• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Elimco conducts Spanish UAV fire monitoring tests

  28th October 2013

  Elimco has conducted a series of tests in Spain using its E-300 Viewer UAV to prove the system’s ability to track fire lines at night. …

• Naval Warfare

  DCNS begins sea trials of second FREMM frigate

  25th October 2013

  The second of the Aquitaine class frigates being built by DCNS for the French Navy, FREMM frigate Normandie, put to sea for the first time on …

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2013: ST Kinetics secures ammo contracts

  23rd October 2013

  ST Kinetics has secured a total of more than $30 million of international orders for its 40mm ammunition. The company announced at the AUSA exhibition …

• Digital Battlespace

  AUSA 2013: MBDA advances SPEAR

  22nd October 2013

  MBDA Missile Systems expects to conduct platform integration trials of its SPEAR network-enabled precision surface attack air-to-ground missile (ATGM) late next year.  The company is …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUSA 2013: Lockheed Martin furthers unmanned offering

  21st October 2013

  Lockheed Martin has completed the first trials of its Autonomous Mobility Appliqué System (AMAS) and is planning for another trial in January before further tests …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUSA 2013: Textron unveils BattleHawk launcher

  21st October 2013

  Textron Defense Systems has completed arena level trials of its BattleHawk squad-level loitering munition as part of a demonstration to the US Army and is …

• Naval Warfare

  Raytheon adds moving-target capability to Tomahawk

  8th October 2013

  An advanced Electronic Support Measure (ESM) seeker for the Block IV Tomahawk missile has completed a successful field trial, as part of Raytheon’s programme to …

• Defence Helicopter

  AgustaWestland invokes arbitration clause

  6th October 2013

  Having lost its battle for a dialogue with the Indian authorities, AgustaWestland is invoking the arbitration clause in its AW101 contract with the MoD. The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UCLASS air vehicle contracts awarded

  22nd August 2013

  Four Preliminary Design Review (PDR) contracts have been awarded by the US Navy for the Unmanned Carrier Launch Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) air vehicle …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  X-47B completes carrier landing

  10th July 2013

  The X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrator (UCAS-D) has become the first unmanned jet to complete an arrested landing on board a moving aircraft carrier. The US Navy …

• Digital Battlespace

  I-Master radar completes Guardian aircraft test flight

  3rd June 2013

  Thales has announced that its I-Master radar has recently completed flight trials onboard a Diamond DA42 Multi-Purpose Platform (MPP) Guardian aircraft. The week-long trials were …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  IMDEX 2013: Asia sees unmanned market worth

  14th May 2013

  With UAVs entering the forefront of Asian militaries’ thinking, the potential market over the next ten years for ship-based tactical UAVs is predicted to fetch …

• Digital Battlespace

  NATO admits C2 failings

  1st May 2013

  A NATO official has identified weak links in the alliance’s C2 chain as it prepares for its next venture into integration testing, Unified Vision 2014. …

• Land Warfare

  Denmark launches APC trials

  1st May 2013

  Strong contenders are already beginning to emerge for Denmark's APC-replacement programme, currently the largest vehicle competition in Europe, with armoured vehicle evaluation trials now underway. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Succesful DeSIRE flight announced

  26th April 2013

  EDA and ESA announce succesful civil UAS integration trial The European Defence Agency (EDA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) announced on 26 April 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 ...