• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UK to underwrite unmanned marine science programmes post-Brexit

  29th March 2019

  The UK’s National Oceanography Centre (NOC) has said that any ongoing robotics projects it has with European partners will be underwritten by the UK government …

• Naval Warfare

  Belgium and Netherlands finalise minehunter decision

  18th March 2019

  The competition to supply the navies of Belgium and the Netherlands with their next generation mine countermeasure (MCM) vessel has been won by Belgium Naval …

• Digital Battlespace

  US programme to beat adversary's ‘formidable’ capabilities

  17th March 2019

  A US government agency will award $45.5 million for development of new technologies able to coordinate a future autonomous army of unmanned air and ground …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Unmanned Systems Asia 2019: ScanEagle joins the coalface

  25th March 2019

  Insitu has begun working with Australia’s Shell Queensland Gas Corporation (SQGC) to provide automated surveillance and trouble-spotting of wellheads under a contract signed in early …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  LIMA 2019: Malaysia expresses a liking for large UAVs

  28th March 2019

  Malaysia issued a rather general RfI for a MALE UAV last December, and three OEMs from China, Turkey and the US exhibited their potential solutions …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Kaman to develop next-gen K-Max

  8th March 2019

  Kaman Aerospace is developing a next generation K-Max that will allow operators to fly either manned or unmanned missions, the company announced on 5 March. …

• Defence Notes

  Trump seeks $33 billion hike in US DoD budget

  12th March 2019

  The US DoD would receive $718 billion in FY2020, a $33 billion or 5% increase from the FY2019 enacted level, under the Trump administration’s newly …

• Defence Helicopter

  Heli-Expo 2019: MD Helicopters enters FARA fray with Swift

  5th March 2019

  MD Helicopters (MDHI) is the latest industry participant to confirm it has submitted a proposal for the US Army’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) programme as …

• Digital Battlespace

  Persistent Systems expands Fort Collins facility

  13th March 2019

  Persistent Systems has completed a major expansion of its Fort Collins office in Colorado to increase support for its customers with mobile ad hoc networking …

• Training

  Kratos’ BQM-177A achieves IOC with US Navy

  8th March 2019

  Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’ new BQM-177A Subsonic Aerial Target (SSAT) has achieved initial operational capability (IOC) with the US Navy, the company announced on …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  XQ-58A Valkyrie completes first flight

  11th March 2019

  The US Air Force’s XQ-58A Valkyrie UAV demonstrator completed its first flight on 5 March at Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona. The Air Force Research Laboratory …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  GA-EMS demos ALPS to power underwater ROV

  13th March 2019

  General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) has successfully completed the first end-to-end demonstration of its aluminium power system (ALPS), powering an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Event 38 partners with uAvionix

  12th March 2019

  Event 38 Unmanned Systems has signed a collaborative agreement with uAvionix, the company announced on 6 March. Under the agreement, Event 38 will resell and …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  USMC looks to buy Reaper UAVs

  14th March 2019

  The USMC wants to begin buying a handful of MQ-9A Reaper UAVs in FY2020 to meet an ‘urgent operational need,’ according to a US Navy …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Rostec touts the KUB-BLA loitering weapon for the Russian MoD

  12th March 2019

  Russia’s Kalashnikov company and the Russian MoD are set to begin negotiations on the possible delivery of the KUB-BLA expendable unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV). …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - MALE

  Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) Warrior [India]

  Programme Background Make In India The 'Make In India' initiative is an effort by the Indian government to boost domestic manufacturing. In the context of ...

• 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 ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Ajax IFV [UK]

  Background Prior to commencing development of the Ajax the UK utilised the Warrior was its primary IFV. However, the Warrior entered service in 1987 making it ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Naval Collaborative Combat Air Vehicle (N-CCAV) [India]

  Programme Background CATS Warrior The Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) is a planned, uncrewed and crewed family of aircraft in development by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited ...

• 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 - MALE

  MQ-1 Gray Eagle [US Army]

  Background Required Quantity Although the US Army first envisioned a requirement for 132 MQ-1C Gray Eagles, the US Army's Army Acquisition Objective (AAO) was increased ...

