• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Boeing opens UAV research lab

  4th July 2016

  Boeing has opened a research laboratory in Missouri to test software and hardware that will allow autonomous land, sea and air vehicles to work together …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MQ-8B deploys with new radar

  29th June 2016

  An MQ-8B Fire Scout recently deployed with the USS Coronado to begin flight operations using its new AN/ZPY-4(V)1 maritime surveillance radar. In a release from …

• Land Warfare

  Gen Carter urges calm in British defence

  29th June 2016

  The British Army’s Chief of the General Staff (CGS) General Nick Carter said there would be no changes in ‘army to army relations and defence …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Hans-free Solo readied for UW2016

  29th June 2016

  Optionally-manned platforms will be present at the Unmanned Warrior exercise off the coast of Scotland this year, with the dual capability providing a degree of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MQ-4C Triton in new navy testing

  27th June 2016

  During recent US Navy testing, Northrop Grumman's MQ-4C Triton UAS demonstrated two new communications and flight capabilities, the navy announced on 23 June. While in flight, …

• Defence Helicopter

  MD 530F shipment arrives in Kabul

  27th June 2016

  A shipment of five additional rotorcraft from MD Helicopters arrived in the Afghan capital on 17 June.  The MD 530F Cayuse Warrior scout helicopters will …

• Defence Notes

  Eurosatory: Dropping SF boats from the sky

  22nd June 2016

  European Special Forces are set to benefit from enhanced airborne insertion of maritime vessels with several test programmes now underway across the Continent, Shephard Media …

• Digital Battlespace

  Eurosatory: New SIGINT for UK SF

  21st June 2016

  UK Special Forces are understood to have become the first customer for L-3 Linkabit’s latest tactical signals intelligence (SIGINT) system, the PRD-13(V)3 which provides an …

• Land Warfare

  Safran wins Middle East Uliss 30XP contract

  21st June 2016

  Safran Electronics & Defense has received a contract from an undisclosed Middle East customer for the supply of Uliss 30XP topographic positioning systems for an …

• Defence Helicopter

  Norway outlines MCM fleet reduction

  20th June 2016

  Norway could reduce its mine-countermeasure fleet from six vessels to four, while maintaining five crews on rotation to maintain availability. The news was announced last …

• Training

  Australian PC-21s to get TERPROM

  20th June 2016

  Pilatus has selected UTC Aerospace Systems' TERPROM terrain referenced navigation (TRN) system for the Australian Defense Force's (ADF) Pilatus PC-21 training aircraft. UTC Aerospace announced …

• Military Logistics

  First Y-20s delivered to PLAAF

  17th June 2016

  The People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) received its first examples of the Y-20 transport aircraft built by the Xian Aircraft Industrial Corporation (XAC) on …

• Land Warfare

  Eurosatory: Collaboration is key in competitive land market (video)

  16th June 2016

  With Eurosatory 2016 in full swing, Shephard speaks with ADIT analyst, Mathieu Grospeaud, about trends in the land armament industry. In comparison to previous iterations, …

• Digital Battlespace

  Eurosatory: Elbit moves to dominate

  16th June 2016

  Israeli company Elbit Systems has unveiled improvements to its Dominator combat soldier communications suite at Eurosatory 2016 in Paris. The improved system has a new …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Eurosatory: BAE eye Black Hornet, CV90 teaming

  15th June 2016

  BAE Systems Hägglunds are looking into the potential for integrating Black Hornet UAS into CV90 armoured vehicles, as they continue to refine the BattleView 360 …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - MALE

  Dominator XP [Thailand]

  Programme Background Purchase As reported by Shephard, in September 2023, the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) inducted three Dominator XPs. The RTAF purchased the trio ...

• Loitering munitions

  Project Brakestop [UK]

  Background Information notice On 25 September 2024, the UK MoD published a prior information notice for Project Brakestop, informing industry of the upcoming competition. Requirements ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  CH-47F Chinook (Singapore)

  Programme Background In July 2020, photos have emerged on the internet of the first Boeing CH-47F Chinook destined for the Republic of Singapore Air Force ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Predator [Italy]

  Background  The MQ-1C fleet was retired in December 2022 after more than 31,000 flight hours and over 3,800 sorties. ISTAR activities have since been carried ...

• Loitering munitions

  Project Instigator [UK]

  Background Prior Information Notice (PIN) On 21 October 2024, the MoD published a PIN in collaboration with the Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S;). The notice announced ...

• Directed energy weapons

  Microwave DEW [Singapore]

  Background In response to the growing threat from autonomous and fibre-optically guided drones, Singapore has signed a contract with Leonardo's US-based subsidiary Epirus to develop ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-9B SkyGuardian (US)

  Programme Background On 6 March 2023, GA-ASI announced that the Air Force Special Operations Command (ASFOC) had contracted three MQ-9B SkyGaurdians, making it the first US customer of the ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Project Corvus [UK]

  Background Retirement and replacement In November 2024, speaking in the House of Commons, Defence Secretary John Healey stated that the WK 450 Watchkeeper was to be ...

