• Uncrewed Vehicles

  IAI and 2Excel put Maritime Heron to the test in UK

  10th May 2022

  The Maritime Heron MALE UAS has proved itself capable of operating under UK regulations.

• Naval Warfare

  Indian submarine programme is left in tatters

  5th May 2022

  France's Naval Group will not be participating in India's P75I submarine tender, opening the spectre of the MoD having to go back to square one.

• Naval Warfare

  Philippines down-selects South Korean option for OPV

  19th May 2022

  The Philippine Navy has narrowed its OPV selection choice down to one company, but no contract has yet been signed.

• Naval Warfare

  Raytheon gains another RAM contract modification

  29th April 2022

  Raytheon is providing RAM Mod 5 launcher spares and other components for the German and US navies.

• Naval Warfare

  SM-2 Block IIIA comes aboard Danish corvette

  4th May 2022

  New medium-range air defence missiles will undergo tests aboard the Iver Huitfeldt-class corvette Niels Juel.

• Training

  IT2EC 2022: Vrgineers aim for the sky with new MR flight sim

  26th April 2022

  Czech developer claims that its new VR/MR training device features haptic feedback and can be installed on a smaller footprint than a standard dome-based system.

• Air Warfare

  Indian development of Archer UCAV proceeds

  28th April 2022

  India persists in developing UCAVs and MALE UAVs, but the going is not easy.

• Naval Warfare

  Swedish corvette returns to fleet after mid-life upgrade

  6th May 2022

  Both of the Swedish Navy's Gävle-class corvettes are scheduled to have completed mid-life upgrades (MLUs) and returned to service this year.

• Training

  Leonardo approaches Slovakia with M-345

  12th May 2022

  While the L-39NG is having success across the globe, Leonardo’s M-345 trainer aircraft is added to the list of proposed solutions to replace the Slovak Air Force’s ageing L-39 jets.

• Defence Helicopter

  Airbus H145M successfully fires Spike ER2 missile

  2nd June 2022

  The first firing of the Rafael Spike ER2 anti-tank guided missile from an Airbus H145M medium helicopter follows months of integration and development of the weapon.

• Air Warfare

  BAE Systems backs FCAS international partnerships to solve affordability debate

  9th May 2022

  BAE Systems is focused on international partnerships to sustain FCAS ambitions — although some observers are sceptical over the level of funding for the programme.

• Naval Warfare

  Are hypersonics the answer to the Royal Navy's lethality debate?

  9th May 2022

  Lethality was a key topic during the First Sea Lord's Sea Power Conference, with UK Armed Forces Minister James Heappey saying he wanted to see the RN lead the way in the field.

• Naval Warfare

  Philippine Navy narrows its renewed search for OPVs

  3rd May 2022

  The ADAS 2022 exhibition in Manila threw up some updates on the Philippine Navy's quest for half a dozen OPVs.

• Defence Notes

  South Korea approves missile programme funding, launches space rocket

  18th April 2022

  South Korea's missile and space sectors are going great guns, with the country's first solid-fuelled space vehicle launch occurring at the end of March.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Turkish UAVs add capability for Black Sea mine detection

  9th May 2022

  While much attention has been fixed on the strike capabilities of UAVs in the current Russia-Ukraine war, a different application for uncrewed aircraft has made headway in the Black Sea.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Bandit (US)

  Programme Background Goal As stated by Alyson Turri, the AFRL Bandit programme manager, the goal is to "develop an unmanned platform that looks like a fifth-generation ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Data links

  Data links | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | Light Replenishment Oiler (T-AOL) [USN]

  The US Navy wants to procure a new class of medium-sized supply ships aimed at refuelling, rearming, and resupplying naval assets. The Navy’s proposed FY2025 budget requests $7.7 ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | Light Replenishment Oiler (T-AOL) [USN]

  The US Navy wants to procure a new class of medium-sized supply ships aimed at refuelling, rearming, and resupplying naval assets. The Navy’s proposed FY2025 budget requests $7.7 ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Polar Support Vessel [Brazil]

  Programme Background Requirements In June 2020, the Brazilian Navy released a Request for Proposal (RfP) to procure a new Antarctic vessel to be manufactured in Brazil. The ...

