

  16th November 2022

  Integrator UAVs for the Australian Army are using localised components as much as possible, and this includes their engines made in Perth.

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2022: KMW supplies vehicle exit trainer to Sweden

  1st December 2022

  The Swedish Army is acquiring an Archer self-propelled howitzer cabin egress trainer, expanding use of the KMW system already used by CV90 armoured vehicle crews.

• Air Warfare

  Philippines awaits next T129 and S-70i helicopters

  30th November 2022

  Additional T129 Atak and S-70i helicopters from Turkey and Poland respectively will be arriving in the Philippines soon.

• Defence Notes

  Israel's Rafael buys UK defence firm Pearson Engineering in strategic expansion

  28th September 2022

  The acquisition of Pearson Engineering by Israeli firm Rafael could see UK manufacturing of the Trophy active protection system for the Challenger 3 MBT — but how well does the deal sit with the UK government's defence industrial strategy?

• Digital Battlespace

  US Army advances on AI use cases for multi-domain scenarios

  1st November 2022

  By using soldiers’ feedback, the US Army has been progressing with the development of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms and solutions to equip its troops and ground vehicles.

• Land Warfare

  US Bradley Fighting Vehicles are on the way to Ukraine

  12th January 2023

  M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles will soon be available at Grafenwoehr in Germany to train Ukrainian troops, according to the Pentagon.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  BMT showcases UAV payload delivery device

  5th December 2022

  With Sparrow, BMT aims to solve the challenge of getting supplies from UAS to forces on the ground.

• Defence Notes

  What Russia's defence budget means for the Ukraine conflict

  16th December 2022

  Russia is increasing spending significantly compared to previous expectations, with some 9.4 trillion roubles allocated for 2023 across defence and national security.

• Land Warfare

  WFEL wins Irish medium girder bridge contract

  7th September 2022

  The Irish Defence Force contract awarded to WFEL will see the delivery of its double-storey configurable medium girder bridge system.

• 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.

• Land Warfare

  Indecisive India issues RfP for carbines

  6th December 2022

  India's perennial struggle to select a carbine stutters forward again with the issue of an RfP.

• 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.

• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop Grumman IBCS air and missile defence system complete key test phase

  11th November 2022

  Northrop Grumman's IBCS missile and air defence system for the US Army has completed its Initial Operational Test and Evaluation at White Sands Missile Range.

• Land Warfare

  Can the US Army field a more lethal, mobile force for the 2030s?

  27th October 2022

  The US Army is emphasising autonomous systems, connectivity, firepower and sustainability to advance its combat capabilities by the 2030s.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - small

  Bug Nano UAS (UK)

  Programme Background The British Army previously took delivery of 160 first-generation Black Hornet PD-100 nano UAS in 2013 to support operations in Afghanistan. After these ...

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - small

  Black Hornet 3 PRS (UK)

  Programme Background The British Army operated approximately 160 first-generation Black Hornet PD-100 nano UAS between 2013 and 2017, when the decision was made to retire ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Desert Hawk III Replacement (UK)

  Programme Background The British Army has taken 222 Lockheed Martin Desert Hawk III UAVs into its core fleet, after having originally procured the system to ...

• Reconnaissance/patrol vehicles

  Supacat HMT 400 & 600 (UK - Option)

  Programme Background Programme Requirements The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) stated in a Contract Notice that it had a requirement for at least 70 new HMT platforms ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8, APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Bulldog FV432 Mk 3 Replacement [UK]

  Programme Background Requirement Serving in several iterations since 1963, the FV432 Mk3 'Bulldog' remains operational and deployed as command vehicles, ambulances, and recovery vehicles within the British Army. Although ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Boxer MIV [UK]

  Programme Background History The UK MoD announced in March 2018 that it would re-join the Boxer programme and pursue a sole-source acquisition of the 8x8 ...

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

  Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) Project [UK]

  Programme Background Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) Project The British Army launched the RAS project to provide the "direction required to exploit emerging technologies to ...

• 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 ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked, Reconnaissance/patrol vehicles

  Ajax (UK)

  Programme Background Under its $4.3 billion production contract, GDUK will provide 589 Ajax to the British Army. These will be delivered in six different variants: ...

