• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Chinese Rainbow goes stratospheric

  15th June 2017

  China's first solar-powered Caihong (Rainbow) UAS successfully flew at an altitude of 20,000m on 13 June, an altitude that is well within the stratosphere, the country’s …

• Naval Warfare

  USCG orders more response boats

  14th June 2017

  The US Coast Guard (USCG) has awarded a contract worth $6 million to Metal Shark Aluminum Boats for 15 Response Boats-Small II (RB-S IIs) and associated …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DCNS demos I4 Drones mission system

  14th June 2017

  DCNS has carried out a demonstration of its I4 Drones mission system coordinating the deployment of three different unmanned systems in a simulated maritime security …

• Digital Battlespace

  EW Europe: Russia's electronic war in Ukraine

  14th June 2017

  Russia has two army corps of proxies operating in Ukrainian territory, including electronic warfare companies, defence sources have revealed. These units are experts, trained to …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Boeing, HII team for extra large UUVs

  13th June 2017

  Boeing and Huntington Ingalls Industries have teamed up to design and build an unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV) in support of the US Navy’s Extra Large …

• Military Logistics

  Leonardo secures C-27J spares contract

  13th June 2017

  The US Coast Guard (USCG) has awarded an IDIQ contract with base year option worth $19.1 million to Leonardo for spare parts for its C-27J Spartan fleet. If all …

• Defence Notes

  Paris Air Show: New sting planned for Hornet

  13th June 2017

  Boeing is looking to take its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Block III, based on the heritage of a 1970s platform, decades into the future with a …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Australia to host Zephyr trials in 2018

  13th June 2017

  Airbus Defence and Space will conduct a series of trials in Australia next year with its Zephyr high-altitude pseudo satellite system, the company revealed. Tony …

• Digital Battlespace

  Paris Air Show: Upgraded Rafale set for trials

  13th June 2017

  The French Air Force is on track to carry out qualification trials of the new ‘F3R’ standard Dassault Rafale next year, which will include testing …

• Naval Warfare

  ISDEF 2017: New regional interest for D-Collar RHIBs

  13th June 2017

  Maritime platform supplier Brunswick has disclosed that there is regional interest in its D-Collar rigid hull inflatable boats, more commonly referred to as RHIBs, at …

• Naval Warfare

  Romania proceeds with corvette programme

  12th June 2017

  The Romanian MoD continues to move forward with its acquisition programme for four corvettes despite the decision to relaunch the tender originally won by Damen …

• Defence Notes

  ISDEF 2017: Leopard latest in Capture's big cat family

  12th June 2017

  Capture unveiled its new Leopard pan and tilt system at the ISDEF 2017 exhibition in Tel Aviv on 6 June. The tracking system platform manufacturer …

• Digital Battlespace

  EW Europe: UK to export EW data

  12th June 2017

  Interoperability and establishing global partnerships in the electromagnetic environment (EME) is essential for operational planning. This is why the UK has set up the Electronic Warfare Operational …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Paris Air Show: V-200 announcements expected

  12th June 2017

  UMS Skeldar has revealed it will be making what it considers ‘major contract announcements’ at the upcoming Paris Air Show regarding its heavy fuel V-200 …

• Naval Warfare

  ISDEF 2017: Trigon maritime applications highlighted

  12th June 2017

  IMI Systems showcased its Trigon sea-to-shore weapon system at ISDEF last week, a capability designed to provide modular fire support from maritime platforms and critical …

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 ...

• Military UAS - small

  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 ...