• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Farnborough 2016: Unmanned Hoverbike set for production

  14th July 2016

  Malloy Aeronautics is pushing ahead with the development of its unmanned Hoverbike and expects to be ready to begin production in 2017, Shephard learned at Farnborough …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Farnborough 2016: Next test phase for Spy‘Ranger

  11th July 2016

  Thales is continuing the development of the Spy‘Ranger UAS as the system concludes its industrial test phase and is looking into methods to improve battery …

• 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 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  CybAero to deliver three UAS in August

  29th June 2016

  CybAero and Chinese company Jolly have agreed that three UAS ordered by Jolly will be delivered in August 2016, CybAero announced on 27 June. The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Tern two for NG in Phase 3

  20th June 2016

  Northrop Grumman will build a second prototype UAV for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), it has been revealed. In an announcement on 17 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Eurosatory: Miniaturisation opens new markets

  14th June 2016

  VTQ Videotronik and Aerolution have collaborated in an exclusive partnership to develop an optical payload for the Songbird 500 VTOL UAS family. It is nearing …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Ariadna project makes progress

  26th May 2016

  The European Ariadna project has taken new steps toward the integration of manned and unmanned vehicle operation in non-segregated airspace, with the simultaneous flight of …

• Defence Helicopter

  Newcomers continue FVL development

  13th May 2016

  Heavyweight industry players may have been selected to build full-scale helicopters for the US Army’s Joint Multi-Role (JMR) technology demonstrator programme, but smaller companies are …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2016: New business angles with VTOL UAS

  5th May 2016

  Textron Systems say that their Aerosonde Hybrid UAS would need to continue development before any thought was given to customer sales, although as it stands …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2016: A big hit for V-Bat (video)

  5th May 2016

  Texas-based Martin UAV showcased a unique VTOL UAV design at this year's AUVSI Xponential in New Orleans, which it calls V-Bat. While some manufacturers have …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2016: CybAero touches down on Swedish corvette

  4th May 2016

  CybAero and Airbus Defence and Space (DS) have successfully teamed up to perform a test launch and recovery of the Apid One VTOL UAV from …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2016: Mexico acquires VTOL fixed-wing UAV (video)

  4th May 2016

  UAS manufacturer Arcturus UAV has revealed the Mexican Navy as a customer for its VTOL-capable fixed-wing unmanned aircraft. According to the California company, the navy …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2016: US Army looks for new small UAS

  3rd May 2016

  The US Army is looking to provide dismounted soldiers with a UAS toolkit by adding a small quadcopter to the already proven Puma and Raven …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2016: What to Xpect at Xponential (video)

  2nd May 2016

  Unmanned Vehicles editor Richard Thomas gives us a sneak peak of the AUVSI Xponential show floor, this year being held in New Orleans. He outlines …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Quad A 2016: US Army eyes revolutionary UAS

  29th April 2016

  The US Army is planning to set out fresh requirements in the mid-2020s for a runway-independent UAS, with the service potentially eyeing revolutionary designs that …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - mini

  Medium Range Tactical (MRT) [USMC]

  Background Request for Information (RFI) In February 2026, the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) issued an RFI for solutions for a Medium Range Tactical (MRT) ...

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

  VTOL-Capable Group 2 UAV [USA]

  Background Request for Information (RFI) In March 2026, the USAF issued an RFI seeking a VTOL-capable UAV capable of operating in austere environments to support ...

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

  Onboard Mini-Drone Systems (SMDM) (69-90) [France]

  Background Contract Announcement On 3 February 2026, Airbus, Survey Copter’s parent company, announced that the French Directorate General of Armament (DGA) had ordered the Aliaca VTOL variant ...

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

  Camcopter S-300 [South Korea]

  Programme Background Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) On 18 January 2023, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Northop Grumman at a ...

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

  Embarked VTOL UAV [South Korea]

  Background VTOL Development In January 2024, South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced that it would commence development of a VTOL-capable rotary-wing UAV to be ...

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

  Ship-Bourne VTOL UAV [Singapore]

  Background Multi-Role Combat Vessel  The Republic of Singapore Navy will retire its six Victory-class corvettes and replace them with a new platform, the Multi-Role Combat ...

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

  K1000ULE [USMC]

  Programme Background Contact Award After a comprehensive down-selection evaluation, Kraus Hamdani Aerospace's K1000ULE drone won the USN's PMA 263 contract in April 2024. The company will now provide the USN ...

