• Special Operations

  SOCOM outlines maritime capabilities demonstration

  15th June 2018

  United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has outlined an upcoming technical experimentation (TE) activity focused on SOF maritime surface systems. The research and development opportunity …

• Land Warfare

  Eurosatory 2018: Saab goes sub-zero with new Arctic camouflage

  13th June 2018

  Saab has used Eurosatory to expand its Barracuda range of camouflage systems to include an Arctic version and an adjustable mobile camouflage system (MCS), as …

• Land Warfare

  USMC Amphibious Combat Vehicle Goes to BAE Systems

  19th June 2018

  BAE Systems secured a US Marine Corps contract to produce the new fleet of Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACV 1.1). The award announcement, made 19 June, …

• Naval Warfare

  UDT 2018: US Mk 48 torpedo upgrade in sight

  20th June 2018

  A contract award for a technological insertion upgrade into the US Navy’s Mk 48 heavyweight torpedo is imminent. Defence sources have told Shephard that an …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  IAI develops hybrid robotic system

  14th June 2018

  Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has developed a hybrid ground and air robotic system that combines both land and aerial capabilities, the company announced on 10 …

• Land Warfare

  US looks to enhance CED Adapter

  11th June 2018

  Smiths Detection will carry out a study to enhance the performance of the Chemical Explosives Detector (CED) Adapter for the US Department of Defense’s M4A1 …

• Defence Helicopter

  Industry waits for US light attack helicopter guidance

  21st June 2018

  Bell and Sikorsky are gearing up for a forthcoming announcement that will shed light on the Pentagon's plans to build a new, light attack helicopter …

• Military Logistics

  Eurosatory 2018: New logistics solutions on show

  18th June 2018

  Logistics specialists WEW and GOFA launched new products for fuel and water logistics at Eurosatory, with the companies anticipating significant growth in the market in …

• Digital Battlespace

  ViaSat-2 SATCOM services now available

  4th June 2018

  ViaSat's newly-launched ViaSat-2 SATCOM service is now available for government and military applications, Viasat announced on 30 May. The ultra-high-capacity ViaSat-2 offers improved reach, readiness …

• Digital Battlespace

  Hughes to prototype FMI for US DoD

  10th May 2018

  Hughes Network Systems has received a follow-on contract to continue the second phase of a pilot study programme to assess the feasibility of interoperability across …

• Land Warfare

  Eurosatory 2018: Controp targets Sight-HD for RWS integration

  12th June 2018

  Controp unveiled its new Sight-HD targeting EO/IR payload at Eurosatory 2018. Designed for remote weapons stations (RWS), armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs), air defence systems and …

• Special Operations

  SOFIC 2018: SOCOM looks to next gen communications

  26th May 2018

  The US Special Operations Command’s (USSOCOM’s) Program Executive Office for Command and Control, Communications and Computers (C4) has confirmed to Shephard it is still interested …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Eurosatory 2018: Anti-drone systems continue proliferation

  13th June 2018

  The proliferation of counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) technology continues across Europe with multiple new solutions unveiled at Eurosatory in Paris, France. Elbit Elisra, MBDA and …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  ENAV selects Leonardo for UAS UTM system

  29th May 2018

  Leonardo has been selected by ENAV as its industrial partner for the development of an Italian UAS traffic management (UTM) system, the company announced on …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Eurosatory 2018: Milrem ups the ante with anti-tank missile integration

  7th June 2018

  Milrem Robotics is set to be one of the most represented UGV manufacturers at this year’s Eurosatory defence exhibition in Paris. Four of the Estonian …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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

  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, ...

• Military UAS - small

  Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF) GUARD [Ireland]

  Background Problem As stated on the project’s website in 2022, Ireland is the “softest target in the EU for smugglers” due to its 3171km of ...

• Military UAS - micro

  Micro UAV [Argentina]

  Background Tender The EA and MoD in April 2021 announced Public Tender 0090/2021 (UOC: 84/135), which saw the General Directorate of Material begin the process of ...

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  BZK-005 [Sudan]

  Methodology PGO and programme status Defence Insight has assigned this programme a PGO of 100% since it is complete. Units required Defence Insight estimates that ...

