• Naval Warfare

  USCG’s HC-144 programme achieves milestones

  1st May 2017

  The US Coast Guard's (USCG's) HC-144 Ocean Sentry maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) programme has reached two new milestones, the USCG announced on 25 April.The HC-144 …

• Digital Battlespace

  US Navy gets BAMS C2 facility

  28th April 2017

  Burns and McDonnell has delivered a new command and control facility that will support the US Navy's Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) operations at Naval …

• Defence Helicopter

  Geo-lock feature for Epsilon gimbals

  28th April 2017

  Octopus ISR Systems has introduced a precision geo-pointing feature for its miniature Epsilon series of gyro-stabilized gimbals, the company announced on 25 April. The precision …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  ASV opens global mission control centre

  28th April 2017

  ASV Global has opened a new autonomous vessel Mission Control Centre in Portchester, UK, where it will base ongoing development of its ASView autonomous vessel …

• Digital Battlespace

  Additional AN/TPQ-53 radars ordered

  27th April 2017

  Lockheed Martin has received a $1.6 billion order-dependent contract from the US Army to provide additional AN/TPQ-53 counterfire radar systems, the company announced on 24 …

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy orders HALO security barrier

  26th April 2017

  HALO Maritime Defense Systems has been awarded a $3.4 million contract to provide a fully automated waterside security barrier at US Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, …

• Naval Warfare

  French Navy to get Belharra frigates

  26th April 2017

  DCNS has been selected for the development and construction of five intermediate-size frigates for the French Navy, the company announced on 21 April. Known as …

• Defence Notes

  China launches first home-built carrier

  26th April 2017

  China launched its first indigenously built aircraft carrier, widely referred to as the Type 001A, on 26 April, an event that had been eagerly anticipated …

• Naval Warfare

  LMS contract signals Sino-Malaysian cooperation

  26th April 2017

  Malaysia inked a contract for four Littoral Mission Ships (LMS) during a ceremony in Beijing on 21 April. It was signed by Malaysia's Boustead Naval …

• Defence Helicopter

  Quad A 2017: BAE unveils new aircraft survivability system

  25th April 2017

  BAE Systems has developed a new aircraft survivability solution, the 3-Dimensional Advanced Warning System (3DAWS) product suite.3DAWS is designed to protect fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft …

• Naval Warfare

  Work on HMS Spey begins

  25th April 2017

  Work has begun on the the future HMS Spey at BAE Systems' Govan shipyard on the Clyde in Scotland, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced …

• Naval Warfare

  HMAS Sydney taking shape

  25th April 2017

  The Royal Australian Navy's (RAN's) third Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) is taking shape, with the vessel's Aegis block now consolidated, the RAN announced on 23 …

• Defence Notes

  India, Korea sign MoU on shipbuilding

  25th April 2017

  The governments of India and the Republic of Korea (ROK) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop and strengthen defence industry co-operation in …

• Naval Warfare

  RAN receives Cape class patrol boat

  25th April 2017

  Austal has delivered the first of two Cape class patrol boats to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) from its shipyard in Henderson, Western Australia, the …

• Naval Warfare

  USCG receives 23rd FRC

  24th April 2017

  The US Coast Guard (USCG) has accepted delivery of its 23rd Sentinel class Fast Response Cutter (FRC), Benjamin Dailey, the agency announced on 20 April.The …

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 [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 - 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 ...