• Defence Notes

  Analysis: Where could Trump strike North Korea?

  21st April 2017

  A virtual 'hit list' of viable targets the US military could strike if it ever decided to employ force against North Korea, which Shephard has …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Camcopter in MUM-T development

  3rd April 2017

  Schiebel is looking to develop the Camcopter S-100 UAS' manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) capabilities with the integration of a new datalink, the company announced on 20 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Sky-Futures, Bristow look to un/manned future

  29th March 2017

  Sky-Futures and Bristow Group have carried out interoperability testing with a helicopter and UAS, Sky-Futures announced on 27 March.The work is being carried out as …

• Defence Helicopter

  NAVAIR eyes first flight of VH-92A presidential helicopter

  12th April 2017

  Officials overseeing the Pentagon's VH-92A presidential helicopter replacement programme are anxiously awaiting the upcoming 'first flight' milestone for the new rotary wing fleet.Programme office responsibilities …

• Land Warfare

  ​SOFINS: New guided support weapon unveiled

  4th April 2017

  French company AA/ROK has developed a concept for the new SSA-1108 Joint-Forces Light Support Guided Munition (MIGALe) at the SOFINS exhibition, near Bordeaux.The MIGALe is …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DARPA awards Gremlins Phase 2 contracts

  17th March 2017

  The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded phase two contracts for its Gremlins programme to two teams led by Dynetics and General Atomics …

• Digital Battlespace

  Milipol Asia 2017: Drone Dome operational in Asia

  5th April 2017

  Fearing copycat weaponised UAVs such as those used by ISIS, and learning from security breaches in various countries, many potential Asian customers are considering Rafael's …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  LAAD 2017: Avionics hopes for UAS expansion

  4th April 2017

  Avionics Services is aiming to increase the presence of the company's Caçador UAV in South America at LAAD 2017.Caçador is based on the Israel Aerospace …

• Military Logistics

  USAF looks at UAS flightline maintenance

  14th March 2017

  The US Air Force's 412th Test Wing's Emerging Technologies Combined Test Force (CTF) has used a quadcopter UAS to carry out maintenance inspection of a …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Brazil approves Cacador UAV

  29th March 2017

  Following a flight test campaign, Avionics Services' Caçador UAV has received approval from the Brazilian Ministry of Defence as a strategic defence product, the company …

• Military Logistics

  AAR awarded USAF landing gear contract

  28th March 2017

  AAR has received a $909 million contract from the US Air Force for work on the landing gear performance-based Logistics One programme, the company announced …

• Military Logistics

  SOFINS: ​Airbus DS details A400M milestones

  6th April 2017

  Airbus Defence and Space used the recent SOFINS exhibition to detail the latest achievements of its A400M aircraft and the fact the tactical transporter is …

• Digital Battlespace

  IAI awarded border protection contract

  28th March 2017

  Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is to supply border protection systems to a South American country under a contract announced on 27 March.The solutions will include …

• Special Operations

  ​SOFINS: French Navy SF showcases commando craft

  2nd April 2017

  The French Navy Special Forces (SF) displayed its Embarked Commando Craft for Multiple Uses (ECUME) rigid-hull inflatable boat (RHIB) at the SOFINS exhibition.Developed by Zodiac …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  SolAero solar cells for NRL UAS

  23rd March 2017

  SolAero Technologies has delivered its lightweight solar cell technology to the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) to power its Solar-Soaring UAV demonstrator, the company announced …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

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

  Company Level Small Uncrewed Aircraft System (SUAS) Directed Requirement (DR) [US Army]

  Programme Background Requirement The US Army approved the Co-Level SUAS DR acquisition in June 2023 to supply Brigade Combat Teams with an "immediate, commercially available capability" to ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Replicator 2 [US]

  Programme Background 1.0 The Replicator programme is a US effort to field thousands of attritable, autonomous systems across multiple domains before the end of 2025 ...

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  DEF129 (Nano UAS) [Australia]

  Programme Background DEF129 The Australian Ground Service has combined various army procurement efforts under the DEF129 programme to increase the abundance and proliferation of UAVs ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Aeromobila A Pilotaggio Remoto (Mini) [Italy]

  Programme Background Requirement Released on 5 August 2021, the Italian MoD's Multi-Year Defence Programme Document for 2021-2023 announced a programme aimed at acquiring a mini-UAS capable ...

• Military UAS - micro

  Aeromobila A Pilotaggio Remoto (Micro) [Italy]

  Programme Background Requirement Released on 5 August 2021, the Italian MoD's Multi-Year Defence Programme Document for 2021-2023 announced a programme aimed at acquiring a micro-UAS capable ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  RQ-20 Puma [Belgium]

  Programme  Requirement The Belgian MoD outlined plans to procure more mini and tactical UAS in its Strategic Vision for Defence published in 2016. According to ...

• Military UAS - small

  Bug Nano UAS (UK)

  Programme Background The British Army previously took delivery of 160 first-generation Black Hornet PD-100 nano UAS in 2013 to support operations in Afghanistan. After these ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) [Canada]

  Programme Background Programme Inception The Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) Joint Unmanned Surveillance and Target Acquisition System (JUSTAS) project was established to procure a UAS for ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  CLRV [Luxembourg]

  Programme Background Requirement The Luxembourg MoD wants to replace the Luxembourg Army's fleet of 42 AM General M1151 HMMWV Up-Armoured (UA) and 48 KMW Dingo ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

• 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

  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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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

  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 ...

• EO/IR systems, Land: unattended sensor/surveillance systems, Land: vehicle surveillance/target acquisition systems

  T-SIGHT

  The T-SIGHT is a rapid deployment and vehicle-mounted medium-range surveillance system. It hosts the SIGHT-25HD EO/IR system. It is designed for remote tactical surveillance, ISR observation, force protection, route ...

• 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 ...

• Medium Range Missile Defence Systems: 20-90km range

  Falcon Air Defence System

  Unveiled at IDEX 2019, Falcon is a medium range ground-based air defence system, including C-RAM and C-UAS capabilities. The Falcon consists of Lockheed Martin's Skykeeper ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  ATLAS C4EYE

  The Advanced Technology Light Acquisition System (ATLAS) C4EYE is the smallest UAS developed by C-Astral Aerospace. Part of the Bramor family of UAS, the Atlas ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  C-UAS Operator Assist

  Operator Assist software contributes to force protection by utilising algorithms to detect and track objects in the air and on the ground. This increases the ...

• 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 ...