• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Centaur OPA tracks great whites

  14th November 2016

  Aurora's DA-42 Centaur optionally piloted aircraft (OPA) was used for aerial support in a project to locate and track great white sharks off the coast …

• Land Warfare

  New look for US Army assessments

  24th October 2016

  With the US Army's milestone Army Warfighting Assessment (AWA) 17.1 now underway at Ft. Bliss, Texas, participants and planners are preparing for a continuing evolution …

• Defence Helicopter

  China in their hand

  24th October 2016

  Covering the entire spectrum of the supply chain, rotorcraft companies are looking towards China as the pot of gold for the black hole in finances …

• Digital Battlespace

  WIN-T Increment 2 capabilities enter testing

  6th October 2016

  Two Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) Increment 2 capabilities have begun test and evaluation processes at US Army installations, General Dynamics Mission Systems announced on 3 …

• Digital Battlespace

  AUSA 2016: GMS ‘King Cobra’ strikes at the military market

  7th October 2016

  Quick question - who is the oldest computer manufacturer in the United States? According to Ben Sharfi, CEO of General Micro Systems (GMS), it’s his …

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2016: Abrams prototype testing underway

  4th October 2016

  Prototypes of the upgraded variants of the Abrams main tank are being tested by the US Army and General Dynamics Land Systems is looking forward …

• Naval Warfare

  ADAS 2016: Taiwan’s coast guard commissions cutters

  22nd September 2016

  Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration (CGA) commissioned a pair of what it called ‘1,000t’ cutters in Kaohsiung on 21 September.  In fact, there displacement is actually …

• Defence Helicopter

  ADAS 2016: Indonesian Army Aviation reaps benefit of deployment

  22nd September 2016

  The Indonesian Army is learning valuable lessons from its helicopter detachment’s current deployment to Mali. The Indonesian Medium Utility Helicopter Unit (INDO MUHU) landed in …

• Naval Warfare

  Shipbuilding exhibition illustrates Taiwan’s challenges

  16th September 2016

  Super Typhoon Meranti, which caused a one-day postponement of Taiwan’s first ever shipbuilding exhibition – the Kaohsiung International Maritime & Defence Exhibition – perhaps portended …

• Defence Helicopter

  More Mi-35Ms for Kazakhstan

  13th September 2016

  Just three months before the scheduled delivery of four Mi-35Ms to the Kazakhstan Air Force by Rostvertol, Astana has decided to procure four more examples …

• Defence Helicopter

  Taiwan’s Black Hawks put through paces

  24th August 2016

  Taiwan’s new Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawks participated in the country’s annual Han Kuang war games for the first time from 23-27 August. To date the …

• Defence Helicopter

  MSPO 2016: Russia advances helicopter modernisation

  30th August 2016

  Russia continues to breathe new life into its various helicopter programmes, with several projects reaching key milestones recently. At the end of July, the latest …

• Naval Warfare

  Qatar seek fast patrol boats

  23rd August 2016

  The US State Department has approved a possible foreign military sale (FMS) to Qatar for an undisclosed number of Mk V fast patrol boats in …

• Land Warfare

  Night-vision advances for US armour

  29th July 2016

  The US Army is looking to enhance the ‘eyes’ of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and M1 Abrams tank with high-definition infrared technology that will allow …

• Defence Helicopter

  Farnborough 2016: FLIR unveils new LD turret (video)

  15th July 2016

  FLIR Systems has unveiled a new product for rotary-wing aircraft at this year's Farnborough International Airshow, called the Star Safire 380-HLDc. Andrew Saxton, director of …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 1) [USA]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was ...

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

  Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) (Increment 2) [USAF]

  Background Requirements The baseline requirements for Increment 2 of the CCA effort are similar to Increment 1, which is covered in a separate entry on Defence ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 2) [USA]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was intended to ...

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

  Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Unmanned Expeditionary (MUX) (Increment 2) [USMC]

  Programme Background MUX Since 2016, the USMC has wished to acquire a UAV that could be deployed from a vessel, used for various missions, and ...

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

  Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) (Increment 1) [USAF]

  Background Requirements The programme's requirements are based on the USAF's belief that it requires mass to compete effectively with an adversary in symmetrical warfare. However, ...

• 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 ...

