• Digital Battlespace

  USAF takes delivery of third SBIRS satellite

  1st July 2013

  The US Air Force has taken delivery of the third of four Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO) satellite payloads as part of its Space Based Infrared …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US details French Reaper purchase ahead of Mali ops

  1st July 2013

  The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has progressed with plans to sell 16 MQ-9 Reaper UAVs to France as the European nation considers deploying …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  German MoD reveals UAS losses

  27th June 2013

  The German MoD has published an overview of its UAS ‘losses’, revealing a staggering number have been lost on operations in the past decade. Released …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Aeryon UAVs complete public safety trials

  27th June 2013

  Aeryon Labs has announced that its Scout and SkyRanger small unmanned aerial vehicles (SUAS) have recently taken part in trials conducted by the US Department …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Rockwell Collins technologies used in RQ-21A tests

  25th June 2013

  When the US Navy’s RQ-21A Integrator Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (STUAS) completed its first flight tests at sea recently, technologies provided by Rockwell Collins …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Paris Air Show 2013: Europe questions UAV progress

  21st June 2013

  European UAV development has been slow at best in recent years, but industry is confident that indigenous designs will impact the market in the years …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Trimble unveils new integrated UAV survey solution

  21st June 2013

  Trimble has introduced a new integrated unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) solution designed for the survey and geospatial markets. The system consists of the Trimble UX5 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Paris Air Show 2013: UAVs go Universal

  21st June 2013

  Schweitzer Ingenieur has launched the Universal UAV, a commercial platform initially designed for fire-fighting applications. Introduced during the Paris Air Show, the platform is designed …

• Military Logistics

  Northrop Grumman announces UK Sentry FQIS order

  20th June 2013

  Northrop Grumman will design, develop, integrate, test and support a Fuel Quantity Indicator System (FQIS) for the UK’s Sentry E-3D Airborne Warning and Control System …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UK MoD selects ScanEagle UAV for Royal Navy

  20th June 2013

  The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed a £30 million contract that will see the Insitu ScanEagle become the first maritime specific unmanned aerial …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Paris Air Show 2013: Thales keeps on watching

  19th June 2013

  As the British Army’s Watchkeeper programme creeps closer to completion, the manufacturing teams behind it remain committed to the cause and the certification process it …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Paris Air Show 2013: Patroller project gathers pace

  19th June 2013

  Sagem has completed the first flight test of its Patroller UAV designed for the French Army in a COMINT configuration. The aircraft flew the COMINT …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Paris Air Show 2013: New Portuguese UAVs revealed

  19th June 2013

  Portuguese company Tekever has introduced new variants of its UAV family at the Paris Air Show as it advances its offerings for a variety of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Paris Air Show 2013: New UAV heads out

  18th June 2013

  Piaggio Aero Industries used the Paris Air Show to unveil its new Pi.1HH Hammerhead MALE UAV.  Launched on 18 June, the demonstrator took under a …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUV rapid environmental assessment exercise conducted

  17th June 2013

  OceanServer Technology's Iver2 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) has served as a payload platform to demonstrate improvements for both sonar and magnetic sensor data collection and …

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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 - fixed-wing, 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 ...

• ISR/special mission

  Shadow R1 [UK]

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

• 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

  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 - fixed-wing, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  ISR Civilian-Made UAVs [Taiwan]

  Background Civilian-made, Military-specification As reported by Shephard in April 2025, to accelerate the acquisition process and urgently build a larger UAV inventory, Taipei is enlisting the private ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  SW-4

  The SW-4 is aimed at the basic and advanced pilot training, troop transport and ISR missions. Its Polish designation is Puszczyk. The SW-4s are based ...

• 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, ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) services [USN]

  In April 2026, AeroVironment (AV) and Shield AI announced that they had been selected to compete for a US$800 million task order to provide Contractor-Owned, ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) services [USN]

  In April 2026, AeroVironment (AV) and Shield AI announced that they had been selected to compete for a US$800 million task order to provide Contractor-Owned, ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Multi-Mission Aircraft (1-14) [Canada]

  The objective of the Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft project is to equip the Canadian Armed Forces with a long-range manned Command, Control, Communications and Computers (C4) and ...

• Data links

  Data links | Multi-Mission Aircraft (1-14) [Canada]

  The objective of the Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft project is to equip the Canadian Armed Forces with a long-range manned Command, Control, Communications and Computers (C4) and ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, 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 - fixed-wing, 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 - rotary-wing, 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 - fixed-wing, 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, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  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, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  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 ...

• 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 - rotary-wing, 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, ...

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

  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 - fixed-wing, 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 - fixed-wing, 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 - fixed-wing, 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 ...