• Defence Notes

  Profits down at military equipment firm BAE Systems

  1st August 2018

  British military equipment maker BAE Systems said on 1 August that first-half net profits sank almost a fifth on weak demand for Eurofighter Typhoon fighter …

• Defence Helicopter

  Farnborough 2018: Turkish Aerospace expanding helicopter portfolio (video)

  17th July 2018

  The newly rebranded Turkish Aerospace, formerly Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), is pushing to dominate the medium to heavy helicopter markets through two new models. The …

• Naval Warfare

  SAMI, Navantia form JV for Avante 2200

  26th July 2018

  Saudi Arabian Military industries (SAMI) has signed a joint venture (JV) agreement with Navantia for the design and construction of five Avante 2200 corvettes for …

• Defence Notes

  Farnborough 2018: Show roundup (video)

  20th July 2018

  As Farnborough draws to a close, Shephard's editorial team discuss the main news stories from the week, including the unveiling of Tempest - the UK's …

• Training

  Farnborough 2018: Industry awaits USAF decision on T-X trainer

  16th July 2018

  Industry is waiting with bated breath for the US Air Force to pick its new Advanced Pilot Trainer (T-X) aircraft. Speaking with Shephard at Farnborough on …

• Defence Notes

  Embraer dives with Q2 loss

  1st August 2018

  Brazil-based Embraer, the world's third biggest aircraft manufacturer, posted losses on 31 July of BRL 467 million ($126 million) for the second quarter of 2018. …

• Naval Warfare

  HII launches US Navy’s DDG 121

  19th July 2018

  Huntington Ingalls Industries has launched the US Navy’s future Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer Frank E Petersen Jr (DDG 121) the company announced on …

• Military Logistics

  Boeing earnings up, but reports higher costs on tanker

  25th July 2018

  Boeing reported a jump in second-quarter profits on 25 July due to higher commercial airplane deliveries but said costs on a closely-watched US Air Force …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Hermes 900 StarLiner emerges

  17th July 2018

  Elbit Systems has named its NATO STANAG 4671 compliant version of the Hermes 900 UAS the Hermes 900 StarLiner. The UAS is qualified to fly …

• Defence Helicopter

  Farnborough 2018: Acorn growth in the UK

  18th July 2018

  Farnborough has been dominated by the mantra of a global Britain as the indecisive political narrative tries to project open partnerships. Winners in this scenario …

• Defence Notes

  Farnborough 2018: Rolls-Royce unveils hybrid flying taxi

  17th July 2018

  Rolls-Royce has revealed its plans to develop a hybrid electric vehicle, dubbed the ‘flying taxi’, which takes off and lands vertically and could be airborne …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  IAI, Airbus sign Heron TP agreement

  19th June 2018

  Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has signed an agreement with Airbus to lease the Heron TP UAS to Germany’s Federal Ministry of Defence, the company announced …

• Special Operations

  COBRA becomes option for AT-802L Longsword

  19th July 2018

  Air Tractor and L3 Technologies have added BAE Systems’ COBRA multi-function signals intelligence and electronic warfare sensor family of systems as an option for the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Brazil on the attack in two decades time

  23rd July 2018

  According to the Brazilian Army, a branch of the armed forces will have to wait until the 2030s before it can operate its attack helicopters, Shephard has …

• Defence Helicopter

  Farnborough 2018: US Navy hints at Israeli V-22 package

  18th July 2018

  The US Naval Air Systems Command is hopeful it can reach an agreement with Israel for the delivery of a number of Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Long Range Missile Defence Systems: > 90km range

  Long Range Air Defence [Luxembourg]

  Background In August 2026, Luxembourg announced that it was cancelling a previously announced joint procurement of NASAMS with Belgium. In its place, Luxembourg announced in ...

• Long Range Missile Defence Systems: > 90km range

  Barak MX [Thailand]

  Background Thailand is procuring the Barak MX air defence system, which will be operated by the Anti-Aircraft Regiment of the Security Force Command. The system ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Heron Mk 1 (2024) [Greece]

  Background Lease agreement Greece’s acquisition of the IAI Heron 1 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was initially structured as a leasing arrangement with Israel rather than ...

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munitions (Longer-Range) [Estonia]

  Background Previous Loitering Munition purchase In February 2023, the Estonian MoD announced its intention to acquire loitering munitions to significantly increase its indirect fire capability ...

• Loitering munitions

  Harop [Morocco]

  Programme Background In November 2021, Haaretz reported that a $22 million drone sale between Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Morocco had occurred. That publication and ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Heron TP [India]

  Programme Background Emergency Procurement The Narendra Modi-led Indian government granted the Armed Forces Rs 500 crores to upgrade their warfighting capabilities due to the ongoing ...

