• Defence Notes

  LIMA 2013: Companies pitch for Malaysian maritime patrol priority

  27th March 2013

  Critical gaps in maritime patrol capabilities that were highlighted by the Malaysian Ministry of Defence, has sparked interest from European manufacturers looking to fill this …

• Digital Battlespace

  Estonia accepts air defence radar

  26th March 2013

  The Estonian Air Force has accepted into service its first ThalesRaytheonSystems (TRS) Ground Master 403 long-range air defence radar. The radar, inaugurated on 26 March, …

• Digital Battlespace

  Satellite 2013: US seeks smarter approach to SATCOM

  22nd March 2013

  The US will not introduce a next-generation MILSATOM constellation until beyond 2025, instead increasing capacity through existing network and terminal advances and commercial augmentation. Current …

• Defence Helicopter

  Hughes achieves distortion free SATCOM on rotary platforms

  19th March 2013

  Hughes Network Systems has successfully demonstrated the loss-free transmission of high-throughput data and video over SATCOM links from a variety of rotary platforms, the company …

• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop Grumman announces new CIP capability

  15th March 2013

  Northrop Grumman’s Common Imagery Processor (CIP) has demonstrated the ability to process Global Hawk Block 40 data on the Distributed Common Ground System – Imagery …

• Naval Warfare

  Colombian Navy orders Cassidian Optronics periscope

  15th March 2013

  Cassidian Optronics has announced that it has received an order from the Colombian Navy for its SERO 250 search periscope for the 209 class submarines. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Economic boom predicted for US civil UAV market

  12th March 2013

  A paper on the economic impact of UAV integration into national US airspace has identified ‘enormous’ benefits if this is achieved on schedule and on …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Navy orders six more MQ-8C Fire Scout UAVs

  12th March 2013

  Northrop Grumman will supply six additional next-generation Fire Scout unmanned helicopters to the US Navy under a $71 million contract announced on 12 March. The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Wyle awarded NAVAIR UAV services contract

  11th March 2013

  Wyle has announced that it has been selected to provide reliability improvement, testing, technology insertion and life-cycle analysis for US Navy Naval Air Systems Command …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Global Hawk exchanges radar data with Joint STARS

  7th March 2013

  The US Air Force’s (USAF’s) E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) aircraft has successfully exchanged radar data with the Northrop Grumman RQ-4B …

• Defence Helicopter

  Heli-Expo 2013: L-3 secures large aviation products order

  7th March 2013

  Sikorsky has selected a range of L-3 Aviation Products’ (AP’s) systems for its H-60 and S-70i helicopters.  Announced by L-3 at Heli-Expo in Las Vegas, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  BAE Systems’ work on MAST programme extended

  6th March 2013

  BAE Systems has announced that it will lead the Army Research Laboratory’s (ARL) Micro Autonomous Systems and Technology (MAST) Collaborative Technology Alliance for an additional …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AR4 Light Ray UAV demonstrated for Colombian armed forces

  4th March 2013

  Tekever has announced that it has completed a week of trials of its AR4 Light Ray unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for the Colombian armed forces. …

• Naval Warfare

  Sagem announces new EOMS-NG maritime order

  1st March 2013

  Sagem will supply its Electro-Optical Multifunction System – New Generation (EOMS-NG) for four large French navy amphibious and projection vessels being built by the French …

• Digital Battlespace

  Saab to upgrade Brazilian Erieye

  28th February 2013

  Saab will perform work to upgrade the Brazilian Air Force’s Erieye Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) mission system under a new 380 MSEK order …

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 ...