• Naval Warfare

  South African Navy to receive three IPVs

  1st March 2018

  Damen Shipyards Cape Town (DSCT) has received an order to supply three inshore patrol vessels (IPV) for the South African Navy’s Project Biro, the company …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Philippine Air Force inducts first ScanEagles

  13th March 2018

  The Philippine Air Force (PAF) formally received its first batch of six ScanEagle 2 tactical UAVs from the US government at a ceremony in the hangar …

• Digital Battlespace

  Astro Aerospace completes NISAR CDR

  31st January 2018

  Astro Aerospace has completed the critical design review of the AstroMesh radar antenna reflector for the NASA-Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) synthetic aperture radar (NISAR) …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Oceanology International 2018: ROVs and AUVs take centre stage

  12th March 2018

  Major figures across the unmanned underwater vehicles industry are set to unveil a number of their new ROV and AUV designs at Oceanology International in …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Ocean Infinity buys ninth Hugin AUV

  7th February 2018

  Ocean Infinity has added a ninth Kongsberg Hugin autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to its fleet, configured for under-ice survey operations, the company announced on 1 February. …

• Naval Warfare

  Lockheed’s MK 41 VLS for Type 26

  6th March 2018

  Lockheed Martin has received a contract from BAE Systems to equip the Royal Navy's Type 26 Global Combat Ship with the MK 41 Vertical Launching …

• Land Warfare

  Switzerland eyes new soldier kit, retires artillery

  9th March 2018

  The Swiss government has outlined a requirement for updated clothing and equipment for its soldiers in its new armament programme, released last month. Switzerland’s 2018 …

• Military Logistics

  DIMDEX 2018: DND's search for treasure continues

  13th March 2018

  Naval logistics forms the backbone for any naval force deployed persistently overseas, removing much of the requirements for vessels to leave stations for lengthy trips …

• Naval Warfare

  French Navy champions maritime security in Pacific

  27th February 2018

  As the only European nation with a permanent naval presence in Asia-Pacific, the French Navy takes maritime security in the region seriously. FS Vendemiaire, a …

• Naval Warfare

  Lockheed Martin awarded laser weapon contract

  7th March 2018

  Lockheed Martin has received a contract from the US Navy to develop, manufacture and deliver two high power laser weapon systems, the company announced on …

• Naval Warfare

  GE looks to cut weight with new turbine composite module

  9th March 2018

  General Electric is wrapping up tests on a new, lighter weight composite module that is expected to enclose the USS Arleigh Burke DDG 51 destroyer's gas turbine …

• Naval Warfare

  DIMDEX 2018: BAE win in Type 31e programme could see exports built overseas

  13th March 2018

  If the BAE Systems design wins the Type 31e bid it could deal a blow to British shipbuilding aspirations as company officials suggest exports could …

• Digital Battlespace

  SCTX 2018: MoD to flight test Elbit’s Spectro XR

  8th March 2018

  Flight trials of Elbit System’s advanced electro-optic system, the Spectro XR, are scheduled to be conducted in May 2018 with the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). …

• Naval Warfare

  Plasan to armour UK’s Type 26 frigates

  2nd March 2018

  Plasan has signed a contract with BAE Systems for the armouring of the Royal Navy’s Type 26 Global Combat Ships, the company announced on 28 …

• Military Logistics

  GE’s propulsion for Chilean Navy’s icebreaker

  6th March 2018

  GE’s Marine Solutions has been selected by ASMAR Shipyards to provide an integrated marine propulsion system for the Chilean Navy’s new Polar class icebreaker vessel, …

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 - 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 - 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 - 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 ...