• 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 …

• 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 …

• 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

  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 …

• 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

  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 …

• 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 …

• Naval Warfare

  ADECS 2018: Might Asia’s submarine fleet shrink rather than grow?

  30th January 2018

  The conventional wisdom being propounded is that the size of Asia-Pacific’s combined submarine fleet will increase greatly, perhaps up to 350 boats by 2030. However, …

• 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 …

• Digital Battlespace

  ADECS 2018: Chinese SIGINT capabilities sound alarm bells

  31st January 2018

  The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) facility on Woody Island in the Paracel Islands is set to become a major SIGINT facility for its operations in …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Blackjack nears IOC on US Navy decks

  22nd January 2018

  Insitu is gearing up for IOC of its RQ-21A Blackjack with the US Navy in the second quarter of 2018 with FOC commencing in the …

• Naval Warfare

  ADECS 2018: India’s silent arm progresses…slowly

  24th January 2018

  Having initiated its 30-year submarine-building plan two decades ago to raise operational and indigenous construction capabilities, modernisation of the Indian Navy (IN) underwater fleet has …

• Naval Warfare

  Leonardo to lead OCEAN2020 project

  17th January 2018

  Leonardo has been awarded the tender for the European Defence Fund’s OCEAN2020 initiative, the company announced on 12 January. The project aims to use unmanned …

• Special Operations

  ViaSat signs USSOCOM contract

  15th January 2018

  ViaSat has been awarded an IDIQ contract with US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) for mission networking and communications equipment, sustainment and support services, the company …

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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 - 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, ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) services [USN]

  In April 2026, AeroVironment (AV) and Shield AI announced that they had been selected to compete for a US$800 million task order to provide Contractor-Owned, ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) services [USN]

  In April 2026, AeroVironment (AV) and Shield AI announced that they had been selected to compete for a US$800 million task order to provide Contractor-Owned, ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Multi-Mission Aircraft (1-14) [Canada]

  The objective of the Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft project is to equip the Canadian Armed Forces with a long-range manned Command, Control, Communications and Computers (C4) and ...

• Data links

  Data links | Multi-Mission Aircraft (1-14) [Canada]

  The objective of the Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft project is to equip the Canadian Armed Forces with a long-range manned Command, Control, Communications and Computers (C4) and ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

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

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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.  ...

• 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, ...

• 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 ...

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