• Naval Warfare

  Raytheon prepares for SM-3 against intercontinental ballistic missile test

  23rd January 2020

  The development of the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) will continue in the coming months with further tests on targets beyond Earth’s upper atmosphere, as the USN …

• Land Warfare

  Dstl, QinetiQ complete APS trials

  16th January 2020

  Trials of an Active Protection System (APS) for Dstl’s Medusa Technology Assessment Programme (TAP) by a QinetiQ-led industry team are now complete. Part of Dstl’s …

• Air Warfare

  Chinese military jet engine production plans exposed

  24th January 2020

  Intriguing details about the production of Chinese aircraft jet engines for the next six years were exposed by a subsidiary of the Central Iron & …

• Defence Notes

  What is the Tor-M1?

  10th January 2020

  To learn more about our Defence Insight service, arrange a free trial. With Western officials suggesting that Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 was hit by …

• Defence Notes

  Podcast: Revolutions in Vertical Flight S1 E2: The Dawn of the Helicopter

  20th December 2019

  Welcome to Shephard Studio’s podcast series on Revolutions in Vertical Flight, sponsored by our partner Bell. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and more. The Revolutions in Vertical Flight …

• Digital Battlespace

  NEMO trials underway off the UK coast

  4th November 2019

  Participants from 13 NATO countries are taking part in Naval Electro Magnetic Operations (NEMO) trials off the south coast of the UK.The six-day trial provides …

• Digital Battlespace

  GPS III COps connects with first GPS III satellite

  23rd October 2019

  The US Air Force’s (USAF’s) GPS III Contingency Operations Program (COps) has successfully connected with the first GPS III satellite on orbit, the USAF announced …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Camcopter completes Norwegian SAR demo

  7th October 2019

  Schiebel has completed a shipboard demonstration of its Camcopter S-100 unmanned helicopter for the Norwegian coast guard. Showcasing the unmanned aerial vehicle’s ability to support search …

• Naval Warfare

  Prince of Wales sails for initial sea trials

  20th September 2019

  The Royal Navy’s second aircraft carrier, Prince of Wales, has sailed from Rosyth Dockyard for initial sea trials. The carrier will conduct extensive sea trials …

• Military Logistics

  50th MT30 gas turbine complete

  17th September 2019

  Rolls-Royce has completed the 50th MT30 gas turbine, which will now be despatched for the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force’s 30FFM frigate. The turbine will …

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2019: Soucy showcases Warrior with rubber tracks

  3rd September 2019

  Soucy Defence will showcase a Warrior 510 IFV with its Composite Rubber Tracks (CRT) at DSEI 2019 following 5,000km of trials as part of the Warrior …

• Land Warfare

  MSPO2019: Modernised Leopard 2PL makes European debut

  9th September 2019

  Polish manufacturer ZM Bumar-Labedy, a member of the PGZ holding, displayed the first production model of its modernised Leopard 2PL MBT at MSPO, with several modifications …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MSPO 2019: Counting the counter-UAS capabilities

  4th September 2019

  Despite the growing maturity of counter-UAS (C-UAS) solutions and the proliferation of such technology at defence shows, some elements in industry are looking for more …

• Defence Notes

  Seoul announces major defence boost in 2020-24 plans

  15th August 2019

  The South Korean Ministry of National Defense's (MND) latest Defense Mid-Term Plan covering the five-year period from 2020-24 foresees an ambitious increase in spending.  The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Watchkeeper progress points to subtle success for British Army

  23rd July 2019

  The widely publicised crashes and delays that have long derailed the UK’s unmanned Watchkeeper programme look to be behind the MoD as it moves out …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Project Vixen [UK]

  Programme Background Project Goal The Royal Navy uses Leonardo crewed Merlin (AW101) helicopters fitted with CROWSNEST pods to provide airborne early warning capabilities for carriers. An early ...

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

  Akinci [Pakistan]

  Programme Background 'Brotherly Ties'  On 14 January 2022, the Pakistan government unveiled its first-ever National Security Policy. As reported by Shephard, the policy emphasised 'brotherly ties' with ...

• 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 - MALE

  Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) Project [Japan]

  Programme Background Requirement The Japanese Coast Guard (JCG) operated a few dozen Chinese-made UAVs that conducted SAR and surveillance activities. The drones performed well and ...

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

  Camcopter S-100 [Greece]

  Programme Background Trails A 2 August 2021 Schiebel press release announced the company had demonstrated the Camcopter S-100's capabilities to the Hellenic Navy. The UAV was ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPVs) (1-2) [India]

  Programme Background Requirements The units will perform multi-role support functions such as maritime surveillance & patrol, launching/recovery of torpedoes and operation of various types of ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Multi-Role Vehicle (Protected) (MRV-P) Package 1 (UK)

  Programme Background Requirement The MRV-P programme was intended to procure replacements for a diverse fleet of 4x4 and 6x6 vehicles purchased during the wars in Iraq ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  RQ-7B Shadow v2 Block III (USA)

  Programme Background The first iteration of the Shadow UAS, the Shadow 600, was first introduced in 1992 and since then Textron has had a longstanding ...

