• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Dubai Airshow 2019: UMS Skeldar moves focus to V-200

  19th November 2019

  UMS Skeldar is reassessing the R-350 rotary-wing VTOL programme as part of wider plans to concentrate on larger customer demand for its V-200 sister platform. During …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  VSR700​ prototype flies in France

  13th November 2019

  Airbus Helicopters’ VSR700 UAS prototype has flown for the first time at a test centre near Aix-en-Provence in France, the company announced on 12 November.The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  BAE Systems in unmanned tech demo

  4th November 2019

  BAE Systems has been part of a demonstration for the Australian Army to investigate the potential of integrating autonomous technologies on the future battlefield. Held …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Leonardo invests in Skydweller Aero

  12th November 2019

  Leonardo has announced its investment in Skydweller Aero, a US/Spanish company specialising in large-scale solar-powered UAS. The initiative will result in the development and deployment …

• Digital Battlespace

  AOC 2019: Latest Blackbird COMINT system due for customer deliveries

  29th October 2019

  Having recently concluded development of the latest iteration of its Blackbird COMINT system, TCI International will begin deliveries to customers in the US and overseas …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Schiebel's EMSA contract extended

  11th November 2019

  Schiebel’s contract with the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) has been extended to the end of 2019, the company announced on 11 November.Under the EMSA …

• Digital Battlespace

  Bittium receives narrowband waveform development order

  15th November 2019

  Bittium has received a purchase order for narrowband waveform development work for the tactical Bittium Tough SDR radios from the Finnish Defence Forces. Bittium is …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Dubai Airshow 2019: Intra imposes with oversized Karayel UCAV

  18th November 2019

  Riyadh-based Intra Defense Technologies is showcasing the fixed-wing Karayel UCAV at the Dubai Airshow in an effort to further promote the solution to the Middle …

• Digital Battlespace

  Rohde & Schwarz completes Malaysian deliveries

  15th November 2019

  Rohde & Schwarz has delivered new communication suites for two Royal Malaysian Navy frigates, the company announced on 15 November. The NAVICS IP integrated communications …

• Naval Warfare

  RAAF looks at AI for low-cost SAR

  1st November 2019

  The Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF’s) Plan Jericho initiative has introduced an artificial intelligence (AI) prototype called Ai-Search to improve airborne search and rescue (SAR) …

• Naval Warfare

  OCEAN2020 demonstration kicks off

  20th November 2019

  The first OCEAN2020 demonstration is set to commence today, 20 November, in the Gulf of Taranto. OCEAN2020 is a European Defence Fund pan-European military research …

• Defence Notes

  Podcast: Revolutions in Vertical Flight S1 E5 - The Dream of Urban Air Mobility

  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 …

• Land Warfare

  Mistral 3 in test firing demo

  15th November 2019

  MBDA’s Mistral 3 missile has taken part in a test firing to demonstrate its enhanced capabilities, the company announced on 15 November. The demonstration saw …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  GE Aviation, Hybrid Project​ team up for VTOL UAS

  29th October 2019

  GE Aviation has teamed with Hybrid Project to provide a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAV capability for high endurance commercial applications. The teaming arrangement …

• Training

  US NAWCAD selects JF Taylor

  12th November 2019

  JF Taylor has been awarded a $109.4 million contract for the development of simulation systems and software to support training activities as well as acquisition development …

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 - 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 - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  Thor [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 - 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 - 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 ...

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

  Medium Range Reconnaissance (MRR) / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) [USA]

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

• 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 ...

• 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

  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

  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 ...

• 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

  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 ...

• 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 ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  ADRIAN

  ADRIAN is a family of Counter-UAS solutions manufactured by ELT Group. The family is designed to intercept and neutralise mini and micro-UAS and includes versions ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  SkyTracker

  SkyTracker is a technology suite that detects, identifies, tracks and mitigates UAS threats. The system provides continuous 24h automated monitoring in all weather conditions. The ...