• Military Logistics

  Northrop Grumman to continue sustaining Joint STARS

  14th November 2014

  Northrop Grumman will continue its work to sustain the US Air Force’s E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) fleet, under a $210 …

• Digital Battlespace

  SEA receives ECS order for Royal Navy submarines

  14th November 2014

  Cohort company, SEA, will deliver external communications equipment for the Royal Navy’s submarine fleet, with detailed design and long lead procurement work to be conducted …

• Digital Battlespace

  NATO ACCS set for full deployment

  13th November 2014

  Testing for the NATO Air Command and Control System (ACCS) programme has now been completed by ThalesRaytheonSystems (TRS), with the system’s ability to operate in …

• Defence Helicopter

  AgustaWestland strengthens Indonesian market ties

  13th November 2014

  AgustaWestland has signed a cooperation agreement with Indonesia’s Indopelita Aircraft Service (IAS) that will see in-country support and maintenance services established for AgustaWestland customers. The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Airshow China: UAV development shows few signs of abating

  13th November 2014

  A regular feature at the biennial Airshow China is the wide range of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) on show.  The latest event, held from 11-16 …

• Military Logistics

  Airshow China: Y-20 transport aircraft debuts

  12th November 2014

  The developmental Chinese Y-20 transport aircraft debuted at the 10th China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai on 11 November. The aircraft made its …

• Land Warfare

  Airshow China: NORINCO brings heavy armour

  11th November 2014

  China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO) is exhibiting at the 10th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai for the first time this year.  Among …

• Defence Notes

  Airshow China: FC-31 fighter makes debut

  11th November 2014

  The FC-31 fighter, a developmental platform from the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC), is participating in flying displays at Airshow China 2014 in Zhuhai.  Widely known …

• Military Logistics

  Hesco awarded US DLA force protection IDIQ contract

  10th November 2014

  Hesco Bastion will supply force protection expeditionary barrier systems to the US Defense Logistics Troop Support Agency (DLA) under an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) …

• Digital Battlespace

  BAE shipbuilding steps into the future

  7th November 2014

  BAE Systems has constructed a network of ‘visualisation suites’ at its sites in Glasgow, Portsmouth and Bristol, as it overhauls its approach to the design …

• Land Warfare

  Warrior CSP gets additional test vehicle but trials pushed back

  7th November 2014

  The UK’s Warrior IFV capability sustainment programme (CSP) will use an extra twelfth vehicle for demonstrations. A spokesperson from Lockheed Martin told Shephard that a …

• Naval Warfare

  Swiftships launches private security fleet

  6th November 2014

  Swiftships LLC has announced the launch of a new subsidiary known as Swift Maritime Security (SMS), which is creating a private fleet to provide maritime …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  FCAS programme feasibility phase launched

  6th November 2014

  The two-year feasibility phase of the joint French-UK Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme has been launched by the UK and French governments, with the …

• Digital Battlespace

  Thales unveils Searchmaster ‘5-in-1’ (video)

  5th November 2014

  Thales launched its new Searchmaster multirole surveillance radar with active electronic scanning antenna (AESA) technology at the Euronaval exhibition in Paris. Speaking to Shephard Media, …

• Naval Warfare

  AEUK wins underwater countermeasures research contract

  5th November 2014

  Atlas Elektronik UK (AEUK) will conduct underwater defensive aids research under a new three-year £3.5 million contract with UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) agency, Defence …

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 ...