• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Watchkeeper deployment to Afghanistan ‘unlikely’

  25th March 2014

  The British Army’s WK450 Watchkeeper is unlikely to be deployed to Afghanistan due to ‘significant delays’ to the programme, the UK House of Commons Defence …

• Land Warfare

  Rheinmetall expects recovery of defence sales in 2014

  21st March 2014

  Rheinmetall has reported a lower group operating profit for 2013 compared to 2012 as defence sales have been affected by a challenging budget environment.  Operating …

• Military Logistics

  UK DIO to become a GovCo after 2016

  21st March 2014

  The UK Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), which manages and develops the defence estate will become a Government Company (GovCo) after 2016, Shephard has learned. A …

• Land Warfare

  New Afghan MSFV orders on hold

  21st March 2014

  Plans for additional Commando Select armoured vehicles for the Afghan National Army (ANA) are being put on hold until a bi-lateral US-Afghanistan security agreement is …

• Defence Helicopter

  Italian Air Force’s first HH-101A takes flight

  20th March 2014

  The first production AW101 for the Italian Air Force has made its maiden flight at the AgustaWestland facility in Yeovil, UK, on 19 March. A …

• Digital Battlespace

  CAE details new training simulation contracts

  20th March 2014

  CAE has announced a number of new contracts that will see it supply training simulators and support services to a number of customers worldwide, including …

• Defence Helicopter

  DARPA confirms VTOL X-Plane contract recipients

  19th March 2014

  DARPA has finalised the list of contenders for its VTOL Experimental Plane (VTOL X-Plane) programme, with the awarding of two additional Phase 1 contracts to …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Army to increase Gray Eagle flight hours

  19th March 2014

  The US Army’s MQ-1C Gray Eagle UAS will be subject to a surge in flight hours upon its return from operations in Afghanistan to maintain …

• Digital Battlespace

  Boeing signs RAAF Wedgetail support extension

  17th March 2014

  The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has elected to extend a contract with Boeing Defence Australia (BDA) to support its Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning & …

• Naval Warfare

  Thales details Polish Patrol Vessel contract

  14th March 2014

  Thales will supply an integrated combat system for the ORP ŚLĄZAK Patrol Vessel being built for the Polish defence force. The company announced a contract …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Australian government considers MQ-4C Triton UAV

  13th March 2014

  The Australian government has announced that it will acquire the MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) if the US Navy’s Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Rolls Royce considers entering USV market

  12th March 2014

  Rolls Royce is exploring the possibility of developing unmanned cargo ships as part of a plan to increase efficiency and decrease costs in future operations, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Lockheed Martin to build turret for M-TADS/PNVS

  11th March 2014

  Lockheed Martin will design, integrate and qualify a High Reliability Turret for the Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (M-TADS/PNVS) onboard the US …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  SAF 2030 calls for upsurge in unmanned tech

  7th March 2014

  Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has unveiled its latest strategic roadmap for the armed forces with particular emphasis placed on unmanned systems, it has emerged. …

• Defence Helicopter

  Pentagon confirms Kiowa retirement

  6th March 2014

  The US Army is moving forward with plans to scrap its entire fleet of OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopters as part of a major aviation restructuring. …

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 ...