• Uncrewed Vehicles

  First auto-landing of MQ-9 Block 5

  20th September 2018

  The US Air Force has completed the first automated landing of an MQ-9 Block 5, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) announced on 17 September. The …

• Land Warfare

  MDM 2018: Oshkosh looks beyond HIMARS with JLTV concept

  27th September 2018

  Nearly hidden from view in a reception area at the back of the Oshkosh Defense booth at this week’s Modern Day Marine is a conceptual …

• Military Logistics

  BAe 146 fleet support contract awarded

  18th September 2018

  BAE Systems has received a four-year £42 million contract from the UK Ministry of Defence to support the Command Support Air Transport's fleet of four …

• Defence Notes

  Battle rages over EU defence pact

  1st October 2018

  A diplomatic tussle has broken out over the European Union's (EU) flagship defence cooperation pact, amid warnings the bloc could cut itself off from major …

• Land Warfare

  BAE Systems unveils upgraded 'Mark 2' Challenger 2

  17th September 2018

  BAE Systems has revealed its final design proposal for the British Army’s Challenger 2 Life Extension Programme (LEP), which will refresh much of the vehicle’s …

• Naval Warfare

  CASG acknowledges Hunter-class build challenges

  21st September 2018

  As the Royal Australian Navy looks ahead to acquiring Hunter-class frigates, RADM Anthony Dalton, General Manager of Ships at Australia’s Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group …

• Digital Battlespace

  US military investing $2 billion in 'next generation' AI

  10th September 2018

  The Pentagon's research wing said on 7 September that it was investing $2 billion to develop a new generation of artificial intelligence (AI) with ‘human-like …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Robotic Research receives AUSTC contract

  11th September 2018

  Robotic Research has received a $50 million contract for Autonomous Unmanned Systems Teaming & Collaboration (AUSTC) for the counter-WMD mission in challenging environments, the company …

• Land Warfare

  Thermal imaging technology for Challenger 2 bid

  11th September 2018

  BAE Systems is offering thermal imaging technology to the British Army as part of its Team Challenger 2 bid to upgrade the army’s main battle …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Sentient joins Team Reaper Australia

  6th September 2018

  Sentient Vision Systems has joined General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' (GA-ASI's) Team Reaper Australia in its bid for Australia's Project AIR 7003, the company announced on …

• Naval Warfare

  MSPO 2018: BAE moves closer to APKWS land and sea integration

  5th September 2018

  BAE Systems is pressing forward with plans for the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System to equip ground and naval operators, after finding success in the rotary and combat …

• Land Warfare

  Boxer UK update: Boxing clever

  18th September 2018

  Since its inception in the 1990s, the Boxer programme has had highs and lows. By 2015, the vehicle had only secured two customers – lead …

• Defence Notes

  Congress poised to pass 2019 defence bill

  14th September 2018

  US House and Senate conferees emerged from behind closed doors with a compromise to fund the Pentagon with $674.4 billion next year, while padding missile …

• Digital Battlespace

  Five Eyes nations to benefit from comms enhancements

  10th September 2018

  Armed forces from across the Five Eyes community are set to benefit from a series of tactical communications enhancements allowing them to operate in command …

• Naval Warfare

  Third Anzac frigate arrives for AMCAP upgrade

  13th September 2018

  BAE Systems Australia has received the Royal Australian Navy's third Anzac-class frigate at its Henderson facility as part of a fleet upgrade, the company announced …

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 ...