• Air Warfare

  Embraer reaches final agreement with Brazilian Air Force on KC-390 fleet size

  24th October 2022

  Following attempts to cut the programme back to just 15 aircraft, Embraer and the Brazilian Air Force have agreed on a final total of 19 KC-390 twin-jet airlifters.

• Naval Warfare

  Indonesian Navy moves forward on multiple ship programmes

  7th November 2022

  Indo Defence 2022 saw a raft of MoUs and announcement, as Indonesia seeks to bolster its indigenously built naval fleet.

• Air Warfare

  Euronaval 2022: Ultra and UMS Skeldar to partner on Canadian ASW UAS

  19th October 2022

  The contract awarded to UMS Skeldar and Ultra will see the research of a medium-sized UAS to explore ASW capabilities for the Royal Canadian Navy.

• Defence Notes

  Asia makes waves in the global defence market (Opinion)

  15th December 2022

  Asian defence manufacturers are really starting to make themselves felt, with products being exported to new customers such as NATO and Five Eyes nations.

• Naval Warfare

  Thales seals minehunting sonar MoU in South Korea

  23rd September 2022

  A new MoU with a South Korean SME will see Thales provide operational expertise in variable-depth sonars for mine countermeasure missions.

• Land Warfare

  Army-2022: Russian military moves to address artillery weaknesses

  22nd August 2022

  Russia is commencing series production of three new artillery systems and a specialised reconnaissance vehicle to address weaknesses highlighted by operational experience in Ukraine.

• Defence Notes

  SAIC contracted for US Navy network support

  26th August 2022

  Science Applications International Corp (SAIC) has been awarded a $163 million USN contract to support the shore networks for the Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific Shore Networks Branch.

• Naval Warfare

  Austal Australia converts patrol boat into unmanned vessel

  11th October 2022

  The Royal Australian Navy is involved in converting a patrol boat into an unmanned vessel, while it also seeks new workboats and another LMV-M contender reveals its landing craft design for the Australian Army.

• Naval Warfare

  COTECMAR and Damen team up for Colombian frigate replacement programme

  7th October 2022

  The PES programme to replace 1980s-vintage frigates in Colombia is making progress, but will the South American country learn lessons from the Mexican failure with POLA?

• Naval Warfare

  Kraken and MSI-DS partners on K50 craft weapon system

  31st August 2022

  Under a new partnership between Kraken Technology Group and MSI-Defence Systems, the two companies will integrate various weapon system into the Kraken K50 armed powerboat.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Havelsan's new UGV has swarming capability in mind

  27th October 2022

  After finding success with its Barkan autonomous uncrewed ground vehicle (UGV), Havelsan unveiled a new model, Kapgan, on 25 October, which is set to enter Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) service before 2024.

• Naval Warfare

  Euronaval 2022: Size, weight and stability considerations drive development of Shark RWS

  18th October 2022

  Naval SOF may benefit from the compact and lightweight Shark RWS.

• Land Warfare

  Philippines bulks up on combat engineering and logistics equipment

  5th October 2022

  Heavy logistics trucks and armoured combat engineer vehicles are the latest items on the shopping list of the Philippine Army.

• Training

  CAE Perspective: Solutions for ISR Data Overload (sponsored)

  4th August 2022

  To fight the near-peer conflict of the near future, Intelligence / Surveillance / Reconnaissance (ISR) professionals must cope with ambiguity, uncertainty, disparity, and the sheer volume of information.

• Defence Notes

  North Korea launches new barrage of missiles

  16th October 2022

  To date, North Korea has launched 15 ballistic and cruise missiles in a three-week period in its latest ill-tempered demonstration of belligerence.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 helicopters - multirole

  HH-60W - Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH)

  According to the FY2021 Base funding, the HH-60W helicopter unit cost is $43.2 million. The HH-60W will be capable of employment day or night, in ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2 [Pakistan]

  Programme Background Requirement Following a 2019 skirmish with India, Pakistan placed newfound importance on EW and ISR, primarily due to the significant advantage gained during that ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Long-Range Drones [Norway]

  Background Andøya Ambition On 3 April 2023, the Norwegian MoD released a statement confirming its plans for Andøya, the northernmost island in its Vesterålen archipelago. In addition to ...

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

  Multidomian Micro Drones [USSOCOM]

  Background Special Notice On 14 November 2024, a Special Notice was released that informed the industry that the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) was looking for ...

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

  MQ-9B SkyGuardian [Denmark]

  Programme Background Arctic Capability Package In February 2021, Denmark published the Arctic Capability package, a commitment to invest in new technologies, particularly uncrewed systems, to improve ...

