• Digital Battlespace

  Raytheon to build high-energy laser prototypes

  7th August 2019

  Raytheon is to build two prototype high-energy laser weapon system (HELWS) systems to be deployed to troops overseas under a US Air Force contract announced …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US Army acquires Raven UAV for security forces assistance brigades

  20th August 2019

  AeroVironment has received a $45.2 million contract to provide the RQ-11B Raven UAV for the United States Army’s Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFAB). The award …

• Digital Battlespace

  Netline C-Guard IED jamming system for IDF

  6th August 2019

  Netline Communications Technologies is supplying its C-Guard Reactive Jamming (RJ) manpack system to the Israel Defense Force, the company announced on 5 August. The C-Guard …

• Naval Warfare

  USS John C Stennis to undergo complex overhaul

  7th August 2019

  Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division has received a contract modification to continue planning for the refuelling and complex overhaul (RCOH) of the US …

• Land Warfare

  India to acquire more BrahMos missiles

  12th August 2019

  Local media outlets are reporting that India’s Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, has approved plans to acquire two new BrahMos supersonic cruise missile coastal batteries for …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  QinetiQ looks to improve SAR with MUM-T solutions

  6th August 2019

  QinetiQ is working with the UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to look at how UAS technology can strengthen search and rescue (SAR) operations. The …

• Digital Battlespace

  How Canada is enhancing its SATCOM coverage

  15th August 2019

  Expanding its commitment to the space domain, Canada’s defence policy commits to ‘increased and predictable’ funding to deliver new capabilities, such as earth observation, space …

• Training

  VRSG software integrated into USAF T-1A trainer fleet

  14th August 2019

  MetaVR's Virtual Reality Scene Generator (VRSG) has been integrated into the US Air Force’s T-1A Jayhawk twin-engine jet trainer fleet, part of an embedded training …

• Land Warfare

  Type 19 truck-mounted howitzer breaks cover in Japan

  24th August 2019

  The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) is getting ready to introduce into service its newest SPH, a truck-mounted system that carries the nomenclature of Type …

• Digital Battlespace

  Podcast: Five Eyes Connectivity - Cyber

  26th September 2019

  Welcome to Shephard Studio’s special series on Five Eyes Connectivity, sponsored by our partner Viasat.  Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and more. In the Five Eyes Connectivity podcast …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AI to push automated C-UAS system

  17th July 2019

  Leonardo will further automate its Falcon Shield counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) platform in the coming years, with the increased introduction of AI one of a number of planned upgrades.   …

• Military Logistics

  RAAF supports USAF C-17 repairs

  30th July 2019

  A new US-Australia cross-servicing agreement has been used for the first time to return a US Air Force (USAF) C-17 Globemaster III aircraft back to …

• Digital Battlespace

  Kilgore receives US DoD flares order

  31st July 2019

  The US Air Force has ordered MJU-53/B countermeasure flares from Kilgore Flares under a $90 million IDIQ contract announced on 29 July.The MJU-53/B infrared decoy …

• Digital Battlespace

  TruNet AR-2000​ demonstrated to US DoD

  2nd August 2019

  Collins Aerospace Systems has demonstrated the increased flexibility and bandwidth of its new TruNet AR-2000 two-channel, software-defined networking airborne radio to the US Department of …

• Military Logistics

  India requests C-17 support

  29th July 2019

  The Indian government has requested follow-on support for its C-17 fleet under the US government’s foreign military sales programme. In a package worth $670 million, …

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., ...