• Air Warfare

  Four companies chosen for COTS, dual-use air-launched system

  5th June 2024

  An enterprise test vehicle (ETV) will use dual-use and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technology to develop an air-launched multi-purpose system with an emphasis on modularity.

• Air Warfare

  Sikorsky’s UH-60M Black Hawk given boost as Greece and Australia share fleet updates

  29th October 2024

  Australia and Greece are among a group of nations who have recently placed orders for UH-60M Black Hawks to replace their ageing fleets and boost their armed forces’ operational capabilities.

• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop Grumman receives follow-on contract for CUAS and C-IED systems

  26th September 2024

  The Joint Counter Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare (JCREW) counter-improvised explosive device (C-IED) and Drone Restricted Access Using Known Electromagnetic Warfare (DRAKE) counter-UAS (CUAS) systems are mounted and dismounted RF jammers.

• Air Warfare

  The Philippines prepares for high-end fighter operations

  24th September 2024

  The Southeast Asian country’s air force is broadening the warfighting mission sets of its FA-50PH by shifting focus towards offensive counter air, defensive counter air and ground attack missions.

• Training

  New army training facility for NATO soldiers opens at Virginia navy base

  28th August 2024

  The facility will make training for the ACFT significantly more comfortable and will aim to boost morale among troops.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Honeywell launches counter-swarm drone system to combat evolving warfare requirements

  17th September 2024

  The UAS, which detects and tracks drone swarms, will be demonstrated to the US Air Force Global Strike team in January 2025.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MARV-EL passes performance evaluation for uncrewed aerial resupply

  20th August 2024

  The system will now move on to data analysis and rapid prototyping, so it can be deployed as fast as possible.

• Air Warfare

  Bureaucratic syndrome holds back India’s AEW&Cs

  7th November 2024

  If India is to remain competitive with its neighbouring powers, it still requires a definitive answer to its critical shortage of AEW&C systems.

• Air Warfare

  ECRS Mk2 radar makes first flight on Eurofighter Typhoon

  30th September 2024

  The test, part of ongoing developments for the UK Typhoon fleet, was operated at BAE Systems in Lancashire and supported by the radar’s developer, Leonardo UK.

• Air Warfare

  Kongsberg to invest $110 million to increase production capacities in the US

  19th September 2024

  Expected contracts from the US Armed Forces will see the company build a new facility in Virginia, as well as improving and expanding its manufacturing capabilities in Pennsylvania.

• Defence Notes

  RTX’s unauthorised exports result in $200 million fine

  2nd September 2024

  According to the US Department of State, 750 company violations were recorded from 2017 to 2023.

• Defence Notes

  How Chinese and Russian ambitions are forcing US posture in the Arctic to shift

  25th July 2024

  The recently released 2024 DoD Arctic Strategy established lines of action to improve US extreme cold-weather capabilities against perceived threats from China and Russia throughout the region.

• Defence Notes

  US Congress urges Pentagon to expand the use of quantum science

  3rd June 2024

  Text proposed by the House Armed Services Committee for the NDAA for FY2025 directed the Pentagon to establish a quantum computing centre of excellence to accelerate the transition of quantum hybrid technology from R&D into operational use.

• Air Warfare

  US Navy carrier ground control station conducts ‘first live control of a UAV’

  8th November 2024

  The US Navy (USN) used its MD-5 Ground Control Station (GCS) with Lockheed Martin’s MDCX autonomy platform to control a General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) MQ-20 Avenger UAS.

• Digital Battlespace

  “We want to leverage commercial as much as possible,” says PEO for Space Domain Awareness and Combat Power

  17th June 2024

  The priorities the US Space Force should consider when optimising commercial solutions across the spectrum of conflict have been laid out as well as how the branch can achieve integration before a crisis.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Light attack, Trainer

  Light Attack/Trainer Aircraft - Ghana

  In 2013, the Chief of Ghana Air Force stated that A-29 is their preferred platform and this position was also submitted to the Government. In ...

• Transport

  C-130J - USAF

  Programme Background The C-130J Super Hercules is a four-engine turboprop transport aircraft developed by Lockheed Martin to replace aging C-130 variants. The US and FMS ...