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

  French Operational Pocket Drone / DrOP (France)

  Programme Background French UAV Procurment / DrOP Under its 2019-2025 Military Programming Law (LPM), France aims to introduce 1,200 new UAVs into service with the ...

• Loitering munitions

  Organic Precision Fire - Light (OPF-L) [USMC]

  Programme Background Force Design 2030 The USMC Force Design 2030 is a modernisation effort to create a lighter, more agile maritime force. In May 2022, an annual ...

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

  Black Hornet 3 (First Order) [Norway]

  Programme Background First Batch The Norwegian Home Guard has procured the Black Hornet 3 to provide each of its districts with a nano UAS that ...

• 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 - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Black Hornet 4 [Germany]

  Programme Background BAAINBw In February 2025, Shephard reported that Teledyne FLIR had been awarded a $15 million contract from Germany’s Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology ...

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

  Black Hornet 3 (Second Order) [Norway]

  Programme Background First Order The Norwegian Home Guard has procured the Black Hornet 3 to provide each of its districts with a nano UAS that ...

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

  Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) (Phase II) [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement The Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) provides short-range day and night ISR to US Army units at the squad, platoon and other small ...

• 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 - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Black Hornet 3 (Ukraine Aid) [UK & Norway]

  Programme Background Russo-Ukraine War Since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, UAVs have proved vital to the country's defence. Consequently, as in this programme, the ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UGVs

  Centaur

  The Centaur is a military UGV developed specifically for the US Army's Man Transportable Robotic System Increment II (MTRS Inc II), a requirement for a ...

• Military UGVs

  Andros Nomad

  Unveiled in 2017, the Andros Nomad is the latest UGV designed by Northrop Grumman to carry out civil and military applications. The platform, which is able ...

• Major networking projects

  WIN-T Increment 1

  WIN-T Increment 1 is defined as providing ‘networking at the halt’ and is divided into two sub-increments defined as Increment 1a (‘extended networking at the ...

• Surface-to-surface missiles

  Precision Strike Missile (PrSM)

  The Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), developed by Lockheed Martin, is a next-generation surface-to-surface missile system designed to provide the US Army with enhanced long-range precision ...

• Major networking projects

  WIN-T Increment 2

  WIN-T Increment 2 ('networking on the move') adds soldier mobility and provides a communications network down to company level. Tactical communication nodes in Increment 2 ...

• Land: air defence radar

  AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR

  AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) is a multi-mission system designed to support worldwide expeditionary requirements. It provides detection and tracking capabilities and offers traffic ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MPU5

  The MPU5 (WR-5100) has been described as a smart MANET radio, designed for connectivity, interchangeable frequency module, stream HD video and integrated Radio over IP functionality. ...

• EO/IR systems

  FLIR 111

  The FLIR 111 is a field-proven, high-performance, compact, and lightweight Forward Looking InfraRed (FLIR) system designed for utility and attack helicopters.  It is jointly produced ...

• EO/IR systems

  KUH FLIR

  The KUH FLIR is an IR system from Hanwha Systems for the Korean Utility Helicopter (KUH). Hanwha says it provides stable infrared images at night and/or under limited ...

• EW test systems

  CRIIS

  The Common Range Integrated Instrumentation System (CRIIS) provides time, space and position information (TSPI) as well as systems evaluation data to support testing for a ...

• Land: soldier modernisation systems - national programmes

  FIST

  In March 2003, Thales UK was selected as prime contractor for the UK’s Future Integrated Soldier Technology (FIST) programme. The project has since evolved into ...

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

  Voly M20

  The Voly M20 is a fixed-wing UAS with a VTOL capability. The hybrid platform is highly flexible and can simultaneously carry 20lb of cargo and ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Voly 50 (Series)

  The Voly 50 is a VTOL-capable, multi-role, long-haul UAV primarily designed to conduct ISR applications on a small footprint. It has a modular, open-system design.  The UAV was ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Jump 20

  The Jump 20 is a VTOL-capable variant of the T-20 platform manufactured by Arcturus UAV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AeroVironment. The platform has an open ...

• Air: Electronic Attack - Jamming

  Next Generation Jammer - Low-Band

  The Next Generation Jammer-Low Band (NGJ-LB), also known as NGJ-LB Increment-2, is the latest effort in the US Navy’s prevailing NGJ initiative. The project is ...