• Digital Battlespace

  Germany looks into radar picture improvements

  1st November 2019

  The Luftwaffe (German Air Force) may embark upon a major procurement of new ground-based air surveillance radars over the coming five years which could see …

• Defence Helicopter

  British Army keen to push new Apaches into MUM-T role

  28th October 2019

  The British Army wants to prioritise manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) for its incoming fleet of AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters, but first intends on making sure …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUSA 2019: USSOCOM increases MALET funding

  15th October 2019

  US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has increased the ceiling on its contract from $15 million to $93 million to support modifications and capability enhancements to …

• Defence Notes

  Podcast: Revolutions in Vertical Flight S1 E3 - The Tiltrotor

  20th December 2019

  Welcome to Shephard Studio’s podcast series on Revolutions in Vertical Flight, sponsored by our partner Bell. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and more. The Revolutions in Vertical Flight …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Risk of operational delays gifts Insitu US Navy ISR contract

  4th October 2019

  The US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) has awarded a sole source ISR contract to Insitu in support of the Expeditionary Mobile Base (ESB) USS Lewis …

• Defence Helicopter

  AUSA 2019: Boeing prepares for CH-47F Block II delay

  18th October 2019

  Boeing is making preparations for a worst-case scenario where the procurement of Chinook CH-47F Block II helicopters for the US Army is delayed by anything up …

• Defence Notes

  Japan set to make its F-15 fleet more lethal

  30th October 2019

  Japan is moving forward an ambition to modernise its Boeing F-15J fighter fleet, with the US State Department approving, on 29 October, the major upgrade …

• Digital Battlespace

  DSEI 2019: UK MoD outlines C-UAS demand signals

  13th September 2019

  Officials from the UK Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) C-sUAS team have challenged industry to provide greater capability for armed forces operating in austere conditions. According …

• Digital Battlespace

  GPS OCX completes development phase

  2nd October 2019

  Raytheon has announced that its GPS Next-Generation Operational Control System (GPS OCX) has completed full software and hardware development and entered into the system integration …

• Digital Battlespace

  AOC 2019: USAF in a jam

  23rd October 2019

  It is 30 years since the US Air Force (USAF) retired its General Dynamics EF-111A Raven electronic warfare aircraft. Is it time that the air …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  South Korean firms display new and future UAVs

  25th October 2019

  While the most impressive UAV on display at Seoul ADEX 2019 was a prototype of the KUS-FS MALE platform from Korean Air, there were also …

• Naval Warfare

  Safran sub-systems for RAN future sub

  9th October 2019

  Safran Electronics & Defense Australasia has been selected by he Australian Department of Defence to design three major combat system components for the Royal Australian …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUSA 2019: MUTT gets a radio boost

  15th October 2019

  The Persistent Systems MPU5 radio has been installed on General Dynamics’s Multipurpose Unmanned Tactical Transport (MUTT) UGV as part of the latter’s Small Multipurpose Equipment …

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2019: New Javelin launch unit on road to fielding in 2023

  16th October 2019

  Raytheon Missile Systems expects to go to low-rate initial production (LRIP) for its new Javelin Lightweight Command Launch Unit (CLU) in 2021 and full rate …

• Digital Battlespace

  AUSA 2019: Commtact looks to international market with new product line

  15th October 2019

  With the launch of Commtact’s HiveComm datalink family at AUSA 2019 the Israel-based company is continuing expansion of its datalink solutions to the international market. …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - small

  Puma 2 AE [Germany]

  Programme Background The Germany navy had an urgent requirement for three UAS required for reconnaissance and identification in maritime operations. A platform was required that ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Replicator 1 [US]

  Programme Background Announcement & Requirement In late August 2023, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks announced the Replicator programme, an effort to galvanise an industry which ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2 (Qatar)

  Programme Background In 2018 at DIMDEX, it was revealed that Qatar had bought six Bayraktar TB2 UAVs from Turkey. The deal also included three ground control stations, ...

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

  Elbit Systems UAVs [Israel]

  Background Various Contracts On 3 December 2024, the Israeli Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced it had purchased "advanced drones and autonomous systems" from Elbit Systems in various ...

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

  Multidomian Micro Drones [USSOCOM]

  Background Special Notice On 14 November 2024, a Special Notice was released that informed the industry that the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) was looking for ...

• 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 ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-15SA Saudi Arabia

  The aircraft deal includes 170 APG-63(v)3 AESA radar sets, 193 F-110-GE-129 Improved Performance Engines, 100 M61 Vulcan Cannons, 338 Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems amongst ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Skeldar V-200 Dutch Navy

  Programme Background The Dutch Ministry of Defence issued a notice seeking information regarding the potential acquisition of a vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aerial vehicle ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Skeldar V-200 Belgian Navy

  Programme Background For the joint MCM programme between Belgium and the Netherlands, the Dutch Ministry of Defence issued a notice calling for information regarding the ...

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

  Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) (Tranche 2) / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) [USA]

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

• 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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Artemis [US]

  Background Origin Artemis began in 2024 due to the US European Command and Indo-Pacific Command's demand for UAVs that met the following requirements. As part ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Freya

  An easy-to-use system which requires minimal training, Freya can be operated in difficult situations and weather conditions, including strong winds and mountainous areas. A tracker ...

• Data links

  CLIP

  Common Link Integration Processing (CLIP) is a software product that performs data transformation and processes protocols for dissimilar communications formats. It meets requirements for common ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  Dronekiller

  The IXI Dronekiller is a handheld C-UAS device that employs software-defined radio technology to detect and affect Class 1 and Class 2 UAS devices without ...

• 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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Revenger

  The Revenger is a loitering munition developed by SRB Aerial Systems.  Not much is known about the platform; however, at IDEX 2023, two units were ...

• 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

  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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• EO/IR systems

  miniVUX-SYS

  The RIEGL miniVUX-SYS is a lightweight laser scanning system designed for integration with UAS/RPAS platforms. Manufactured by RIEGL, it features a miniVUX-series LiDAR sensor (e.g., ...