• Uncrewed Vehicles

  C-Astral launches Bramor SAR UAS

  13th February 2019

  C-Astral has introduced its new Bramor SAR UAS, capable of identifying and accurately geolocating mobile phones on the ground, the company announced on 5 February.The …

• Digital Battlespace

  Airports more amenable to counter-drone technology

  6th March 2019

  In the wake of high-profile drone incursions over the UK’s Gatwick and Heathrow airports, as well as disruption in Dubai, civil aviation sites are now …

• Training

  Avalon 2019: RAAF outlines C-27J synthetic training requirement

  27th February 2019

  With the RAAF 35 Squadron having now completed its move from RAAF Base Richmond, NSW to RAAF Base Amberley, QLD with its fleet of 10 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Inmarsat selects Alpha for UAV Pop-up Lab

  25th February 2019

  Alpha Unmanned Systems has been selected to participate in Inmarsat’s UAV Pop-up Lab, a programme aimed at exploring the advantages of satellite-enabled UAS with commercial …

• Defence Helicopter

  CMC Electronics systems for Swiss Cougars

  7th March 2019

  Esterline CMC Electronics’ CMA-9000 flight management system (FMS) and CMA-5024 GPS landing system have been selected by RUAG Aviation for the modernisation programme of the Swiss …

• Digital Battlespace

  Airbus-led team wins RIFAN 2.1 contract

  6th March 2019

  An Airbus-led industrial consortium has received the RIFAN 2.1 contract from the French defence procurement agency, the company announced on 4 March. The €150 million …

• Military Logistics

  KDA to support Poland’s C-130 fleet upgrade

  22nd February 2019

  Kellstrom Defense Aerospace (KDA) has partnered with Military Aviation Plant No. 2 to provide six SHORT-POD APU kits in support of the Polish Air Force’s …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Nevada UAS test site selected for NASA project

  20th February 2019

  Nevada’s UAS test site has been selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the UAS Traffic Management (UTM) Technical Capability Level 4 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Delair unveils Delair Ag UAS

  21st February 2019

  Delair has unveiled Delair Ag, a comprehensive UAS solution designed specifically for agriculture and forestry, the company announced on 18 February.    Delair Ag will …

• Land Warfare

  Rheinmetall tests laser weapon technology

  5th March 2019

  Rheinmetall has completed a series of comprehensive trials with a new weapon station at its Ochsenboden test centre in Zürich, Switzerland, the company announced on …

• Military Logistics

  Sabena technics selects KDA for C-130 maintenance

  21st February 2019

  Kellstrom Defense Aerospace (KDA) has been selected by Sabena technics as a partner for the support of C-130 aircraft maintenance, the company announced on 18 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Leonardo's M-40 UAS sees first action

  22nd February 2019

  Leonardo’s new M-40 target UAS recently flew its first missions during an Italian Navy exercise involving ITS Cavour aircraft carrier and ITS Francesco Mimbelli destroyer, …

• Military Logistics

  Avalon 2019: Malaysian A400M makes Avalon debut

  1st March 2019

  An Airbus A400M transport aircraft of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) debuted at the Avalon Air Show near Melbourne, even though the type has …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Insitu conducts first commercial UAS operations in PNG

  18th February 2019

  Insitu Commercial Solutions-Australia has conducted a series of aerial data collection operations in Papua New Guinea (PNG) after obtaining its first approval to carry out …

• Special Operations

  SOF munition enhancements explored

  8th March 2019

  United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) have successfully conducted initial testing of an enhanced variant of the Dynetics …

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., ...