• Naval Warfare

  Upgraded HMS Orädd returned to Swedish service

  2nd July 2019

  The first upgraded Tapper-class guard boat has been delivered back to the Swedish navy by Sweden’s FMV procurement agency.  HMS Orädd has undergone a service …

• Training

  Exercise Talisman Sabre 19 under way

  10th July 2019

  US forces have demonstrated High Mobility Artillery Rocket System Rapid Infiltration (HIRAIN) capabilities to their Australian counterparts during Exercise Talisman Sabre 19 in Queensland, Australia. In HIRAIN …

• Naval Warfare

  Boeing and Airbus sign MoU for RAAF Poseidon through life support

  4th July 2019

  Boeing Defence Australia and Airbus Australia Pacific have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) extending their commitment to the sustainment of the P-8A Poseidon maritime …

• Naval Warfare

  LCS returns to Asia in tight-lipped deployment

  10th July 2019

  After a 19-month hiatus, the USN’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) returned to Singapore, this time deploying the Independence-class USS Montgomery (LCS 8). Montgomery called into …

• Naval Warfare

  Russia seeks international naval partners

  11th July 2019

  Rostec’s Rosoboronexport is looking to tap into foreign naval export opportunities at the IMDS 2019 International Maritime Defense Show in St Petersburg, Rostec announced on …

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy aims for expeditious MCM host alternative

  12th July 2019

  The US Navy plans to begin testing a Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) mine countermeasures (MCM) mission package (MP) on an Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) this …

• Defence Helicopter

  Paris Air Show: Leonardo exhibits new missile warning system

  18th June 2019

  Leonardo has revealed its new Multiple Aperture Infra-Red (MAIR) missile warning system for fixed and rotary-wing aircraft at the Paris Air Show. MAIR’s chief function …

• Defence Notes

  Malaysian MPA and UAV programmes approved

  21st June 2019

  The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) has confirmed to Shephard that the government has given approval for the service to prepare for the acquisition of …

• Naval Warfare

  Iran attempts to seize British tanker

  11th July 2019

  Armed Iranian boats attempted to seize a British tanker in strategic Gulf waters on 10 July but were driven off by a Royal Navy frigate, …

• Digital Battlespace

  Kratos contracted for C5ISR work

  28th June 2019

  Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has been awarded a $5.9 million contract award to provide C5ISR hardware and subsystems for an undisclosed missile defence-related programme.  …

• Defence Notes

  Raytheon enhances radar and sensor capabilities (Studio)

  24th June 2019

  This video is brought to you in partnership with Raytheon. Beth Maundrill, Deputy Editor, Shephard Media, speaks to Bryan Rosselli, VP of Raytheon Mission Systems and Sensors, …

• Naval Warfare

  US Southern Command to host Littoral Combat Ship

  12th July 2019

  The US Navy plans to send a Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) to US Southern Command’s region in October to bolster efforts to stem illegal …

• Land Warfare

  Switzerland to begin testing air defence bids

  3rd July 2019

  Two downselected bids being offered for Switzerland’s long-range air defence system requirement are due to undergo testing by armasuisse in collaboration with the Swiss army …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Royal Navy tasks team to add AI to UUVs

  1st July 2019

  The Royal Navy is exploring the addition of using artificial intelligence (AI) to task autonomous submersibles to hunt underwater mines. BAE Systems’ Applied intelligence business …

• Defence Notes

  Saab radars gaining low, slow target detection

  25th June 2019

  As the number of airspace incursions involving UAVs continues to rise and make headlines due to the risk that they pose, industry is stepping up …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Seeker 400 - First Batch (UAE)

  Programme Background The UAE has a long history of transactions with Denel Dynamics. The country has been purchasing various Seeker systems from as far back ...

• Maritime patrol

  Challenger 650 ISR - UAE

  Programme Background In February 2019 at IDEX, the UAE announced that it will procure a new special mission aircraft with an option for the second ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  RQ-4 Global Hawk (Japan)

  Programme Background Selection & Contract Award In 2015, Northrop Grumman's RQ-4 Global Hawk UAS and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft were selected by Japan ...

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

  Chinese UAVs [Bangladesh]

  Background Request for Proposals (RFP) In 2023, as reported by Shephard at the time, the Bangladesh Army released a 106-page tender document to gather information ...

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

  Seeker 400 - Second Batch (UAE)

  Programme Background The UAE has a long history of transactions with Denel Dynamics. The country has been purchasing various Seeker systems from as far back ...

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

  Jump 20 [Denmark]

  Background 2020 Tender In January 2018, Denmark's three main political parties signed the Danish Defence Agreement, a cross-party defence white paper covering the period between ...

• ISR/special mission

  ISTAR Aircraft [South Korea]

  Programme Background 2018 - Issue of RfI The South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) stated that Seoul planned to procure additional aircraft to minimise potential surveillance ...

