• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Cummings Aerospace showcases Hellhound loitering munition designed for US Army’s LASSO programme (video)

  7th May 2025

  Cummings Aerospace presented its turbojet-powered Hellhound loitering munition at SOF Week 2025, offering a man-portable solution aligned with the US Army’s LASSO requirements.

• Air Warfare

  MBDA signs Italian Navy Teseo Mk/E missile production contract, unveils HARPAX loitering munitions

  2nd October 2025

  The Mk/E missile will equip Italy’s FREMM EVO class frigates while MBDA’s Italian arm unveiled two of its new family of loitering munitions to respond to the needs of the Italian Army.

• Air Warfare

  2025 UAV market review: $7.8 billion in new contracts signed as US leads spending

  17th December 2025

  Qatar and Indonesia followed the US’s high spending on new uncrewed aerial vehicle contracts across 2025, while MALE and micro drones and loitering munitions were particularly popular subcategories this year.

• Land Warfare

  Indian Army’s new battle blueprint takes shape

  23rd January 2026

  The Indian Army’s modernisation plans reflect the lessons learned from ongoing conflicts and threats as it continues its push for indigenous capabilities.

• Air Warfare

  Singapore Airshow 2026: Rafael highlights tailored effector solutions for different operational needs

  10th February 2026

  Shephard spoke with Rafael’s CEO about the company’s effector offerings as well as his perspective on one-way attack drones.

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2025: Oshkosh unveils a new line of UGVs

  14th October 2025

  The Family of Multi-Mission Autonomous Vehicles has been designed to operate in contested environments and support long-range precision fires, resilient formations and crewed/uncrewed teaming.

• Defence Notes

  Taiwan approved for $11 billion weapon purchase from US

  19th December 2025

  The US State Department’s approval of a multi-billion-dollar sale of weapons to Taiwan includes tactical mission networks equipment, uncrewed aerial systems, artillery rocket systems and self-propelled howitzers as well as anti-tank guided missiles.

• Land Warfare

  Australia aims for rapid procurement of loitering munitions

  22nd May 2025

  The purchase will occur in a short timeframe, specifically for deliveries to begin next month, with local manufacture. All this puts Innovaero’s One-Way Loitering (OWL) systems, with OWL B already in service with the Australian Defence Force (ADF), comfortably perched for a likely win.

• Land Warfare

  China goes for ground-launched attack weapons as it strengthens deterrence strategy

  26th November 2025

  China has been advancing its capabilities with a new generation of precision-guided artillery and loitering munitions, positioning ALIT’s WS-series as direct competitors with Western systems like the US’s M982 Excalibur.

• Air Warfare

  Taiwan welcomes first batch of Altius-600M drones

  8th August 2025

  Anduril, the US company that manufactures loitering munitions, has doubled down on its expansion and presence in Asia, set against a growing threat from China and a push from Taiwan to expand its domestic uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) procurement efforts.

• Land Warfare

  Israel brings down drones using a laser, claiming operational first

  29th May 2025

  The announced successful deployment of a prototype laser foreshadows Rafael Advanced Defense Systems’ plans to begin rolling out versions of its Iron Beam laser, beginning later this year.

• Land Warfare

  Serbia pushes new and improved weapons to showcase native capabilities

  7th October 2025

  Last month’s Partner 2025 exhibition in Belgrade, Serbia was seen as a chance for local companies to grab the spotlight. New systems, anti-tank weapons and turrets were displayed as well as programme progress updates.

• Naval Warfare

  What capabilities are being tested under AUKUS Pillar 2?

  23rd February 2026

  Collaboration on AUKUS Pillar 2 extends beyond the core trilateral agreement, presenting global opportunities for companies with advanced technologies.

• Air Warfare

  Why tactical UAVs are winning on the future battlefield (Podcast)

  9th May 2025

  In Conversation: In this special edition of the Shephard Defence Podcast, Tony Skinner sits down with Dan Slasky, President and CEO of Aeronautics, to explore how cutting-edge tactical unmanned aerial systems are reshaping today’s battlefields.

• Naval Warfare

  DSEI 2025: Skana’s new autonomous maritime platforms signal company’s shift towards scalable assets

  3rd September 2025

  The Israeli defence technology company has taken the wraps off two autonomous vessels ahead of DSEI as it sets its sights on scalability and cost reduction.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munition 1 [Taiwan]

  Programme Background 2023 At Taichung in March 2023, NCSIST unveiled the loitering munition. The munition showed the country's focus on asymmetric capabilities to defend itself ...

• 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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munition PODS [UK]

  Background PODS As the Royal Navy stated in 2022, Persistent Operational Deployment Systems (PODS) are  “interchangeable modules that can be fitted to the surface fleet. ...

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Aerial Munitions (LAM) [India]

  Programme Background Kadet Defence Systems announced in May 2024 that 50 of its Loitering Aerial Munitions (LAM) drones would be delivered to the Indian Armed ...

