• Land Warfare

  UK pushes on with autonomous Last Mile challenge

  14th December 2018

  The UK MoD's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) is pushing ahead with development of an autonomous resupply solution, adding a third phase and further …

• Land Warfare

  BAE Systems receives further ACV production contract

  7th December 2018

  BAE Systems has now received the low rate initial production (LRIP) Lot 2 order for the US Marine Corps’ Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) programme.  The Lot …

• Defence Helicopter

  EDEX 2018: APKWS production set to surge

  11th December 2018

  BAE Systems is set to increase the production of its Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) laser-guided rocket substantially next year. Given the high usage …

• Naval Warfare

  Three designs enter UK Type 31e race ahead of end-2019 decision

  10th December 2018

  The UK’s restart of its Type 31e light frigate programme will be fought between three designs, after the government announced that Competitive Design Phase (CDP) …

• Digital Battlespace

  AOC 2018: Pentagon creates entity to promote artificial intelligence

  28th November 2018

  The US Department of Defense (DoD) has stood up a new Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) to spur the rapid development and fielding of new …

• Military Logistics

  QinetiQ receives NCSISS contract extension

  14th December 2018

  QinetiQ has received a £9 million contract extension to cover the Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers with the Naval Combat Systems Integration Support …

• Land Warfare

  US Army awards Mobile Protected Firepower prototype contracts

  17th December 2018

  The US Army has awarded two Section 804 middle tier acquisition rapid prototyping contracts for the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) programme against an aggressive delivery …

• Naval Warfare

  BAE faces complicated arrangements for Hunter frigates

  4th December 2018

  BAE Systems should sign contracts to begin Australia’s Sea 5000 Hunter-class frigate programme within the next couple of months. It is also expected to buy …

• Naval Warfare

  BAE Systems undocks first upgraded Anzac-class frigate

  5th December 2018

  BAE Systems Australia has undocked the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN's) Anzac-class frigate, HMAS Arunta, at its Henderson facility following the completion of its Anzac Mid …

• Naval Warfare

  Thai frigate delivered in South Korea

  18th December 2018

  Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) handed over a 3,650t frigate to the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) in a ceremony at its Okpo-Dong Shipyard, Busan …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Boeing, SparkCognition to launch JV

  26th November 2018

  Boeing and SparkCognition plan to launch a new company called SkyGrid that will work to enable the future of urban aerial mobility. Based in Austin, …

• Digital Battlespace

  BAE Systems receives RFMLS contract from DARPA

  30th November 2018

  BAE Systems has received a $ 9.2 million contract from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the Radio Frequency Machine Learning System …

• Defence Notes

  EDEX 2018: Egypt close to IOMAX Archangel deal

  6th December 2018

  US based IOMAX has confirmed it is currently in discussions with the Egyptian Air Force for a potential sale of 12 Archangel Border Patrol Aircraft …

• Military Logistics

  Rolls-Royce’s generator sets for Type 45

  29th November 2018

  Rolls-Royce will supply 18 MTU Series 4000 diesel generator sets to BAE Systems as part of the Power Improvement Project (PIP) for the Royal Navy's …

• Military Logistics

  Shipside tower opened for RAN fleet sustainment

  6th December 2018

  The Australian Department of Defence has opened a new, multi-level shipside support tower at BAE Systems Henderson facility to support Royal Australian Navy fleet sustainment. …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Skyborg [USA]

  Programme Background Programme Intention Skyborg is one of three USAF Vanguard programs outlined in the Air Force Science and Technology 2030 initiative. The program intends ...

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

  FPV Drones [Lithuania]

  Programme Background Ukraine FPV Drones On 5 April 2024, the Lithuanian MoD announced it would purchase around 3,000 Lithuanian-made FPV drones to give to Ukraine ...

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

  FPV Drones [Moldova]

  Programme Background Lithuanian Drones Lithuania's Minister of National Defense, Laurynas Kasciunas, announced that Lithuanian-produced thermal night vision devices and FPV drones had begun being delivered to Moldova during ...

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

  FPV Drones (Ukraine Aid) [Lithuania]

  Programme Background 3000 FPV Drones On 5 April 2024, the Lithuanian MoD announced it would purchase around 3,000 Lithuanian-made FPV drones to give to Ukraine to ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  KF-21 Loyal Wingman [South Korea]

  Background KF-21 Boramae Crewed Fighter The Republic of Korea’s Air Force (ROKAF) plans to acquire the KF-21 Boramae fighter, replacing F-4E Phantom II and F-5E/F fighters in the ROKAF. ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) (Increment 1) [USAF]

  Background Requirements The programme's requirements are based on the USAF's belief that it requires mass to compete effectively with an adversary in symmetrical warfare. However, ...