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

  Naval Collaborative Combat Air Vehicle (N-CCAV) [India]

  Programme Background CATS Warrior The Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) is a planned, uncrewed and crewed family of aircraft in development by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  Command Insertion Craft (CIC) [UK]

  Programme Background Requirements The Royal Navy is seeking a replacement for its fleet of LVPs Mk5 amphibious landing craft. The vessels entered service in the ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Project Mosquito [UK]

  Programme Background Inception and Capabilities In 2019, in collaboration with the RAF, the UK's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) released details of its new UAS ...

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

  High-Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS) [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 ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Air Launched Effects (ALE) [UK]

  Programme Background Acquisition Pipeline First published on 13 June 2022, the Acquisition Pipeline is a forward look at potential procurement activity undertaken by the UK MoD.  ...

• Aircraft carriers

  CVX (South Korea)

  Programme Background Requirements HHI was awarded a contract for the conceptual design of the LPX-II in October 2019. The project now aims to build a ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

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

  Hybrid Tiger

  Manufactured by the Naval Research Laboratory, the Hybrid Tiger is an electric UAV. As its name suggests, the platform features a hybrid power generation unit. ...

• Air: UAS radar

  RASAR

  The real-time, autonomous, synthetic aperture radar (RASAR) is a self-contained radar designed for installation under the wing of UAS for counter-IED and FOPEN (Foliage Penetration) missions. It is ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  SA-400 Jackal

  The SA-400 Jackal is a heavy-payload-capability, long-endurance VTOL UAS that had its first flight in 2013. It is an optionally piloted vehicle, so it can ...

• 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 - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  ShadowHawk

  The ShadowHawk is a VTOL UAV that can be transported and launched/recovered within a small area. The ShadowHawk is able to maintain aerial surveillance at ...

• Air: EO/IR – Jamming Systems

  AN/AAQ-45

  Leonardo’s AN/AAQ-45 Distributed Aperture Infrared Countermeasures is designed to equip rotorcraft. The system is being installed on Sikorsky HH-60G Pave Hawk medium-lift utility helicopters used ...

• Air-launched ASW torpedoes, Ship-launched torpedoes

  Shyena/TAL

  Shyena, also known as TAL (The Advanced Light Torpedo), is an Indian lightweight anti-submarine torpedo developed by the Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (affiliated to ...

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

  Havoc

  Havoc is a MALE modular payload UAS designed for customers with varying missions and payload requirements. Features include tool-less assembly, rolling take-off and landing and ...

• Military - USVs

  MAST

  The Maritime Autonomy Surface Testbed (MAST) was developed by ASV Global and Roke Manor Research under funding from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. It ...

• Subsystems: software

  SWARM

  CHI Systems worked with Lockheed Martin on a programme for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to build software models that imitate human behaviour, and ...

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

  Bat

  Northrop Grumman is developing the Bat family of medium-altitude, multi-mission UAS. The company announced two variants of the UAS (3.7m and 4.3m) and a rotary-wing ...

• Light UGVs

  Dragon Runner

  The Dragon Runner UGV, manufactured by QinitiQ, has two versions: the Dragon Runner 10 (DR10) and the slightly larger Dragon Runner 20 (DR20). All Dragon ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  CLS-200

  The CLS-200 is part of the Yates Electrospace Corporation Silent Arrow family. It is a powered cargo-carrying one-use UAV, based on the company's GD-2000 glider.  In ...

• Light UGVs

  Jackal

  Launched in September 2014, Clearpath Robotics' Jackal is a small, portable, integrated and weatherproof UGV. It has been built on a metal chassis and has four wheels ...

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

  Skate

  The Skate is a small, man-packable VTOL UAV designed for performing short-range ISR at the tactical level. A thrust-vectoring system provides a near-VTOL capability, enabling ...