• Naval Warfare

  Thales explores maritime applications for Acusonic shot detector

  30th September 2021

  Acusonic would allow small craft operating near coastlines or riverbanks to detect the location of threats.

• Air Warfare

  USMC F-35Bs fly from Japan’s JS Izumo

  6th October 2021

  The F-35s are the first fixed-wing fighter jets to fly from a Japanese carrier since World War II.

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2021: Icarus completes first phase

  15th September 2021

  Milestone achieved in Icarus programme for the British Army, which integrates electronic and physical protection technologies to equip vehicle crews with an active/passive protection suite.

• Digital Battlespace

  Singapore tests AI-powered command system

  23rd September 2021

  Singapore is developing and trying out ever more capable battlefield command systems.

• Air Warfare

  Airbus trials BLoS SATCOM for helicopters

  8th September 2021

  Airbus tests mitigation measures to overcome the problem of helicopter rotor blades interfering with BLoS communications.

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2021: Digital fire control sight aims to ease brain strain on soldiers

  14th September 2021

  Raytheon ELCAN DFCS bolsters soldier lethality with focus on active targeting to reduce ‘cognitive workload’.

• Land Warfare

  Czech MoD proceeds with IFV procurement

  10th September 2021

  Experts from the Czech MoD and army will analyse IFV offers from BAE Systems, GDELS and Rheinmetall Landsysteme.

• Naval Warfare

  LHD Trieste sea trials commence

  25th August 2021

  Italian-shipbuilder Fincantieri has begun sea trials of Italy's Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) Trieste, the bulk of which should be concluded by the end of this year.

• Land Warfare

  IDEF 2021: Otokar unveils diesel-powered Akrep II

  18th August 2021

  Diesel version of Akrep II reportedly developed for export customer.

• Naval Warfare

  UK tests robot survey boat

  12th August 2021

  During trials, the Otter Pro robot boat surveyed a 7,000m2 area in just 40min.

• Air Warfare

  S-100 completes USN flight trials

  9th August 2021

  ONR-sponsored demonstration showcased Schiebel UAS with lidar data-gathering system.

• Air Warfare

  Greeks put S-100 to the test

  2nd August 2021

  Hellenic Navy trials Camcopter S-100 UAS for a week.

• Naval Warfare

  Sea Machines to develop autonomous supply platforms

  5th August 2021

  The Department of Defense (DoD) contract aims to produce autonomous full-scale ocean-going vertical take-off landing replenishment platforms.

• Land Warfare

  Rifle court case triggers finger-pointing at Thales

  13th August 2021

  Thales Australia was taken to court over the allegation it used another's intellectual property to overcome a bolt unlocking problem on the EF88 rifle.

• Land Warfare

  Howling success for Coyote reusable non-kinetic effector

  26th July 2021

  Raytheon shines a light on Coyote Block 3 trial and progress on Block 2 launch system.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Medium UGVs

  Mission Master (RPV Sprial 2) [UK]

  Background First announced in April 2017 and referred to in early MOD documents as the ‘last mile resupply’ initiative, the British Army is reportedly evaluating ...

• Medium UGVs

  Mission Master (RPV Sprial 3) [UK]

  Background First announced in April 2017 and referred to in early MOD documents as the ‘last mile resupply’ initiative, the British Army is reportedly evaluating ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Project Vixen [UK]

  Background Project goal The Royal Navy uses Leonardo crewed Merlin (AW101) helicopters fitted with CROWSNEST pods to provide airborne early warning capabilities for carriers. An early 2021 Royal ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  Akinci [Pakistan]

  Programme Background 'Brotherly Ties'  On 14 January 2022, the Pakistan government unveiled its first-ever National Security Policy. As reported by Shephard, the policy emphasised 'brotherly ties' with ...

• Military UAS - small

  V-Bat 128 [Canada]

  Programme Background Requirement Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) was seeking a platform for the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) that would significantly expand its surveillance range ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPVs) (1-2) [India]

  Programme Background Requirements The units will perform multi-role support functions such as maritime surveillance & patrol, launching/recovery of torpedoes and operation of various types of ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) Project (1-5) [Japan]

  Background Requirement The Japanese Coast Guard (JCG) operated a few dozen Chinese-made UAVs that conducted SAR and surveillance activities. The drones performed well and were cost-effective, ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Camcopter S-100 [Greece]

  Background Trials On 2 August 2021, Schiebel's press release announced that the company had demonstrated the Camcopter S-100's capabilities to the Hellenic Navy. The UAV was ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Multi-Role Vehicle (Protected) (MRV-P) Package 1 (UK)

