• Land Warfare

  Tor-E2 SAM system introduced

  16th August 2018

  Rostec’s JSC Rosoboronexport has introduced the new Tor-E2 short range air defence system for the protection of military and other critical facilities. The Tor-E2 combat …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  USMC retires RQ-7B Shadow UAS

  6th August 2018

  The US Marine Corps RQ-7B Shadow UAS has officially retired from the service after its final flight during the culmination event for the Rim of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Jury still out on role of optionally manned Bradley replacement

  31st July 2018

  While the US Army is pursuing an optionally manned capability for its next generation combat vehicle (NGCV), which missions such a vehicle could conduct is …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Advanced Navigation’s Spatial Dual INS for Gremlins

  30th July 2018

  Advanced Navigation’s Spatial Dual inertial navigation system (INS) has been selected by Dynetics for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Gremlins programme, the company …

• Land Warfare

  Cat-and-mouse game continues in bid to defeat ISIS

  27th July 2018

  Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) along the Iraqi roadside remains a chief security concern in the battle against ISIS but threats from incoming adversarial drones are …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Swift020 UAS flies in Japan

  7th August 2018

  Swift Engineering has successfully demonstrated the first fully autonomous flight of its Swift020 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAS in Kobe, Japan, the company announced …

• Training

  Airbus upgrades army training centre comms network

  14th August 2018

  Airbus is upgrading the US Army’s secure mobile communication system at the Fort Irwin National Training Center in California. Based on the company’s Tetrapol Internet …

• Defence Notes

  China tests a future hypersonic 'hydra'

  13th August 2018

  Like the mythological hydra, the American ‘Hercules’ appears incapable of dealing with this existential threat. Beijing’s successful test launch of a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV), dubbed …

• Defence Notes

  Insight: 2019 NDAA breaks China’s heart

  22nd August 2018

  The US military got the green light from the White House to improve military relations with Taiwan and attempt to disrupt China’s efforts to displace …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Zephyr flies for more than 25 days

  10th August 2018

  The Zephyr S High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS) UAS has completed its maiden flight of more than 25 days, Airbus Defence and Space announced on 8 …

• Land Warfare

  RADA receives $4 million in radar orders

  9th August 2018

  RADA Electronic Industries received a total of $4 million in radar orders during the second quarter of 2018, the company announced on 6 August. The …

• Defence Notes

  Profits down at military equipment firm BAE Systems

  1st August 2018

  British military equipment maker BAE Systems said on 1 August that first-half net profits sank almost a fifth on weak demand for Eurofighter Typhoon fighter …

• Digital Battlespace

  Viasat’s SATCOM antenna completes certification and testing

  3rd August 2018

  Viasat’s Ku-/Ka-band multi-network, multi-mode Global Mobile Antenna (GMA) 5560-101 has successfully completed the Federal Aviation Administration D0-160G certification process and the US Air Force (USAF) …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Solar powered SAT-I flies for ten hours

  20th July 2018

  UAVOS has completed a ten hour flight test of the solar powered SAT-I UAS carrying a 600g camera payload. SAT-i is designed to perform monitoring …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Kespry launches UAS-based high-resolution thermal inspection solution

  1st August 2018

  Kespry has launched new UAS-based high-resolution thermal inspection solution for commercial property and industrial facilities, the company announced on 25 July. According to Kespry, the …

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 ...