• Defence Notes

  Hypersonic testing 'vital' as US pushes for 2023 missile capability

  27th October 2022

  The launch of two test rockets with experimental payloads forms a 'vital step' in the development of a common glide vehicle and booster for US Navy and US Army hypersonic missile programmes.

• Naval Warfare

  Nuclear submarine programme takes step forward with hull unit move

  15th December 2022

  The Dreadnought-class SSBNs will be the largest submarines ever built for the Royal Navy. Each boat will be capable of housing eight to 12 Trident II D5 missiles.

• Air Warfare

  Northrop Grumman and US Air Force unveil B-21 stealth bomber

  5th December 2022

  The B-21 Raider sixth-generation stealth bomber will form the backbone of future USAF air power, and it is set to deliver capability and flexibility through advanced integration of data, sensors and weapons.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Gulf task force tests AI and uncrewed vessels

  16th January 2023

  USVs linked up with a destroyer and the International Maritime Security Construct in an early January exercise.

• Air Warfare

  UPDATED: FCAS is ‘on the way to first flight’, says Airbus

  20th December 2022

  The Franco-German Future Combat Air System programme is moving onto Phase 1B, where Dassault, Airbus, Indra and Eumet will develop a demonstrator.

• Defence Notes

  Ukraine anniversary: how long can Western countries support the war effort?

  24th February 2023

  The Ukraine Defense Contact Group has committed $50 billion in security assistance to date.

• Air Warfare

  UK, Italy and Japan tie the knot with joint fighter project

  9th December 2022

  Japanese involvement is key to the feasibility of the Future Combat Air System, bringing money and industrial might to the table.

• Air Warfare

  F-16 fighter jet backlog will increase before production rate can improve

  30th January 2023

  Lockheed Martin is facing a backlog of F-16 aircraft that is set to increase as the list of countries that want the jet grows. However, the company is convinced it can increase production rates significantly throughout 2023.

• Air Warfare

  Germany greenlights F-35 jet purchase for nuclear strike role

  16th December 2022

  Germany is buying the F-35A conventional take-off and landing variant of the fighter jet.

• Naval Warfare

  Austal Australia converts patrol boat into unmanned vessel

  11th October 2022

  The Royal Australian Navy is involved in converting a patrol boat into an unmanned vessel, while it also seeks new workboats and another LMV-M contender reveals its landing craft design for the Australian Army.

• Air Warfare

  Sweden could face ASW capability gap by slashing NH90

  10th November 2022

  As Sweden is set to become a NATO member, its regional ASW and ASuW responsibilities will increase. Phasing out the NH90 gradually will win some time for Stockholm, but soon it will have to make a decision on a new helicopter capability.

• Air Warfare

  Babcock wins French air base ground support equipment contract

  20th December 2022

  Babcock considers France an important market and the newly awarded support contract marks its first step towards supporting the French Armed Forces.

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2022: The new programmes at the forefront of US Army training

  1st December 2022

  Openness and transparency are to the fore as the US Army's Program Executive Office for Simulation Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) seeks closer ties with industry to deliver major projects.

• Air Warfare

  Korea's KF-21 fighter makes progress but Indonesian involvement still in arrears

  6th January 2023

  The third prototype of the KF-21 Boramae fighter jet has flown, and supersonic flight will be achieved in Q1 2023. However, the timescale for Indonesia honouring its financial commitments to the programme remains unclear.

• Air Warfare

  US Navy contracts BAE for next-generation aircraft survivability system

  16th December 2022

  BAE's Smart D2 technology supports the USN's conversion from round to square countermeasures.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  The Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  The Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement The FVL-MS programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft utilised ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawk (Saudi Arabia)

  The sale is aimed at improving Saudi Arabia’s capability to meet current and future threats from enemy weapon systems, provide the capability to identify, engage ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Data links

  Data links | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

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

  Large ULS-A / Aerial Logistics Connector (ALC) [USMC]

  Programme Background US Marine ULS-A programmes The US Marines are seeking a family of Unmanned Logistics Systems-Air (ULS-A), which will provide logistics and ground units with ...

• Fighter - naval

  F-35C Carrier Variant

  The US Navy is planning to order 130 F-35Cs between FY2026 and FY2030 under the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. The purchase is estimated be ...

