• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Camcopter zooms in on Australia, as Sea 129 tender process begins

  6th August 2020

  Schiebel Pacific announced on 27 July that it had teamed up with Raytheon Australia for the Australian Army’s Project Land 129 Phase 3 requirement for a new …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  China accelerates maritime UAS development

  17th July 2020

  A Chinese emphasis on UAVs for maritime and shipborne use is evident, with a new full-scale rotorcraft mock-up appearing on the navy’s first Type 075 …

• Naval Warfare

  Russia pushes on with domestic alternative to Mistral

  10th June 2020

  The Russian MoD has signed a contract worth an estimated RUB100 billion ($1.43 billion) to build two helicopter carriers for the country’s navy, in a programme …

• Land Warfare

  Finland sets sights on VTOL UAS procurement

  22nd May 2020

  Finland is exploring options to procure a new UAS platform, as it attempts to improve the situational awareness of its ground troops. Col Rainer Peltoniemi, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Orbital UAV and Northrop Grumman launch new partnership

  23rd April 2020

  Australia-based Orbital UAV on 23 April announced that it is teaming up with Northrop Grumman to develop a new hybrid UAV propulsion system. The system …

• Digital Battlespace

  Fire Scout set to gain Link 16

  7th May 2020

  Northrop Grumman is set to receive new contracts from the US Navy over the next two years to integrate Link 16 on the MQ-8C Fire …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment unveils Quantix Recon

  24th April 2020

  AeroVironment on 23 April launched a military variant of its Quantix crop-surveying UAV. Quantix Recon is a fully-automated hybrid VTOL UAS, designed to deliver high-resolution …

• Special Operations

  MMP makes its mark in Mali

  17th April 2020

  The French Army has disclosed details regarding the use of MBDA’s Missile Moyenne Portée (MMP) land combat missile system on operations in West Africa. Speaking …

• Naval Warfare

  HII set to build next USN amphibious transport dock

  6th April 2020

  Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has been awarded a $1.5 billion fixed-price-incentive modification to a previous contract for the construction of an amphibious transport dock LPD …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Schiebel S2 completes heavy fuel acceptance tests

  9th March 2020

  Schiebel announced on 9 March that it has completed heavy fuel acceptance testing of its S2 engine, which is to be used by the Royal …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Australia shortlists tactical UAV vendors

  20th March 2020

  Australia has announced that four companies have been shortlisted for the army’s Project Land 129 Phase 3 to find a new tactical UAV system. The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UMS Skeldar launches new V-150 UAV

  6th March 2020

  UMS Skeldar is launching a new rotary-wing UAV with VTOL capability. The V-150 will be available to support military personnel carry out surveillance and homeland …

• Land Warfare

  Cormorant creator chases the American dream

  2nd March 2020

  A recent cooperation agreement between Boeing and Tactical Robotics will accelerate efforts to promote the Israeli-developed Cormorant VTOL UAV for use by the Israel Defense …

• Air Warfare

  Israel investigates cargo potential of Heron

  4th March 2020

  Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is offering a combat cargo supply drone based on its Heron MK II MALE UAV (pictured). The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Singapore Airshow 2020: ST Engineering lifts lid on VTOL UAVs

  11th February 2020

  Singapore-based ST Engineering displayed two new hybrid UAV platforms at Singapore Airshow 2020. The Veloce 15 and Veloce 60 respectively cover MTOWs from 15-16kg to 50-70kg …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Embarked VTOL UAV [South Korea]

  Programme Background VTOL Development In January 2024, South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced that it would commence development of a VTOL-capable rotary-wing UAV that ...

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

  Camcopter S-300 [South Korea]

  Programme Background Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) On 18 January 2023, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Northop Grumman at a ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  K1000ULE [USMC]

  Programme Background Contact Award After a comprehensive down-selection evaluation, Kraus Hamdani Aerospace's K1000ULE drone won the USN's PMA 263 contract in April 2024. The company will now provide the USN ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Micro VTOL [USMC]

  Programme Background Force Design 2030 The USMC Force Design 2030 is a modernisation effort to create a lighter, more agile maritime force. The update to ...

