• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Sentient, Insitu to demonstrate ViDAR

  12th October 2016

  Sentient and Insitu will demonstrate the ViDAR wide area autonomous detection system on the ScanEagle UAS at the British Royal Navy’s Unmanned Warrior demonstration, Sentient …

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2016: DRS develops IR sensor for ground vehicles

  11th October 2016

  DRS Technologies is to develop a two-colour infrared sensor for ground combat vehicles under a $41.6 million cost-plus-incentive fee contract from the US Army. The …

• Naval Warfare

  India opens Naval Air Enclave

  11th October 2016

  A new Naval Air Enclave (NAE) has been opened at Cochin International Airport (CIAL), India, the national Ministry of Defence announced on 5 October. The …

• Defence Helicopter

  31st MEU aviators soar in Philippines

  10th October 2016

  Much is being written about maritime tensions in the South China Sea, but for pilots of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) of the USMC …

• Digital Battlespace

  Taiwan offers new night vision scope

  10th October 2016

  Forever Plus Corp, a Taiwanese company, has begun marketing a new lightweight, multifunctional digital night vision scope.  The company describes the FPC-NVP300 as the ‘most …

• Digital Battlespace

  Raytheon, Logos partner on ISR sensors

  7th October 2016

  A new collaboration between Raytheon and Logos Technologies will address intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) requirements with advanced multi-intelligence (multi-INT) sensor systems, Raytheon announced on …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Integration testing complete for first CPB

  3rd October 2016

  The first Certifiable Predator B (CPB), which itself will be the template for the future UK Protector UAV, has completed integration testing and is expected …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Northrop to build more MQ-8Cs

  3rd October 2016

  Northrop Grumman will build ten more MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopters for the US Navy, the company announced on 29 September. This will take the …

• Naval Warfare

  First Australian P-8A Poseidon accepted

  3rd October 2016

  Boeing has rolled-out the first Australian P-8A Poseidon aircraft in Seattle, Washington, US, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) announced on 28 September. The aircraft, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Bravura awarded aerostat management contract

  29th September 2016

  Bravura Information Technology Systems has been awarded a $305.7 million contract by the US Army for operation, maintenance and sustainment of its aerostats, it announced …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US Navy contracts MQ-4C Triton production

  28th September 2016

  Northrop Grumman will produce three LRIP Lot 1 MQ-4C Triton aircraft following a fixed price contract modification by US Naval Air Systems Command. In an …

• Defence Notes

  ADAS 2016: Thales eyes land and naval sector (video)

  28th September 2016

  Benoit Nalin, Philippines country director at Thales, talks to Shephard about the systems the company is offering in the land and naval sector and those on …

• Defence Notes

  ADAS 2016: Vendors wait for Philippine CAS relaunch

  28th September 2016

  A requirement for six close air support aircraft (CAS) for the Philippine Air Force (PAF) is in limbo right now, but vendors hope a competition …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Triton UAS achieves milestone C

  27th September 2016

  The US Navy has received milestone C approval for the MQ-4C Triton UAS programme, it was announced on 22 September. The approval clears the way for …

• Defence Helicopter

  Boeing aids Korean unmanned MD 500s

  23rd September 2016

  Via a memorandum of agreement signed on 22 September, Boeing will renew cooperation with Korean Air Lines (KAL) to convert South Korean military MD 500D …

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 ...

• Military UAS - mini

  U&C reconnaissance drones [US Army]

  Methodology PGO The programme has been assigned a PGO of 100%, as a contract has been awarded. Unit cost It has not been clarified what ...

• ISR/special mission

  King Air 350ER ISR [Kuwait]

  Programme Background In February 2018, the US State Department has approved an estimated $259m potential foreign military sale of King Air 350ER intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ...

• 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 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

  Shadow R1 [UK]

  Background The RAF is moving forward with an ambitious plan to transform its intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) force to enable greater interoperability ...

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

  ISR Civilian-Made UAVs [Taiwan]

  Background Civilian-made, Military-specification As reported by Shephard in April 2025, to accelerate the acquisition process and urgently build a larger UAV inventory, Taipei is enlisting the private ...

• 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, ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) services [USN]

  In April 2026, AeroVironment (AV) and Shield AI announced that they had been selected to compete for a US$800 million task order to provide Contractor-Owned, ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) services [USN]

  In April 2026, AeroVironment (AV) and Shield AI announced that they had been selected to compete for a US$800 million task order to provide Contractor-Owned, ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Multi-Mission Aircraft (1-14) [Canada]

  The objective of the Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft project is to equip the Canadian Armed Forces with a long-range manned Command, Control, Communications and Computers (C4) and ...

• Data links

  Data links | Multi-Mission Aircraft (1-14) [Canada]

  The objective of the Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft project is to equip the Canadian Armed Forces with a long-range manned Command, Control, Communications and Computers (C4) and ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

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

  Zeus

  The Zeus is an Argentine tactical-class UAV from Aerotec, in partnership with its Polish technology partner, Ekolot Aerospace & Defense (EAD). The aircraft is modular and ...

• 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 - 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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.  ...

• 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) ...

• 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, ...

• 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 ...

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

  Nauru 500C

  The Nauru 500C ISR is a VTOL-capable small fixed-wing UAV from Xmobots. Designed for ISR missions, the UAV features XSIS-EO and XSIS-EOLWIR stabilised sensors. The UAV features ...

• 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 - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Viper 1000C

  The Viper 1000C is a fixed-wing MALE UAS. Designed to carry EO/IR sensors over vast distances, it can be employed in a wide variety of ...