• Defence Notes

  UK P-8A ahead of schedule

  17th May 2019

  For a free 24 hour trial to read this and all our other Premium News Click Here The first UK RAF P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol/multi-mission aircraft is …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  HyPerComp partners with Ballard Unmanned Systems

  30th April 2019

  HyPerComp Engineering has partnered with Ballard Unmanned Systems to provide FCair compressed hydrogen fuel tanks for commercial UAS platforms. The initial FCair composite overwrap pressure vessel …

• Digital Battlespace

  Australia speeds up transport fleet communications

  30th April 2019

  Australia’s Department of Defence (DoD) has announced that it would roll out broadband on more of the country's C-130J Hercules aircraft fleet. Honeywell will provide …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UK Coastguard to step up unmanned integration efforts

  3rd April 2019

  The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is set to begin a drone trial ‘in the coming weeks’ as part of plans to evaluate and …

• Digital Battlespace

  Dstl conducts VR collaboration trial

  18th March 2019

  The UK Ministry of Defence's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) has successfully completed its first virtual reality (VR) collaboration trial. The trial saw staff …

• Defence Notes

  Saab calculates Gripen's manufacturing mathematics

  27th March 2019

  If you are a new user and would like to read this article in full we are currently offering a free 24 hour trial of …

• Training

  DSET 2019: STE to replace current air and ground sims

  22nd March 2019

  Maj Gen Maria Gervais, Synthetic Training Environment (STE) Cross Functional Team Director and Deputy Commanding General Combined Arms Center – Training, told delegates at the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sikorsky to tie up new CH-53K LRIP lots

  19th March 2019

  The US DoD and Sikorsky are currently engaged in negotiations for a second/third low rate initial production contract for the CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift aircraft, with an …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Hybrid UAV spotted on Chinese warship

  15th March 2019

  On 26 February, an image emerged of a UAV taking off from the stern flight deck of a People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 052C …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Inmarsat selects Alpha for UAV Pop-up Lab

  25th February 2019

  Alpha Unmanned Systems has been selected to participate in Inmarsat’s UAV Pop-up Lab, a programme aimed at exploring the advantages of satellite-enabled UAS with commercial …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Norway seeks VTOL UAV for coast guard vessel testing

  19th February 2019

  A tender has been issued seeking a VTOL UAV which will be used for the testing of its potential to carry out surveillance from a …

• Training

  SteelCloud software to secure USAF simulator

  4th February 2019

  SteelCloud has received a license award for its ConfigOS software to be used to automate Security Technical Implementation Guides compliance and remediation for a US …

• Land Warfare

  Discussions continue on Warrior CSP full rate production

  11th February 2019

  As trials of the Warrior IFV with its new turret configuration continue at Bovington, the Lockheed Martin manufacturing site in Ampthill patiently awaits a full …

• Training

  New fast jet training for RAF

  4th February 2019

  The UK Royal Air Force has officially opened its new £44 million centrifuge at RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire. The project has been headed by Thales and this …

• Defence Notes

  Raytheon’s JPALS flies in desert demo for US military

  23rd January 2019

  Raytheon’s Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS) has been demonstrated to US services in Yuma, Arizona on 16 January, Shephard has learnt. The trial flight …

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 ...