• Naval Warfare

  DSEI 2017: Maintaining the fleet (video)

  6th September 2017

  As the Royal Navy looks to integrate new vessels into its fleet, including the new Type 26, Shephard spoke with BAE Systems' Type 23 class output …

• Training

  L-15 trainer advances worldwide

  13th September 2017

  The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is now operating the tandem-seat JL-10 trainer, which is also known as the L-15 Falcon under its export nomenclature, …

• Training

  Vixen 500E selected for IAR-99 TD

  31st August 2017

  The IAR-99 trainer technology demonstrator (TD) being built by Romania's National Institute for Aerospace Research (INCAS), will be fitted with Leonardo’s Vixen 500E AESA radar, the …

• Naval Warfare

  South China Sea: code of conduct lacks fortitude

  5th September 2017

  A ‘framework’ for the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea was agreed upon in Manila on 6-7 August during the ASEAN 50 …

• Digital Battlespace

  Hensoldt’s 3D radar demos detection capabilities

  29th August 2017

  Hensoldt’s Spexer 2000 3D radar has proved its detection capabilities against asymmetric threats during two customer demonstrations held in real operational conditions.  During the first …

• Defence Helicopter

  Modernised Ka-27Ms set for delivery

  25th August 2017

  Russian Helicopters is set to begin delivery of modernised Ka-27M helicopters to the Russian Ministry of Defence, with the first aircraft having completed factory testing, the …

• Naval Warfare

  HMS Argyll fires Sea Ceptor

  6th September 2017

  The Royal Navy's new Sea Ceptor air missile defence system has been fired from Type 23 frigate HMS Argyll for the first time in successful …

• Defence Helicopter

  MSPO 2017: The Kruk of the matter

  29th August 2017

  Despite the postponed advancement of the Polish attack helicopter requirement, likely related to the delayed ASW/SOF tender, companies are outlining proposed platforms for the much …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MALE UAVs operating in Philippines; more expected

  13th September 2017

  The US Embassy in Manila announced on 11 September that the US military had deployed ‘Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft systems’ - note the plural - to …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Qinetiq to lead MAPLE phase four

  18th August 2017

  Qinetiq will lead phase four of the Maritime Autonomous Platform Exploitation (MAPLE) project for the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) under a £4.5million contract …

• Digital Battlespace

  Australia boosts GPR signal processing

  29th August 2017

  Australia has been working with the US to trial vehicle-mounted ground-penetrating radar suitable for detecting improvised explosive devices (IED), according to a press release from …

• Naval Warfare

  USCG releases RFI for long-range UAS

  5th September 2017

  The US Coast Guard (USCG) Research and Development Center has released a request for information (RFI) to learn more about land-based long-range and ultra-long endurance …

• Digital Battlespace

  General Dynamics secures CAC2S contract

  4th September 2017

  General Dynamics Mission Systems has won a full-rate production contract from the US Marine Corps (USMC) for the Common Aviation Command and Control System (CAC2S) …

• Naval Warfare

  Malaysia launches first LCS

  24th August 2017

  Malaysia’s first Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), Maharaja Lela, was launched in a formal ceremony on 24 August at the Boustead Naval Shipyard facility in Lumut.  …

• Naval Warfare

  Little Rock completes acceptance trials

  5th September 2017

  Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine have successfully completed acceptance trials on the US Navy’s future Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) USS Little Rock. USS …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Maritime patrol

  Challenger 650 ISR [UAE]

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

• Military UAS - tactical

  Seeker 400 (1-6) [UAE]

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

• 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 - 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 - MALE

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

  Background Acquisition decision The Netherlands cancelled a project to procure an MALE UAV in 2007. Six years later, in 2013, it was revealed that the ...

• 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 - 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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Gladius (2022) [Poland]

  Background 2022 Contract award In May 2022, the Minister of National Defense, Mariusz Błaszczak, the president of the WB GROUP, Piotr Wojciechowski and the head of the Armaments Agency, ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-9A Reaper (9-12) [Italy]

  Background Initial purchases (1-6) The Italian Air Force acquired four MQ-9A Reapers in the Block 1 standard in 2008. A further two UAVs were acquired ...

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-9A Reaper (Second batch) [Netherlands]

  Background First batch Following a cancelled MALE UAV project in 2007, the Dutch MOD revealed its intention to acquire four MQ-9A Reapers from General Atomics ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• 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 - 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 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 ...