• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DSA12: Denel adds to UAS family

  18th April 2012

  Denel is currently developing the new Hungwe SUAS in an effort to develop a small system to add to its family of unmanned systems. The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DSA12: SCS nears design completion

  17th April 2012

  Malaysia's SCS is approaching completion of several new UAV designs targeted at the local market.. Speaking to Shephard on 17 April at DSA 2012 in …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DSA12: Turkey turns to indigenous UAV capability

  16th April 2012

  Turkish manufacturer TAI is advancing its HALE UAV design in an effort to replace the air force's Israeli UAV due to political tension between the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AAI wins $600 million MEUAS II award

  13th April 2012

  AAI Unmanned Aircraft Systems has announced that it has been awarded the competitive Mid-Endurance Unmanned Aircraft Systems (MEUAS) II award from the US Special Operations …

• Military Logistics

  NDIA Logistics 2012: Logistics back in fashion, senior official boasts

  27th March 2012

  The military logistics sector has been described as the 'newest and coolest' market in defence, according to the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Skate SUAS demonstrates border security innovation

  22nd March 2012

  Aurora Flight Sciences’ Skate small unmanned air vehicle system (SUAS) has been awarded first place in the 2012 Border Security Technology/Product Challenge at the recently …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI Israel: Innocon touting tiny trends

  22nd March 2012

  The CEO of Innocon has outlined the struggles faced by specialist Israeli UAV manufacturers in the current competitive market. Speaking to Shephard during the AUVSI …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI Israel: Lessons learned generate mature UK UAV solutions

  20th March 2012

  A British Army officer has claimed that the UK’s fleet of UAVs are now being effectively controlled in Afghanistan following previous errors made in their …

• Defence Notes

  RT pursues civil aerostat capability

  20th March 2012

  Aeronautics subsidiary RT is preparing to take its Skystar 180 and 300 aerostats to Nimes, France on 24 March to evaluate its transition from a …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Schiebel announces heavy fuel flight

  13th March 2012

  A heavy-fuel variant of a Camcopter S-100 UAS completed its maiden flight on 12 March, manufacturer Schiebel has announced. The UAS was flown at the …

• Digital Battlespace

  TRACER goes operational with SOUTHCOM

  22nd February 2012

  The US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) has deployed Lockheed Martin's Tactical Reconnaissance and Counter-Concealment-Enabled Radar (TRACER) following operational demonstrations. According to Lockheed Martin, the sensor which …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  SGA2012: Chinese VTOL readies for open market

  16th February 2012

  Beijing Yotaisc Technology Development is preparing to bring its X200 vertical take-off/landing (VTOL) UAV to the market in September, company officials have stated. Speaking to …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  SGA2012: Japanese companies exhibit VTOL UAV prototypes

  15th February 2012

  Aoki Best-Tech has unveiled a prototype of its quad tilt-rotor VTOL UAV for the first time as company executives predict that is nearing completion. Speaking …

• Defence Helicopter

  Heli-Expo 2012: X3 being prepared for US tour

  12th February 2012

  Eurocopter is set to tour its X3 compound helicopter in the United States and demo the technology to the US Army, it has been revealed. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Aurora wins AFRL contract

  16th December 2011

  Aurora Flight Sciences has been awarded an Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Rapid Reaction Technology Office contract to supply the Skate Small Unmanned Aerial System …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - small

  Medium Range Reconnaissance (MRR) / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) [USA]

  Background The Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) programme The RPUAS programme will provide the battalion and below-ground manoeuvre elements within the US Army with an organic, ...

• CUAS - jammers

  Airbase Air Defence Systems CUAS [US]

  Background The US Air Force's Budget Documentation for FY 2027 included $1.529 billion for Air Base Air Defence, part of which was to be used for ...

• Military UAS - small

  Battalion reconnaissance UAS [US Army]

  Background Call for solutions In August 2026, the US Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal issued a call for solutions, seeking a new battlefield reconnaissance ...

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - small

  Aerosonde Mk 4.7 [Qatar]

  Background Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) At DIMDEX 2016, a QAR 54.7 million ($14.97 million) MoU between the Qatar Armed Forces and the US company Textron Systems for ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - small

  Company Level Small Uncrewed Aircraft System (SUAS) Directed Requirement (DR) [US Army]

  Background Requirement The US Army approved the Co-Level SUAS DR acquisition in June 2023 to supply Brigade Combat Teams with an “immediate, commercially available capability” to meet ...

