• Digital Battlespace

  Pentagon takes meaningful steps towards a viable military Internet of Things

  4th December 2020

  Efforts continue to place Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2)​ firmly in the Pentagon's long-term acquisition plans.

• Defence Helicopter

  US Army and Sikorsky to test ‘multi-ship’ optionally piloted Black Hawks

  12th November 2020

  Multiple UH-60 optionally piloted Black Hawk flight tests, under DARPA's ALIAS Phase III, are set to begin next year.

• Naval Warfare

  Japan launches first of new frigate class

  23rd November 2020

  The first of an extensive class of new frigates for the JMSDF has been launched in Japan.

• Military Logistics

  Sea Train concept to include mission-level autonomy

  16th October 2020

  AI specialist will develop algorithms to optimise propulsion and fuel consumption

• Defence Notes

  US DoD bets on non-standard procurement to improve readiness

  23rd October 2020

  Other Transaction Authority (OTA) obligations of the US DoD have increased by 712% between FY2015 and FY2019. The largest proportion of these resources is going to non-traditional contractors and is primarily being used for R&D. The army was the leader in OTA usage across the DoD and accounted for 67% of obligations in FY2019.

• Digital Battlespace

  Franco-German axis stumbles in the grey zone

  30th October 2020

  ​The proliferation of grey zone threats from Russia and China poses a geopolitical challenge for the EU, particularly close political partners France and Germany

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Gibbs & Cox to develop unmanned sea train concept

  8th October 2020

  The US is keen to explore the potential of USVs for naval logistics

• Digital Battlespace

  Aether Spy progresses to next phase

  16th October 2020

  Transition to digital AESA technology aligns with USAF digital engineering initiatives

• Naval Warfare

  BAE Systems expands its UUV family

  22nd September 2020

  BAE Systems on 22 September unveiled its Riptide UUV-12 system, as the newest addition to its portfolio of unmanned undersea systems.  The 30.5cm-diameter vehicle joins …

• Military Logistics

  DARPA seeks help to reduce MUSV wave resistance

  14th September 2020

  Applied Physical Sciences has been awarded a $13.88 million contract by DARPA to support the Sea Train Phase 1 programme. The company will help DARPA …

• Defence Notes

  Academic researchers support DARPA chip-scale integrated photonics programme

  17th September 2020

  The Research Foundation for the State University of New York is joining the DARPA-run Lasers for Universal Microscale Optical Systems (LUMOS) programme under a $19.21 …

• Naval Warfare

  USN orders more Archerfish mine neutralisers

  21st September 2020

  BAE Systems has been awarded a contract worth up to £87 million ($111.69 million) by the US DoD to manufacture and deliver Archerfish mine neutralisers …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment raises loitering munition stakes

  5th October 2020

  UAS manufacturer AeroVironment has released a new extended range variant of the company's Switchblade loitering munition series — designated Switchblade 600.

• Naval Warfare

  Royal Swedish Navy eyes unmanned to augment subsurface capability

  8th September 2020

  Unmanned systems could become a key force multiplier for the Royal Swedish Navy in a bid to shore up hull numbers and add new capabilities …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  USN chooses contractor support for MK18 UUV upgrades

  25th August 2020

  Upgrades for the MK18 family of UUV systems operated by the USN are being supported by California-based Areté Associates, under a $9.75 million integration services …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  AdvaNced airCraft Infrastructure-Less Launch And RecoverY (ANCILLARY) [US]

  Background Aims & Timeline As stated by DARPA, the ANCILLARY programme aims to develop and fly an X-plane that will provide a “leap-ahead” in long-endurance, VTOL-capable ...

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

  LongShot [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement According to DARPA, the objective of the LongShot programme is "to disrupt the paradigm of air combat operations by demonstrating an unmanned ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement Originally conceived as a replacement for the F-22, the PCA was designed to counter various air threats, including integrated air defence systems ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military - UUVs

  Manta Ray

  Manta Ray is an uncrewed underwater vessel (UUV) developed by Northrop Grumman.

• Military - UUVs

  Bluefin-Knifefish

  The Bluefin-Knifefish UUV was initially developed for the Surface Mine Countermeasure UUV (SMCM UUV) programme for the USN’s Littoral Combat Ships. It is manufactured by General Dynamics ...

• Sea: procedural training

  UUV Training Simulator

  The Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) Training Simulator teaches users how to operate and control a UUV, specifically with reference to mine hunting. The UUV is ...

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

  LongShot

  The LongShot is a developmental air-launched platform intended to increase the survivability of friendly crewed aircraft. In February 2021, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) ...

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

  XRQ-73

  The US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) unveiled the flying design of the XRQ-73 in June 2024. The aircraft has been developed under the  Series ...

• Sea: procedural training

  2 Sigma Digital Tutor

  A Digital Tutor that is designed to outperform schoolhouse instructors, bringing CTC training to a broad spectrum of sailors. Specifications include improving student outcomes for ...

• Military - USVs

  NOMARS

  The No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) is a US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) effort to develop a first-of-its-kind large uncrewed surface vessel.

• Major networking projects

  CHAIN

  The Compartmented High Assurance Information Network (CHAIN) is described as a robust architecture that improves interoperability of IT systems among the military services and security ...

• Riptide Mk II

  At Oceanology International 2018, Riptide Autonomous Solutions presented its second-generation micro-UUV – the Mk II. The Riptide Mk II UUV has a maximum speed of ...

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

  XV-24A LightningStrike

  The XV-24A LightningStrike, developed by Aurora Flight Sciences and its partners Rolls-Royce and Honeywell, was a project for a tilt-wing UAV powered by an electric-distributed ...

• Military - UUVs

  BlueWhale

  BlueWhale is an autonomous uncrewed underwater vessel (UUV) developed by Israel's Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

• Military - UUVs

  Iver4 580

  The Iver4 580 is a UUV designed by L3Harris for commercial and defence survey operations.

• Sea: sonar systems

  UUV-3500

  The Klein UUV-3500 side-scan sonar family is composed of the mid-depth (3000m) high-resolution, low-power, dual-frequency and the deep (6000m) variant which is a higher power ...

• Military - UUVs

  D19 UUV

  Naval Group's family of D19 drones are AUVs designated for varying taskings such as identification, surveillance, EW, mobile target, minelaying and MCM operations.

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military - UUVs

  Nezha-SeaDart

  The Nezha-SeaDart is a hybrid UAV and UUV developed by  Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). It is a tail-sitting, electric-powered VTOL-capable aircraft. Notably, the platform can ...