• Reconnaissance/patrol vehicles

  Supacat HMT 400 & 600 (UK - Contracted)

  Programme Background Programme Requirements The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) stated in a Contract Notice that it required at least 240 new HMT platforms to mitigate ...

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

  French Operational Pocket Drone / DrOP (France)

  Programme Background French UAV Procurment / DrOP Under its 2019-2025 Military Programming Law (LPM), France aims to introduce 1,200 new UAVs into service with the ...

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

  Black Hornet 3 (First Order) [Norway]

  Programme Background First Batch The Norwegian Home Guard has procured the Black Hornet 3 to provide each of its districts with a nano UAS that ...

• Tanks

  Leclerc Upgrade (UAE)

  Programme Background The UAE MoD has not disclosed any intention to modernise or replace its Leclerc MBTs, but an unconfirmed report published by the Asian Defence ...

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

  Black Hornet 3 (Second Order) [Norway]

  Programme Background First Order The Norwegian Home Guard has procured the Black Hornet 3 to provide each of its districts with a nano UAS that ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  British Army Apache Training Facilities

  Aviation Training International (ATIL) – a Leonardo Helicopters/Boeing joint venture formed in 1998 - was selected to provide the attack helicopter training service to the ...

• Tanks

  Challenger 1

  420 Challenger 1 MBTs were delivered to the British Army between 1983 and 1990. Developed from the Shir 2 MBT originally designed for Iran, the ...

• Towed guns

  105mm Light Gun

  The 105mm Light Gun was designed and manufactured by Royal Ordnance Nottingham (now BAE Systems), with the first guns introduced to the British Army in ...

• Self-propelled guns

  AS90

  The AS90 155mm/39cal tracked SPH was designed and built by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering (acquired by BAE Systems in 1999) to meet the requirements of ...

• Tanks

  Challenger 2

  The 120mm-armed Challenger 2 MBT was introduced into British Army service in 1994 as a replacement for the Challenger 1, which was successfully employed in ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  FV432 Mk 3 Bulldog

  The FV432 Mk 3 Bulldog is an upgraded version of the long-serving FV432 family of tracked vehicles, of which approximately 3,000 were delivered to the British ...

• Subsystems: software

  Exonaut Software Suite

  Since 2000, 4C has been developing the Exonaut software suite. The products within the Exonaut suite can either be used standalone or as part of ...

• Armoured engineer vehicles

  Buffalo MPCV

  The Buffalo Mine-Protected Clearance Vehicle (MPCV) is in service with the armed forces of Canada, France, Italy, Pakistan, the UK and the US and has ...

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  Instrumented Ground Combat Training Systems

  Cubic supplies combat training systems for CTCs, homestations and forward-deployed environments. The systems are designed to support missions including force-on-force, urban operations, joint, combined arms ...

• Tanks

  Olifant

  The Olifant (Elephant) is a South African variant of the British Centurion MBT. Development of the Centurion began in 1943. It was introduced into service ...

• Air-to-air missiles, Surface-to-air missiles

  Starstreak AAM

  The Starstreak AAM is a variant of the Thales hypervelocity SAM. The helicopter-fired ATASK (Air-To-Air Starstreak) was developed in combination with McDonnell-Douglas and Lockheed Martin between 1995 ...

• Armoured engineer vehicles

  Titan

  In 2001, Vickers Defence Systems (now part of BAE Systems) received a £250 million ($300 million) MoD contract to build 66 Engineer Tank Systems (ETS), ...

• Infrastructure - bridges

  IAB

  The Infantry Assault Bridge (IAB) is a lightweight foot bridge for light infantry and airborne troops to cross dry or wet gaps. One complete bridge ...

• Mine-protected vehicles

  Cougar 6x6

  The Cougar 6x6 has its origins as a South African vehicle manufactured by Force Protection, a company eventually purchased by General Dynamics. Mine-protected vehicles manufactured ...

• Armoured engineer vehicles

  Trojan

  In 2001, Vickers Defence Systems (now part of BAE Systems) received a £250 million ($300 million) UK MoD contract to build 66 Engineer Tank Systems ...