• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Avalon 2015: Lockheed Martin goes shark hunting

  26th February 2015

  Trials are planned in the use of Lockheed Martin’s small Indago quad-rotor UAV for shark-spotting, it has emerged. The platform has an endurance of 45 …

• Land Warfare

  IDEX 2015: MBDA to offer air defence to Nimr

  26th February 2015

  A partnership has been established between European missile manufacturer MBDA and UAE vehicle producer Nimr. The link is part of the UAE’s strategy to partner …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  P.1HH Hammerhead prototype completes maiden flight

  25th February 2015

  The Piaggio Aerospace P.1HH Hammerhead Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) has completed its maiden flight, as announced by key programme partner Selex on 24 February. The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Avalon 2015: IAI suggests new roles for Australian Herons

  25th February 2015

  Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) believes the expanded capabilities of the Heron 1 UAV operated by the Royal Australian Air Force can provide a way for …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UAV company breaks crowdfunding records

  24th February 2015

  Aeronavics, a New Zealand-based designer and manufacturer of UAVs, has achieved New Zealand’s largest ever equity crowdfunding result.  The company is seeking public funding to …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Avalon 2015: Rocket firings planned for Fire Scout

  24th February 2015

  Northrop Grumman plans to do a test firing of an Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) from the new version of its Fire Scout rotary …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Avalon 2015: Global Hawk flies in for airshow

  23rd February 2015

  The US Air Force will be exhibiting a Global Hawk RQ-4 high-altitude long-endurance UAV at the Australian Airshow near Melbourne after flying an aircraft to …

• Land Warfare

  IDEX 2015: Rheinmetall laser available from 2018

  20th February 2015

  A High Energy Laser (HEL) is set to be available from Rheinmetall in three years, the company has revealed. A spokesperson said that since testing …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UAV Navigation completes BLOS flight test

  20th February 2015

  UAV Navigation has successfully completed a Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) flight test of a UAS weighing over 25kg, the company announced on 19 February. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  IDEX 2015: Tekever launches quadcopter

  20th February 2015

  Tekever is introducing a new quadcopter into an already saturated marketplace it has been revealed. The quadcopter, known as the Vertical Ray 1 (VR1) Colibri, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Aero India: The Eagle has landed

  19th February 2015

  Closer US-India military cooperation in the UAV field kicked up a gear when AeroVironment and Bangalore-based Dynamatic Technologies inaugurated a production facility on 17 February.  The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  IAI teams with Alpha in India

  17th February 2015

  Seeking to exploit sales opportunities amongst India’s various security forces, IAI and Indian company Alpha Design Technologies have signed a teaming agreement according to an …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Netherlands seeks US MQ-9 Reapers

  10th February 2015

  The US state department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of MQ-9 Reaper UAVs to the Netherlands, as announced by the US Defense …

• Naval Warfare

  EUNAVFOR using UAV to track pirates

  6th February 2015

  The commander of EUNAVFOR says he expects his counter-piracy force operating off the Horn of Africa to be strengthened and also rates the usefulness of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US Budget: Spending decline on major UAS ends

  4th February 2015

  The FY 2016 budget request shows that the decline in spending on major unmanned aerial systems may have come to a halt. The proposed budget …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - small

  AR3 (Ukraine Aid) [UK]

  Background £270 Million investment On 15 September 2025, the UK MoD noted that, since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the UK ...

• Military UAS - small

  Intra-Theatre Lift [UK]

  Background  Relationship to the Heavy Lift Challenge The Royal Navy (RN) embarked on the Heavy Lift Challenge, now called the Heavy Lift Capability (UASHLC), to explore cargo-carrying ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Project NYX: Land Autonomous Collaborative Platform (LACP) [UK]

  Background Autonomous Collaboration Platform (ACP) strategy Reflecting on lessons from the cancellation of the Mosquito programme, the Royal Air Force (RAF) redefined the role of ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Project Corvus [UK]

  Background Retirement and replacement In November 2024, speaking in the House of Commons, Defence Secretary John Healey stated that the WK 450 Watchkeeper was to be ...