• Fighter - naval

  Future Naval Fighter China

  The PLAN started development work in 2011 for the Type 075 with the aim of increasing the "vertical" amphibious assault capability, with the mountainous East ...

• Fighter - naval

  F-35B STOVL Future Procurement - US Navy

  US Navy has ordered 122 F-35B aircraft until FY2020, the remaining 202 fighters will be acquired at a rate of 10 and 17 per year ...

• Military UAS - MALE, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  MQ-8C Fire Scout (USA)

  Programme Background Timeline According to the Naval Air Systems Command, having first ordered the MQ-8B in 2009, the UAV has become a pillar of the ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Japanese Future Amphibious Vehicle

  Programme Background The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force's (JGSDF) Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade currently operates a fleet of 58 BAE Systems Armored Amphibious Assault Vehicle 7A1s (AAV7A1s) ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

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

  V-247 Vigilant

  The V-247 Vigilant is a tiltrotor UAV from Bell. Officially introduced in 2016, it features an open modular architecture and can host several payloads. These include ...

• Air: Displays

  F-15 Replacement Vertical Situation Display

  BAE Systems Replacement Vertical Situation Display (RVSD) replaces the legacy VSD units on F-15E aircraft. The AMLCD display offers a larger display size and is compatible ...

• Military UAS - MALE, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Korean Future Vertical Lift (KFVL)

  Unveiled at KADEX 2024, the Korean Future Vertical Lift (KFVL) is a family of uncrewed helicopters from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). Despite being in the ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  S-97 Raider

  The S-97 Raider helicopter is based on the five-year, company-funded X2 Technology Demonstrator project. Like the X2, the S-97 Raider will feature twin coaxial, counter-rotating ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Aerosonde Mk 4.8 HQ FTUAS

  From the Texton family of Aerosonde UAS, the Aerosonde Mk 4.8 Hybrid Quad (HQ) FTUAS is a tactical drone purpose-built to meet the US Army's Future Vertical Lift ...

• Surface-to-air missiles, Surface-to-surface missiles

  RIM-174 Standard ERAM SM-6 Block I/IA

  The SM-6 (RIM-174 Standard ERAM) is a surface-to-air supersonic missile launched from cruisers and destroyers, capable of successfully engaging crewed and uncrewed, fixed- or rotary-wing ...

• Helicopter engines

  T901

  The Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP) is the US Army's effort to build a 50% more powerful and 25% more fuel-efficient engine for its Black ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  AVX JMR

  AVX Aircraft proposed a compound helicopter with coaxial rotors, small wings and dual ducted-fan propulsors for the US Army’s JMR-TD FVL programme. In April 2015, ...

• Cumulus One

  Cumulus One is an autonomous fixed-wing drone manufactured by Sky-Watch. The aircraft’s structure is made from carbon fibre and Kevlar. The system has mission planning ...

• EO/IR systems

  Pan-Tilt-Zoom Camera with Laser Rangefinder

  Pan-Tilt-Zoom Camera with Laser Rangefinder is a surveillance system with a laser rangefinder. Performance includes 1/3in charge-coupled device colour sensor, NTSC or PAL format. Resolution ...

• Helicopter engines

  T900

  The Improved Turbine Engine Program is the US Army's effort to build a 50% more powerful and 25% more fuel-efficient engine for its Black Hawk ...

• Military - UUVs

  Roving Bat

  The Roving Bat is a multipurpose, hybrid ROV and crawler for close inspection and cleaning operations of immersed vertical structures such as a ship's hull. ...

• Military - UUVs

  Bluefin-Proteus

  Proteus is a dual-mode UUV capable of operation in either manned or autonomous modes. Primary missions are MCM, sensor development and vehicle research. 

• Military helicopters - multirole

  SB-1 Defiant

  The SB-1 Defiant is a JMR-TD aircraft. Sikorsky and Boeing announced in February 2013 that they would submit a joint proposal to build a demonstrator ...

• Military helicopters - multirole, Tiltrotors

  TR36TD

  Karem Aircraft was one of four contenders for the US Army's JMR-TD, which is a precursor to the FVL project that will replace the UH-60 ...