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

  MQ-9A Reaper (First Batch) [Netherlands]

  Programme Background Acquisition Decision The Netherlands cancelled a project to procure a MALE UAV in 2007. Six years later, in 2013, it was revealed the Dutch ...

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

  MQ-9A Reaper Block 5 [Italy]

  Programme Background Initial Procurement Italy submitted a $330 million FMS request through the Defence Security Cooperation Agency for four MQ-9A aircraft, four GCS and five ...

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

  AR3 (Ukraine Aid) [UK]

  Background £270 Million investment On 15 September 2025, the UK MoD noted that, since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the UK ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  RQ-4 Global Hawk (South Korea)

  Programme Background Requirments Seoul required UAS assets to help monitor its neighbour to the north and, increasingly, Chinese activities in waters and in the air near ...

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

  Gladius [Poland]

  Programme Background Contract Signing On 6 May 2022, the Minister of National Defense, Mariusz Błaszczak, the president of the WB GROUP, Piotr Wojciechowski and the head ...

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

  Tactical UCAV [Czechia]

  Programme Background Inception In November 2017, the Chief of Staff of the Army of the Czech Republic (ACR) announced that the service had earmarked CZK1 billion ...

• Military UAS - small

  Intra-Theatre Lift [UK]

  Background  Relationship to the Heavy Lift Challenge The Royal Navy (RN) embarked on the Heavy Lift Challenge, now called the Heavy Lift Capability (UASHLC), to explore cargo-carrying ...

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

  MQ-9A Reaper (Second Batch) [Netherlands]

  Programme Background First Batch Following a cancelled MALE UAV project in 2007, the Dutch MOD revealed its intention to acquire four MQ-9A Reapers from General ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

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

  AR5

  First announced in October 2012, the AR5 is a MALE UAS designed for SAR, surveillance and maritime patrol missions. The AR5 can be flown manually or commanded ...

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar

  AN/APY-10

  The AN/APY-10 is an airborne maritime surveillance radar manufactured by Raytheon. It is designed to equip the USN'S Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and has ...

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar

  AN/ZPY-1 STARLite

  The AN/ZPY-1 Small Tactical Radar-Lightweight (STARLite) is a synthetic aperture radar and GMTI sensor for UAVs, manufactured by Northrop Grumman. It offers strip and spot synthetic ...

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar, Air: surveillance radar

  AN/APS-137B(V)5

  The AN/APS-137B(V)5 is a maritime patrol radar manufactured by Raytheon. It provides both multi-resolution synthetic aperture radar and inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR), allowing performance over the ...

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar

  TriSAR

  The Tri-mode Synthetic Aperture Radar (TriSAR) is a real-time, high-resolution land and maritime surveillance radar designed by Array Systems Computing in Canada. It is suited ...

• Air: helicopter radar

  AN/DPY-1 Lynx Block 30

  The multi-mode AN/DPY-1 Lynx Block 30 is a reduced weight, power and volume variant of the AN/APY-8. It is a high-resolution, wide-area surveillance, Ku-band synthetic ...

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar

  TacSAR

  The Tactical Synthetic Aperture Radar (TacSAR) is an airborne reconnaissance system designed by Collins Aerospace (now part of Raytheon). It is intended for land and ...

• Air: surveillance radar

  AN/APY-3

  The AN/APY-3 is a large, phased-array, ground surveillance, side-looking airborne radar with synthetic aperture radar/moving target indication (MTI) capability. It is the primary sensor of ...

• Subsystems: software

  Radar Simulation Systems

  The Digital Radar Landmass Simulator (DRLMS) model accurately simulates real-world terrain and cultural feature returns, as well as weather patterns and targets. Configurable parameters allow ...

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar

  Seaspray 7500E V2

  The Seaspray 7500E V2 is a long-range, maritime-focused multi-mode surveillance radar produced by Leonardo and manufactured in the UK. The system can rapidly interleave radar modes ...

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

  AR3

  The AR3, or AR3 Net Ray, is an autonomous small-UAS designed to support land-based and maritime missions.  In May 2025, the Royal Air Force announced ...

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar

  MOSAIC

  The MOSAIC is a three-dimensional, AESA-based, multi-mode surveillance radar manufactured by Telephonics. It is designed for maritime, littoral and overland surveillance missions for rotary- and fixed-wing ...

• Air: surveillance radar

  ASTOR

  The Airborne Stand-Off Radar (ASTOR) is abattlefield surveillance synthetic aperture radar/moving target indication (MTI) system installed in the UK RAF's Raytheon SentinelR1 aircraft, a version ...

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

  Black Swan

  The Black Swan is a cargo-carrying drone manufactured by Dronamic.  In February 2026, the company released the Detect & Defend version, a military variant of the platform ...

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar

  Seaspray 7300E V2

  The Seaspray 7300E V2 radar is an airborne, maritime, multi-mode surveillance radar manufactured by Leonardo. It is designed for the detection of small maritime targets in ...