• Military Logistics

  Renewing RNZAF’s fixed-wing fleet

  21st September 2016

  Responses to two New Zealand RfIs for both transport and maritime patrol aircraft are due on 30 September. The Future Air Mobility Capability (FAMC) requirement …

• Training

  Typhoon simulator whips up a storm (video)

  21st September 2016

  Former Luftwaffe pilot Raffael Klaschka gives Shephard a first-hand look at a Eurofighter Typhoon simulator. The simulator is used for both basic and advanced training, the latter will …

• Naval Warfare

  Busy French Navy pressed for spare capacity

  21st September 2016

  French naval forces would likely find it difficult to meet additional tasks or deployment with their existing assets, according to a senior official. Speaking to …

• Military Logistics

  US Navy orders two more EPF vessels

  20th September 2016

  Austal USA will design and construct two Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) vessels for the US Navy under an AUD$434 million contract announced on 16 September. …

• Defence Notes

  Lockheed team launches 13th LCS

  20th September 2016

  An industry team led by Lockheed Martin has launched the 13th Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) - the future USS Wichita - into the Menominee River …

• Defence Helicopter

  ADAS 2016: Royal Thai Navy welcomes new H145Ms

  19th September 2016

  Five H145M light utility helicopters arrived at the Royal Thai Navy’s (RTN) U-Tapao air base on 8 September. They will enter service in November to …

• Naval Warfare

  ADAS 2016: Philippines set for modern warships

  19th September 2016

  The Philippines signed a notice of award with Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) to procure two frigates for the Philippine Navy (PN) in late August. These …

• Defence Notes

  ADAS 2016: Proposed hike in Philippine defence budget

  19th September 2016

  The Philippine government proposes to increase the budget of both the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Their allocations …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  ADAS 2016: RT sell Skystar to Asian country

  19th September 2016

  An unnamed Asian country will receive five Skystar 330 systems that will be put to use in an ISR role, as well as communications applications. …

• Military Logistics

  ADAS 2016: Taiwan LPD programme revealed

  19th September 2016

  The Republic of China Navy’s (ROCN) long-term indigenous shipbuilding programme will begin with a landing platform dock (LPD). The design is similar to the USN’s …

• Land Warfare

  UK to assess laser weapon potential

  19th September 2016

  The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is set to embark on a high energy laser demonstration programme, with a £30 million contract being finalised with …

• Defence Helicopter

  Taiwan rejects MH-60R offer

  19th September 2016

  Sources at the inaugural Kaohsiung International Maritime & Defence Exhibition in Taiwan in mid-September informed Shephard that the island had turned down a proposal from …

• Land Warfare

  AAD 2016: Dual band radar goes on

  16th September 2016

  Reutech is to continue working on the RSR320 Dual Band Radar (DBR) XL system despite development being temporarily suspended. A partnership between Denel and Saab …

• Defence Helicopter

  AAD 2016: Airbus, Denel to cooperate on Rooivalk

  16th September 2016

  Airbus Helicopters and Denel Aviation announced on 15 September that they are entering a cooperative arrangement to enhance and modernise South Africa's Rooivalk attack helicopter. …

• Digital Battlespace

  AAD 2016: Show is under surveillance

  16th September 2016

  Reutech is testing its latest radar system by tracking aircraft flying at the AAD exhibition in Pretoria. The company is developing the system to meet …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - MALE

  Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement The FVL-MS programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft utilised ...

• Tiltrotors

  V-22 Osprey [Japan]

  Programme Background Procurement Contracts The Japanese government is the first export customer of the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey, having ordered 17 helicopters from the US across ...

• Loitering munitions

  Launched Effects - Short Range (LE-SR) [US]

  Background Air-launched effect (ALE) In 2022, the US sought a family of systems comprising an air vehicle, payload, mission systems applications and support equipment to ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-8C Fire Scout (USA)

  Programme Background Timeline According to the Naval Air Systems Command, having first ordered the MQ-8B in 2009, the UAV has become a pillar of the ...

• Military UAS - small

  Heavy Lift Capability (UASHLC) [UK]

  Programme Background Requirement & Objective The RN identified a requirement to acquire an RPAS to transport cargo and supplies between ships and personnel. When mature, it ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Heavy Lift UAV [Germany]

  Background  Victor U250 agreement On 10 June 2026, at ILA Berlin, Rheinmetall, ERC Systems, and the North Rhine-Westphalia state formed a strategic partnership to lay ...

