• Uncrewed Vehicles

  IT180 UAV joins to LIDAR

  23rd September 2015

  ECA Group and YellowScan have worked together to integrate a LIDAR payload on ECA Group's IT180 unmanned aerial vehicle, ECA announced on 18 September. YellowScan's light …

• Digital Battlespace

  USAF orders APEx Predator Systems

  14th July 2015

  The US Air Force (USAF) Battlefield Airmen Special Projects Office (SPO) has ordered the commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) APEx Predator System from Black Diamond Advanced Technology …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Paris Air Show: Mexico introduces UAV tech

  15th June 2015

  Mexico-based company, Drone Tech UAV, is looking forward to completing the test flight programme of its new UAV, the AV-1 Albatross, it was discovered at …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  CybAero tests China Customs UAV

  4th June 2015

  CybAero has completed factory acceptance tests and trials for the first of three VTOL UAS to be delivered to China Customs, the company announced on …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2015: NASA moves like Greased Lightning

  5th May 2015

  NASA's Langley Research Center is moving its Greased Lightning GL-10 electric VTOL prototype into endurance testing after proving it can successfully transition from vertical to …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DJI seeks funding, continues to rapidly expand

  28th April 2015

  SUAS manufacturer DJI is reported to be seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in venture funding in a bid to achieve a valution of US$10 …

• Land Warfare

  IDEX 2015: Rheinmetall laser available from 2018

  20th February 2015

  A High Energy Laser (HEL) is set to be available from Rheinmetall in three years, the company has revealed. A spokesperson said that since testing …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  CybAero begins factory testing APID 60 VTOL

  3rd February 2015

  CybAero has begun factory testing three APID 60 VTOL UAS set for delivery to China Customs, the company announced on 2 February. The UAS will …

• Defence Helicopter

  Karem progresses to next phase of VTOL-X project

  18th December 2014

  Karem Aircraft will continue its development work on the DARPA Vertical Take Off and Landing Experimental Plane (VTOL X-Plane) programme, with Phase 1B funding issued …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Arcturus to launch JUMP 20 UAV next month

  11th December 2014

  California-based unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturer Arcturus UAV will fly the first production model of its JUMP 20 aircraft in January.  Arcturus UAV president D’Milo Hallerberg …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Aero Surveillance unveils ASV100 VTOL UAS

  9th December 2014

  Aero Surveillance has introduced a new vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAS called the ASV 100 at the International Airborne Maritime Surveillance Exhibition (SIAM) in …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Four Phoenix 30 UAS delivered to Bulgaria

  2nd December 2014

  Four UAV Solutions Phoenix 30 quad rotor UAS have been delivered to the Bulgarian armed forces as part of a US foreign military sale agreement. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Swedish FMS to test CybAero VTOL UAS

  1st December 2014

  The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) has selected CybAero APID VTOL UAS for flight testing from the Swedish Navy’s Visby class corvette in 2015. The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US airspace gradually opening up to UAS

  21st November 2014

  The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is making progress on the development of regulatory framework to enable the safe integration of small UAS into National …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Airshow China: UAV development shows few signs of abating

  13th November 2014

  A regular feature at the biennial Airshow China is the wide range of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) on show.  The latest event, held from 11-16 …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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, ...

• CUAS - jammers

  Airbase Air Defence Systems CUAS [US]

  Background The US Air Force's Budget Documentation for FY 2027 included $1.529 billion for Air Base Air Defence, part of which was to be used for ...

• Military UAS - small

  Battalion reconnaissance UAS [US Army]

  Background Call for solutions In August 2026, the US Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal issued a call for solutions, seeking a new battlefield reconnaissance ...

• Military UAS - mini

  DEF129 (Small UAS Plus) [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement The army wanted up to 17 SUAS+ systems with a life of six years. The tender said the UAV would be issued ...

• Military UAS - small

  Aerosonde Mk 4.7 [Qatar]

  Background Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) At DIMDEX 2016, a QAR 54.7 million ($14.97 million) MoU between the Qatar Armed Forces and the US company Textron Systems for ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - small

  Company Level Small Uncrewed Aircraft System (SUAS) Directed Requirement (DR) [US Army]

  Background Requirement The US Army approved the Co-Level SUAS DR acquisition in June 2023 to supply Brigade Combat Teams with an “immediate, commercially available capability” to meet ...

