• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Chinese UAS attempt to rule the roost

  25th June 2018

  Chinese security services are using birdlike UAS in a small-scale way around the country to monitor citizens and suspicious activities. The ornithological UAS in question, …

• Naval Warfare

  Vard to build Norwegian coast guard vessels

  27th June 2018

  Fincantieri’s subsidiary Vard Holdings has signed a contract with the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA) for the construction of three coast guard vessels, Fincantieri announced …

• Digital Battlespace

  ADS tackles active protection system signature challenges (video)

  22nd June 2018

  ADS - a member of the Rheinmetall Group - is continuing to develop its active protection system (APS), the ADS Gen-3 with new certifications and future …

• Naval Warfare

  UDT 2018: Underwater scooter continues to evolve

  29th June 2018

  Stidd Systems is continuing the development of its diver propulsion device (DPD) having already sold 400 units to various NATO customers.The company is currently working …

• Naval Warfare

  Atlas, Thales combat system for German corvettes

  25th June 2018

  Atlas Elektronik and Thales Deutschland have received an order to jointly deliver the combat system for the German Navy’s five (batch two) K130 class corvettes, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Australia confirms Triton order

  26th June 2018

  On 26 June the Australian government announced it was investing A$1.4 billion ($1.04 billion) to acquire the first of six Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton UAVs …

• Naval Warfare

  Saab, Damen partner for Brazilian corvette bid

  20th June 2018

  Saab has teamed up with Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding to bid for the project to supply four Tamandaré class corvettes (CCT) to the Brazilian Navy, …

• Land Warfare

  Industry positions for Canada's upcoming ACSV requirement

  26th June 2018

  Industry is positioning for a burgeoning Canadian Army requirement that looks set to replace the service's legacy M113s, along with its 8x8 Bison fleet. The …

• Digital Battlespace

  Eurosatory 2018: Hensoldt begins serial production of new AESA radar

  13th June 2018

  Hensoldt has begun serial production of its new software-defined AESA land-based air defence radar, the TRML-4D after receiving an initial order for ten units from …

• Naval Warfare

  USS Thomas Hudner accepted by US Navy

  21st June 2018

  The US Navy accepted delivery of its newest guided-missile destroyer, USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), from shipbuilder General Dynamics Bath Iron Works on 15 June. …

• Military Logistics

  USMC looks to extend crane life

  14th June 2018

  The US Marine Corps (USMC) is preparing to conduct a Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) on its All-Terrain Crane (ATC) MAC 50 platforms.  Originally manufactured …

• Military Logistics

  Philippines finally receives NC-212i aircraft

  21st June 2018

  At long last, on 14 June, the two NC-212i light transport aircraft that the Philippine Air Force (PAF) had ordered in January 2014 – and …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Lightning strikes for MQ-9B

  22nd June 2018

  General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has carried out successful lightning tests on its second full-scale MQ-9B in Poway, California, the company announced on 19 June.  …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Thales Fulmar X for Spain ISR

  18th June 2018

  Thales has received two contracts from the Spanish Directorate-General for Armament and Material (DGAM) to provide ISR capabilities to the Spanish Navy and Army. Thales’ …

• Special Operations

  SOCOM outlines maritime capabilities demonstration

  15th June 2018

  United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has outlined an upcoming technical experimentation (TE) activity focused on SOF maritime surface systems. The research and development opportunity …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Seeker 400 - First Batch (UAE)

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

• Maritime patrol

  Challenger 650 ISR - UAE

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

• 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 - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Seeker 400 - Second Batch (UAE)

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

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

• 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 - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-9A Reaper Block 5 [Italy]

  Programme Background Initial Procurement Italy submitted a $330 million FMS request through the Defence Security Cooperation Agency for four MQ-9A aircraft, four GCS and five ...

• 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 - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

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

  Programme Background Acquisition Decision The Netherlands cancelled a project to procure a MALE UAV in 2007. Six years later, in 2013, it was revealed the Dutch ...

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

  Gladius [Poland]

  Programme Background Contract Signing On 6 May 2022, the Minister of National Defense, Mariusz Błaszczak, the president of the WB GROUP, Piotr Wojciechowski and the head ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, 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 - 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 ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, 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 - fixed-wing, 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 ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, 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 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 ...

• 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 ...