• Air Warfare

  Venezuela hints at AEW&C procurement despite economic woes

  19th August 2020

  Paralysed by a moribund economy and mired in a long-running political crisis, Venezuela faces unprecedented problems in terms of maintaining its military might. Future procurement …

• Air Warfare

  Colombian Air Force modernises but future of Kfirs remains unclear

  30th July 2020

  Colombia has concluded the modernisation of its EMB-312 Tucano aircraft; this successful project generally puts the Colombian Air Force (FAC) in good shape as it …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Airbus VSR700 prototype completes first autonomous free flight

  28th July 2020

  The prototype of the VSR700 UAS has carried out its first free flight, manufacturer Airbus Helicopters announced on 28 July. The geofenced VSR700 performed a ten-minute …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Army places major Hellfire order

  24th July 2020

  The US Army is buying more AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles from Lockheed Martin under a $702.88 million contract modification awarded on 22 July. Work will …

• Defence Helicopter

  Airbus to make more Lakotas for US Army​​

  24th July 2020

  Airbus Helicopters Inc (AHI) has received a $74 million contract modification from the US Army to produce 15 UH-72A Lakota helicopters, with the option for …

• Defence Helicopter

  Details emerge of CH-47Fs for Singapore

  27th July 2020

  Photos have emerged on the internet of the first Boeing CH-47F Chinook destined for the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), with new features such …

• Defence Helicopter

  Hip swings into trials for Russian SF

  23rd July 2020

  Flight tests have begun in Russia of the Mi-8AMTSh-VN Hip helicopter to determine its aerodynamic and flight performance characteristics. Tests will also assess the maneuverability, …

• Land Warfare

  Russia sheds more light on Strela

  14th August 2020

  The Military Industrial Company (Voyenno-Promishlennaya Kompaniya, VPK) in Russia has revealed details about its Strela (‘Arrow’) light air-transportable armoured car. A base model, its amphibious …

• Defence Helicopter

  Franco-German partnership to offer new turboprop helicopter engine

  22nd July 2020

  Safran Helicopter Engines and ZF Aviation Technology have strengthened their partnership, with a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to offer the new Ardiden 3TP turboprop engine …

• Air Warfare

  Live fire tests lie in store for Martlet

  27th July 2020

  The Martlet Lightweight Multirole Missile for the UK RN is expected to undertake live-fire tests in September ahead of IOC by the end of 2020. Martlet …

• Defence Helicopter

  Bell enhances industrial capabilities with FVL in mind

  10th August 2020

  Bell Textron officially unveiled its new 140,000ft2 (13,000m2) Manufacturing Technology Center at Fort Worth, Texas on 10 August, underlining its bullish mood regarding development and rapid …

• Training

  Italian Army receives initial UH-169Bs

  13th July 2020

  Leonardo has delivered its first UH-169B basic training helicopters to the Italian Army, as part of the broader AW169MA Light Utility Helicopter acquisition programme. ‘Two AW169 …

• Air Warfare

  Brazil awaits enhanced AEW&C platform

  31st July 2020

  The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) expects to introduce its first modified Embraer E-99 aircraft in November this year, as it seeks to enhance its AEW&C; …

• Naval Warfare

  Type 076 apparition emerges from the Chinese mist

  29th July 2020

  Speculation has been rife on the internet about an innovative new class of ship for the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN): a landing helicopter dock …

• Land Warfare

  Indian Army considers light tanks…again

  19th August 2020

  Ongoing tensions in the Ladakh sector of the border between India and China have spurred the Indian Army to revisit a requirement for a light tank suitable …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530F -Kenya

  Crew transition training took place at the MD Helicopters headquarters in Mesa, Arizona, with field service support, armament, and gunnery training scheduled to occur at ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  MD 530G - Malaysia

  Procured for an urgent operational requirement for gunships to support Eastern Sabah Security Command operations, helicopter deliveries had to slip from a planned delivery of ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530G Lebanon

  The Armed MD 530G Scout Attack Helicopter features next-generation all-glass cockpit that includes: two Genesys Aerosystems IDU-680 6” x 9” LCD primary displays, Tek Fusion ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  Project Land 2097 Phase 4 - Australia

