• Defence Notes

  US military pilots injured by Chinese lasers

  4th May 2018

  Chinese nationals have on multiple occasions shone military-grade laser pointers at US pilots operating out of the American base in Djibouti, the Pentagon said on …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Predator-series RPAs hit flight hour milestone

  4th May 2018

  General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ (GA-ASI's) Predator-series family of remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), has reached five million flight hours, the company announced on 9 April.The family …

• Digital Battlespace

  AN/ALR-69A (V) receivers ordered by USAF

  2nd May 2018

  Raytheon has received an IDIQ contract from the US Air Force (USAF) to deliver the AN/ALR-69A (V) all-digital radar warning receiver, the company announced on …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  SOFEX 2018: Jordanian CH-4 makes public debut

  8th May 2018

  The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) CH-4 MALE UAV in service with the Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF) has made its first public …

• Defence Notes

  China rejects US military claims of laser attacks on pilots

  4th May 2018

  China on 4 May rejected US allegations that Chinese nationals shone military-grade lasers at American pilots in Djibouti, dismissing the claims as ‘inconsistent with facts’. …

• Military Logistics

  KC-46 inches toward delivery

  30th April 2018

  Boeing’s KC-46 tanker programme has completed all required Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) flight tests, the company announced on 26 April.The final test was a refuelling/communications …

• Military Logistics

  RAAF C-27J Spartan fleet complete

  20th April 2018

  The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has welcomed the tenth and final C-27J Spartan into service during a ceremony at RAAF Base Richmond, the RAAF …

• Digital Battlespace

  Canada advances vehicle communications modernisation

  1st May 2018

  The Canadian Army is moving steadily forward with a C4I modernisation effort that will see it replace increasingly obsolete systems fitted to its armoured fighting …

• Naval Warfare

  HHI cuts steel on first Philippine frigate

  8th May 2018

  Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) hosted a ceremony on 1 May to mark the initial cutting of steel for the first of the Philippine Navy’s (PN) …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  ​AUVSI 2018: Kittyhawk and Jeppesen moving fast to digital airspace integration

  1st May 2018

  Further to FAA approval, Kittyhawk and Jeppesen have announced that they are collaborating on a project to integrate digital airspace authorisation, the low altitude authorisation …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Trump administration attacks Chinese drone ‘knock-offs’

  19th April 2018

  The Trump administration is seeking to combat expanding Chinese influence in the international drone market with new export rules which will allow US companies to …

• Digital Battlespace

  IAI evolves Tac4G for UAS

  19th April 2018

  Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has evolved its Tac4G tactical communication system to enable it to be integrated with tactical UAS.Developed by Elta, the Tac4G broadband …

• Military Logistics

  Tyonek to support C-130H RWR upgrade

  17th April 2018

  Tyonek Services will support SRC in modifying C-130H model aircraft with integration of the updated all-digital AN/ALR-69A (V) radar warning receiver. SRC is the prime …

• Training

  Leonardo’s M-40 target approved for operational use

  20th April 2018

  The Italian Directorate of Air Armaments and Airworthiness (DAAA) has authorised Leonardo’s new Mirach-40 (M-40) target UAS for operational use, Leonardo announced on 16 April. …

• Digital Battlespace

  AUVSI 2018: Colorado’s wildfire operations aided by apps

  30th April 2018

  Colorado's fire services are exploring the benefits that smartphone apps could bring in providing crews on the ground greater situational awareness in combating the wildfires …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  General-Purpose UAS [Australia]

  Programme Background Banned As reported by Shephard in August 2023, in the past, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) used commercial UAS from companies such as DJI for ...

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

  Mini Reconnaissance Drones [Lithuania]

  Programme Background Planned Purchases On 14 September 2022, the Lithuanian MoD announced in a short statement on Twitter, now X, that it had begun organising ...

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

  ISTAR UAS project [Canada]

  Programme Background Objective The Royal Canadian Navy's (RCN) main significant UAV project is the RCN Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance Unmanned Aircraft System (RCN ...

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

  Small Reconnaissance Drones [Lithuania]

  Programme Background Planned Purchases On 14 September 2022, the Lithuanian MoD announced in a short statement on Twitter, now X, that it had begun organising ...

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

  Skeldar V-200 (ASW) [Canada]

  Programme Background Contract Award At Euronaval 2022, Shephard reported that UMS Skeldar and Ultra had been awarded a Phase 2 contract on 19 October to provide ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  Company Level Small Uncrewed Aircraft System (SUAS) Directed Requirement (DR) [US Army]

  Programme Background Requirement The US Army approved the Co-Level SUAS DR acquisition in June 2023 to supply Brigade Combat Teams with an "immediate, commercially available capability" to ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Replicator 2 [US]

  Programme Background 1.0 The Replicator programme is a US effort to field thousands of attritable, autonomous systems across multiple domains before the end of 2025 ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  Medium Range Reconnaissance (MRR) / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) [USA]

  The Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) Programme The RPUAS programme will provide the battalion and below-ground manoeuvre elements within the US Army with an organic, on-demand ...

