• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Northrop keeps faith in Euro Hawk

  21st August 2014

  Germany’s Euro Hawk high altitude long endurance (HALE) UAS programme is still very much alive, senior officials at Northrop Grumman continue to insist. Speaking to …

• Defence Notes

  Portsmouth shipbuilding never had a chance

  20th August 2014

  Efforts by the UK’s Portsmouth Shipbuilding – a consortium of marine consultancies and local businesses – to keep shipbuilding operations alive in the city were …

• Land Warfare

  NZ pushes ahead with rifle replacement

  15th August 2014

  New Zealand released a request for tender (RfT) for its Individual Weapon Replacement Programme (IWRP) on 14 August. The IWRP was officially initiated in March, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Development cycle continues for Taiwan's 'Reaper'

  14th August 2014

  Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) is in the process of evaluating a secretive, long range UAV copied from the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, Shephard …

• Defence Helicopter

  Rotorcraft heavyweights selected for JMR TD phase

  13th August 2014

  In a widely anticipated move, the US Army has chosen Bell Helicopter and Sikorsky-Boeing to build demonstrators for the Joint Multi-Role - Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD) …

• Naval Warfare

  UK MoD awards £348 million OPV contract

  12th August 2014

  A £348 million contract to build three new Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) for the Royal Navy has gone to BAE Systems, securing some 800 jobs …

• Land Warfare

  BAE to sell South African business to Denel

  11th August 2014

  BAE Systems’ Land Systems South Africa (LSSA) business is to be sold to Denel for 855 million Rand ($80.2 million) in the fourth quarter of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  IDF describes small UAS ops in Gaza

  11th August 2014

  The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has shed some light on its use of small UAVs during Operation Protective Edge in Gaza and the West Bank, …

• Military Logistics

  DRS wins Halvorsen aircraft loader support contract

  8th August 2014

  DRS Technologies will support the US Air Force’s fleet of Halvorsen 25K Aircraft Cargo Loaders under a new contract announced on 6 August. The ten-year …

• Digital Battlespace

  Boeing wins NATO AWACS upgrade work

  6th August 2014

  Boeing will install digital flight decks and avionics on 13 NATO Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft under a $250 million contract announced on …

• Naval Warfare

  RAN set for Nulka active missile decoy upgrade

  4th August 2014

  The Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN’s) project to update the Nulka Active Missile Decoy launch capability is set to go ahead with the government granting First …

• Land Warfare

  Russia to counter sanctions with increased army spend

  4th August 2014

  The Russian government plans to increase defence spending to one-quarter of the federal budget by 2017. This is due to sanctions imposed on the country, …

• Military Logistics

  ESRI in talks over UK FLIS

  31st July 2014

  To enable the move from spreadsheets to interactive mapping when tracking equipment on a logistics information system ESRI eyes a significant opportunity in the UK. …

• Military Logistics

  AN-178 airlifter reaches development milestone

  31st July 2014

  The fuselage for the first AN-178 medium transport aircraft has been completed by Antonov, and the aircraft will now enter final assembly. Antonov has developed …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Predator B ER completes Phase 1 flight testing

  30th July 2014

  The Predator B Extended Range (ER) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has completed its second successful long-endurance flight, bringing the system’s Phase 1 flight test period …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Loitering munitions

  DELI [Türkiye]

  Programme Background Speaking to Shephard at SAHA Expo 2022, a spokesperson stated that the platform was expected to enter into service with the Turkish Armed ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Bayraktar TB2 [UK]

  Background Rumours In mid-October 2022, Mustafa Varank, Turkey’s minister of industry, revealed to CNN Turk that the UK was interested in Turkish armed drones. The ...

• Military UAS - micro

  Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) (Tranche 2) / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) [USA]

  Background 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, ...

• Military UAS - micro

  Micro UAV [Argentina]

  Background Tender The EA and MoD in April 2021 announced Public Tender 0090/2021 (UOC: 84/135), which saw the General Directorate of Material begin the process of ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  AH-64E Apache (Indian Air Force)

  Programme Background The Indian Army was originally granted co-ownership of the 22 Apaches by the Indian MoD. However, the IAF refused to cede them to ...

• Land: air defence radar

  Ground Master 403 Radar [Egypt]

  Background In 2020, Egypt ordered four of France-based Thales Ground Master 403 radars, the mobile member of their GM400 radar family.  At least one of the ...