• Military UAS - small

  StormShroud: Autonomous Collaboration Platform (ACP) [UK]

  Background Autonomous Collaboration Platform (ACP) Strategy Reflecting on lessons learned from the cancellation of the Mosquito programme, the Royal Air Force (RAF) redefined the role ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  AR5 [Portugal]

  Methodology PGO The PGO has been set to 100% because the programme has been contracted, with deliveries due very shortly. Units required No details were ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Autonomous Collaboration Platform (ACP) (Project Vanquish) [UK]

  Background Autonomous Collaboration Platform (ACP) Strategy Reflecting on lessons from the cancellation of the Mosquito programme, the Royal Air Force (RAF) redefined the role of ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Heavy Lift VTOL (HVTOL) [US Army]

  Background USMC First, Army Second In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Medium Aerial Resupply Vehicle – Expeditionary ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Land Exploration and Reconnaissance Vehicle (VERT) (Mini UAV) [Spain]

  Background VERT In June 2025, the Spanish Government announced a €72 million (US$82.5 million) investment in the Vehículo de exploración y reconocimiento terrestre (VERT), which translates ...

• Military UAS - small

  Small UAV [Peru]

  Background UAV FAP UAV FAP is a family of Peruvian UAVs that have been developed by the Peruvian Air Force and the Centre for Research ...

• Military UAS - micro

  Land Exploration and Reconnaissance Vehicle (VERT) (Micro UAV) [Spain]

  Background VERT In June 2025, the Spanish Government announced a €72 million (US$82.5 million) investment in the Vehículo de exploración y reconocimiento terrestre (VERT), which translates to the land exploration ...

• Military UAS - micro

  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 - small

  Thor [Israel]

  Background Various Contracts On 3 December 2024, the Israeli Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced it had purchased “advanced drones and autonomous systems” from Elbit Systems in various ...

• Military UAS - small

  Domestically developed UAV [Mexican Navy]

  Background Domestic development In 2025, President Claudia Sheinbaum announced initiatives for the Army and Navy to independently develop UAV prototypes, as part of a broader ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - small

  Tempest 50 [USAF]

  Programme Background Contract Award On 18 December 2024, the US DoD announced that the USAF had awarded Firestorm Labs a $100 million Small Business Innovation Research ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - small

  AR3 EVO

  Unveiled at DSEI 2025, the AR3 EVO is a small fixed-wing UAV from Tekever. The system is highly modular and can be configured in a ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  AR5

  First announced in October 2012, the AR5 is a MALE UAS designed for SAR, surveillance and maritime patrol missions. The AR5 can be flown manually or commanded ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  AR6

  Unveiled in mid-2026, the AR6 is an autonomous heavy-lift drone from Tekever. It features a unique digital-displacement hydraulic powertrain and has been designed from the ...

• Military UAS - small

  AR3

  The AR3, or AR3 Net Ray, is an autonomous small-UAS designed to support land-based and maritime missions.  In May 2025, the Royal Air Force announced ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  ARX

  Unveiled at Xponential 2024, the ARX is a fixed-wing drone developed by Tekever.  It features common electronics and software with other Tekever drones. Unlike those ...

• Military UAS - small

  AR2 Carcará

  The AR2 Carcará is a hand- or catapult-launched mini-UAV designed to support search and rescue, surveillance and patrol operations in amphibious and maritime environments. It is ...

• Military UAS - mini

  AR4

  The AR4 is a hand-launched mini-UAS designed for rapid mobile deployment. Manufactured by Tekever, the UAS is suitable for both military and commercial ISTAR applications.  A ...

• EO/IR systems

  PT-8N

  The PT-8D is an IR system from Overwatch Imaging. It is fitted with multiple HD thermal cameras and has been designed to conduct missions at dusk ...

• EO/IR systems

  PT-8D

  Marketed as a cost-effective solution, the PT-8D is a wide-area search and ISR payload from Overwatch Imaging. It features an RGB colour camera and a ...

• EO/IR systems

  PT-8DN

  The PT-8DN is a versatile day-night payload from Overwatch Imaging.  It has dual RGB sensors of different focal lengths and an HD LWIR sensor. It also ...

• Military UAS - small

  Raybird

  Developed by Skyeton, the Raybird is a versatile, small-class, fixed-wing UAV. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have used the aircraft since late 2021. In September 2026, the US ...

• 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 - tactical

  MCOM UAV

  The Mundo Compuesto (MCOM) UAV is a fixed-wing UAV designed to provide surveillance during both day and night for military and security force users. It uses ...

• UAS: Integrated systems - uncrewed

  UAV TRS

  Celestia’s UAV Tactical Recovery System (TRS) assures controlled and safe landing of a UAV at a pre-designated GPS location. It can be deployed on command ...

• Air: UAV simulators

  UAV Simulators

  Elbit Systems has developed simulation systems to train personnel in UAV operation, from generic UAV training for initial screening procedures up to full mission, high-fidelity ...