• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Continued investment proves less risky for Watchkeeper

  26th March 2018

  The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) remains committed to the troubled Watchkeeper project despite missing its full operating capability (FOC) one milestone in November 2017. It …

• Defence Notes

  AUSA Global: Army outlines precision fires initiatives

  26th March 2018

  US Army representatives used this week’s Association of the US Army Global Force Symposium to spotlight efforts underway across the service’s cross functional teams (CFTs).  …

• Digital Battlespace

  Turkey’s classified SIGINT UAV breaks cover

  24th March 2018

  Photos have emerged online appearing to show a classified signals intelligence (SIGINT) variant of Turkey’s indigenously-built Anka (Phoenix) UAV. The photos of the intelligence-gathering UAV …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Oceanology International 2018: Sea Scout making its mark

  14th March 2018

  Qinetiq is in the midst of testing and developing a compact, lightweight UUV called Sea Scout MKII for the defence market. Sea Scout has a …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Bell ready to accelerate V-247 programme for USMC requirement

  20th March 2018

  Despite lacking a date for the unveiling of a V-247 unmanned tiltrotor prototype, Bell is confident that it will be able to meet the USMC timeline …

• Land Warfare

  Spanish MoD orders GroundHunter AWDs

  15th March 2018

  Chemring Technology Solutions has received a second contract from the Spanish MoD to supply additional GroundHunter Advanced Wire Detectors (AWD), the company announced on 13 …

• Land Warfare

  US Army mine detectors to 'see' buried bombs

  14th March 2018

  The US Army is developing a new technology that visually alerts soldiers to hidden IEDs in the ground rather than just providing them with an …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  RT LTA demos SkyStar 110 in Japan

  13th March 2018

  RT LTA Systems has carried out a live demonstration of its new SkyStar 110 micro-aerostat system at the SDF internal communication exhibition in Japan, the …

• Digital Battlespace

  ViaSat-2 SATCOM launched

  15th March 2018

  Viasat has launched its new ViaSat-2 satellite communications (SATCOM) service for government, defence and military applications, the company announced on 12 March. The communications satellite, …

• Digital Battlespace

  Latvia to test new TPS-77 MRR radar

  13th March 2018

  The Latvian National Armed Forces (NAF) will finalise the delivery of the first TPS-77 Multi-Role Radar (MRR) by testing the system’s air surveillance capabilities, the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  South Korea confirmed to be flying MALE UAV platform

  20th March 2018

  A new image of a South Korean MALE UAV in flight has recently surfaced. Significantly, the light-coloured aircraft was adorned in Republic of Korea Air Force …

• Naval Warfare

  Lockheed Martin awarded laser weapon contract

  7th March 2018

  Lockheed Martin has received a contract from the US Navy to develop, manufacture and deliver two high power laser weapon systems, the company announced on …

• Digital Battlespace

  Lockheed introduces Henosis prototype

  9th March 2018

  Lockheed Martin’s Cyber Solutions division has developed Henosis, a joint integrated cyber mission system prototype, to compete for the US Air Force’s Unified Platform contract, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment receives Middle East order

  8th March 2018

  AeroVironment has received a $44.5 million contract from an unnamed country in the Middle East to supply its Puma II AE small UAS equipped with …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Philippine Air Force inducts first ScanEagles

  13th March 2018

  The Philippine Air Force (PAF) formally received its first batch of six ScanEagle 2 tactical UAVs from the US government at a ceremony in the hangar …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• ISR/special mission

  MC-27J [Algeria]

  Programme Background Algeria has a long standing ISR aircraft requirement to support its Beech 1900 fleet comprised of six aircraft. The new ISR fleet is ...

• ISR/special mission

  C-208B ISR [Tunisia]

  Programme Background Requirement The acquisition of the C-208B Grand Caravan EX aircraft is part of Tunisia’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its ISR capabilities in response ...

• ISR/special mission

  King Air 350ER ISR [Kuwait]

  Programme Background In February 2018, the US State Department has approved an estimated $259m potential foreign military sale of King Air 350ER intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ...

• Military UAS - mini

  U&C reconnaissance drones [US Army]

  Methodology PGO The programme has been assigned a PGO of 100%, as a contract has been awarded. Unit cost It has not been clarified what ...

• Military UAS - small

  Heavy Lift Capability (UASHLC) [UK]

  Programme Background Requirement & Objective The RN identified a requirement to acquire an RPAS to transport cargo and supplies between ships and personnel. When mature, it ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  Long-Endurance UAV [US AFRICOM]

  Programme Background Ageing MQ-9A Reapers In November 2022, Shephard reported that GA-ASI would continue supporting contractor SMX with its MQ-9A after winning a $2.3 billion task ...

• Military UAS - small

  Black Hornet 3 PRS (UK)

  Programme Background The British Army operated approximately 160 first-generation Black Hornet PD-100 nano UAS between 2013 and 2017, when the decision was made to retire ...