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

  DEF129 (Nano UAS) [Australia]

  Programme Background DEF129 The Australian Ground Service has combined various army procurement efforts under the DEF129 programme to increase the abundance and proliferation of UAVs ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Aeromobila A Pilotaggio Remoto (Mini) [Italy]

  Programme Background Requirement Released on 5 August 2021, the Italian MoD's Multi-Year Defence Programme Document for 2021-2023 announced a programme aimed at acquiring a mini-UAS capable ...

• Military UAS - micro

  Aeromobila A Pilotaggio Remoto (Micro) [Italy]

  Programme Background Requirement Released on 5 August 2021, the Italian MoD's Multi-Year Defence Programme Document for 2021-2023 announced a programme aimed at acquiring a micro-UAS capable ...

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

  RQ-20 Puma (Belgium)

  Programme Background Requirement The Belgian MoD outlined plans to procure more mini and tactical UAS in its Strategic Vision for Defence published in 2016. According ...

• Military UAS - small

  Bug Nano UAS (UK)

  Programme Background The British Army previously took delivery of 160 first-generation Black Hornet PD-100 nano UAS in 2013 to support operations in Afghanistan. After these ...

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

  Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) [Canada]

  Programme Background Programme Inception The Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) Joint Unmanned Surveillance and Target Acquisition System (JUSTAS) project was established to procure a UAS for ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  CLRV [Luxembourg]

  Programme Background Requirement The Luxembourg MoD wants to replace the Luxembourg Army's fleet of 42 AM General M1151 HMMWV Up-Armoured (UA) and 48 KMW Dingo ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Counter-UAS systems

  C-UAS Solution

  The C-UAS Solution uses goniometry, radar technologies and various sensors to detect and remove UAS from the air. So far, the solution has been proven effective against ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  Airfence 5.0

  Airfence 5.0 is a C-UAS RF technology released by Sensofusion. It is designed to protect airports, personnel, prisons and private companies from rogue UAS in ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  Cobham C-UAS

  Unveiled at the AUVSI 2017 trade show in Dallas, Texas, the Cobham C-UAS primarily consists of wideband omnidirectional, directional helix (single- or dual-band), directional flat ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  Skylock C-UAS

  Skylock, an Avnon Group company, has developed a C-UAS system that is intended to bring sensors, jammers and a laser effector into a single deployable ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  Howler C-UAS

  Developed by Raytheon, the Howler is a counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS), which includes a Ku-band Radio Frequency Sensor (KuRFS), a command-and-control system, and a Coyote ...

• EO/IR systems

  CM262

  Manfuaucted by AVT Australia, the CM262 is a ground-based imaging system combining four sensor configurations into a compact and ruggedised system for C-UAS and ISR ...

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

  Penguin C VTOL

  The Penguin C VTOL is the VTOL version of the Penguin C MIL Mk2; hence it is sometimes called the Penguin C Mk2 VTOL. Edge ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  Pitbull C-UAS Jammer

  In June 2018, MyDefence launched the Pitbull wearable C-UAS solution, which utilises smart jamming to defeat enemy drones. Pitbull was developed to have a minimal ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  SkyTracker

  SkyTracker is a technology suite that detects, identifies, tracks and mitigates UAS threats. The system provides continuous 24h automated monitoring in all weather conditions. The ...

• EO/IR systems, Land: unattended sensor/surveillance systems, Land: vehicle surveillance/target acquisition systems

  T-SIGHT

  The T-SIGHT is a rapid deployment and vehicle-mounted medium-range surveillance system. It hosts the SIGHT-25HD EO/IR system. It is designed for remote tactical surveillance, ISR observation, force protection, route ...

• EO/IR systems

  CM202U

  The CM202U is a field-proven gyro-stabilised imaging system for counter small uncrewed aerial systems (C-sUAS) operations and ground ISR applications.  Manfuaucted by AVT Australia, it includes high-definition ...

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

  Falcon Air Defence System

  Unveiled at IDEX 2019, Falcon is a medium range ground-based air defence system, including C-RAM and C-UAS capabilities. The Falcon consists of Lockheed Martin's Skykeeper ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  C-UAS Operator Assist

  Operator Assist software contributes to force protection by utilising algorithms to detect and track objects in the air and on the ground. This increases the ...

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

  ATLAS C4EYE

  The Advanced Technology Light Acquisition System (ATLAS) C4EYE is the smallest UAS developed by C-Astral Aerospace. Part of the Bramor family of UAS, the Atlas ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  X-MADIS

  The eXpeditionary Mobile Air Defense Integrated System (X-MADIS) is a portable, fully integrated C-UAS system for fixed-site, mobile and on-the-move operations.  Combining four all-threat air ...