• Digital Battlespace

  DSEI 2013: Lockheed Martin unleashes the Dragon

  10th September 2013

  Customers are increasing looking to the contract-by-the-hour mechanism for their ISR requirements, according to Lockheed Martin, in comments that reflect wider industry trends. At the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DSEI 2013: Watchkeeper inches towards service entry

  10th September 2013

  Despite a stagnant development in the WK450 Watchkeeper programme in recent months, the British Army believes that the system will receive its release to service …

• Defence Helicopter

  DSEI 2013: DARPA expands PCAS focus

  9th September 2013

  The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has re-scoped the work being carried out under its Persistent Close Air Support (PCAS) programme, it has …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  French Harfang UAV logs 2,000 flight hours in Mali

  5th September 2013

  The French Air Force has announced that the Harfang Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) has logged 2,000 flight hours in support of French operations in Mali …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Camcopter S-100 integrated with Corona 350 sensor

  5th September 2013

  The Schiebel Camcopter S-100 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) has been successfully integrated with the FLIR Corona 350 airborne sensor for a series of evaluation flights …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Euro Hawk sets European flight endurance record

  3rd September 2013

  Northrop Grumman’s Euro Hawk Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) has flown continuously for 25.3 hours in European airspace, setting a new endurance record on 8 August. …

• Digital Battlespace

  USAF long-range radar programme moves to next phase

  30th August 2013

  Following the completion of the evaluation and prototype demonstration phase for its new long-range radar programme, the US Air Force (USAF) is preparing for the …

• Defence Helicopter

  FLIR Systems awarded BRITE Star contract

  30th August 2013

  FLIR Systems will supply BRITE Star Block II Systems for the Naval Air Systems Command’s UH-1 programme and the Vertical Takeoff Unmanned Aerial Vehicle programme …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Northrop Grumman awarded BAMS-D contract modification

  23rd August 2013

  The US Department of Defence (DoD) has announced it will exercise an option to an existing cost-plus-fixed-fee contract previously awarded to Northrop Grumman. The modification, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UCLASS air vehicle contracts awarded

  22nd August 2013

  Four Preliminary Design Review (PDR) contracts have been awarded by the US Navy for the Unmanned Carrier Launch Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) air vehicle …

• Naval Warfare

  General Dynamics VENOM processor selected for RoKN P-3C Orion

  20th August 2013

  General Dynamics Canada will supply next-generation acoustic processing systems for the Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN) P-3C Orion Maritime Patrol Aircraft upgrade programme under a …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2013: Puma AE completes maiden solar flight

  16th August 2013

  AeroVironment’s Puma AE has completed a nine hour flight using solar power, tripling the UAV’s existing endurance, company officials have stated. Solar panels, manufactured by …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2013: USN reveals UCLASS development path

  16th August 2013

  The programme manager for the US Navy’s Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) programme has announced that a draft RfP will be launched …

• Digital Battlespace

  First two EMD EMARSS aircraft arrive for testing

  16th August 2013

  The Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (EMARSS) aircraft being built by Boeing under an Engineering, Manufacturing and Development contract with the US Army …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2013: US test sites to go operational this year

  16th August 2013

  The Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Transportation has confirmed that six UAV test sites for flight testing will be established by the end …

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, ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...