• Military UAS - mini

  DEF129 (Small UAS) [Australia]

  Background Requirement The Australian Army identified a need for a small UAS to provide an organic ISR capability to units operating at the tactical level.  ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - mini

  Scorpio 500 [US]

  Background Contract Award In December 2024, XTEND was awarded a US$8.8 million contract by the US Department of Defense (DoD) for its Scorpio 500. As reported by ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - small

  Replicator 2 [US]

  Background 1.0 The Replicator programme was a US effort to field thousands of attritable, autonomous systems across multiple domains before the end of 2025 to ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Medium Range Tactical (MRT) [USMC]

  Background Request for Information (RFI) In February 2026, the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) issued an RFI for solutions for a Medium Range Tactical (MRT) ...

• Military UAS - mini

  X10D (Atlantic Diving Supply) [US Army]

  Background Atlantic Diving Supply (ADS) Skydio announced in March 2026 that the US Army had placed a $52 million order to acquire over 2,500 X10D ...

• Military UAS - mini

  VTOL-Capable Group 2 UAV [USA]

  Background Request for Information (RFI) In March 2026, the USAF issued an RFI seeking a VTOL-capable UAV capable of operating in austere environments to support ...

• Military UAS - small

  Onboard Mini-Drone Systems (SMDM) (69-90) [France]

  Background Contract Announcement On 3 February 2026, Airbus, Survey Copter’s parent company, announced that the French Directorate General of Armament (DGA) had ordered the Aliaca VTOL variant ...

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Camcopter S-300 [South Korea]

  Programme Background Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) On 18 January 2023, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Northop Grumman at a ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - tactical

  Aerosonde SUAS

  The Aerosonde SUAS comes from a long line of capable aircraft. The Aerosonde SUAS, like the Aerosonde fleet of aircraft, operates through contractor-owned and operated ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Aerosonde HQ SUAS

  The Aerosonde Hybrid Quadcopter (HQ) SUAS is the VTOL version of the Aerosonde SUAS. It combines the capabilities of a multi-rotor platform with the efficiency ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Skylark II

  The Skylark II is a fixed-wing UAV that can be used for various military and security applications, including tactical covert surveillance and reconnaissance, perimeter security ...

• Military UAS - mini

  CorvoX

  The CorvoX is a fixed-wing drone developed domestically by SYPAQ Systems. Unlike its sibling, the Corvo PPDS, the UAV is not made from cardboard. The drone's development ...

• Military UAS - small

  VAPOR CLE

  Unveiled at AUSA 2025, the VAPOR Combat Long Endurance (CLE) is the newest version of AeroVironment's (AV) rotary-wing VAPOR offerings. Compared to the older versions, VAPOR CLE ...

• Military UAS - small

  PD-1

  The People’s Drone-1 (PD-1) is a fixed-wing small UAV manufactured by Ukrspecsystems. It is modular and can be given VTOL capability in around 15 minutes. ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Skylark I-LEX

  The Skylark I-LEX is a mini-UAV manufactured by Elbit Systems.  Unveiled at the Paris Air Show 2015, the UAV is designed for ISR operations. It enables ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  T-Hawk Micro Air Vehicle

  The Honeywell T-Hawk Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) is a VTOL sUAS that has been used by the US military and the British Army to assist ...

• Military UAS - mini

  C-100

  The C-100 is a portable, packable mini rotary-wing UAV designed for long-range ISR and cargo-carrying tasks. Manufactured by Performance Drone Works (PDW), it features swappable payloads, an open ...

• Military UAS - small

  Thor

  Thor is a VTOL small-UAV manufactured by Elbit Systems. The platform is designed for ISR missions and features a real-time HD data link and unique ...

• CUAS - jammers

  HPEM

  The High-Power Electro-Magnetics (HPEM) is a C-UAS system developed by Diehl Defence. It is intended to protect both military installations and public events against threats ...

• Military UAS - small

  Ghost-X

  The Ghost X, or Ghost-X, is an upgraded variant of Anduril's small, rotary-wing Ghost UAV. It features an increased payload capacity and longer flight time ...

• CUAS - detectors

  PATS

  The Passive Aerial Threat Surveillance (PATS) sensor produced by Adsys Controls is a detection and tracking system capable of monitoring airspace for extremely low-signature airborne ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Silent Falcon

  The Silent Falcon is a solar-electric sUAS with long-endurance capabilities for extended-range missions. The UAS can be used for commercial and military applications. The entire ...

• EO/IR systems

  STAG5-EOXR

  The STAG5-EOXR is a member of the STAG5 family of SUAS Tactical Agile Gimbals, designed for intelligence, surveillance, and targeting applications in Group 1-3 UAV ...