• Digital Battlespace

  Raytheon demonstrates multi-domain comms tech in air force trial

  21st November 2022

  Raytheon BBN has demonstrated the capabilities of its Robust Information Provisioning Layer (RIPL) in a trial for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2022: MAK FIRES taps market for forward observer training

  29th November 2022

  MAK Technologies has unveiled its latest MAK FIRES variant to address a growing market for indirect-fire forward observer training in the wake of events in Ukraine and elsewhere.

• Air Warfare

  BAE Systems harnesses artificial intelligence for air operations planning

  11th November 2022

  BAE Systems has been award a contract by the United States Air Force to develop an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven tool for air operations mission planning in contested environments.

• Digital Battlespace

  US Army advances on AI use cases for multi-domain scenarios

  1st November 2022

  By using soldiers’ feedback, the US Army has been progressing with the development of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms and solutions to equip its troops and ground vehicles.

• Defence Notes

  Why a true joint approach is vital for electronic warfare

  17th November 2022

  Speakers at last month's AOC convention highlighted the many barriers that still prevent full interoperability on electromagnetic spectrum operations, both within the US DoD and internationally.

• Training

  Leonardo explores 6th-generation combat aircraft simulation at I/ITSEC 2022

  8th December 2022

  Leonardo is developing the Smart Chair system in its Battle Lab that allows for advanced pilot training for multi-domain scenarios and can potentially 'replicate a sixth-generation fighter jet cockpit'.

• Air Warfare

  DARPA selects Lockheed Martin for ACE programme

  5th October 2022

  Lockheed Martin will develop full-scale experimentation platforms to implement Air Combat Evolution algorithms and technologies in this phase of the programme.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US aiming for 100-strong fleet of uncrewed vessels in Middle East

  23rd November 2022

  With the Arabian Gulf representing a vast maritime area for crewed vessels to patrol, USVs and UUVs could become the US Navy's eyes and ears in the region.

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2022: Saab stays focused and committed to multi-site training delivery

  6th December 2022

  Saab has increased training activities across core markets, opened combined training centres and is set to grow its business further.

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2022: BAE Systems and Red 6 augment Hawk trainer jet's reality

  29th November 2022

  Integrated with BAE Systems' Hawk fast jet trainer, Red 6's Advanced Tactical Augmented Reality Systems can provide Red Air and synthetic training against near-peer adversaries.

• Training

  Cubic aims high with new multi-domain LVC solutions at I/ITSEC 2022

  30th November 2022

  Cubic’s SPEAR analysis and display techniques are designed to rapidly improve proficiency during flight training, and allow pilots and instructors to focus on the most important aspects.

• Defence Notes

  Fast decisions from cognitive electronic warfare technology may be crucial to spectrum dominance

  8th November 2022

  Cognitive electronic warfare (EW), including the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, may be key to future developments, when a capability to deal with combat situations requires decisions in micro-seconds.

• Digital Battlespace

  Software-defined technology is 'democratising' electronic warfare, says DARPA official

  27th October 2022

  Software-defined jammers and radars are reducing the cost of development to thousands of dollars and could force a pace of change that makes threat libraries obsolete.

• Training

  Fireside Chat forum speakers stress need for training acceleration at I/ITSEC 2022

  29th November 2022

  This year's inaugural I/ITSEC Fireside Chat saw senior officers from the US Space Force (USSF) and US Air Force (USAF) highlight the need for speed in matching the pace of training with incoming new technologies.

• Digital Battlespace

  Euronaval 2022: AI with Cyclope accelerates maritime target identification and tracking, says HGH

  18th October 2022

  The combination of AI and video analytics should enable more rapid target detection.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  AdvaNced airCraft Infrastructure-Less Launch And RecoverY (ANCILLARY) [US]

  Background Aims & Timeline As stated by DARPA, the ANCILLARY programme aims to develop and fly an X-plane that will provide a “leap-ahead” in long-endurance, VTOL-capable ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - small

  Containerized Autonomous Drone Delivery System (CADDS) (Group 1-3) [US]

  Background Concept In early February 2026, the Defence Innovation Unit (DIU) stated that it required the ability to rapidly deploy large quantities of UAS while minimising the ...

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

  LongShot [USA]

  Background Requirement As explained by GA-ASI in February 2026, LongShot is envisaged as an air-launched UAV that will fly from larger, mostly crewed aircraft and ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  IA-63 Pampa III (Follow-On) [Argentina]

  Programme Background After the previous procurement of six AI-63 Pampa III aircraft from 2018 and 2019 agreements, Argentina was left with a further need for 34 aircraft. ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) [USA]

  Background Requirement Originally conceived as a replacement for the F-22, the PCA was designed to counter various air threats, including integrated air defence systems and ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  X-Bat [Poland]

  Background Polish involvement Speaking in June 2026, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that Shield AI offered Poland a role in the X-Bat programme, with the ...

