• 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

  Norway seeks VTOL UAV for coast guard vessel testing

  19th February 2019

  A tender has been issued seeking a VTOL UAV which will be used for the testing of its potential to carry out surveillance from a …

• Military Logistics

  US services refine autonomous aerial resupply needs

  27th February 2019

  The US Army and marine corps have announced plans for a three-day industry event during which the two services will exchange data with industry regarding …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Marine West 2019: USMC seeks SUAS expansion

  11th February 2019

  The USMC is exploring the possible expansion of its fleet of its Group 1 Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS). The marines has three SUAS programmes of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  New US Navy Fire Scouts first to have lightweight fuel cells

  12th February 2019

  The US Navy has contracted Northrop Grumman for the provision of five additional MQ-8C Fire Scout VTOL UAVs, which will be the first delivered with …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  FLIR acquires Aeryon Labs

  31st January 2019

  FLIR Systems has acquired Canada-based Aeryon Labs, a developer of advanced UAS for the military, public safety and critical infrastructure markets, the company announced on …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Honeywell, Pipistrel team for urban air mobility

  30th January 2019

  Honeywell and Pipistrel have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore and develop aircraft technologies for the future urban air mobility market, Honeywell announced on …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  NAVAIR casts net for unmanned ISR services

  7th February 2019

  Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) has made public its intention of a contract for sea-based UAS ISR services aboard a maritime support vessel (MSV), it …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Boeing PAV completes maiden flight

  28th January 2019

  Boeing’s autonomous passenger air vehicle (PAV) prototype, developed under the Boeing NeXt programme, has successfully completed its first test flight in Manassas, Virginia, the company …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  PAE ISR selects MPU5 for Resolute Eagle

  27th December 2018

  PAE ISR has selected Persistent Systems’ MPU5 Wave Relay mobile ad hoc networking (MANET) technology for its Resolute Eagle UAS platform, the company announced on …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  PAE ISR to participate in RASP-B programme

  7th December 2018

  PAE ISR has been selected by the US Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate to participate in the Robotic Aircraft Sensor Program – …

• Naval Warfare

  USS Detroit begins testing of SSMM

  5th December 2018

  The US Navy has begun initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E;) of the Surface-to-Surface Missile Module (SSMM) on Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) USS Detroit. The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  RAF considers RPAS to enhance force protection

  5th December 2018

  Royal Air Force (RAF) personnel from the Force Protection Centre at RAF Honington recently carried out an operational capability demonstration using the Aeryon SkyRanger UAS …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Deseret UAS, ElectraFly sign MoU for testing

  27th November 2018

  Deseret UAS has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ElectraFly to begin flight testing on Deseret's ranges early in 2019. ElectraFly is a Utah-based …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Alpha Unmanned Systems to demo Alpha 800

  29th October 2018

  Alpha Unmanned Systems will present its gasoline-powered VTOL UAS, the Alpha 800, at NATO’s Exercise Trident Juncture in Trondheim, Norway. Trident Juncture 2018 is a …

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.