• Military Logistics

  Bidders for Fleet Solid Support ships selected

  6th December 2018

  The UK Ministry of Defence has selected four shipbuilding firms and a British consortium to compete for the Fleet Solid Support ships contract. The Fleet …

• Defence Helicopter

  Philippine AW159s in testing

  30th November 2018

  The Philippine Navy will receive its first AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat anti-submarine helicopter in the first quarter of 2019, with flight testing currently underway. Initial flight-testing …

• Training

  NZ receives full complement of King Air trainers

  12th December 2018

  The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) received its fourth and final Beechcraft King Air 350i trainer aircraft last month. The aircraft belonging to 42 …

• Training

  MASS supports Exercise SS3

  5th December 2018

  Cohort company MASS has led a Joint Warfare Support Team (JWST) in support of the UK/Oman Saif Sareea 3 Exercise, Cohort announced on 30 November. …

• Land Warfare

  Thai Mosquito gains bite after successful trials

  6th December 2018

  The AFV-420P Mosquito 4x4 APC built by Panus Assembly in Thailand passed all 15 tests at the Department of Army Transportation in Kanchanaburi Province on …

• Naval Warfare

  Brazilian Navy prepares Riachuelo submarine for launch

  7th December 2018

  The first of a new class of conventional submarines for the Brazilian Navy will be launched on 14 December, according to the Brazilian MoD, which …

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2018: TerraSim launches STEWS

  24th November 2018

  Virtual terrain and database specialists, TerraSim, has launched a new terrain server technology designed to support the US Army’s emerging Synthetic Training Environment (STE) initiative. The …

• Naval Warfare

  USS Detroit begins testing of SSMM

  5th December 2018

  The US Navy has begun initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E;) of the Surface-to-Surface Missile Module (SSMM) on Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) USS Detroit. The …

• Digital Battlespace

  Russian Su-57 deployment to Syria tested countermeasure capability

  10th December 2018

  A video released by the Russian MoD showing footage of its recent Su-57 deployment to Syria revealed a recent aerial countermeasure modification was used during …

• Defence Notes

  Opinion: The stakes rise in Pacific’s ‘Great Game’

  27th November 2018

  The South Pacific region is shaping up as a massive maritime chessboard upon which China and the US are beginning to manoeuvre with greater geopolitical …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  European Union expands UAV maritime surveillance service providers

  5th November 2018

  Elbit Systems and CEiiA have become the latest team to be contracted to provide UAV services to support the European Union (EU) in monitoring waters …

• Naval Warfare

  USCG releases RfP for lifeboat life extension

  3rd December 2018

  The US Coast Guard released a request for proposal (RfP) on 21 November for services and supplies for its 47ft motor lifeboat (MLBs) service life …

• Naval Warfare

  High-tempo ops on HMAS Adelaide

  29th November 2018

  The joint aviation capability embarked on HMAS Adelaide achieved key milestones while deployed to Papua New Guinea during Operation APEC 18 Assist, the Royal Australian …

• Land Warfare

  Russia increases Arctic presence with new missile system

  5th December 2018

  The first batch of 12 Tor-M2DT self-propelled surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems have been delivered to the Russian Land Force’s 726th Training Centre of Air Defence …

• Digital Battlespace

  Offensive cyber capability a focus of MDP

  5th December 2018

  In a 4 December introductory evidence session with Chief of the Defence Staff Gen Nick Carter, the UK Defence Committee discussed how the soon-to-be-implemented Modernising …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Maritime patrol

  Challenger 650 ISR [UAE]

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

• Military UAS - tactical

  Seeker 400 (1-6) [UAE]

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

• Military UAS - tactical

  Acquisition of an Initial Depth Support Drone Capacity (ADAPT) [France]

  Background Aftermath of SDT To fill the capability void left by the cancellation of the second section of the Tactical Drone System (SDT) programme, three ...

• 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 - 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 ...

• Military UAS - MALE

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

  Background Acquisition decision The Netherlands cancelled a project to procure an MALE UAV in 2007. Six years later, in 2013, it was revealed that the ...

• 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 - HALE

  RQ-4 Global Hawk [Japan]

  Background Selection and 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 - HALE

  RQ-4 Global Hawk [South Korea]

  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 - 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 - MALE

  MQ-9A Reaper (9-12) [Italy]

  Background Initial purchases (1-6) The Italian Air Force acquired four MQ-9A Reapers in the Block 1 standard in 2008. A further two UAVs were acquired ...

• 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 - MALE

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

  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 Atomics ...

• 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 - MALE

  MQ-9A Reaper (7-8) [Italy]

  Background Initial purchases (1-6) The Italian Air Force acquired four MQ-9A Reapers in the Block 1 standard in 2008. A further two UAVs were acquired ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• 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

  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 ...

• 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 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 - 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 ...