• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Cubic to work on SUAS common data link programme

  12th August 2014

  Cubic has been selected for a programme that aims to provide a common data link (CDL) for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS). The company has …

• Defence Helicopter

  K-Max returns from Afghanistan ops

  25th July 2014

  The K-Max VTOL cargo UAV has returned to the US following nearly three years of operations in Afghanistan in support of the US Marine Corps, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Selex ES UAVs ready for Italian Army deliveries

  17th July 2014

  Two Selex ES mini and micro unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), ASIO-B and SPYBALL-B, are poised for delivery to the Italian Army following the completion of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Farnborough: Rotron to supply engines to CybAero

  17th July 2014

  Rotron has been selected to supply the propulsion system for CybAero’s Apid 60 VTOL UAV, it was revealed at the Farnborough International Air Show on …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Boeing advances Phantom Swift

  24th June 2014

  Boeing’s Phantom Works has claimed its offering for DARPA’s Vertical Takeoff and Landing Experimental Plane (X-Plane) programme has the potential to spawn an entirely new …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Schiebel demos Camcopter UAV for Brazilian Navy

  6th June 2014

  The Camcopter S-100 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has carried out a series of demonstrations for the Brazilian Navy and Ministry of Defence from the Brazilian …

• Defence Helicopter

  LM targets US Army for K-Max technology

  3rd June 2014

  Following the Office of Naval Research’s (ONR’s) decision to overlook the K-Max cargo UAS for its Autonomous Aerial Cargo/Utility System (AACUS) effort, developers Lockheed Martin …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Textron Systems receives new SUAS task order

  20th May 2014

  Textron Systems Unmanned Systems announced on 19 May that it had received a new task order under the US Navy Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2014: North Dakota law enforcement researches SUAS use

  14th May 2014

  A project is underway in north east North Dakota to research the use of small UAS for law enforcement purposes, Alan Frazier, assistant professor for …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2014: Lockheed adds new SUAS to portfolio

  14th May 2014

  Lockheed Martin has added Vector Hawk to its family of small UAS. The system, unveiled at AUVSI on 13 May, is designed for versatility and …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2014: Main players debate UAS integration into national airspace

  13th May 2014

  The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been criticised as being ‘too cautious’ in the integration of unmanned systems into the national airspace (NAS), a …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Arcturus UAV introduces new long endurance UAVs

  13th May 2014

  Arcturus UAV has introduced two new additions to its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) portfolio, with the JUMP-25 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) system, and CAT-25 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2014: NGC joins Yamaha to develop VTOL UAV

  12th May 2014

  Northrop Grumman Corporation (NGC) and Yamaha Motor Corporation have joined forces to develop a VTOL UAS, it has been announced. The pair has agreed to …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Indago VTOL UAV ready for operational deployment

  1st May 2014

  Lockheed Martin has announced that the Indago vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) quad-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has completed its research and development phase and …

• Digital Battlespace

  Airbus pushes on with airborne data transfer solution

  25th April 2014

  Airbus Defence and Space has started the second development stage of its Dazzle laser beam data transferral system following an initial phase that exceeded expectations, …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - small

  Aerosonde (Qatar)

  Programme Background The Qatar MoD has established the Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center to carry out ISR missions for the Qatar Armed Forces. Among its roles ...

• 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 - fixed-wing, 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 - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  DEF129 (Small UAS) [Australia]

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

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing, 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 - tactical

  Nightwarden (Qatar)

  Programme Background The Qatar MoD has established the Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center to carry out ISR missions for the Qatar Armed Forces. Among its roles ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  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 ...

• 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 - fixed-wing, 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 - fixed-wing, 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 - rotary-wing, 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 ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Embarked VTOL UAV [South Korea]

  Background VTOL Development In January 2024, South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced that it would commence development of a VTOL-capable rotary-wing UAV to be ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Replicator 2 [US]

  Programme 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 ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, 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 - fixed-wing, 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 - fixed-wing, 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 - fixed-wing, 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 - rotary-wing, 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 - fixed-wing, 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 - fixed-wing, 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 - rotary-wing, 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, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  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 - rotary-wing, 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 ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  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 - rotary-wing, 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 ...

• Counter-UAS systems, Land: Defensive Systems - DF systems

  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 - fixed-wing, 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 ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Penguin B VTOL

  The Penguin B VTOL is a variant of the Penguin B platform manufactured by Edge Autonomy. Announced in June 2021, the variant is a reliable, long-endurance ...