• Digital Battlespace

  Saudi AWACS radar upgrade complete

  25th May 2017

  A series of upgrades to improve the capabilities of Saudi Arabia’s E-3A Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft has been completed by Boeing, the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  S-100 completes flight trials in Norway

  25th May 2017

  Schiebel’s Camcopter S-100 UAS has completed a series of flight trials at Andøya Test Center (ATC) in Norway, the company announced on 23 May. The …

• Special Operations

  SOFIC 2017: Ballooning market for ISR aerostats (video)

  18th May 2017

  Florida-based company Drone Aviation is showcasing its range of tethered drones and balloons at this year's SOFIC in Tampa, Florida. Speaking to Shephard, Art Hughes explains a …

• Digital Battlespace

  EW Europe: Leonardo's RF renaissance

  30th May 2017

  After over a decade of fighting insurgency forces and a focus on the threat from low-cost MANPADs, industry is once again seeing a return to …

• Naval Warfare

  IMDEX Asia Daily News - Day Three

  18th May 2017

  The Official IMDEX Asia Daily News - Day Three is now available to read online. View the digital edition here, and pdf version here.

• Naval Warfare

  IMDEX Asia Daily News - Day Two

  17th May 2017

  The Official IMDEX Asia Daily News - Day Two is now available to read online. View the digital edition here, and pdf version here.

• Naval Warfare

  IMDEX Asia Daily News - Day One

  16th May 2017

  The Official IMDEX Asia Daily News - Day One is now available to read online. View the digital edition here, and pdf version here.

• Naval Warfare

  Star Safire ordered for USCG HC-144

  19th May 2017

  FLIR Systems will supply eight Star Safire 380HD electro-optical infrared (EO/IR) sensors for the US Coast Guard's (USCG's) HC-144 Ocean Sentry surveillance aircraft, the USCG announced on 16 …

• Naval Warfare

  IMDEX Asia: Controp displays latest sensors

  16th May 2017

  Controp is using this year’s IMDEX Asia exhibition to promote its line of sensors for the small- to medium-sized boat market.  The Israel-based company specialises …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US PACOM Global Hawks move to Yokota

  12th May 2017

  Five US Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk UAS have been temporarily deployed to Yokota Air Base in Japan, from where they will support US intelligence …

• Naval Warfare

  IMDEX Asia: Firing up Protector for Asia

  16th May 2017

  A highlight for Rafael at IMDEX Asia 2017 is a new Spike missile mission module for its Protector USV, with the Israeli company announcing in …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  USCG first ScanEagle deployment a success

  11th May 2017

  The US Coast Guard has completed its first full deployment with the ScanEagle UAS, Insitu announced on 8 May.The UAS was embarked aboard the coast …

• Naval Warfare

  IDEF 2017: Concept submarine offer for Turkish MiLDEN

  12th May 2017

  A new diesel-electric submarine design from Turkish shipbuilder STM for the Turkish Navy's National Submarine (MiLDEN) has been displayed at IDEF.The model on the stand …

• Defence Notes

  IMDEX Asia: Saab looks to Asia-Pacific market for Swordfish

  12th May 2017

  Saab, which has been attempting to bait several Asia-Pacific air forces with its Swordfish maritime patrol aircraft, has sharpened its offering.One improvement confirmed by the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  ISDEF 2017: Pharad seeks growth beyond special operations

  10th May 2017

  Antenna manufacturer Pharad was a first time exhibitor at the recent AUVSI 2017 exhibition in Dallas and the company's presence there reflected a desire to …

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

  Feb 2018: The US State Department has approved an estimated $259m potential foreign military sale of King Air 350ER intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft ...

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

  ISR Civilian-Made UAVs [Taiwan]

  Background Civilian-made, Military-specification As reported by Shephard, to accelerate the acquisition process and urgently create a larger UAV inventory, Taipei is enlisting the help of the ...

• 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 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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.  ...