• Uncrewed Vehicles

  French Navy boosts its ISR capabilities

  14th December 2020

  Additional VTOL UAVs will be deployed on Mistral-class vessels

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Nigeria expands UAV fleet for counter-terror operations

  8th December 2020

  Eight UCAVs will be based in northern Nigeria for strike missions against Boko Haram and Islamic State elements, and budget plans for 2021 include UAVs for ISR.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  China aims UAVs at markets home and abroad

  15th October 2020

  China is experimenting with swarms of UAVs that could be used as loitering munitions, as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) expands its unmanned capabilities.

• Naval Warfare

  Timelines and details emerge on European Patrol Corvette programme

  22nd October 2020

  Aiming to improving naval commonality across Europe’s surface platforms, the fledgling European Patrol Corvette (EPC) concept has embraced modularity in the hope that the continent’s naval powers buy into its design philosophy and, more importantly, the programme itself.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Poland picks local provider to meet sUAS requirement

  1st October 2020

  The Polish Armed Forces are to receive six new VTOL sUAS and associated equipment in 2021, under a PLN4.6 million ($1.19 million) deal between the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  IAI acquires 50% of BlueBird Aero Systems

  24th September 2020

  Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has agreed to acquire 50% of the equity of UAS developer BlueBird Aero Systems, the company announced on 24 September. In …

• Naval Warfare

  Egypt set to obtain US maritime security equipment in FMS package

  2nd October 2020

  Egypt is close to receiving an array of US-supplied equipment for maritime security and surveillance, after the State Department approved a FMS package worth an estimated …

• Air Warfare

  Air Warfare magazine: loyal wingmen, the future of air power and more

  7th October 2020

  Read the latest edition of Air Warfare for free in our app or on your desktop. What's inside this edition: Comment In mid-September, the defence …

• Naval Warfare

  Western Europe pins hopes on technology to tackle next-gen MCM challenges

  13th October 2020

  With hundreds of thousands of legacy mines languishing in various states of wear in Europe’s seas and waterways, it is little wonder that the topic of mine countermeasure (MCM) operations remains at the forefront of naval considerations for the region’s navies.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  IAI's Heron family in the spotlight (sponsored)

  15th October 2020

  IAI designers are looking to a larger, more capable platform in order to take UAS capabilities to a new level.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Black Eagle family expands with new electric members

  1st September 2020

  Israel-based Steadicopter has developed new lightweight electrically powered versions of its Black Eagle family of rotary-wing VTOL UAVs.  Black Eagle 25E and Black Eagle 50E …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  German Navy starts Skeldar V-200 tests

  19th August 2020

  The German Navy is conducting static and dynamic shipboard tests of the Skeldar V-200 VTOL UAV on the corvette Braunschweig. Social media posts from senior …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Tests prove Thor robustness before delivery to Philippines

  18th August 2020

  The Thor multirotor VTOL mini-UAS from Elbit Systems has completed environmental qualification tests before delivery to the military in the Philippines. According to Elbit, the …

• 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

  Finnish coast guard agency to use Camcopter S-100

  6th July 2020

  The Finnish Border and  Coast Guard is to operate the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 VTOL UAS for maritime surveillance, in a service offered by the European …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - mini

  Medium Range Tactical (MRT) [USMC]

  Background Request for Information (RFI) In February 2026, the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) issued an RFI for solutions for a Medium Range Tactical (MRT) ...

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

  VTOL-Capable Group 2 UAV [USA]

  Background Request for Information (RFI) In March 2026, the USAF issued an RFI seeking a VTOL-capable UAV capable of operating in austere environments to support ...

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

  Onboard Mini-Drone Systems (SMDM) (69-90) [France]

  Background Contract Announcement On 3 February 2026, Airbus, Survey Copter’s parent company, announced that the French Directorate General of Armament (DGA) had ordered the Aliaca VTOL variant ...

• 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 - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Embarked VTOL UAV [South Korea]

  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 to be ...

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

  Ship-Bourne VTOL UAV [Singapore]

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

• 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 - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  UAV Tactical Level [Norway]

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

• Military UAS - rotary-wing

  VTOL UAV [New Zealand]

  Background Defence Capability Plan (DCP) In April 2025, the New Zealand government published the DCP, a document that is essentially a blueprint for what procurements ...

• 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 - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Aerobo Wing AS-VT02A [Malaysia]

  Background Requirment As reported by Shephard, in June 2021, Malaysia issued a tender for fixed-wing, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capable UAVs. The tender stated that Malaysia ...

• 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 - 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 ...

• 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 ...

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 ...

• 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 - 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 - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Aliaca VTOL

  Unveiled in April 2025, the U010 Aliaca VTOL is, as its name suggests, a VTOL-capable variant of the Aliaca from Survey Copter, an Airbus Defence & Space subsidiary. As ...

• 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 ...

• 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 - 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 - small

  Penguin C VTOL

  The Penguin C VTOL is the VTOL version of the Penguin C MIL Mk2; it is therefore sometimes referred to as the Penguin C Mk2 ...

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

  ThunderB-NG VTOL

  The ThunderB-Next Generation VTOL, or ThunderB-NG VTOL, is a vertical take-off and landing capable version of the ThunderB. The fixed-wing UAV features a fully autonomous flight control system ...

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

  Zada

  Zada is a mini fixed-wing UAV designed for intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance (ISR) missions. It features tilt-rotor systems, which give it a VTOL capability.

• 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 ...

• 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 - 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 ...