• ISR/special mission

  Shadow R1 [UK]

  Background The RAF is moving forward with an ambitious plan to transform its intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) force to enable greater interoperability ...

• ISR/special mission

  Baekdu-II [South Korea]

  Programme Background This ISR aircraft programme, which first appeared on the 2020-24 Mid-Term Defense Acquisition Plan, comprises four Baekdu-II aircraft. These will add to two ...

• Military UAS - mini

  ISR Drones (First Batch) (Ukraine Aid) [Netherlands]

  Programme Background First Batch On 20 March 2024, Kajsa Ollongren, Minister of Defence of the Netherlands, announced that, following a 19 March Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting, ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Drone Action Plan (Ukraine Aid) [Netherlands]

  Programme Background APOS On 6 October 2024, the Dutch Minister of Defense, Ruben Brekelmans, visited Kharkiv and Kyiv. During his visit to Ukraine, he announced a new ...

• ISR/special mission

  King Air 350ER -Canada

  Background Canadian Special Forces was looking to procure ISR aircraft to support their missions both overseas and domestically.  There were few Canadian suppliers to sell the ...

• Maritime patrol

  P-8A add-on [Canada]

  Programme Background Canadian Air Force is operating 15 C-3P (Canadian designation CP-140) special mission aircraft in service. They were acquired between 1980-91 and expected to ...

• Military UAS - small

  Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) services [USN]

  Background ISR services In April 2026, several companies announced that the USN had selected them to provide Contractor-Owned, Contractor-Operated (COCO) Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  A-29 Super Tucano Afghanistan

  Media reports suggest that with the hourly cost of $1000, the A-29 is a successful platform for counter-insurgency missions. Its operational capability from unprepared airstrips, ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - tactical

  Zeus

  The Zeus is an Argentine tactical-class UAV from Aerotec, in partnership with its Polish technology partner, Ekolot Aerospace & Defense (EAD). The aircraft is modular and ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Silent Falcon

  The Silent Falcon is a solar-electric sUAS with long-endurance capabilities for extended-range missions. The UAS can be used for commercial and military applications. The entire ...

• Military UAS - small

  Jackal

  The Jackal is a small UAV manufactured by FLY BVLOS, Flyby Technology and Maxwell Innovations. The system features a plug-and-play system, meaning new equipment and technologies can be ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Delta

  The Delta is a UAV with a VTOL capability before rotating and operating as a conventional fixed-wing aircraft when airborne.  Manufactured by Fly BVLOS, Nigeria was expected ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Indago

  Indago is a small quadrotor UAV with VTOL. It is equipped with a large-screen handset and is marketed as 'whisper-quiet' with a noise level of ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Canary

  Volatus Aerospace has stated that its civilian Canary rotary-wing cargo-carrying UAV can be adapted for military use in last-mile resupply operations.  Payloads are housed internally ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  ENVOY

  The ENVOY is a multi-mission rotary-wing UAV with a tandem-rotor design and a payload carrying capacity of 180kg. General Dynamics renamed the system ENVOY in mid-2025.  ...

• Air: UAS radar

  EchoFlight

  The Echoflight radar by Echodyne is a Lightweight Metamaterials ESA (MESA®), a Detect-and-Avoid (DAA) 4D radar designed for mid-sized UAVs flying below the visual line of sight (BVLOS) ...

• UAS: communication systems

  muLTElink

  Produced by uAvionix, the muLTElink is a multiple-link airborne radio system designed for uncrewed platforms in particular. It combines C-Band, LTE, ISM and Viasat L-Band communications, ...

• Land: battle management systems

  AIMS-ISR

  AIMS-ISR is a software package used to process the video footage and data gathered from the cameras and other sensors fitted to airborne, ground-based and ...

• Air: mission management systems

  Ageon ISR

  Ageon ISR is a multi-INT C2/PED solution supporting cross-domain collection, ingestion, processing, exploitation and dissemination from tactical units to the global enterprise and cloud. Ageon ...

• Military UAS - mini

  DrN-15 (series)

  The DrN-15 is a hexacopter mini-UAV from ST Engineering. The platform is highly customizable and can carry various payloads depending on a user's requirements.  All DrN ...

• Military UAS - small

  Nauru 500C

  The Nauru 500C ISR is a VTOL-capable small fixed-wing UAV from Xmobots. Designed for ISR missions, the UAV features XSIS-EO and XSIS-EOLWIR stabilised sensors. The UAV features ...

• Military UAS - small

  Outlaw SeaHunter

  Outlaw UAVs are used by military and research agencies for training, testing, data collection and system development. In the 114-137kg maximum take-off weight class, SeaHunter ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Viper 1000C

  The Viper 1000C is a fixed-wing MALE UAS. Designed to carry EO/IR sensors over vast distances, it can be employed in a wide variety of ...