• Defence Helicopter

  Thales announces optronic payload support contract

  27th February 2014

  Thales will support optronic payloads onboard a number of fixed-wing and rotary aircraft in the French military’s fleet under a €164 million contract announced on …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Denel’s Seeker 400 UAV completes first flights

  27th February 2014

  The Seeker 400 unmanned aircraft system in development with Denel has completed its first flight tests at the Alkantpan range in the Northern Cape, South …

• Digital Battlespace

  Boeing P-8A Poseidon enters full-rate production

  26th February 2014

  The US Navy has placed an order with Boeing for 16 additional P-8A Poseidon aircraft, pushing the programme from preliminary low-rate production into full-rate production. …

• Digital Battlespace

  Austria orders Selex ES air defence radar

  26th February 2014

  Selex ES will supply its RAT31DL/M deployable air defence radar (DADR) system to the Austrian Ministry of Defence under an order announced on 26 February. …

• Defence Helicopter

  Hagel outlines Pentagon budget proposals

  25th February 2014

  US defence secretary Chuck Hagel has outlined the FY2015 budget which will see the retirement of several weapon systems and shrinking of the US Army …

• Digital Battlespace

  Commercial EMS demand forces DoD policy review

  25th February 2014

  The US DoD is to reassess its electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) operational procedures following a government-led directive to open up more of the spectrum to commercial …

• Digital Battlespace

  Australia secures Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft deal

  24th February 2014

  The Australian government has agreed to purchase eight P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft as part of deal worth some A$4 billion (US$3.5 billion), the defence …

• Digital Battlespace

  PCAS prepares for live weapons drop

  21st February 2014

  The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Raytheon will demonstrate their Persistent Close Air Support (PCAS) capability with a live fire mission later …

• Digital Battlespace

  Textron AirLand’s Scorpion aircraft continues testing

  18th February 2014

  The Scorpion Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR)/Strike aircraft being developed by Textron AirLand has completed additional flight testing throughout January and February with positive results …

• Defence Helicopter

  SGA14: Emerging Asian requirements highlighted at Singapore Airshow

  18th February 2014

  The lingering threat faced by the Asia-Pacific region was highlighted last week during the Singapore Airshow, when military and industry got together to inform and prepare for …

• Naval Warfare

  Thales awarded Malaysian LCS radar, sonar contract

  18th February 2014

  The Second Generation Patrol Vessel (SGPV) Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) being built for the Royal Malaysian Navy will be equipped with the Thales Smart-S Mk2 …

• Digital Battlespace

  First French AWACS mid-life upgrade complete

  18th February 2014

  Mid-life upgrade work on the first E-3F Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft in the French Air Force fleet has been completed by Boeing …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Kongberg Hugin AUV selected for Polish Navy

  17th February 2014

  Kongsberg Maritime will supply a HUGIN 1000 MR Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) for the Polish Navy under a new contract with Remontowa Shipbuilding. The AUV …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Second MQ-8C Fire Scout takes flight

  14th February 2014

  The second MQ-8C Fire Scout built by Northrop Grumman for the US Navy has flown for the first time at Naval Base Ventura County. The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Insitu introduces new version of UAV C2 system

  13th February 2014

  Insitu has released a new version of its small-footprint common command and control system called ICOMC2, designed to enhance the capabilities of the UAV control …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• ISR/special mission

  MC-27J [Algeria]

  Programme Background Algeria has a long standing ISR aircraft requirement to support its Beech 1900 fleet comprised of six aircraft. The new ISR fleet is ...

• ISR/special mission

  C-208B ISR [Tunisia]

  Programme Background Requirement The acquisition of the C-208B Grand Caravan EX aircraft is part of Tunisia’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its ISR capabilities in response ...

• ISR/special mission

  King Air 350ER ISR [Kuwait]

  Programme Background In February 2018, the US State Department has approved an estimated $259m potential foreign military sale of King Air 350ER intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ...

• Military UAS - mini

  U&C reconnaissance drones [US Army]

  Methodology PGO The programme has been assigned a PGO of 100%, as a contract has been awarded. Unit cost It has not been clarified what ...

• Military UAS - small

  Heavy Lift Capability (UASHLC) [UK]

  Programme Background Requirement & Objective The RN identified a requirement to acquire an RPAS to transport cargo and supplies between ships and personnel. When mature, it ...

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - small

  Black Hornet 3 PRS (UK)

  Programme Background The British Army operated approximately 160 first-generation Black Hornet PD-100 nano UAS between 2013 and 2017, when the decision was made to retire ...

• ISR/special mission

  Shadow R1 [UK]

  Background The RAF is moving forward with an ambitious plan to transform its intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) force to enable greater interoperability ...