• Loitering munitions

  Long Range One-way Platforms [US]

  Solicitation In October 2024, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) released a solicitation for long-range, one-way platforms. The DIU noted recent conflicts highlighted the asymmetric impact of low-cost, ...

• ISR/special mission

  ISTAR Aircraft (South Korea)

  Programme Background South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration stated that Seoul is planning to procure additional aircraft to minimize potential surveillance gaps amid growing security ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, 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 ...

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

  M Solar-X [Thailand]

  Programme Background Roadmap In February 2024, the RTAF unveiled its White Paper 2024. Incorporating lessons from the Russo-Ukrainian War, the Israel-Hamas War, and other events ...

• OPVs

  Next-Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels (1-12) [Japan]

  Programme Background Requirements The primary role of the OPVs will be ISR and patrol. The armament will be limited. One of the key features is a reduced ...

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

  Seeker 400 - First Batch (UAE)

  Programme Background The UAE has a long history of transactions with Denel Dynamics. The country has been purchasing various Seeker systems from as far back ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  NH90 NFH-Italy

  Programme Background  The Italian Navy has taken delivery of its first NH90 NFH helicopter in Full Operational Capability (or Step B) configuration in November 2013. ...

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

  CH-4 (First Batch) [Pakistan]

  Programme Background First Batch According to the Pakistan Exim Trade Info website, five aircraft were delivered to the country on 15 January 2021. According to a ...

• Loitering munitions

  Medium-Range Loitering Munition with LEO Satellite Data Link [South Korea]

  Background New Project In April 2025, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) announced a new project titled “Development of Medium-Range ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Caihong

  The Caihong (Rainbow), also known as the Cai Hong or CH, is a solar-powered HALE platform designed for near-space flight. It is suitable for military ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Morning Star

  Aviation Industry Corporation of China’s Morning Star is a quasi-satellite, near-space, solar-powered platform. It is designed for both military and civilian applications, including reconnaissance, navigation ...

• FL-3

  The FL-3 is a planned solar-powered, long-endurance, near-space platform with an 85,300ft ceiling. Speculated future uses include communication, ground observation, meteorological monitoring and operation as ...

• ISR/special mission, Maritime patrol

  A320neo M3A

  Currently under development by Airbus, the A320 M3A is the Maritime Patrol version of the civilian A320neo aircraft. The aircraft can be fitted with a wide ...

• Space: radar systems

  SARah

  SARah is the planned follow-on system for the SAR-Lupe radar satellite constellation operated by the German Armed Forces. In 2013, it was announced that OHB ...

• Major networking projects

  EAC

  The NATO Communications and Information Agency awarded ACTIA Sodielec a contract in June 2013 to provide NATO with an Extended Advanced SATCOM Network Monitoring and ...

• Space: radar systems

  ESA Sentinel-1

  Sentinel-1 is a planned constellation of four satellites with two already in orbit and two on order. They carry a payload of a C-band SAR ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Vocality Pro Series

  The Pro Series includes the V25, V50, V150 and V20. These are designed to be used in a central communications hub or as part of ...

• Air: COMINT and ELINT systems

  FlyingFish Maritime

  The FlyingFish Maritime SIGINT system is one of several derivatives of the FlyingFish Airborne Satellite Monitoring System developed by Horizon Technologies. Designed to be mounted ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing

  S-70UAS U-Hawk

  Unveiled at AUSA 2025, the S-70UAS U-Hawk is an uncrewed version of Sikorsky’s crewed UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter.  It will act as a delivery aircraft for medium-sized uncrewed ground vehicles ...

• Air: COMINT and ELINT systems

  FlyingFish

  FlyingFish is an Airborne Satellite Monitoring System designed to detect and intercept SATCOM from airborne ISR platforms. As a passive system, it cannot be detected ...

• Guided munitions

  GP155B

  The GP155B is a 155mm artillery round developed by Norinco. The GP155B integrates satellite-based guidance systems that are compatible with both the Chinese Beidou Navigation ...

• Data links

  Space CDL

  The Space Common Data Link (CDL) system provides a wideband data link capability adaptable to a variety of space-based applications. It consists of separate transmitter ...

• 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 ...

• Naval: COMINT and ELINT systems

  FlyingFish Naval

  The FlyingFish Naval SIGINT system is one of several derivatives of the FlyingFish Airborne Satellite Monitoring System (ASMS) developed by Horizon Technologies. Whereas the original ...