• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop delivers first E-2D aircraft to Japan

  4th June 2019

  Northrop Grumman has completed delivery of the first E-2D Advanced Hawkeye to the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), the company announced on 31 May. The …

• Training

  Exercise Bell Buoy 19 trains MTOs

  30th May 2019

  More than 60 maritime trade operations (MTO) officers from ten navies have participated in the 2019 edition of the annual exercise Bell Buoy, the Royal …

• Defence Notes

  Angola takes delivery of 12 Su-30K fighters

  29th May 2019

  The Belorussian 558 ARP company has completed the deliveries of all 12 refurbished and upgraded Sukhoi Su-30K heavyweight multi-role fighters ordered by Angola.  This was revealed …

• Naval Warfare

  IMDEX 2019: C-Flex Patrol mission system for MATV

  15th May 2019

  In April 2019, Terma confirmed an update to the C-Flex mission system on MV Sycamore to the newest member of the C-Series family, C-Flex Patrol, …

• Naval Warfare

  Sri Lankan Navy receives ships from regional rivals

  13th June 2019

  The strategic importance of Sri Lanka in South Asia was underlined this week when the Sri Lankan Navy (SLN) took delivery of vessels from the …

• Naval Warfare

  First Philippine frigate launched

  28th May 2019

  The Philippine Navy’s (PN) most modern warship, the future BRP Jose Rizal, was launched in Ulsan by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) before a high-ranking PN …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Indra develops counter-UAS shield system

  30th May 2019

  Indra has developed a counter-UAS tool that can be integrated with anti-aircraft defence systems to enhance the protection of military bases and installations, the company …

• Training

  ITEC 2019: Germany closes Tornado gap

  15th May 2019

  The German Air Force (GAF) and navy was one of the largest customers for the Panavia Tornado aircraft and although the latter has disposed of …

• Digital Battlespace

  RAF trials BriteCloud decoy from Typhoons

  27th May 2019

  Leonardo has been contracted by the UK Ministry of Defence to support trials of the BriteCloud 55 expendable active decoy (EAD) on the Royal Air …

• Defence Helicopter

  SENER, Babcock complete AB-212 LEP

  31st May 2019

  SENER and Babcock have officially completed the Spanish Navy's AB-212 helicopter life extension programme (LEP). Under the PEVH AB-212 programme, carried out in a joint …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Who will lead on tackling drone misuse?

  11th June 2019

  The criminal act of endangering an aircraft is outlawed across the UK with penalties for offenders ranging from monetary fines to prison sentences of up to …

• Defence Helicopter

  Bell hits last of JMR-TD key performance targets

  21st May 2019

  Helicopter manufacturer Bell has successfully completed all of the main performance standards associated with its Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD) flight test efforts, having now demonstrated a …

• Naval Warfare

  HMAS Arunta II undergoes stability testing

  29th May 2019

  Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Anzac-class frigate, HMAS Arunta II, has undergone stability testing at the Henderson Shipyard in Western Australia following its Anzac Midlife Capability …

• Naval Warfare

  USCG receives William Hart FRC

  29th May 2019

  The US Coast Guard (USCG) received its 34th Fast Response Cutter (FRC), William Hart, in Key West, Florida, on 23 May. This will be the …

• Naval Warfare

  USS Ronald Reagan begins underway operation in Indo-Pacific

  24th May 2019

  US Navy aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, along with supporting Commander Task Force 70 units, began underway operations in the Indo-Pacific on 20 May. Ronald …

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 ...