• Loitering munitions

  Launched Effects - Medium Range (LE-MR) [US]

  Background Air-launched effect (ALE) In 2022, the US sought a family of systems comprising an air vehicle, payload, mission systems applications and support equipment to ...

• Military UAS - small

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 1) [USA]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Project Proteus [UK]

  Background Requirements The RN requires an uncrewed helicopter to test the viability of larger uncrewed aircraft, possibly providing an alternative to crewed aircraft such as the ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Heavy Lift VTOL (HVTOL) [US Army]

  Background USMC First, Army Second In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Medium Aerial Resupply Vehicle – Expeditionary ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Heavy-lift Helicopter STH [Germany]

  Background Requirement The German government issued a tender in March 2019 for the procurement of heavy-lift helicopters under the Schwerer Transporthubschrauber (STH) program, 60 units are ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) (MV-75 Cheyenne II) [USA]

  Programme Background US Army's Future Vertical Lift Programme The FLRAA is one of three strands of a broader army programme. The others are the Future ...

• 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 helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  CH-47F CHINOOK [USA]

  Programme Background As the Army's only heavy-lift helicopter, the CH-47F Improved Cargo helicopter is an essential component of the Army's Multi-Domain Battle framework. The CH-47F ...

• Transport

  Large Transport Aircraft-II (LTA-II) [South Korea]

  Programme Background Requirements The aircraft are needed for peacetime, international peacekeeping, emergency and combat operations. They are especially required to ensure a strategic lift capacity ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - MALE

  Korean Future Vertical Lift (KFVL)

  Unveiled at KADEX 2024, the Korean Future Vertical Lift (KFVL) is a family of uncrewed helicopters from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). Despite being in the ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Aerosonde Mk 4.8 HQ FTUAS

  From the Texton family of Aerosonde UAS, the Aerosonde Mk 4.8 Hybrid Quad (HQ) FTUAS is a tactical drone purpose-built to meet the US Army's Future Vertical Lift ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  HQ-60

  Similarly to other platforms in the L3 Technologies Hybrid Quadrotor (HQ) and Fixed-Wing Rotator family (see separate entries) of VTOL fixed-wing UAVs, the HQ-60 has ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  SB-1 Defiant

  The SB-1 Defiant is a Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD) aircraft. Sikorsky and Boeing announced in February 2013 that they would submit a joint proposal ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  V-247 Vigilant

  The V-247 Vigilant is a tiltrotor UAV from Bell. Officially introduced in 2016, it features an open modular architecture and can host several payloads. These include ...

• Air: Displays

  F-15 Replacement Vertical Situation Display

  BAE Systems Replacement Vertical Situation Display (RVSD) replaces the legacy VSD units on F-15E aircraft. The AMLCD display offers a larger display size and is compatible ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  X-Sight

  Elbit X-Sight is a developmental helmet-mounted display system designed for helicopters. According to the manufacturer, it will offer a high field of view and colour binocular ...

• Military helicopters - multirole, Military UAS - tactical

  Hexa

  The Hexa, or LIFT Hexa, is a rotary-wing aircraft developed by LIFT Aircraft for military and commercial markets. Due to its configuration and triple redundant autopilot computer, ...

• Military UAS - small

  H6 Poseidon

  Manufactured by Swarmly, the H6 Poseidon is a fixed-wing VTOL-capable UAV. The second largest member of the Poseidon family, the vertical lift is provided through ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  DrN-600

  The DrN-600 is a medium-lift cargo UAV developed by Singapore-based manufacturer ST Engineering. The platform combines vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) with wing-borne forward flight and ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Victor U250

  The Victor U250 is a heavy lift drone in development by ERC Systems. The UAV has been developed by ERC for critical mission applications including ...

• Light UGVs

  Avenger

  In January 2017, Med-Eng announced the launch of a new bomb disposal and tactical robot, called the Avenger, at the SHOT Show in Las Vegas. ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Veloce-15

  The ST Engineering Veloce-15 (V-15) is a hybrid fixed-wing UAV with four rotors for vertical lift and a tail-mounted two-bladed pusher propeller for horizontal propulsion.  ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Loong 2

  The Loong 2 is a rotary-wing mini-UAV manufactured by LoongUAV. Designed for ISR missions, the UAV features a universal plug-and-play standardised interface, meaning a lot of different ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Proteus

  Proteus is a technology demonstrator that Leonardo is developing in collaboration with the UK MoD's Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S;) Future Capabilities Group and the ...