• Bomber

  B-21 Raider (USA)

  Programme Background The US DoD is developing a new long-range bomber called the B-21 Raider, previously known as LRS-B. At least 100 units are expected ...

• Trainer

  Trainer Aircraft (1-12) [Vietnam]

  Programme Background After years of operating Russian-built military equipment, Vietnam is more willing to procure US-supplied equipment following the lifting of the arms embargo in ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  T-2E Replacement - Greece

  The average unit cost is estimated to be around $12 million based on the Czech Republic's $48.5 million deal for the purchase of four L-39NG ...

• 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 - light/training

  Bell 505 (Jordan)

  Programme Background Requirement The Jordanian Air Force has a requirement for training helicopters that are to be used in the King Hussein Air College. The country ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA)

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA)

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

• Data links

  Data links | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA)

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA)

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA)

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) [USA]

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) [USA]

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

• Data links

  Data links | Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) [USA]

  USAF is working on Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) aircraft concept which may replace F-15C/Ds and F-22s in service and complement F-35s. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: Electronic Attack - Pod, Air: chaff, flare and decoy systems

  Comet

  Mystery surrounds Raytheon’s Comet infrared (IR) countermeasures pod. The system appears to have been designed to answer a 2003 US Air Force requirement for an ...

• Air: Electronic Attack - Jamming

  J/ALQ-8

  Like Israel, Japan elected to outfit its McDonnell Douglas/Boeing F-15J/DJ combat aircraft with an indigenous self-protection system. This takes the form of Mitsubishi Electric’s J/ALQ-8 ...

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar

  Lynx

  Lynx is a high-resolution synthetic aperture radar with ground moving target indication (GMTI), dismount MTI (DMTI) and maritime capability. Operating in the Ku-band, it produces ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  FAB-T Force Element Terminal

  The Family of Advanced Beyond Line-of-Sight Terminals - Force Element Terminal (FAB-T FET) is a nuclear-hardened SATCOM solution designed for airborne applications. Produced by Raytheon, ...

• Land: air defence radar

  AN/FPS-132

  AN/FPS-132 is a solid-state, phased-array, all-weather long-range radar developed by Raytheon. It is also known as Upgraded Early Warning Radar (UEWR). The AN/FPS-132 provides early ...

• Fighter - air superiority

  F-5E/F Tiger II

  The F-5E (single-seat)/F (twin-seat) Tiger II is an air superiority fighter developed by Northrop Grumman based on the original F-5 Freedom Fighter. Production of the ...

• Air-to-air missiles

  AIM-9 Sidewinder

  The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a short-range air-to-air missile (AAM) that entered US military service in 1956, with variants and upgrades remaining active to the present day. The ...

• Land: soldier modernisation systems - industry programmes

  Warrior Systems

  General Dynamics Mission Systems is prime contractor and system integrator for the US Army’s Warrior soldier systems, which include Air Warrior, Future Force Warrior, Land Warrior ...

• Trainer

  King Air trainer

  Textron / Beechcraft King Air trainers are a family twin-engine aircraft based on King Air 90, 100, 200 and 350 utility aircraft. The King Air ...

• Air: mission management systems

  TBMCS

  Theater Battle Management Core Systems (TBMCS) is a US joint C2 integrated BMS used to plan and execute air campaigns in theatres of operations worldwide. ...

• Trainer

  T-6A/B Texan II

  The T-6 Texan II is a single-engine trainer aircraft, which was developed from the Pilatus PC-9 to meet the training requirements of USAF and USN ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  EMB-312 Tucano

  The EMB-312 Tucano (Brazilian designation T-27) is a trainer and light attack aircraft developed by Embraer to meet the training requirements of the Brazilian Air ...

• Air: Integrated Defensive Systems

  AN/ALQ-213(V) DAC

  Terma’s AN/ALQ-213(V) electronic warfare management unit is used extensively on General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon series combat aircraft around the world. The AN/ALQ-213(V) is ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-4 Phantom II family

  The F-4 Phantom II is a two-seat multirole fighter developed originally by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) to meet USN interceptor requirements. It soon became a unified ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  CV-22/MV-22 Osprey Training Devices

  As part of a joint FlightSafety/Bell Helicopter/Boeing team, FlightSafety was the first company to successfully design, manufacture and deliver full-motion flight simulators for tilt-rotor training. ...