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

  DEF129 (Small UAS Plus) [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement The army wanted up to 17 SUAS+ systems with a life of six years. The tender said the UAV would be issued ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  4x4 Armoured Vehicle (Unknown)

  Programme Background The Estonian military wants to replace its fleet of soft-skin troop transports with 4x4 and 6x6 armoured vehicles. This will improve the survivability ...

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

  Hermes 900 StarLiner [Switzerland]

  Background Contract Information In September 2015, under the Reconnaissance Drone System 15 (ADS 15), the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (VBS) awarded Elbit ...

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munitions [Japan]

  Programme Background Appreciation of Loitering Munitions After years of not operating loitering munitions and armed UAVs, Japan's position towards them has changed. Belatedly, the MoD realised ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Heavy IFV [Poland]

  Programme Background Requirement Due to the perceived threat from Russia and the conflict in Ukraine, Poland has accelerated and expanded its plans to modernise its ...

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

  Project Vampire [UK]

  Programme Background Prior RN Tests Project Vampire began in 2021, before the January 2022 Phase 1 tender announcement. In September 2021, as part of Vampire, a Banshee ...

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

  Indian-Made MALE UAV [India]

  Programme Background Requirements As of late 2023, the Indian tri-service plan was reportedly to acquire 155 indigenously produced MALE UAVs alongside 31 MQ-9B drones from General Atomics (GA-ASI), ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Medium UGVs

  Mission Master XT

  Part of Rheinmetall's Mission Master family, The Mission Mater Extreme Terrain, or Mission Master XT, is a rugged UGV designed to accompany troops in challenging environments ...

• Matternet M2

  The Matternet M2 quadcopter UAV has been certified by the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation for full logistics operations over cities. The platform is ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Tigon

  Hanwha Defense Systems selected DSA 2018 in Kuala Lumpur as the location to unveil its Tigon 6x6 armoured wheeled vehicle. The company conducted a fortnight-long ...

• Military - USVs

  Sentinel - Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial (PBAT)

  Sentinel is an autonomous uncrewed surface vessel (USV) built from the decommissioned HMAS Maitland , a former Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Armidale-class Patrol Boat.

• LTVs - 4x4

  VOS-APP

  The Arquus VOS-APP is a 6x6 support vehicle currently under trial with the French SOF. Acting as a replacement for the 1970s-vintage ACMAT VLRA, the VOS-APP is the ...

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

  KUS-VT tiltrotor

  The KUS-VT is a tiltrotor UAV that first flew in October 2013 and was exhibited at ADEX 2013. The aircraft is designed to have a ...

• Armoured engineer vehicles

  M1150 ABV

  The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) project, launched by the USMC in 2002, is a joint programme to meet the requirements of both the US ...

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

  HQ-60

  Similarly to other platforms in the L3 Technologies Hybrid Quadrotor (HQ) and Fixed-Wing Rotator family (see separate entries) of VTOL fixed-wing UAVs, the HQ-60 has ...

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

  Gray Eagle STOL / Mojave

  Unveiled in December 2021, the Mojave is a MALE UAV demonstrator aircraft. The Gray Eagle STOL, or GE STOL, is a production variant of the demonstrator. It ...

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

  Archer

  The Archer is a short-range UAV being developed for India by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).  Based on the Rustom I and inspired by Bayrakar's ...

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

  Flamingo Mk3

  The Flamingo Mk3 entered production in July 2017 and is based on the Flamingo Mk2. The Mk3 has been designed to provide a 65% increase ...

• Loitering munitions

  Mace

  Mace is a loitering munition developed by UAC, a Czech-Ukrainian company that is a subsidiary of DeViro. The electric-powered, catapult-launched UAV can host various warheads, including HEAT, thermobaric and ...

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

  United 40 Block-5

  The United 40 was unveiled at the Dubai Airshow 2011 and is a MALE UAV with a twin-wing configuration and a hybrid turbine-electric engine. The ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Samarthak Class

  The Samarthak-class consists of two Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPVs) being built by Larsen & Toubro for the Indian Navy. The ships will perform multi-role support functions such as maritime ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Phantom 380-X1

  The Phantom 380-X1 is a 4x4 multipurpose armoured vehicle produced by Thailand's Panus. It is powered by a six-cylinder turbo engine with an undercarriage capable ...