• Loitering munitions

  Mini Harpy [Estonia]

  Programme Background Russia's Aggression In February 2023, Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said the country was set to procure loitering munitions to enhance its indirect ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  MALE UAV [Argentina]

  Background Requirement Argentina has an outstanding requirement for a MALE-class UAV to conduct ISR operations in its airspace and along its long coastline. The Argentine ...

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munitions (First Batch) [Japan]

  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 the ...

• Military UAS - small

  Intra-Theatre Lift [UK]

  Background  Relationship to the Heavy Lift Capability The Royal Navy's Heavy Lift Challenge (HLC), launched in 2022 and known as the Heavy Lift Capability (UASHLC), ...

• Military UAS - small

  Orbiter 3 (Croatia)

  Programme Background The Croatian government launched a competitive tender for the procurement of a short-range UAV in October 2017. Although the tender was opened on ...

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - small

  Artillery UAV [Thailand]

  Programme Background Requirement & Replacement The Royal Thai Army (RTA) was understood to be seeking a new tactical UAV to replace four legacy Israel Aerospace Industries ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) [Israel]

  Background Desire to acquire CCA Speaking to journalists during the Israeli state visit to the US in July 2026, a senior Israeli official reportedly told ...

• Loitering munitions

  Harop: Multifunctional Support Vessels (MSS) [Netherlands]

  Background MSS On 24 September 2024, State Secretary Gijs Tuinman told the House of Representatives that the Royal Netherlands Navy would receive two new multifunctional support vessels (FCS 5009 ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: COMINT and ELINT systems

  ELL-8385

  Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) ELL-8385 is an integrated electronic support measure designed to equip Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). Open source imagery intelligence indicates that the ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Rotem

  The Rotem, or Rotem L, is a loitering munition based on a multi-rotor UAV. Manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the quadcopter features an EO/IR camera payload ...

• Loitering munitions

  ASN-301

  The ASN-301 is a Chinese anti-radiation loitering munition. Likely based on Israel's Harpy drone, the ASN-301 features a delta-wing configuration and a pusher propeller, and ...

• Heavy UGVs

  RobDozer

  The RobDozer, or Panda, is an uncrewed ground combat engineering system manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and ELTA Systems.  The UGV is designed for breaching tasks, ...

• Loitering munitions

  Kargi (Improved)

  At ADEX 2022, Lentatek unveiled a new, as-yet-unnamed version of the Kargi loitering munition.  Instead of Kargi's radio frequency (RF) seeker, this new version features an under-nose EO/IR ...

• Air: COMINT and ELINT systems

  ELI-3120

  Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) ELI-3120 is a Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) system designed for use at the operational and tactical levels. The ELI-3120 architecture also includes ...

• Air: COMINT and ELINT systems

  ELK-7071

  Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) EL/K-7071 is an integrated electronic support measure designed to equip UAVs. While not explicitly stated by the system’s manufacturer, it is ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM, Data links

  ELK-1891 SATCOM

  The ELK-1891 is a full duplex X- or Ku-band SATCOM network, intended for uninterrupted mid-rate OTH communications (eg voice, data, compressed video). Each subscriber port ...

• Heavy UGVs

  RobARC

  The RobARC, or Sahar, is a military UGV manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). The UGV's payload comprises a variety of sensors, allowing the Sahar to detect above-ground, ...

• Heavy UGVs

  RoBattle

  The RoBattle, or LR3, is a six-wheeled military UGV developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).  Intended to assist troops engaged in mobile operations, it is a ...

• Medium Range Missile Defence Systems: 20-90km range

  ABISR

  The ABISR is a medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), introduced around 2017.  ABISR is a more compact and mobile counterpart ...

• Military - UUVs

  BlueWhale

  BlueWhale (ELI-3325) is an autonomous uncrewed underwater vessel (UUV) developed by Israel's Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). It is designed for Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Mine Countermeasures (MCM) and ...

• Military UAS - small

  Sky Saker FX80

  The Sky Saker FX80 is a VTOL-capable fixed-wing drone from Norinco. Designed explicitly for artillery spotting operations, the drone was unveiled at the 14th Chinese ...

• Short Range Missile Defence Systems: 0 to 20 km range

  SPYDER-SR

  Rafael Advanced Defense Systems developed the SPYDER-SR (Short-Range) air defence system with support from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to provide rapid-response, all-weather protection against various ...

• Air: COMINT and ELINT systems

  ELI-3001 AISIS

  Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) ELI-3001 Airborne Integrated Signals Intelligence System equips the Israeli Air Force’s (IAF) three Gulfstream G-550 Shavit SIGINT aircraft. IAI’s official literature ...