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

  UAV Tactical Level [Norway]

  Background Request for Information (RfI) In September 2022, the Norwegian Defence Material Agency (NDMA) launched a request for information in preparation for a possible procurement ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing

  VTOL UAV [New Zealand]

  Background Defence Capability Plan (DCP) In April 2025, the New Zealand government published the DCP, a document that is essentially a blueprint for what procurements ...

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

  Cargo UAV (Turkey)

  Programme Background Inception & Requirment Turkey's Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) initiated a programme to procure VTOL-capable cargo drones in June 2018. These were planned for ...

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

  Aerobo Wing AS-VT02A [Malaysia]

  Background Requirment As reported by Shephard, in June 2021, Malaysia issued a tender for fixed-wing, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capable UAVs. The tender stated that Malaysia ...

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

  Artillery UAV [Thailand]

  Programme Background Requirement & Replacement The Royal Thai Army (RTA) was understood to be seeking a new tactical UAV to replace four legacy Israel Aerospace Industries ...

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

  Parrot Anafi (Singapore)

  Programme Background On 7 February 2022, the Singapore Army posted photographs on Facebook that showed the Anafi UAV used as training devices in a five-day ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Project Proteus [UK]

  Project Proteus is an RN and Leonardo effort to design and develop an uncrewed helicopter demonstrator that could provide an innovative alternative to existing crewed ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Project Proteus [UK]

  Project Proteus is an RN and Leonardo effort to design and develop an uncrewed helicopter demonstrator that could provide an innovative alternative to existing crewed ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

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

  Penguin B VTOL

  The Penguin B VTOL is a variant of the Penguin B platform manufactured by Edge Autonomy. Announced in June 2021, the variant is a reliable, long-endurance ...

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

  Stream C VTOL

  At IDEX 2019, Threod Systems unveiled a new version of the Stream C UAS, capable of VTOL manoeuvres. Known as the Stream C VTOL, this ...

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

  Aliaca VTOL

  Unveiled in April 2025, the U010 Aliaca VTOL is, as its name suggests, a VTOL-capable variant of the Aliaca from Survey Copter, an Airbus Defence & Space subsidiary. As ...

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

  VTOL UAV

  The Defence Technology Institute launched the VTOL UAV R&D; project in cooperation with the Naval Research and Development Office, Royal Thai Navy and private sector ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Zala VTOL

  Manufactured by Zala Aero Group, the ZALA VTOL is a hybrid platform that can be operated both as a fixed-wing and rotary-wing UAV due to ...

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

  Argus VTOL

  The Argus VTOL, currently in development, is part of the Argus family of UAVs manufactured by Free Horizons, which also features the Argus Predator Mk ...

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

  Rakshak VTOL

  The Rakshak VTOL is a fixed-wing UAV with an EO/IR sensor for ISR missions. Developed by TATA Advanced Systems, the UAV is VTOL-capable, allowing it to operate ...

• Air: aerial targets

  Viking VTOL

  The Viking VTOL is an aerial target designed to mimic the size and flight characteristics of most larger, Group 1 (and potentially Group 2) platforms.  Boresight has ...

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

  Penguin C VTOL

  The Penguin C VTOL is the VTOL version of the Penguin C MIL Mk2; it is therefore sometimes referred to as the Penguin C Mk2 ...

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

  ThunderB-NG VTOL

  The ThunderB-Next Generation VTOL, or ThunderB-NG VTOL, is a vertical take-off and landing capable version of the ThunderB. The fixed-wing UAV features a fully autonomous flight control system ...

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

  Zada

  Zada is a mini fixed-wing UAV designed for intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance (ISR) missions. It features tilt-rotor systems, which give it a VTOL capability.

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

  H6 Poseidon

  Manufactured by Swarmly, the H6 Poseidon is a fixed-wing VTOL-capable UAV. The second largest member of the Poseidon family, the vertical lift is provided through ...

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

  SR-10 VTOL

  Deftech showcased the SR-10 VTOL at DSA 2022. It has been locally designed in Malaysia to conduct aerial mapping, surveillance and line inspection missions. The hand-launched platform is powered ...

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

  Zala 421-22

  The Zala 421-22 is a rotary-wing UAV designed for ship- or land-based reconnaissance and surveillance, bomb damage assessment and real-time target acquisition. The VTOL UAV ...