• Defence Notes

  Budgetary uncertainty threatens Argentinian modernisation plans

  29th January 2024

  The new Argentina government has reduced the defence budget request for 2024 and enabled the use of FONDEF for expenses not related to equipment improvement.

• Air Warfare

  DSEI 2023: ISS Aerospace unveils tube-launched Wasp tactical UAS

  11th September 2023

  ISS Aerospace is unveiling the tube-launched Wasp M4-TL tactical UAS at DSEI 2023.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Elistair unveils automated tethered observation UAS

  14th November 2023

  The Khronos tethered UAS has been designed to be simple to use and has drawn on Elistair’s experience with hundreds of existing customers.

• Land Warfare

  Russia unveils experimental ZAK-23E self-propelled anti-aircraft gun for counter-UAS role

  28th August 2023

  Russia’s JSC Tulamashzavod and JSC Research Center Elins presented a new ZAK-23E self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG) at the Army-2023 event near Moscow in mid-August. It is an experimental vehicle that is designed to combine robust and mass-produced components and is capable of firing programmable airburst rounds.

• Land Warfare

  Ukraine to receive new type of counter drone system [UPDATED]

  30th August 2023

  Kongsberg is to deliver the Cortex Typhon CUAS through the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU). The systems will provide essential aerial threat protection capabilities, enhancing Ukraine's ability to combat UAVs such as Shahen 136.

• Air Warfare

  BAE Systems' anti-jammer for Eurofighter Typhoon moves to next phase

  17th November 2023

  BAE Systems’ Digital GPS Anti-jam Receiver (DIGAR) will boost the protection of the aircraft from GPS signal jamming, spoofing and radio frequency (RF) interference.

• Air Warfare

  UK awards $20 million contract to Anduril for avanced force protection solutions

  2nd November 2023

  The contract awarded to Anduril Industries will explore innovative capabilities for force protection and counter-intrusion, as well as counter-unmanned aircraft system solutions for the RAF and Strategic Command on Permanent Joint Operating Bases.

• Land Warfare

  Meteksan targets drones with new radar and counter-UAS systems

  1st August 2023

  Meteksan showcased the Retinar AESA radar at IDEF 2023, offering enhanced detection and tracking capabilities for UAVs and tactical targets. The radar has applications in mobile counter-UAS systems.

• Air Warfare

  Insitu Pacific and Innovaero to develop uncrewed long-range strike concept

  19th October 2023

  The system has been designed for integration with existing Australian Defence Force systems, and will be developed, tested and deployed using common ground control station and software.

• Naval Warfare

  Polish Navy Miecznik-class frigates to be fitted with TACTICOS integrated combat management system

  6th October 2023

  The multirole Miecznik-class frigates will be equipped with a set of sensors developed by Thales with the first ship scheduled to enter service in 2029.

• Land Warfare

  Israel Aerospace Industries signs two loitering munitions deals

  23rd November 2023

  IAI has developed several loitering munitions or attack UAS including Harpy NG, Harop, Rotem and Mini Harpy. It has also been developing Point Blank, described as a 'hand-launched electro-optical guided missile' but much like the company's loitering munitions can dwell while confirming a target's nature.

• Air Warfare

  Will air forces in the Middle East look to new sources for advanced equipment?

  29th December 2023

  Amid a tense strategic situation and the absence of advanced indigenous products, Gulf Cooperation Council states have come to be regarded as a priority export destination for most new air, land or sea systems.

• Air Warfare

  Romania boosts airlift capability with arrival of US C-130H-2 Hercules

  4th October 2023

  The strategic acquisition of C-130H Hercules represents a significant milestone in the ongoing collaboration between the US and Romania under the Foreign Military Sales programme.

• Air Warfare

  Poland explores loyal wingman options for F-35 fleet

  7th November 2023

  A senior Polish Armed Forces official has unveiled Poland's active pursuit of a loyal wingman platform to complement its upcoming fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighters.

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2023: Climate change – how military training will need to adapt

  25th November 2023

  How climate change poses various challenges and risks to defence training, readiness and infrastructure.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  ISTAR UAS project [Canada]

  Programme Background Objective The Royal Canadian Navy's (RCN) main significant UAV project is the RCN Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance Unmanned Aircraft System (RCN ...