  According to the RfI, under Project Land 2097 Phase 4, the selected helicopter must comprise a commercial or military off-the-shelf solution that is already in ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 505 (South Korea - Army)

  Programme Background Requirement South Korea operates an ageing fleet of Bell UH-1s and MD 500s for training purposes. The country has already replaced a part of ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 505 (South Korea - Navy)

  Programme Background Requirement South Korea operates an ageing fleet of Bell UH-1s and MD 500s for training purposes. The country has already replaced a part of ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) First Batch (South Korea)

  Programme Background The LAH is the first time that the South Korean OEM has developed an armed helicopter. The project kicked off in June 2015, ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) Forecast (South Korea)

  Programme Background The LAH is the first time that the South Korean OEM has developed an armed helicopter. The project kicked off in June 2015, ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton - Germany (Cancelled)

  Programme Background Germany requested to buy four MQ-4C Triton HALE UAVs from Northrop Grumman. On 5 April 2018, the US State Department announced that it ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8, Tanks

  Tracked & Wheeled Light Tank (Philippines)

  Programme Background The decision to split the programme into a wheeled and a tracked element follows the belief of the Philippine Army that this will ...

• 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 - 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 - 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 - scout/light attack

  AH-6i (Thailand)

  Programme Background The US State Department has made a determination approving the possible $400 million sale on 24 September 2019. The eight AH-6i light attack ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawk [Greece]

  Programme Background Contract In July 2019, the US State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of MH-60R helicopters to Greece for an estimated cost ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530F Cayuse Warrior

  An evolution of the OH-6 Cayuse light observation helicopter, the MD 530F was initially Federal Aviation Administration-certified in July 1985 as the Model 369FF. It ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530G

  The MD 530G is the newest addition to the MD Helicopters line of light scout attack platforms. It has increased-capacity landing gear and a mission-configurable ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  MDHI Glass Cockpit

  The American aerospace manufacturer MD Helicopters Inc. (MDHI) has designed and developed a glass cockpit specifically for MD 500E AND MD 520N aircraft. It is ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  IDU-680

  The IDU-680 is Genesys Aerosystems’ 3D synthetic vision integrated Electronic Flight Instrument System. The system includes a Highway in the Sky navigation system, geo-referenced hover ...

• Helicopter guns

  FN HMP

  The FN HMP (Heavy Machine Gun Pod) is a self-contained airborne weapon system armed with a 50cal FN M3P heavy machine gun. It is available ...

• Helicopter Armour

  Armor of America (AoA) produces custom armour kits for any rotary-wing aircraft. AoA helicopter armour protects areas such as the cockpit floor and doors, cabin ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  6XX

  Publicly unveiled at Heli-Expo in March 2017, the MD Helicopters 6XX is the next evolution in the MD 500 series and is a redesigned, single-engine ...

• Helicopter engines

  M250-C30

  The M250-C30 and -C30P are the exclusive powerplants for the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger and the MD Helicopters MD 530F and MD 530G. In addition, the AH-6i is ...

• HEMS Completions

  RSG has been providing modification, retrofit, completion services and component overhaul to the air medical industry for over 38 years on aircraft produced by Airbus ...

• HS-16600

  Breeze-Eastern's HS-16600 external electric hoist system is operational on the Leonardo Helicopters AW109 and AW119, Bell Helicopter 206 and 222, and MD 500. It is ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 500

  The MD 500 is a single-engine light helicopter derived from the Hughes OH-6A Cayuse developed for the US Army in the early 1960s and the ...

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

  KUS-VH

  The Korean Air KUS-VH is a large, rotary-wing UAV based on the MD 500. The first flight of the platform took place in early 2017. ...

• Airborne rockets - unguided

  Aculeus MD-36 and MD-432

  The Aculeus MD-36 unguided multi-dart rocket provides 36 darts for the neutralisation of columns of light armoured vehicles. The Aculeus MD-432 provides 432 darts to ...

• Helicopter engines

  M250-C47E

  The C47E is the latest growth variant of the C47B/8 engine. In addition to a hot-and-high Value Improvement Package Kit, the C47E also includes dual-channel ...

• InSight Integrated Flight Deck

  InSight features embedded synthetic vision with advanced mapping capability, electronic charts, radio control and broadcast weather. With fewer required external line replaceable units for essential ...