• Military Logistics

  QinetiQ upgrades Woomera test range

  10th July 2015

  QinetiQ Australia has completed the delivery of technical upgrades to the Woomera test range in Australia, the company announced on 7 July. The upgrades included …

• Digital Battlespace

  BENELUX to get Smart Vests

  3rd July 2015

  Elbit Systems will provide a Smart Vest system to the BENELUX countries for their soldier modernisation programmes. Under a €150 million contract signed on 1 July, Elbit will deliver an …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  ADF begins Wasp UAV training exercises

  19th June 2015

  The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has begun training exercises with the AeroVironment RQ-12 Wasp unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as part of an army soldier modernisation …

• Military Logistics

  RAAF KC-30A refuels E-7A Wedgetail

  18th June 2015

  The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has completed aerial refuelling trials between the E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft and KC-30A multi-role tanker …

• Land Warfare

  Phantom MRAP seen in Thailand

  15th June 2015

  The Royal Thai Marine Corps (RTMC) recently concluded a three-month trial of a new MRAP vehicle in southern Thailand, it has emerged.  The prototype, named …

• Naval Warfare

  Ingalls' US NSC James completes acceptance trials

  7th May 2015

  The US Coast Guard National Security Cutter (NSC), James (WMSL 754), built by Huntington Ingalls, has successfully completed her acceptance trials, the company announced on …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2015: Army looks towards the common robot

  4th May 2015

  After putting thousands of UGVs into the field throughout the conflict in Afghanistan, the US Army is now attempting to consolidate, standardise and move towards …

• Digital Battlespace

  CTX 2015: New SATcase to start production

  22nd April 2015

  UK-based telecoms company, SATcase will produce its SATcase smart communications case in July 2015. The company announced its new product at the Counter Terror Expo …

• Digital Battlespace

  Selex, Saab demonstrate BriteCloud EAD deployment from Gripen

  17th April 2015

  Selex and Saab have demonstrated the BriteCloud Expendable Active Decoy's (EAD's) successful deployment from a Gripen fighter jet's standard countermeasures dispenser. The trials confirm that …

• Defence Helicopter

  Australian Tiger helicopter fires APKWS laser-guided rocket

  15th April 2015

  An Australian Defence Force (ADF) Tiger helicopter has fired the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) laser-guided rocket at a recent demonstration, BAE Systems announced …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  LIMA 2015: UST continues Malaysian UAV improvements

  13th March 2015

  Unmanned Systems Technology (UST), a subsidiary of Composites Technology Research Malaysia (CTRM), continues to develop two UAVs, the Aludra Mk5 and SR-10. Mohd Yahaya Rosdi, …

• Military Logistics

  Avalon 2015: RAAF to trial tanker with allied aircraft

  27th February 2015

  Following a successful remediation program, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) expects to conduct boom refuelling trials with its Airbus KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transports (MRTT) …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Avalon 2015: Lockheed Martin goes shark hunting

  26th February 2015

  Trials are planned in the use of Lockheed Martin’s small Indago quad-rotor UAV for shark-spotting, it has emerged. The platform has an endurance of 45 …

• Defence Helicopter

  Thales and Lockheed lock horns over Crowsnest

  23rd February 2015

  The two manufacturers competing for the Royal Navy’s (RN) new helicopter-based early warning radar system have submitted their bids to the UK Ministry of Defence …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Indian Navy releases RfI for shipborne UAVs

  10th February 2015

  The Indian Navy (IN) has released its largest stated requirement to date as it seeks around 50 UAVs for shipboard use. An RfI for the …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Akinci [Pakistan]

  Programme Background 'Brotherly Ties'  On 14 January 2022, the Pakistan government unveiled its first-ever National Security Policy. As reported by Shephard, the policy emphasised 'brotherly ties' with ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Project Vixen [UK]

  Background Project Goal The Royal Navy uses Leonardo crewed Merlin (AW101) helicopters fitted with CROWSNEST pods to provide airborne early warning capabilities for carriers. An early 2021 Royal ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  V-Bat 128 [Canada]

  Programme Background Requirement Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) was seeking a platform for the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) that would significantly expand its surveillance range ...