  Programme Background Requirement The MRV-P programme was intended to procure replacements for a diverse fleet of 4x4 and 6x6 vehicles purchased during the wars in Iraq ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Autonomous Collaboration Platform (ACP) (Project Vanquish) [UK]

  Background Autonomous Collaboration Platform (ACP) Strategy Reflecting on lessons from the cancellation of the Mosquito programme, the Royal Air Force (RAF) redefined the role of ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  RQ-7B Shadow v2 Block III (USA)

  Programme Background The first iteration of the Shadow UAS, the Shadow 600, was first introduced in 1992 and since then Textron has had a longstanding ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Long-Endurance ISRT Maritime UAV [Japan]

  Background Defence Building Program (DBP) Released in December 2022, this Japanese policy called on the Japan Self-Defence Forces (JSDF) to replace some human assets with ...

• Military UAS - mini

  DEF129 (Small UAS Plus) [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement The army wanted up to 17 SUAS+ systems with a life of six years. The tender said the UAV would be issued ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  4x4 Armoured Vehicle (Unknown)

  Programme Background The Estonian military wants to replace its fleet of soft-skin troop transports with 4x4 and 6x6 armoured vehicles. This will improve the survivability ...

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munitions (First Batch) [Japan]

  Background Appreciation of Loitering Munitions After years of not operating loitering munitions and armed UAVs, Japan’s position towards them has changed. Belatedly, the MoD realised the ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Medium UGVs

  Mission Master XT

  Part of Rheinmetall's Mission Master family, The Mission Mater Extreme Terrain, or Mission Master XT, is a rugged UGV designed to accompany troops in challenging environments ...

• Military - USVs

  Sentinel - Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial (PBAT)

  Sentinel is an autonomous uncrewed surface vessel (USV) built from the decommissioned HMAS Maitland , a former Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Armidale-class Patrol Boat.

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Tigon

  Hanwha Defense Systems selected DSA 2018 in Kuala Lumpur as the location to unveil its Tigon 6x6 armoured wheeled vehicle. The company conducted a fortnight-long ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  VOS-APP

  The Arquus VOS-APP is a 6x6 support vehicle currently under trial with the French SOF. Acting as a replacement for the 1970s-vintage ACMAT VLRA, the VOS-APP is the ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  KUS-VT tiltrotor

  The KUS-VT is a tiltrotor UAV that first flew in October 2013 and was exhibited at ADEX 2013. The aircraft is designed to have a ...

• Armoured engineer vehicles

  M1150 ABV

  The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) project, launched by the USMC in 2002, is a joint programme to meet the requirements of both the US ...

• Loitering munitions

  Mace

  Mace is a loitering munition developed by UAC, a Czech-Ukrainian company that is a subsidiary of DeViro. The electric-powered, catapult-launched UAV can host various warheads, including HEAT, thermobaric and ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  HQ-60

  Similarly to other platforms in the L3 Technologies Hybrid Quadrotor (HQ) and Fixed-Wing Rotator family (see separate entries) of VTOL fixed-wing UAVs, the HQ-60 has ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Archer

  The Archer is a short-range UAV being developed for India by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).  Based on the Rustom I and inspired by Bayrakar's ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Flamingo Mk3

  The Flamingo Mk3 entered production in July 2017 and is based on the Flamingo Mk2. The Mk3 has been designed to provide a 65% increase ...

• Directed energy weapons

  German LDEW (Rheinmetall/MBDA)

  Rheinmetall and MBDA Germany's collaborative work on laser-directed energy weapon (LDEW) technology has resulted in a German laser weapon system that is close to being ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Gray Eagle STOL / Mojave

  Unveiled in December 2021, the Mojave is a MALE UAV demonstrator aircraft. The Gray Eagle Short Take-off and Landing (GE STOL) is a production variant of that demonstrator. ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  United 40 Block-5

  The United 40 was unveiled at the Dubai Airshow 2011 and is a MALE UAV with a twin-wing configuration and a hybrid turbine-electric engine. The ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Samarthak Class

  The Samarthak-class consists of two Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPVs) being built by Larsen & Toubro for the Indian Navy. The ships will perform multi-role support functions such as maritime ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Phantom 380-X1

  The Phantom 380-X1 is a 4x4 multipurpose armoured vehicle produced by Thailand's Panus. It is powered by a six-cylinder turbo engine with an undercarriage capable ...