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

  V-Bat [India]

  Background Make In India The ‘Make In India’ is an initiative by the Indian government to grow the domestic manufacturing industry. In the defence context, ...

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

  Group Unmanned Isr DronE (GUIDE) [Netherlands]

  Background Competition On 14 March 2025, the Netherlands announced a competition on the EU tendering website for the future procurement of 514 UAVs for intelligence, surveillance, ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) services [USN]

  In April 2026, AeroVironment (AV) and Shield AI announced that they had been selected to compete for a US$800 million task order to provide Contractor-Owned, ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) services [USN]

  In April 2026, AeroVironment (AV) and Shield AI announced that they had been selected to compete for a US$800 million task order to provide Contractor-Owned, ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | X-Bat [Poland]

  Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated in June 2026 that Shield AI offered Poland a role in the X-Bat programme. Defence Insight forecasts that Poland could acquire the ...

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

  Shield AI UAVs [Saudi Arabia]

  Background Reported Talks Reporting from the World Defence Show (WDS) 2026, the Middle East Eye (MEE) noted that, according to two sources, Saudi Arabia was ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | V-Bat [Poland]

  On 23 June 2026, Poland announced a US$16 million deal with Shield AI to procure a V-Bat system. The platforms will be used by the ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | V-Bat [Poland]

  On 23 June 2026, Poland announced a US$16 million deal with Shield AI to procure a V-Bat system. The platforms will be used by the ...

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

  Ship-Bourne VTOL UAV [Singapore]

  Background Multi-Role Combat Vessel  The Republic of Singapore Navy will retire its six Victory-class corvettes and replace them with a new platform, the Multi-Role Combat ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - tactical

  XRQ-73

  The US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) unveiled the flying design of the XRQ-73 in June 2024. The XRQ-73 designation places this aircraft in the experimental ...

• Military - UUVs

  Manta Ray

  Manta Ray is an uncrewed underwater vessel (UUV) developed by Northrop Grumman.

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

  X-68A

  The X-68A is a developmental, host-platform-agnostic air-launched effect (ALE). After developmental contracts were first awarded in 2021 under the LongShot programme, General Atomics (GA-ASI) emerged as the preferred supplier ...

• Military - USVs

  NOMARS

  The No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) is a US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) effort to develop a first-of-its-kind large uncrewed surface vessel.

• Sea: procedural training

  2 Sigma Digital Tutor

  A Digital Tutor that is designed to outperform schoolhouse instructors, bringing CTC training to a broad spectrum of sailors. Specifications include improving student outcomes for ...

• Major networking projects

  CHAIN

  The Compartmented High Assurance Information Network (CHAIN) is described as a robust architecture that improves interoperability of IT systems among the military services and security ...

• Tiltrotors, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  X-76

  The X-76 is an operational crewed aircraft designed to combine the flexibility of a helicopter with the speed of a fixed-wing aircraft.  Bell Textron is ...

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

  XV-24A LightningStrike

  The XV-24A LightningStrike, developed by Aurora Flight Sciences and its partners Rolls-Royce and Honeywell, was a project for a tilt-wing UAV powered by an electric-distributed ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Shrike

  The Shrike was a micro, portable, rugged VTOL-capable UAV designed for frontline day/night ISR.  Development of the Shrike began in 2008 under a $4.6-million contract from ...

• Data links

  QNT

  The QUINT Networking Technology (QNT) programme is intended to develop robust, affordable, miniature networked data link technologies suitable for use on weapons and by tactical ...

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar, Air: surveillance radar, Air: UAS radar

  AN/ZPY-5 VADER

  The Vehicle and Dismount Exploitation Radar (VADER) is an airborne radar system manufactured by Northrop Grumman. It is designed to track vehicles and foot traffic ...

• Data links

  TTNT

  The Tactical Targeting Network Technology (TTNT) programme is intended to develop, evaluate and demonstrate reconfigurable, affordable, robust, interoperable and evolvable communications technologies to support emerging ...

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

  X-61A Gremlin

  Dynetics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leidos, is developing the X-61A Gremlin. This low-cost swarming drone can be outfitted with different payloads, launched by a mothership, recovered ...

• Air: helicopter radar, Air: surveillance radar

  FORESTER

  The Foliage Penetration (FOPEN) Reconnaissance, Surveillance, Tracking and Engagement Radar (FORESTER) is an airborne radar system that provides stand-off, persistent, wide-area surveillance for situational awareness ...

• Land: vehicle surveillance/target acquisition systems

  TKN-AI

  TKN-AI is a commander’s periscope intended for guiding a vehicle, and battlefield observation and target acquisition by day and night. It is compatible with T-62, ...