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

  UAV Tactical Level [Norway]

  Programme Background Request for Information (RfI) In September 2022, the Norwegian Defence Material Agency (NDMA) launched a request for information in preparation for a possible ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Fixed-Wing VTOL UAV (Malaysia)

  Programme Background Tender Issued As reported by Shephard, on 18 June 2021, Malaysia issued a tender for fixed-wing hybrid VTOL UAVs.  Requirement The tender stated that Malaysia required ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  Cargo UAV (Turkey)

  Programme Background Inception & Requirment Turkey's Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) initiated a programme to procure VTOL-capable cargo drones in June 2018. These were planned for ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Parrot Anafi (Singapore)

  Programme Background On 7 February 2022, the Singapore Army posted photographs on Facebook that showed the Anafi UAV used as training devices in a five-day ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Ship-Bourne VTOL UAV [Singapore]

  Programme Background Multi-Role Combat Vessel  The Republic of Singapore Navy will retire its class of six Victory-class corvettes and replace them with a new platform ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Project Proteus [UK]

  Project Proteus is an RN and Leonardo effort to design and develop an uncrewed helicopter demonstrator that could provide an innovative alternative to existing crewed ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Project Proteus [UK]

  Project Proteus is an RN and Leonardo effort to design and develop an uncrewed helicopter demonstrator that could provide an innovative alternative to existing crewed ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Artillery UAV [Thailand]

  Programme Background Requirement & Replacement The Royal Thai Army (RTA) was understood to be seeking a new tactical UAV to replace four legacy Israel Aerospace Industries ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  M Solar-X [Thailand]

  Programme Background Roadmap In February 2024, the RTAF unveiled its White Paper 2024. Incorporating lessons from the Russo-Ukrainian War, the Israel-Hamas War, and other events ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Tactical Drone System Light (SDTL) [France]

  Programme Background The French 2024-2030 military programme unveiled the SDTL for the special forces and the French Army. According to reports, the requirement would cover 30 ...

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

  Project Proteus [UK]

  Programme Background Requirements The RN requires an uncrewed helicopter to test the viability of larger uncrewed aircraft for the RN, possibly providing an alternative to crewed ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Penguin B VTOL

  The Penguin B VTOL is a variant of the Penguin B platform manufactured by Edge Autonomy. Announced in June 2021, the variant is a reliable, long-endurance ...

• Ikarus

  The Ikarus is a rotary-wing UAV suitable for various roles, including agricultural survey, industrial inspection, search and rescue, and all aspects of health and safety ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  VTOL UAV

  The Defence Technology Institute launched the VTOL UAV R&D; project in cooperation with the Naval Research and Development Office, Royal Thai Navy and private sector ...

• Lynx VTOL

  The Lynx VTOL aircraft takes off like a helicopter, flies like a fixed-wing aircraft and is used for precision agriculture and surveying. It has an ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Zala VTOL

  Manufactured by Zala Aero Group, the ZALA VTOL is a hybrid platform that can be operated both as a fixed-wing and rotary-wing UAV due to ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Argus VTOL

  The Argus VTOL, currently in development, is part of the Argus family of UAVs manufactured by Free Horizons, which also features the Argus Predator Mk ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Spider VTOL

  The Spider VTOL is a mini electrical fixed-wing UAV. Unlike traditional VTOL UAVs with dedicated motors, propellors and structural parts for performing take-off and landing, the Spider ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Rakshak VTOL

  The Rakshak VTOL is a fixed-wing UAV with an EO/IR sensor for ISR missions. Developed by TATA Advanced Systems, the UAV is VTOL-capable, allowing it to operate ...

• Air: aerial targets

  Viking VTOL

  The Viking VTOL is an aerial target designed to mimic the size and flight characteristics of most larger, Group 1 (and potentially Group 2) platforms.  Boresight has ...

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

  Stream C VTOL

  At IDEX 2019, Threod Systems unveiled a new version of the Stream C UAS, capable of VTOL manoeuvres. Known as the Stream C VTOL, this ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  Zala 421-22

  The Zala 421-22 is a rotary-wing UAV designed for ship- or land-based reconnaissance and surveillance, bomb damage assessment and real-time target acquisition. The VTOL UAV ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  SR-10 VTOL

  Deftech showcased the SR-10 VTOL at DSA 2022. It has been locally designed in Malaysia to conduct aerial mapping, surveillance and line inspection missions. The hand-launched platform is powered ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  H6 Poseidon

  Manufactured by Swarmly, the H6 Poseidon is a fixed-wing VTOL-capable UAV. The second largest member of the Poseidon family, the vertical lift is provided through ...

• RMAX

  The RMAX is a remotely piloted UAV that was developed in the 1990s for industrial and farming applications, including aerial spraying. The UAV can also ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  Virtual Cockpit v3.0

  Virtual Cockpit v3.0 integrates all flight sensors, communication and payload interfaces into a light, small package.