• Special Operations

  New Blighter surveillance system introduced

  17th February 2017

  Blighter Surveillance Systems has developed a new fully integrated, battery operated, man portable radar/camera surveillance system designed for rapid deployment, the company announced on 16 …

• Defence Notes

  IDEX 2017: Highlights of the week (video)

  23rd February 2017

  As the biennial IDEX and the associated NAVDEX show in Abu Dhabi closes its doors for another two years exhibitors and visitors alike will take …

• Digital Battlespace

  F-16V upgrade kicks off in Taiwan

  29th January 2017

  At the beginning of 2017, four Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) F-16A/B Block 20 fighters began undergoing upgrades under Taiwan’s Feng Zhan (Phoenix Rising) …

• Defence Helicopter

  Italian Navy receives NH90 MITT helicopter

  23rd February 2017

  The Italian Navy has received its first NH90 Maritime – Italian Navy Tactical Transport (MITT) helicopter from Leonardo, the company announced on 21 February.This is …

• Naval Warfare

  IDEX 2017: Navies look to address militant threat

  13th February 2017

  Recent events off the coast of Yemen and an uptick in militant activity, including a suicide attack against a Saudi vessel last month, are expected …

• Digital Battlespace

  Avalon 2017: RAAF embarks upon road to Jericho

  1st March 2017

  Plan Jericho, an effort by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) to bring down walls between users and operators and create a fifth-generation fighting force, …

• Naval Warfare

  Fincantieri outlines Australian commitment

  24th February 2017

  Fincantieri has detailed how it will strengthen its in-country presence if it is successful in its bid for the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN's) Future Frigates …

• Defence Helicopter

  Singapore’s new helicopter numbers revealed

  19th February 2017

  Singapore will receive 16 Airbus Helicopters H225M Caracals and ten Boeing CH-47F Chinooks as part of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) Helicopter Group's …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Stratobus prepares for lift-off

  2nd March 2017

  Thales Alenia Space is on course to fly a full-scale prototype of its Stratobus high-altitude 'drone satellite' by 2020, with a sub-scale demonstrator expected to …

• Land Warfare

  IDEX 2017: What to expect (video)

  19th February 2017

  As final preparations for IDEX are concluded in advance of one of the largest defence and security shows of the year Shephard takes a look …

• Digital Battlespace

  Aero India 2017: Saab details sensor package offer

  17th February 2017

  Saab has released details of the fighter sensor package it will offer for the Indian Air Force's Indian Tejas LCA Mk1A aircraft at Aero India …

• Defence Helicopter

  Aero India 2017: Airbus remains optimistic in India

  20th February 2017

  Although Airbus Helicopters has every reason to feel aggrieved over the protracted and chaotic nature of Indian military acquisitions – just consider the twice-aborted Reconnaissance …

• Digital Battlespace

  Aero India 2017: India inducts first Embraer AEW

  15th February 2017

  A first Embraer ERJ 145-based airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft was handed over to the Indian Air Force (IAF) on the opening day of Aero …

• Land Warfare

  IDEX 2017: Pro-active support offer for high tempo Patriot

  21st February 2017

  The increased use of the Patriot air defence system by Middle East countries means that the maintenance and sustainment requirements become more urgent.Therefore system manufacturer …

• Military Logistics

  IDEX 2017: First KC-390 production aircraft en route

  20th February 2017

  The first air-to-air refueling dry contact between Embraer's new KC-390 multi-mission medium transport aircraft and a jet fighter took place on 19 February.The trial took …

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 - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  RQ-4 Global Hawk (Japan)

  Programme Background Selection & 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 - small

  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, two ...

• 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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - HALE

  RQ-4 Global Hawk (South Korea)

  Programme 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 - 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

  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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 - 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 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 ...