A Forecast International blog about the arms trade, geopolitics, defense and security, and military spending.
The flaming eye of the media is focusing on attack drones. Not since the 1980s when Israel used unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) to clear air defense missiles from the Bekaa …
20th Century Weapons Defeating 21st Century Attack Drones Read More
With war raging in Ukraine, the Polish government is readying a procurement of an undisclosed number of MQ-9 Reaper medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) drones. The MQ-9 Reaper is capable of conducting …
Alarmed by Events in Ukraine, Poland Opts for Accelerated MQ-9 Reaper Purchase Read More
France has agreed to procure an additional MQ-9 Reaper Block 5 unmanned aerial vehicle via the U.S. government-to-government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) channel. The $79.42 million contract, announced on June …
France Orders Additional Reaper Block 5 UAV Read More
Marine Corps officials have outlined foundational force structure adjustments in preparation for conflicts in the years ahead, and the service’s latest budget request scales back a handful of acquisition programs …
Marine Corps Pivots to Future Conflicts Read More
With the threat of a gap in production of its MQ-4C Triton high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) drone, Northrop Grumman is offering a reduced-rate, accelerated-production alternative to Australia. Due to a U.S. …
Australia Receives Northrop Offer for Accelerated Triton Production Read More
After years of investment and testing and planning for the procurement of unmanned aerial surveillance platforms for use in the signals intelligence (SIGINT) mission, and unending controversy, Germany is scrapping …
Germany Drops Triton Plans, Opts for Manned Airborne Surveillance Capability Read More
Malaysia’s Defense Ministry plans to procure two maritime patrol aircraft (MPAs) and three medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during the upcoming five-year government spending period referred to as …
Malaysian Defense Ministry Plans to Add MPA, MALE UAV Capability Post-2020 Read More
A government-to-government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) request by Belgium for four MQ-9B SkyGuardian remotely piloted aircraft has been given clearance by the U.S. State Department, with notification sent to Congress …
Belgium FMS Request for MQ-9B SkyGuardian UAVs Cleared by State Department Read More
The U.S. affirmed the bulk of its ongoing missile defense plans with the release of the first Missile Defense Review since 2010. President Donald Trump spoke from the Pentagon, warning …
Space-Based Sensors and Directed Energy Highlighted in U.S. Missile Defense Review Read More Japan’s quest for bringing the RQ-4 Global Hawk high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) into service moved forward on November 16 when the Pentagon awarded the drone manufacturer, Northrop …
Japan Global Hawk UAV Purchase Moves Forward Read More