• Loitering munitions

  Hero-30 [Italy]

  Programme Background Italian Budget As revealed by the Italian MoD's Multi-Year Defence Programme Document for 2021-2023, a new procurement programme to acquire a loitering munition ...

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munitions (Special Mission Brigade) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Drone Ambition As reported by Shephard, South Korea has ambitions to possess a large arsenal of drones. In May 2024, the presidential office ...

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munitions [Estonia]

  Background Framework Agreement On 6 December 2024, the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments (ECDI) announced a tender for a 7-year framework agreement for loitering munitions, with ...

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munitions [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 such ...

• Loitering munitions

  N-Raven / IRIX [Greece]

  Programme Background Unveiled during the Defence Exhibition Athens (DEFEA 2023) exhibition, IRIX is a Greek version of the N-Raven loitering munition developed by Paramount in ...

• Loitering munitions

  Mission Talon Strike [Australia]

  Background Request for Tender (RFT) On 19 May 2025, the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA), an agency aimed at streamlining defence invocation for the Australian Defence ...

• Loitering munitions

  Mini-Harpy [Israeli Navy]

  Programme Background MADEX 2023 At MADEX 2023, IAI displayed the Mini-Harpy, dubbed the Green Dragon, loitering munition in a 12-system launcher mounted to an Israel Navy Sa'ar 6 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Harop [Israeli Navy]

  Programme Background MADEX 2023 At MADEX 2023, IAI displayed the Mini-Harpy, dubbed the Green Dragon, loitering munition in a 12-system launcher mounted to an Israel ...

• Loitering munitions

  Testing Loitering Munitions [Germany]

  Background Three Tested Models In April 2023, Germany reportedly ordered three different loitering munition systems to assess further their suitability for use by the German Armed ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Kargu [Turkiye]

  Programme Background Following its display at several defence exhibitions in 2017, a production order was received from the Turkish special forces for the loitering munition. ...

• Loitering munitions

  Organic Precision Fire - Light (OPF-L) (Contracted) [USMC]

  Background Force Design 2030 The USMC Force Design 2030 is a modernisation effort to create a lighter, more agile maritime force. In May 2022, an annual update ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munition 1

  In March 2023, the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) unveiled a tube-launched loitering munition known as the Loitering Munition 1. Similar to the configuration ...

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munition 2

  The so-called Loitering Munition 2 is an evolution of the Chien Hsiang. Manfuaucted by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST),,the system is ...

• Loitering munitions

  VTOL Loitering Munition

  As its name suggests, the VTOL Loitering Munition is a VTOL-capable loitering munition. The UAV is manufactured by Flying Wedge Defence & Aerospace, operating from Bangalore. ...

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

  Havoc

  The Havoc is an attack UAV manufactured by Astra Systems for long-range strikes and operations that require increased lethality. The Havoc comes in various variants: the ...

• Loitering munitions

  DEV-3

  The DEV-3 is an Armenian loitering munition manufactured by Davaro. Visually similar to Isreal Aerospace Industries' (IAI) Harop, the platform is fitted with a 10kg ...

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

  Lanius

  The Lanius is a micro-UAV and loitering munition manufactured by Elbit Systems. It can conduct BLOS ISR and attack missions autonomously in complex environments, a capability ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Hunter 2

  The Hunter 2 is a mini-UAV and loitering munition unveiled by EDGE subsidiary HALCON at the Dubai Airshow 2021. The platform is tube-launched and is ...

• Loitering munitions

  Green Dragon loitering munition

  The Green Dragon is a silent, tactical, low-cost loitering munition system designed to provide small ground units and SOFs with significant situational awareness and firepower ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Papydrone-1800

  The Papydrone-1800 is a low-cost loitering munition and UAV that is primarily constructed from cardboard. Manufactured by Peach, a Korean startup, the drone is designed to be ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  HAASTA

  The HAASTA is a loitering munition and UAV revealed at MSPO 2023.  Designed by Łukasiewicz Institute of Aviation in collocation with Eurotech, the loitering munition is primarily designed ...

• Loitering munitions

  RAM 2

  The Ram 2, or RAM II, is a loitering munition manufactured by a collaboration of Ukrainian companies.  Based on the Leleka-100 UAV, the loitering munition can carry several ...

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

  Viper 300

  Viper 300 is a tube-launched loitering munition from SpearUAV. Part of the wider Viper family of drones, the loitering munition is designed to equip the dismounted soldier with ...

• Loitering munitions

  Harop

  The Harop, and the Maritime Harop variant, is a standoff loitering munition system manufactured by Isreal Aerospace Industries (IAI). Equipped with EO/IR seekers, the combat-proven platform ...

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

  Combat Drone

  The Combat Drone is an in-development small fixed-wing platform from Rheinmetall.  Based on the Luna NG, the catapult-launched system is designed to be operated as a ...

• Air: aerial targets, Loitering munitions

  Super Simsek

  The Super Simsek (Süper Şimşek) is an improved version of the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) training drone turned loitering munition.  The drone has reconfigurable payload options ...