• Military UAS - mini

  DEF129 (Small UAS) [Australia]

  Background Requirement The Australian Army identified a need for a small UAS to provide an organic ISR capability to units operating at the tactical level.  ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - mini

  Scorpio 500 [US]

  Background Contract Award In December 2024, XTEND was awarded a US$8.8 million contract by the US Department of Defense (DoD) for its Scorpio 500. As reported by ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - small

  Replicator 2 [US]

  Background 1.0 The Replicator programme was a US effort to field thousands of attritable, autonomous systems across multiple domains before the end of 2025 to ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Medium Range Tactical (MRT) [USMC]

  Background Request for Information (RFI) In February 2026, the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) issued an RFI for solutions for a Medium Range Tactical (MRT) ...

• Military UAS - mini

  X10D (Atlantic Diving Supply) [US Army]

  Background Atlantic Diving Supply (ADS) Skydio announced in March 2026 that the US Army had placed a $52 million order to acquire over 2,500 X10D ...

• Military UAS - mini

  VTOL-Capable Group 2 UAV [USA]

  Background Request for Information (RFI) In March 2026, the USAF issued an RFI seeking a VTOL-capable UAV capable of operating in austere environments to support ...

• Military UAS - small

  Onboard Mini-Drone Systems (SMDM) (69-90) [France]

  Background Contract Announcement On 3 February 2026, Airbus, Survey Copter’s parent company, announced that the French Directorate General of Armament (DGA) had ordered the Aliaca VTOL variant ...

• Military UAS - mini

  U&C reconnaissance drones [US Army]

  Methodology PGO The programme has been assigned a PGO of 100%, as a contract has been awarded. Unit cost It has not been clarified what ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Camcopter S-300 [South Korea]

  Programme Background Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) On 18 January 2023, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Northop Grumman at a ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - tactical

  Aerosonde SUAS

  The Aerosonde SUAS comes from a long line of capable aircraft. The Aerosonde SUAS, like the Aerosonde fleet of aircraft, operates through contractor-owned and operated ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Aerosonde HQ SUAS

  The Aerosonde Hybrid Quadcopter (HQ) SUAS is the VTOL version of the Aerosonde SUAS. It combines the capabilities of a multi-rotor platform with the efficiency ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Skylark II

  The Skylark II is a fixed-wing UAV that can be used for various military and security applications, including tactical covert surveillance and reconnaissance, perimeter security ...

• Military UAS - mini

  CorvoX

  The CorvoX is a fixed-wing drone developed domestically by SYPAQ Systems. Unlike its sibling, the Corvo PPDS, the UAV is not made from cardboard. The drone's development ...

• Military UAS - small

  VAPOR CLE

  Unveiled at AUSA 2025, the VAPOR Combat Long Endurance (CLE) is the newest version of AeroVironment's (AV) rotary-wing VAPOR offerings. Compared to the older versions, VAPOR CLE ...

• Military UAS - small

  PD-1

  The People’s Drone-1 (PD-1) is a fixed-wing small UAV manufactured by Ukrspecsystems. It is modular and can be given VTOL capability in around 15 minutes. ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Skylark I-LEX

  The Skylark I-LEX is a mini-UAV manufactured by Elbit Systems.  Unveiled at the Paris Air Show 2015, the UAV is designed for ISR operations. It enables ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  T-Hawk Micro Air Vehicle

  The Honeywell T-Hawk Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) is a VTOL sUAS that has been used by the US military and the British Army to assist ...

• Military UAS - mini

  C-100

  The C-100 is a portable, packable mini rotary-wing UAV designed for long-range ISR and cargo-carrying tasks. Manufactured by Performance Drone Works (PDW), it features swappable payloads, an open ...

• Military UAS - small

  Thor

  Thor is a VTOL small-UAV manufactured by Elbit Systems. The platform is designed for ISR missions and features a real-time HD data link and unique ...

• CUAS - jammers

  HPEM

  The High-Power Electro-Magnetics (HPEM) is a C-UAS system developed by Diehl Defence. It is intended to protect both military installations and public events against threats ...

• Military UAS - small

  Ghost-X

  The Ghost X, or Ghost-X, is an upgraded variant of Anduril's small, rotary-wing Ghost UAV. It features an increased payload capacity and longer flight time ...

• CUAS - detectors

  PATS

  The Passive Aerial Threat Surveillance (PATS) sensor produced by Adsys Controls is a detection and tracking system capable of monitoring airspace for extremely low-signature airborne ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Silent Falcon

  The Silent Falcon is a solar-electric sUAS with long-endurance capabilities for extended-range missions. The UAS can be used for commercial and military applications. The entire ...

• EO/IR systems

  STAG5-EOXR

  The STAG5-EOXR is a member of the STAG5 family of SUAS Tactical Agile Gimbals, designed for intelligence, surveillance, and targeting applications in Group 1-3 UAV ...