• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Lockheed Martin develops new control system for SUAS

  25th April 2014

  Lockheed Martin is migrating its Group 1 family of UAS to enhanced automation capabilities using its Kestrel "Fly Light" flight control systems and mobile Ground …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Arcturus UAV enables VTOL for fixed-wing UAVs

  24th April 2014

  Arcturus UAV has introduced a new vertical takeoff and landing system to enhance launch and recovery processes for its T-20 and T-16 fixed wing unmanned …

• Defence Helicopter

  Optionally Piloted Black Hawk takes off

  23rd April 2014

  The Optionally Piloted Black Hawk (OPBH) demonstrator currently in development between Sikorsky and the US Army has completed a successful first flight at Sikorsky’s Development …

• Defence Helicopter

  Airbus Helicopters EC145 T2 achieves certification

  18th April 2014

  The Airbus Helicopters EC145 T2 has been certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), clearing the way for customer deliveries to begin in the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Defence Services Asia: Aibot X6 takes flight

  16th April 2014

  Aibotix conducted a live demonstration of its Airbot X6 UAV within one of the exhibition halls at Defence Services Asia (DSA) on 14 April. Launched …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Defence Services Asia: Tech unmanned untuk menbantu ops hutan MAF COIN

  15th April 2014

  Sumber industry telah mendedahkan bahawa operasi counter-insurgency (COIN) Malaysia Armed Forces (MAF) di Sabah, Malaysia Timur, akan memjadi pengaruh besar kepada keperluan system unmanned masa …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Defence Services Asia: Unmanned tech to support MAF jungle ops

  15th April 2014

  Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) counter-insurgency (COIN) operations in Sabah, East Malaysia, will significantly influence future unmanned system requirements, industry sources have revealed. In February 2013, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Defence Services Asia: Denel planning rotary wing UAS for maritime ops

  14th April 2014

  Denel Dynamics plans to extend its UAV family with the addition of a rotary wing capability for the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), company …

• Defence Helicopter

  SAS14: USN considers LCS future

  10th April 2014

  As the US Navy (USN) and industry await the findings of a task force study into the future of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), confidence …

• Defence Helicopter

  SAS14: AACUS completes first phase test

  8th April 2014

  The Office of Naval Research (ONR) has completed the first flight test programme of its five year Autonomous Aerial Cargo/Utility System (AACUS) effort, it has …

• Defence Helicopter

  DARPA confirms VTOL X-Plane contract recipients

  19th March 2014

  DARPA has finalised the list of contenders for its VTOL Experimental Plane (VTOL X-Plane) programme, with the awarding of two additional Phase 1 contracts to …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  SGA14: Skeldar returns from Spanish deployment

  13th February 2014

  Saab’s Skeldar VTOL UAV has returned from deployed operations with the Spanish Navy, although the company is hopeful that further contracts will come to fruition.  …

• Defence Helicopter

  Aurora awarded DARPA VTOL X-Plane contract

  7th February 2014

  Aurora Flight Sciences has confirmed that it will build its LightningStrike Vertical Takeoff and Landing aircraft for DARPA’s VTOL X-Plane programme. The company has been …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DCNS integrates UAV with naval combat systems

  10th January 2014

  The French DGA and DCNS have successfully demonstrated that an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can be integrated with the combat system of a naval warship …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sikorsky to advance VTOL X-Plane programme

  13th December 2013

  The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded Sikorsky Phase 1 of the VTOL Experimental Aircraft (X-Plane) programme.   The new contract, valued …

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 ...