• Military UAS - small

  V-Bat [Poland]

  Background Maritime environment The June 2026 contract for the V-Bat procurement follows the platform’s demonstrated success in the Russo-Ukrainian war. The UAVs will operate from Polish ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Mi-28NE Night Hunter

  Algerian military's follow-up order suggests that the country is satisfied with the Mi-28NE Night Hunters' performance in operational conditions in the desert environment featuring sandstorms ...

• Transport

  VC-25B [USA]

  Background The modifications to the 747-8 aircraft will include an electrical power upgrade with dual Auxiliary Power Units that are usable in flight, a mission ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Mobile Strike Force Vehicle (Ukraine Aid) [USA]

  Programme background The US first provided Ukraine with the M1117 ASV in September 2022, when 250 vehicles were donated as part of a $400 million ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  VTLB [Portugal]

  Background The Portuguese Army planned to allocate funds for the procurement of 167 VTLBs during the Military Programming Law running from 2015 until 2026. These ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  New Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (NWJFAC) (1-31) [India]

  Programme Background Requirements The Indian Navy is seeking replacements for a large proportion of its 19 46-49m-long waterjet-powered fast attack craft, several of which are approaching ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Akinci [Turkey]

  Programme 2021 During a ceremony on 29 August 2021, attended by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Turkish President, the Akinci officially entered the Turkish inventory. Four ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - small

  PL-5

  The PL is a Group 3 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capable UAV from EDGE Group. According to the company, it is engineered for persistent surveillance and ...

• Air: surveillance radar

  AN/APQ-181

  The AN/APQ-181 is a low-probability-of-intercept radar fitted to USAFNorthrop Grumman B-2 stealth bombers. During the B-2 Radar ModernizationProgram – completed in 2012 – the B-2’s legacy ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  CreoLand HP

  CreoLand HP is a 10W MANET radio designed for command centres, long-range applications, artillery and special forces units. Notably, it offers a data throughput of 100Mbps ...

• Military UAS - small

  Gogol-M

  The Gogol-M is a Ukrainian fixed-wing drone carrier, or mothership, from Strategy Force Solutions. The system can deliver two first-person view (FPV)-type attack drones to hit precision ...

• Military UAS - small

  DT-101

  The DT-101 is a small fixed-wing UAV from Deftech. The VTOL-capable platform features SATCOM with up to 10Mbs bandwidth capability. DefTech lists various payloads for ...

• Military UAS - small

  H10 Poseidon

  The H10 Poseidon, or H-10, is a fixed-wing VTOL-capable UAV manufactured by Swamrly. Due to the UAV's electric propulsion system, small radar cross-section, lack of detachable thermal signature and ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - small

  Vandal

  Vandal is a next-generation, group II, low-signature UAS manufactured by AEVEX. The UAS is built for speed, precision, and survivability in denied environments and can ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  ARX

  Unveiled at Xponential 2024, the ARX is a fixed-wing drone developed by Tekever.  It features common electronics and software with other Tekever drones. Unlike those ...

• Military UAS - small

  DT-001

  The DT-001 is a tandem wing UCAV from Deftech. It can host a range of non-offensive payloads, such as IO/EO cameras and an airborne LIDAR. ...

• Loitering munitions

  Q-SLAM-100

  Unveiled at DSEI 2025, the Q-SLAM-100 is a man-portable loitering munition. Manufactured by Arquimea, the system is designed for medium-range missions with 120 minutes of flight autonomy ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Spider VTOL

  The Spider VTOL is a mini electrical fixed-wing UAV. Unlike traditional VTOL UAVs with dedicated motors, propellors and structural parts for performing take-off and landing, the Spider ...

• Military UAS - small

  Khronos

  The Khronos is a tethered, fully automated UAV for ISR missions in GPS/GNSS-denied and RF-denied environments. The drone's manufacturer, Elistair, stated that it could be deployed from a ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - small

  Disruptor

  Publicly unveiled at AUSA 2024, the Disruptor is a loitering munition and UAV manufactured by AEVEX Aerospace. The Group III aircraft utilises a pneumatic launcher ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  AN/ARC-231 Skyfire

  The AN/ARC-231 Skyfire is an airborne VHF/UHF/LOS and DAMA SATCOM system. This system supports US DoD requirements for airborne, multi-band, multi-mission, secure anti-jam voice, data ...

• Data links

  MAQA Terminal 3.8m Flyaway Variant

  The Modular Aperture Quad-Band Antenna (MAQA) Terminal is designed to provide a ruggedised, mobile, quad-band SATCOM terminal that supports operations with the WGS constellation, legacy ...