• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AWHero’s communications trials with Wildcat

  29th October 2018

  Leonardo has disclosed efforts to extend the communications range and manned/unmanned teaming capabilities of the AWHero VTOL UAS, a company official has said. Addressing delegates …

• Defence Helicopter

  Indo Defence 2018: Delivering the goods (Insight)

  31st October 2018

  Six years after placing an order for eight Boeing AH-64E Apaches in September 2012, the Indonesian Army received its final aircraft this year. The first …

• Land Warfare

  Ukroboronprom develops BМ-21 UМ Berest

  23rd October 2018

  Ukroboronprom has developed a new 122mm multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) combat vehicle, the BМ-21 Berest. Based on the Kraz 4X4 off-road cabover chassis, the …

• Military Logistics

  AAR to support Ontic’s military MRO business

  22nd October 2018

  AAR has been appointed by Ontic as an authorised inventory management partner and exclusive distributor in support of its UK military maintenance, repair and overhaul …

• Defence Notes

  China to do 'whatever it takes' to retain Taiwan

  25th October 2018

  China's defence minister warned Thursday that the military would do "whatever it takes" to stop any attempt to "split" Taiwan from the mainland, days after …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MSAB and URSA unveil XRY Drone

  16th October 2018

  MSAB and URSA have introduced a new system called XRY Drone that extracts and analyses data from malicious UAS, MSAB announced on 10 October. The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Poland examines new UAS possibilities

  15th October 2018

  AeroVironment (AV) is looking to make inroads in Poland as it held a series of demonstration flights of its small unmanned aerial systems in early …

• Training

  RCAF students prepare for new sim

  18th October 2018

  KF Aerospace is currently completing the final preparations on its Frasca International Bell 206 Level 7 Flight Training Device (FTD) at Southport near Portage la Prairie, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Commercial UAV Expo 2018: SCI casts net over drone threats

  3rd October 2018

  Defence and aerospace company SCI Technologies is closing in on the end of development of its drone capture system and is looking to bring the …

• Digital Battlespace

  Kratos waveforms for Harris’ HH-VDL radios

  19th October 2018

  Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’ subsidiary Kratos RT Logic has licensed its common data link (CDL) waveforms to Harris Corporation for use in Harris’ nanoSVDL …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Naval Group, ECA Group team for unmanned MCM

  17th October 2018

  Naval Group has established a technological and commercial partnership with ECA Group to offer unmanned mine-hunting solutions for Belgian and Dutch naval forces, the company …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  e2E launches comms terminal for UAS

  10th October 2018

  e2E has launched a low-cost, low power, compact and lightweight satellite communication terminal, e2Eaccess UAS-I, to enhance communications connectivity for small UAS. The e2Eaccess UAS-I …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Army CIRCM system ready for production

  28th September 2018

  The Northrop Grumman-built Common Infrared Countermeasure (CIRCM) system for the US Army has achieved Milestone C after completing testing, the company announced on 24 September. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Bell, Yamato enter strategic collaboration

  18th October 2018

  Bell Helicopter and Yamato Holdings have entered into a strategic collaboration to integrate UAS systems and package handling systems for civilian on-demand logistics services, Textron …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  OpenWorks, Liteye partner for C-UAS

  27th September 2018

  OpenWorks Engineering has partnered with Liteye Systems to integrate a physical UAS defeat capability into Liteye’s C-UAS systems.Liteye’s C-UAS products and systems are designed to …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Directed energy weapons

  Project Dragonfire [UK]

  Background The UK Government's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) has been working with MBDA, Leonardo and QinetiQ to develop a LASER Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) called ...

• Directed energy weapons

  Indirect Fire Protection Capability - Generation II – High-Power Microwave [US]

  Background In July 2025 Epirus received a US$43,551,060 contract from the US Army for two Generation II systems developed from the HPM (Leonidas). Previously, in ...

• Directed energy weapons

  Indirect Fire Protection Capability – High-Power Microwave [US]

  Background In May 2024, the US Army took delivery of four High-Powered Microwave (HPM) Directed-Energy Weapons (DEW) to fulfil its Indirect Fire Protection Capability – High-Power ...

• Military UAS - small

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

  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 organic, ...

• 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 ...

• CUAS - hybrid effector systems

  C-UAS [Portugal]

  Background Portugal's Military Programming Law 2023–2034 includes $8.8724 million (€8.2 million) to acquire counter-unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS) by 2034. It is assumed that this acquisition requires ...

• Transport

  C-27J [Azerbaijan]

  Programme Background The Azerbaijani Air Force signed a contract with Leonardo in June 2023 to procure the C-27J Spartan tactical transport aircraft. This move is ...

• Hybrid effector systems

  Border C-UAS Defence [Latvia]

  Background Latvia's long-term blueprint for its armed forces lists a comprehensive C-UAS element with an approximate range of three to four km. This programme is ...