• 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 - tactical

  Seeker 400 (1-6) [UAE]

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

• Military UAS - MALE

  CH-4 (Second Batch) [Pakistan]

  Background First Batch According to the Pakistan Exim Trade Info website, five CH-4 aircraft were delivered to the country on 15 January 2021. According to a satellite ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Wing Loong II [Pakistan]

  Background Original Effort On 6 October 2018, the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) announced on social media that it would acquire 48 Wing Loong II UAVs. ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  NH90 - NFH [Italy]

  Background  Programme history The Italian Navy took delivery of its first NH90 NFH helicopter in Full Operational Capability (or Step B) configuration in 2011. The ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-9A Reaper [Spain]

  Programme Background First Contract The US State Department approved a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of MQ-9 Block 5 aircraft and associated parts, equipment, and logistical ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Turkish UCAV [Saudi Arabia]

  Background Desired Procurement Saudi Arabia reportedly began negotiations to procure six Anka UAVs in 2013. It had not been disclosed which Anka variant was requested, ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-60M Black Hawk (Second Contract) [Croatia]

  Programme Background Western Technology With the help of the US, Croatia has attempted to improve its military technology, replacing Soviet equipment, such as the Mi-8/Mi-17. ...

• 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 ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Space: radar systems

  RISAT-1

  Radar Satellite-1 (RISAT-1) is a microwave remote-sensing satellite carrying an SAR payload operating in C band (5.35GHz), which enables imaging of surface features during both ...

• Naval: Radio and SATCOM

  OceanTRx 4MIL

  The OceanTRx 4MIL is a ruggedised maritime SATCOM solution featuring simultaneous multi-band communication and advanced antenna management capabilities.  It was introduced at the Euronaval 2022 ...

• Major networking projects

  Skynet 6 SATCOM

  Skynet 6 is designed to replace Skynet 5. The PFI contract for Skynet 5,  held by Paradigm Secure Communications and Airbus DS, ends in 2022. As ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Osprey u8 HGL

  Launched in 2023, Kymeta Osprey u8 HGL is a hybrid Geostationary/Low-Earth Orbit terminal that provides satellite communications on the move. Notably, it can be mounted ...

• Naval: Radio and SATCOM, UAS: communication systems

  Multi-Purpose Terminal (MPT)

  Orbit's Multi-Purpose Terminal (MPT) is a family of stabilised VSAT systems suitable for installation on smaller vessels and airborne platforms including uncrewed vehicles. 

• Military Satellites - ISR

  Radarsat-2

  Owned and operated by MDA, Radarsat-2 was launched in late 2007 as a follow-on radar satellite to Canada’s Radarsat-1. The satellite's resolution ranges from a ...

• Naval: Radio and SATCOM

  SURFSAT-L

  Produced by Thales, SURFSAT-L is a SATCOM terminal designed for medium to large surface vessels. According to the manufacturer, it is designed to achieve a ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MONDO Satellite Terminal

  The Multi Orbit Network, Dual Operation (MONDO) Satellite Terminal is a developmental SATCOM solution that provides continuous communication links on GEO, LEO and MEO networks. ...

• Military Satellites - ISR

  Helios

  The Helios system consists of the Helios 2A and Helios 2B satellites, the latter of which was launched in December 2009, five years after Helios ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Multi-Orbit Tactical Terminal

  Intelsat Multi-Orbit Tactical Terminal (MOTT) is a ruggedised terminal with a low-profile design. The vehicle-mountable terminal features an electronically steered array antenna, edge computing capabilities ...

• Data links

  GSNC

  Global Secure Network Connection (GSNC) provides a global data communications solution for military aircraft, including bomber, refuelling and transport aircraft. The GSNC system uses Iridium ...

• 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 ...

• Space: radar systems

  NISAR

  The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) is a joint programme between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to build and launch an observation ...

• Space: radar systems

  TerraSAR-X and ​TanDEM-X

  TerraSAR-X and the more advanced TanDEM-X (TerraSAR-X add-on for digital elevation measurement) are designed to operate closely together to generate an accurate 3D image of ...

• Military - USVs

  USV-12

  The USV-12 is an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) developed by HAVELSAN and VN Maritime Technologies. The modular platform is designed for defence, maritime security, and search ...