• ISR/special mission

  Baekdu-II [South Korea]

  Programme Background This ISR aircraft programme, which first appeared on the 2020-24 Mid-Term Defense Acquisition Plan, comprises four Baekdu-II aircraft. These will add to two ...

• Military UAS - mini

  ISR Drones (First Batch) (Ukraine Aid) [Netherlands]

  Programme Background First Batch On 20 March 2024, Kajsa Ollongren, Minister of Defence of the Netherlands, announced that, following a 19 March Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting, ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Drone Action Plan (Ukraine Aid) [Netherlands]

  Programme Background APOS On 6 October 2024, the Dutch Minister of Defense, Ruben Brekelmans, visited Kharkiv and Kyiv. During his visit to Ukraine, he announced a new ...

• ISR/special mission

  King Air 350ER -Canada

  Background Canadian Special Forces was looking to procure ISR aircraft to support their missions both overseas and domestically.  There were few Canadian suppliers to sell the ...

• Maritime patrol

  P-8A add-on [Canada]

  Programme Background Canadian Air Force is operating 15 C-3P (Canadian designation CP-140) special mission aircraft in service. They were acquired between 1980-91 and expected to ...

• Military UAS - small

  Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) services [USN]

  Background ISR services In April 2026, several companies announced that the USN had selected them to provide Contractor-Owned, Contractor-Operated (COCO) Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  A-29 Super Tucano Afghanistan

  Media reports suggest that with the hourly cost of $1000, the A-29 is a successful platform for counter-insurgency missions. Its operational capability from unprepared airstrips, ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - tactical

  Zeus

  The Zeus is an Argentine tactical-class UAV from Aerotec, in partnership with its Polish technology partner, Ekolot Aerospace & Defense (EAD). The aircraft is modular and ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Silent Falcon

  The Silent Falcon is a solar-electric sUAS with long-endurance capabilities for extended-range missions. The UAS can be used for commercial and military applications. The entire ...

• Military UAS - small

  Jackal

  The Jackal is a small UAV manufactured by FLY BVLOS, Flyby Technology and Maxwell Innovations. The system features a plug-and-play system, meaning new equipment and technologies can be ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Delta

  The Delta is a UAV with a VTOL capability before rotating and operating as a conventional fixed-wing aircraft when airborne.  Manufactured by Fly BVLOS, Nigeria was expected ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Indago

  Indago is a small quadrotor UAV with VTOL. It is equipped with a large-screen handset and is marketed as 'whisper-quiet' with a noise level of ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Canary

  Volatus Aerospace has stated that its civilian Canary rotary-wing cargo-carrying UAV can be adapted for military use in last-mile resupply operations.  Payloads are housed internally ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  ENVOY

  The ENVOY is a multi-mission rotary-wing UAV with a tandem-rotor design and a payload carrying capacity of 180kg. General Dynamics renamed the system ENVOY in mid-2025.  ...

• Air: UAS radar

  EchoFlight

  The Echoflight radar by Echodyne is a Lightweight Metamaterials ESA (MESA®), a Detect-and-Avoid (DAA) 4D radar designed for mid-sized UAVs flying below the visual line of sight (BVLOS) ...

• UAS: communication systems

  muLTElink

  Produced by uAvionix, the muLTElink is a multiple-link airborne radio system designed for uncrewed platforms in particular. It combines C-Band, LTE, ISM and Viasat L-Band communications, ...

• Air: mission management systems

  Ageon ISR

  Ageon ISR is a multi-INT C2/PED solution supporting cross-domain collection, ingestion, processing, exploitation and dissemination from tactical units to the global enterprise and cloud. Ageon ...

• Land: battle management systems

  AIMS-ISR

  AIMS-ISR is a software package used to process the video footage and data gathered from the cameras and other sensors fitted to airborne, ground-based and ...

• Military UAS - mini

  DrN-15 (series)

  The DrN-15 is a hexacopter mini-UAV from ST Engineering. The platform is highly customizable and can carry various payloads depending on a user's requirements.  All DrN ...

• Military UAS - small

  Nauru 500C

  The Nauru 500C ISR is a VTOL-capable small fixed-wing UAV from Xmobots. Designed for ISR missions, the UAV features XSIS-EO and XSIS-EOLWIR stabilised sensors. The UAV features ...

• Military UAS - small

  Outlaw SeaHunter

  Outlaw UAVs are used by military and research agencies for training, testing, data collection and system development. In the 114-137kg maximum take-off weight class, SeaHunter ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Viper 1000C

  The Viper 1000C is a fixed-wing MALE UAS. Designed to carry EO/IR sensors over vast distances, it can be employed in a wide variety of ...