• ISR/special mission

  MC-27J - Algeria

  Programme Background Algeria has a long standing ISR aircraft requirement to support its Beech 1900 fleet comprised of six aircraft. The new ISR fleet is ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  IAR-99 Replacement (Romania)

  On 29 August 2017, Leonardo announced that the IAR-99 trainer technology demonstrator (TD) will be fitted with company's Vixen 500E AESA radar. The Vixen 500E AESA ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  General-Purpose UAS [Australia]

  Programme Background Banned As reported by Shephard in August 2023, in the past, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) used commercial UAS from companies such as DJI for ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Mini Reconnaissance Drones [Lithuania]

  Programme Background Planned Purchases On 14 September 2022, the Lithuanian MoD announced in a short statement on Twitter, now X, that it had begun organising ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Small Reconnaissance Drones [Lithuania]

  Programme Background Planned Purchases On 14 September 2022, the Lithuanian MoD announced in a short statement on Twitter, now X, that it had begun organising ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-16V (9-16) [Bulgaria]

  Programme Background In April 2022, the US State Department approved a potential FMS worth $1.673 million to procure eight F-16Vs to Bulgaria. The aircraft are ...

• AEW&C

  Airbus A330 AWACS (India)

  Programme Background India is planning to increase its AEW&C; capabilities with indigenous radar systems. IAF has requested to procure six Airbus 330 airliner to host ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Skeldar V-200 (ASW) [Canada]

  Programme Background Contract Award At Euronaval 2022, Shephard reported that UMS Skeldar and Ultra had been awarded a Phase 2 contract on 19 October to provide ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

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

  Programme 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 ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  AW101-Norway

  AgustaWestland is also providing initial support and training services, including spares at each of the operating bases and aircrew training. It will then provide performance ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

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

  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, on-demand ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Replicator 2 [US]

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

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  DEF129 (Nano UAS) [Australia]

  Programme Background DEF129 The Australian Ground Service has combined various army procurement efforts under the DEF129 programme to increase the abundance and proliferation of UAVs ...

• Maritime patrol

  Maritime Patrol Aircraft Procurement [Italy]

  Programme Background In an appearance before the Italian parliament’s Foreign and Defence Affairs Committee on 14 July 2022, Italian Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Adm ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Medium Range Missile Defence Systems: 20-90km range

  Falcon Air Defence System

  Unveiled at IDEX 2019, Falcon is a medium range ground-based air defence system, including C-RAM and C-UAS capabilities. The Falcon consists of Lockheed Martin's Skykeeper ...

• Land: air defence radar, Land: battlefield and ground surveillance radar, Land: indirect fire location radar

  TMMR

  The Tactical Multi-Mission Radar (TMMR) is Leonardo’s C-band AESA radar designed for detecting, classifying, and tracking small, high-maneuvering targets. It’s designed for various applications, including counter-UAS, ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  RBE2

  The AESA RBE2 is the first AESA radar produced in Europe for combat aircraft. The active phased array replaces the passive array in the RBE2 currently ...

• Air: helicopter radar, Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar

  AirMaster-C

  The AirMaster-C is a two-dimensional, AESA, airborne surveillance radar manufactured by Thales. It is marketed as a lightweight surveillance radar designed to be fitted to ...

• Land: RWS

  Pitbull

  General Robotics developed the lightweight Pitbull family of remote weapons station for use on aerial, land and naval crewed or uncrewed platforms. Armed with a single ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  Skylock C-UAS

  Skylock, an Avnon Group company, has developed a C-UAS system that is intended to bring sensors, jammers and a laser effector into a single deployable ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  Cobham C-UAS

  Unveiled at the AUVSI 2017 trade show in Dallas, Texas, the Cobham C-UAS primarily consists of wideband omnidirectional, directional helix (single- or dual-band), directional flat ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  Howler C-UAS

  Developed by Raytheon, the Howler is a counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS), which includes a Ku-band Radio Frequency Sensor (KuRFS), a command-and-control system, and a Coyote ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  Airfence 5.0

  Airfence 5.0 is a C-UAS RF technology released by Sensofusion. It is designed to protect airports, personnel, prisons and private companies from rogue UAS in ...

• Land: air defence radar

  iMOTR

  The Innovative Multiple-Object Tracking Radar (iMOTR) system has been designed to provide military test ranges with more accurate time, space and position information for several ...

• Land: air defence radar, Land: indirect fire location radar

  KRONOS Land

  KRONOS is a mobile multifunctional C-band radar system designed by Leonardo to support air and coastal defence tactical operations.  The system simultaneously performs surveillance, dedicated target ...

• EO/IR systems

  CM262

  Manfuaucted by AVT Australia, the CM262 is a ground-based imaging system combining four sensor configurations into a compact and ruggedised system for C-UAS and ISR ...

• 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

  Penguin C VTOL

  The Penguin C VTOL is the VTOL version of the Penguin C MIL Mk2; hence it is sometimes called the Penguin C Mk2 VTOL. Edge ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  Pitbull C-UAS Jammer

  In June 2018, MyDefence launched the Pitbull wearable C-UAS solution, which utilises smart jamming to defeat enemy drones. Pitbull was developed to have a minimal ...