• Military UAS - small

  Orbiter 3 (Croatia)

  Programme Background The Croatian government launched a competitive tender for the procurement of a short-range UAV in October 2017. Although the tender was opened on ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Protected 4x4 Replacement [Argentina]

  Programme Background Argentina currently operates the AML, Spartan 4x4 APC and Dongfeng Warrior CSK131, with 45 still in service across the three vehicles. It also previously operated ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Boxer (MIV) [UK]

  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 vehicle. ...

• CUAS - hybrid effector systems

  Fixed Site-Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft System Integrated Defeat System [Qatar]

  Background In 2022, Qatar received authorisation from the US Government to acquire 10 Fixed Site-Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft System Integrated Defeat System (FS-LIDS) for $1 billion. Also ...

• Military UAS - mini

  AR100-H [Germany]

  Programme Background In May 2022, it was announced that 145 AR100-H drones would be supplied to the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr). At the time of ...

• Military UAS - small

  Alpha 900 [Uruguay]

  Background Acqustiion In October 2022, the Alpha 900 from Alpha Unmanned Systems was reportedly jointly purchased by the Uruguayan state energy company UTE and the ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Sixth-Generation Aircraft [South Korea]

  Programme Background Hanwha industries has confirmed that a new engine is under development to replace the American manufactured F-414 engine; according to reports, the new ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  Ermine (Ukraine Aid) [Netherlands]

  Background Since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Western governments have sought to provide as much assistance as possible to the Ukrainian government. ...

• Minehunters

  New Generation Minehunters/Coastal (NGM/C) (1-5) [Italy]

  Background Requirements Four vessels were planned to be NGM/A, a new ocean-going MCMV, while a further eight NGM/C minehunters, a new coastal MCMV. These will replace ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military - USVs

  SHARC

  The Sensor Hosting Autonomous Remote Craft (SHARC) wave glider platform is a JV developed between Boeing and Liquid Robotics. The SHARC is able to deliver ...

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - small

  Outlaw SeaHunter

  Outlaw UAVs are used by military and research agencies for training, testing, data collection and system development. In the 114-137kg maximum take-off weight class, SeaHunter ...

• Military UAS - small

  NRQ-21

  Insitu displayed the NRQ-21 Integrator at the Unmanned Warrior 2016 event in Wales. The aircraft has been designed to carry out tasks on land and ...

• Land: soldier modernisation systems - industry programmes

  Mounted Warrior

  Mounted Warrior will provide an integrated system-of-systems ensemble designed to improve the survivability, lethality and combat effectiveness of armoured vehicle crewmen. The system leverages capabilities ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Warrior

  The Warrior IFV entered service with the British Army in mid-1987. A total of 789 vehicles were delivered in IFV, infantry command, anti-tank, recovery, repair, ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  MIHDS

  The Modular Integrated Helmet Display System (MIHDS) is designed and developed jointly by General Dynamics Mission Systems, USA and Microvision Inc. The system's SD2500 design ...

• Military - USVs

  MAST

  The Maritime Autonomy Surface Testbed (MAST) was developed by ASV Global and Roke Manor Research under funding from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. It ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  CATS Warrior

  Manufactured by the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) Warrior is a medium-altitude long-endurance UAS part of the CATS family ...

• Land: soldier modernisation systems - national programmes

  Warrior 2020

  Finland’s Warrior 2020 programme is focused on improving individual soldier equipment in the five capability areas defined by NATO: C4I, lethality, mobility, survivability and sustainability. Warrior ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  OH-58D Kiowa Warrior

  The OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, manufactured by Bell Helicopter Textron, is a two-person, light scout helicopter with a day/night mast-mounted sight, glass cockpit and four-bladed rotor system. ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MUBC

  The Modular Universal Battery Charger (MUBC) is a scalable charging system for a range of military and commercial batteries. It provides for the addition of ...

• 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 ...

• UAS: Integrated systems - uncrewed

  Athena 511

  The Athena 511 is a compact all-in-one GPS-aided INS air data system. The system’s integrated inertial sensing uses a tactical grade, ring-laser gyro IMU, with ...

• Land: RWS

  Unmanned T40

  Nexter is developed an unmanned variant of its T40 two-man turret to meet the growing demand for these types of systems. Like the standard T40, ...