• CUAS - jammers

  NEROD RF [France]

  Background France has procured an unconfirmed number of MC2's NEROD RF C-UAS rifles ("fusils brouilleurs") for short-range counter-drone use. In a 2024 Senate report, it ...

• CUAS - jammers

  C-UAS [Taiwan]

  Background Taiwan announced a requirement for portable C-UAS systems with capabilities that include passive detection, takeover, spoofing and jamming. The systems are planned to strengthen ...

• CUAS - hybrid effector systems

  Finnish Border Guard C-UAS Capability

  Background In response to the growing UAS threat, the Finnish Border Guard was given €44 million for procurements to strengthen drone detection, identification, and countering capabilities. ...

• CUAS - jammers

  C-UAS [Australia]

  Background The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is accelerating the acquisition of state-of-the-art counter-drone technologies through Project LAND 156. The ADF signed a contract with HighCom ...

• CUAS - hybrid effector systems

  SAN C-UAS [Poland]

  Background In January 2026, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace and its Polish partner Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ) signed a contract with the Polish Armaments Agency for the delivery ...

• CUAS - hybrid effector systems

  US SOF CUxS (Static) [US]

  Background The US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is procuring a Family of Systems (FoS) design to defeat drones. The programme includes development, integration, prototyping, and test of ...

• CUAS - hybrid effector systems

  US SOF CUxS (Mounted) [US]

  Background The US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is procuring a Family of Systems (FoS) design to defeat drones. The programme includes development, integration, prototyping, and test of ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• CUAS - hybrid effector systems

  MEHEL 2.0

  The Mobile Expeditionary High-Energy Laser (MEHEL) is a C-UAS-capable vehicle that employs directed energy to neutralise targets. MEHEL 2.0 was first seen at AUSA 2016, ...

• Directed energy weapons

  Fractl:2

  Fractl:2, developed and manufactured by AIM Defence, is an Australian laser directed energy weapon (LDEW). The high-powered portable system is Australia's first acquisition of a directed ...

• CUAS - jammers

  DroneDefender

  DroneDefender is a directed-energy UAS countermeasure that disrupts the adversary's control of the aircraft, neutralising it so that no remote action (including detonation) can occur, ...

• CUAS - jammers

  EJDERHA HPEM System

  The EJDERHA is a high power electromagnetic system manufactured by Aselsan. It generates high-amplitude electromagnetic fields and directs them to potential targets such as IEDs ...

• Directed energy weapons

  Apollo

  Apollo is a High-Energy Laser Weapon System manufactured by Electro Optic Systems (EOS). Apollo's laser utilises directed energy to disable or destroy aerial targets without ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  SCATA Mk1

  The SCATA Mk1 is the first military vehicle developed by Finland's SCATA.

• Directed energy weapons

  Leonidas High-Powered Microwave DEW

  Leonardo's US-based subsidiary Epirus has received funding from both the US and Singapore to develop its Leonidas High-Powered Microwave (HPM) directed-energy weapon (DEW).

• Directed energy weapons

  GÖKBERK 10 Laser DEW

  Turkish company ASELSAN's GÖKBERK 10 laser directed-energy weapon (DEW) is designed to destroy cheap, class-I drones. The system is designed to work with other components ...

• Directed energy weapons

  Locust

  BlueHalo's Locust is a laser weapon system. The system delivers a complete kill chain, providing a layered and broadband detection capability that is coupled with electronic ...

• Directed energy weapons

  Minotaur

  Minotaur, developed by Soukos Robots, is a Greek laser directed energy weapon (LDEW). Minotaur is an anti-drone platform with the ability to shoot down unmanned ...

• Hybrid effector systems

  SkyRanger 30

  SkyRanger 30 is a mobile ground-based air defence (GBAD) laser directed energy weapon (LDEW) system designed by Rheinmetall. The system comprises automatic cannons, guided missiles, and a ...

• OPVs

  PPA/MultiPurpose Combat Ship (MPCS) EVO

  The PPA/MultiPurpose Combat Ship (MPCS) EVO is an enhanced version of the Thaon di Revel-class PPAs unveiled at Euronaval 2024. The PPA/MPCS EVO retains the core platform ...

• Directed energy weapons

  Royal Thai Army Laser DEW

  Under Government instructions, the Royal Thai Army is developing a Laser-based Directed Energy Weapon (DEW) to counter drones in its border regions. The unit cost ...

• Directed energy weapons

  CROSSBOW MINI

  CROSSBOW MINI, developed by IPG Photonics, is a laser-directed energy weapon (LDEW). The LDEW has multiple deployable configurations and is a part of the manufacturers ...

• Directed energy weapons

  DIAL

  The Laser Weapon Instrumental Demonstrator (DIAL), in joint development with Indra and Escribano Mechanical Engineering, is a Spanish laser directed energy weapon (LDEW). The system ...