• Military UAS - small

  ScanEagle [Czechia]

  Programme Background Earmarked The ACR took delivery of ten ScanEagle systems (100 UAVs), which were received as a donation from the US in 2015. In ...

• Military UAS - micro

  Sovereign UAS Challenge [Australia]

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

• Military UAS - small

  Domestically developed UAV [Mexican Army]

  Background Domestic development In 2025, President Claudia Sheinbaum announced initiatives for the Army and Navy to independently develop UAV prototypes, as part of a broader ...

• Military UAS - small

  HUSAR (2023 Order) [Germany]

  Programme Background First Order In 2015, the German Army launched the HUSAR programme to identify a replacement for its Airbus Defence & Space KZO and ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Akinci [Libya]

  Programme Background 2022 Reports In October 2022, various Libyan media outlets reported that the country was eyeing a possible procurement from Baykar, possibly the Akinici ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  TUAS [Malaysia]

  Programme Background Tender & Requirments The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) issued a tender in May 2020 to provide a new Tactical Uncrewed Aerial System (TUAS). ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Wizjer [Poland]

  Programme Background Requirements In its Technical Modernisation Programme 2013-2022, the Polish Ministry of National Defense (MND) identified the need for several new types of UAVs ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Aerial Logistics Connector (ALC) [USMC]

  Background US Marine ULS-A programmes The US Marines are seeking a family of Unmanned Logistics Systems-Air (ULS-A) that will provide logistics and ground units with their ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  OC-135B Replacement [USA]

  Programme Background The modification and Treaty Certification works include Digital Visual Imaging System kits, design and development for mission system integration (structural design, interphone communications systems, ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - small

  Skylark 3

  The Skylark 3 is a small UAS manufactured by Elbit Systems. It is designed for both dismounted and vehicle-based operations.  It can perform a range of ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  M12 Monitor

  The Saxon Remote Systems M12 Monitor UAV is a commercial and military system designed to perform a range of roles such as surveillance, pipeline inspection ...

• Military UAS - small, Military UAS - tactical

  Resolute Eagle

  The Resolute Eagle is a tactical Group 3 UAS with fuselage and underwing payload bays, which is able to carry multiple sensors. The UAS has been ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  SICX-10E

  The SICX-10E is a rotary-wing UAV suitable for a range of military and civil roles, including tactical ISR, bomb damage assessment, homeland security, aerial surveillance, ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  SICX-25

  The SICX-25 is a rotary-wing UAV suitable for a range of military, commercial and civil missions, including tactical ISTAR, bomb damage assessment, civil air surveillance, ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  30 June

  Developed by the Egyptian Ministry of Military Production, the 30 June is a MALE fixed-wing UAV designed for reconnaissance missions.  Additionally, it features an electromagnetic system and ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Wulung

  The Wulung is an Indonesian tactical UAV. First displayed at the Indo Defence Expo and Forum in November 2014, the aircraft entered mass production in May ...

• EO/IR systems

  Skybox

  The Skybox allows gimballed camera systems developed for small UAVs to be integrated on the nose of manned helicopters. It accommodates cameras such as DJI’s ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Yagu

  Plasan unveiled the Yagu 4x4 at the March 2018 Expo Seguridad event. It is based on the Arctic Cat Wildcat 4 1000 commercial all-terrain vehicle. The ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  StratoAirNet

  The StratoAirNet is a lightweight MALE UAV that is solar-powered and designed for commercial and military applications. It can accommodate multiple payloads weighing up to ...

• Air: mission management systems

  TM-100 Map and Video Management system

  Trakka Systems introduced a new TM-100 Map and Video Management system at HAI Heli-Expo 2017 in Dallas. The augmented reality mapping system with metadata video and audio ...

• EO/IR systems

  Geodetic photomapping and monitoring payload and blind zone cameras

  Heliatica unveiled a geodetic mapping and monitoring payload with Geoscan at Heli-Expo 2017. The system is designed to fit two Sony DSC-RX1 (24MP resolution) cameras ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  EJ-30

  Produced by Industrial Complex Engineering Robots in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Military Production, the EJ-30 is a MALE UAV with visual similarity to the ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Dragonfish (Series)

  The Dragonfish is a series of mini fixed-wing tiltrotor UAVs from Autel Robotics. The series consists of the Lite, Standard and Pro dragonfish, with the ...

• OPVs

  Shachi Class (Project 21)

  Project 21 (P-21) Naval Offshore Patrol Vessels (NOPVs)  was intended to enhance the maritime surveillance and patrol capabilities of the Indian Navy. The design of ...