• Digital Battlespace

  ADECS 2018: OneBerry fuels soldier tech (video)

  30th January 2018

  First-time ADECS exhibitor OneBerry is displaying its security and defence applications at the show including its latest fuel cell solutions. Shephard speaks with Mark Hashemi …

• Defence Helicopter

  Singapore Airshow: Turkey closes in on T129 sale

  8th February 2018

  Pakistan is planning to buy 30 T129 Atak attack helicopters built by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), said Tamer Ozmen, vice president for corporate marketing and communications, …

• Naval Warfare

  Australia launches aerial surveillance programme

  1st February 2018

  The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) has begun an aerial surveillance service across the Central and Western Pacific region as part of the government’s $2 …

• Digital Battlespace

  Singapore Airshow 2018: Harris expands its horizons

  9th February 2018

  Harris Defence Australia (HDA) is feeling particularly buoyant on the back of last year’s Project Land 200 Tranche 2 success in Australia. That A$1.4 billion …

• Digital Battlespace

  Deep learning solutions on the horizon for Harris

  25th January 2018

  Harris is positioning itself to roll-out deep learning driven automated image analysis solutions to its customers in the next twelve months. The technology was at …

• Digital Battlespace

  Defence leaders turn to industry for data solutions

  24th January 2018

  Collecting, processing and exploiting geospatial intelligence data effectively and efficiently remains a central issue for military and intelligence agencies. Government, military and industry representatives speaking …

• Special Operations

  USSOCOM eyes contractor owned and operated UAS

  23rd January 2018

  The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) is currently seeking information on a contractor-owned, contractor-operated (COCO) UAS for future ISR missions. USSOCOM has stipulated the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Singapore Airshow 2018: Orbiter 4 to make a pass

  29th January 2018

  Israel-based manufacturer Aeronautics will exhibit its Orbiter 4 UAS at the Singapore Airshow, in a bid to gain greater market penetration into a region that …

• Digital Battlespace

  Philippine C4ISTAR contract awarded

  22nd January 2018

  The US has contracted Harris Corporation to deliver a C4ISTAR system to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), with the FMS deal priced at …

• Digital Battlespace

  Luxembourg launches first military satellite

  31st January 2018

  Luxembourg’s first military satellite, GovSat-1, was successfully launched into orbit onboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Rocket from Florida on 31 January. The launch of the platform …

• Digital Battlespace

  UK's ISR gaps to be plugged by new platforms

  19th January 2018

  The UK's capability to collect intelligence from airborne platforms will be affected by the impending retirement of the Sentinel R1 and Tornado, but other platforms …

• Naval Warfare

  Taiwan struggles with minehunting requirements

  1st February 2018

  Taiwan’s navy provided a successful demonstration of its sea minehunting capabilities during an exercise for media on 31 January off the coast of Kaohsiung in …

• Digital Battlespace

  Singapore Airshow 2018: Thailand completes F-16 midlife upgrade

  29th January 2018

  By completing a seven-year enhanced midlife upgrade (eMLU) programme on 18 F-16A/B fighters, the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has given them a capability as …

• Digital Battlespace

  Canadian DND orders VITEC encoders

  19th January 2018

  VITEC will supply over 1,000 MGW Diamond TOUGH encoders to the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) under a contract announced on 16 January. The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Skeldar V-200 selected for OCEAN2020

  24th January 2018

  UMS Skeldar has received a contract to provide unmanned surveillance capabilities using the Skeldar V-200 UAS as part of the OCEAN2020 programme, the company announced …

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 -Canada

  Programme 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 ...

• 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 - fixed-wing, 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 ...

• ISR/special mission

  Shadow R1 [UK]

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

• 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

  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 - fixed-wing, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  ISR Civilian-Made UAVs [Taiwan]

  Background Civilian-made, Military-specification As reported by Shephard in April 2025, to accelerate the acquisition process and urgently build a larger UAV inventory, Taipei is enlisting the private ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  SW-4

  The SW-4 is aimed at the basic and advanced pilot training, troop transport and ISR missions. Its Polish designation is Puszczyk. The SW-4s are based ...

• 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, ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, 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 - fixed-wing, 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 ...

• Maritime patrol

  Multi-Mission Aircraft (Canada - Option)

  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 - fixed-wing

  Ukrainian Drones (Ukraine Aid) [Netherlands]

  Programme Background Military Package On 5 March 2025, the Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof announced the Netherlands would reserve €3.5 billion ($3.8 billion) to continue ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

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

  ULTRA

  The Unmanned Long-endurance Tactical Reconnaissance Aircraft (ULTRA) is a fixed-wing drone from DZYNE Technologies.  It is described as a long-endurance, GPS-harded intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platform with full ...

• DT18 Airframe

  The DT18 is a civilian UAV with approval for BVLOS operations by the French Civil Aviation Authority. Its applications include linear infrastructure monitoring, precision agriculture ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, 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 - fixed-wing, 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 ...

• Freya

  An easy-to-use system which requires minimal training, Freya can be operated in difficult situations and weather conditions, including strong winds and mountainous areas. A tracker ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  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, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  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 ...

• 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 - rotary-wing, 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.  ...

• 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, ...

• 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) ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  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 ...

• AR100C

  The AR100C is a quadcopter UAV designed for surveillance and reconnaissance missions at low-altitude BVLOS during day and night operations. The system is an improved ...