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

  Camcopter S-100 [Greece]

  Programme Background Trails A 2 August 2021 Schiebel press release announced the company had demonstrated the Camcopter S-100's capabilities to the Hellenic Navy. The UAV was ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPVs) (1-2) [India]

  Programme Background Requirements The units will perform multi-role support functions such as maritime surveillance & patrol, launching/recovery of torpedoes and operation of various types of ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) Project (1-5) [Japan]

  Background Requirement The Japanese Coast Guard (JCG) operated a few dozen Chinese-made UAVs that conducted SAR and surveillance activities. The drones performed well and were cost-effective, ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Multi-Role Vehicle (Protected) (MRV-P) Package 1 (UK)

  Programme Background Requirement The MRV-P programme was intended to procure replacements for a diverse fleet of 4x4 and 6x6 vehicles purchased during the wars in Iraq ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  RQ-7B Shadow v2 Block III (USA)

  Programme Background The first iteration of the Shadow UAS, the Shadow 600, was first introduced in 1992 and since then Textron has had a longstanding ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Autonomous Collaboration Platform (ACP) (Project Vanquish) [UK]

  Background Autonomous Collaboration Platform (ACP) Strategy Reflecting on lessons learned from the cancellation of the Mosquito programme, the Royal Air Force (RAF) redefined the role ...

• 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 ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  4x4 Armoured Vehicle (Unknown)

  Programme Background The Estonian military wants to replace its fleet of soft-skin troop transports with 4x4 and 6x6 armoured vehicles. This will improve the survivability ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Hermes 900 StarLiner [Switzerland]

  Background Contract Information In September 2015, under the Reconnaissance Drone System 15 (ADS 15), the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (VBS) awarded Elbit ...

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munitions [Japan]

  Programme Background Appreciation of Loitering Munitions After years of not operating loitering munitions and armed UAVs, Japan's position towards them has changed. Belatedly, the MoD realised ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Heavy IFV [Poland]

  Programme Background Requirement Due to the perceived threat from Russia and the conflict in Ukraine, Poland has accelerated and expanded its plans to modernise its ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Project Vampire [UK]

  Programme Background Prior RN Tests Project Vampire began in 2021, before the January 2022 Phase 1 tender announcement. In September 2021, as part of Vampire, a Banshee ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Medium UGVs

  Mission Master XT

  Part of Rheinmetall's Mission Master family, The Mission Mater Extreme Terrain, or Mission Master XT, is a rugged UGV designed to accompany troops in challenging environments ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Tigon

  Hanwha Defense Systems selected DSA 2018 in Kuala Lumpur as the location to unveil its Tigon 6x6 armoured wheeled vehicle. The company conducted a fortnight-long ...

• Matternet M2

  The Matternet M2 quadcopter UAV has been certified by the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation for full logistics operations over cities. The platform is ...

• Military - USVs

  Sentinel - Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial (PBAT)

  Sentinel is an autonomous uncrewed surface vessel (USV) built from the decommissioned HMAS Maitland , a former Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Armidale-class Patrol Boat.

• LTVs - 4x4

  VOS-APP

  The Arquus VOS-APP is a 6x6 support vehicle currently under trial with the French SOF. Acting as a replacement for the 1970s-vintage ACMAT VLRA, the VOS-APP is the ...

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

  KUS-VT tiltrotor

  The KUS-VT is a tiltrotor UAV that first flew in October 2013 and was exhibited at ADEX 2013. The aircraft is designed to have a ...

• Loitering munitions

  Mace

  Mace is a loitering munition developed by UAC, a Czech-Ukrainian company that is a subsidiary of DeViro. The electric-powered, catapult-launched UAV can host various warheads, including HEAT, thermobaric and ...

• Armoured engineer vehicles

  M1150 ABV

  The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) project, launched by the USMC in 2002, is a joint programme to meet the requirements of both the US ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  HQ-60

  Similarly to other platforms in the L3 Technologies Hybrid Quadrotor (HQ) and Fixed-Wing Rotator family (see separate entries) of VTOL fixed-wing UAVs, the HQ-60 has ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Archer

  The Archer is a short-range UAV being developed for India by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).  Based on the Rustom I and inspired by Bayrakar's ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Gray Eagle STOL / Mojave

  Unveiled in December 2021, the Mojave is a MALE UAV demonstrator aircraft. The Gray Eagle Short Take-off and Landing (GE STOL) is a production variant of that demonstrator. ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Flamingo Mk3

  The Flamingo Mk3 entered production in July 2017 and is based on the Flamingo Mk2. The Mk3 has been designed to provide a 65% increase ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  German LDEW (Rheinmetall/MBDA)

  Rheinmetall and MBDA Germany's collaborative work on laser-directed energy weapon (LDEW) technology has resulted in a German laser weapon system that is close to being ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  United 40 Block-5

  The United 40 was unveiled at the Dubai Airshow 2011 and is a MALE UAV with a twin-wing configuration and a hybrid turbine-electric engine. The ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Samarthak Class

  The Samarthak-class consists of two Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPVs) being built by Larsen & Toubro for the Indian Navy. The ships will perform multi-role support functions such as maritime ...