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

  V-Bat [Netherlands]

  Background Contract Award On 9 July 2025, Shield AI announced that the Netherlands MoD had acquired eight V-Bat, specifically the V-Bat 400, aircraft to enhance the maritime intelligence, surveillance ...

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

  V-Bat 128 (Brazil)

  Programme Background On 7 February 2022, Sheild AI announced on its website that it had signed a contract with VSK Tactical which included the 'purchase of [the] V-Bat ...

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

  Group Unmanned Isr DronE (GUIDE) [Netherlands]

  Background Competition On 14 March 2025, the Netherlands announced on the EU tendering website a competition sounding the future procurement of 514 UAVs for intelligence, surveillance, ...

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

  Penguin C VTOL [Croatia]

  Background Announcment Redwire Corporation announced on 12 November 2025 that its wholly owned subsidiary, Edge Autonomy, had been contracted to deliver the Penguin C VTOL ...

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

  V-Bat [India]

  Programme Background Make In India The 'Make In India' is an initiative by the Indian government to grow the domestic manufacturing industry. In the context of ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Replicator 1 [US]

  Programme Background Announcement & Requirement In late August 2023, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks announced the Replicator programme, an effort to galvanise an industry which ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Mi2 Challenge [USN]

  Programme Background Requirements The USN wants a UAV to be flown in austere environments without dedicated launch or recovery equipment; since it would be launched ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) [Japan]

  Background Drone Appetite Released in December 2022, the Defence Building Program (DBP) tasked the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) with replacing some human assets with uncrewed ones ...

• Loitering munitions

  Artemis [US]

  Background Origin Artemis began in 2024 due to the US European Command and Indo-Pacific Command's demand for UAVs that met the following requirements. As part ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Loitering munitions

  Viper 10

  The Viper 10 is a rotary-wing first-person view (FPV) drone from Baltic Viper. The loitering munition quadcopter has a 4kg payload, a reinforced communication system, and ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  Hivemind

  Developed by Shield AI, Hivemind is an ecosystem of tightly integrated AI software tools and interfaces that leverages several factors to deliver  intelligent and resilient autonomy ...

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

  Netra 5

  Launched at Aero India 2025, the Netra 5 is a rotary-wing UAV manufactured by ideaForge. It can host a 900g EO/IR camera and drop a ...

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

  GA-10FPV-AI

  The GA-10FPV-AI is a Lithuanian FPV quadcopter drone manufactured by Granta Autonomy. The drone can carry a 3kg payload and operate in GNSS-denied environments. In September 2024, Granta Autonomy ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  TETTRON TM-450

  The Tettron TM-450 is a micro rotary-wing UAV manufactured by Thunder Tiger. The primary mission of the drone is to provide short-range reconnaissance (SRR), particularly ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  INTeACT

  Developed by BAE Systems, INTeACT is a next-generation combat management system for surface vessels with a dedicated software development kit (SDK). Notably, it includes AI-powered ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  Lattice

  Unveiled by Anduril in 2023, Lattice for Mission Autonomy is a hardware-agnostic, end-to-end software platform that enables teams of diverse robotic assets to collaborate under ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  VAPOR CLE

  Unveiled at AUSA 2025, the VAPOR Combat Long Endurance (CLE) is the newest version of AeroVironment's (AV) rotary-wing VAPOR offerings.  Compared to the older versions, VAPOR ...

• Loitering munitions

  FWD-LM01

  The FWD-LM01 is a loitering munition unveiled by Flying Wedge Defence & Aerospace at the Paris Air Show 2025. The manufacturer states the drone is built for ...

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

  UAS Concept 1

  In July 2022, BAE Systems revealed two UAV concepts. The UAS Concept 1 is described as a small, versatile aircraft designed to augment existing forces ...

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

  Jump 20-X

  Unveiled at IDEX 2025, the Jump 20-X is an advancement of AeroVironment's Jump 20 UAV. It is a small (Group 3), fixed-wing, VTOL-capable aircraft with a heavy-fuel ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  X-Bat

  The X-Bat is an AI-piloted, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) uncrewed fighter jet designed for expeditionary and maritime operations in contested environments. Unveiled by Shield AI ...

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

  Nova 2

  The Nova 2 is a rotary-wing UAV designed by Sheild AI. The platform features Level 5 autonomy, allowing it to autonomously traverse complex domains without an operator's ...

• Loitering munitions

  Q-SLAM-100

  Unveiled at DSEI 2025, the Q-SLAM-100 is a man-portable loitering munition. Manufactured by Arquimea, the system is designed for medium-range missions with 120 minutes of flight autonomy ...

• Loitering munitions

  X-Wing

  The X-Wing is a loitering munition from Granta Autonomy. According to the company, it is designed to provide front-line units with a portable, modular, and easy-to-deploy ...