• Air Warfare

  Pakistan receives Chinese JF-17 Block III fighter jets, reports say

  10th March 2023

  The Pakistan Air Force's 16 Squadron has reportedly received the first batch of JF-17 Block III light multirole fighter aircraft, with a total of 50 ordered.

• Land Warfare

  US Marine Corps advances amphibious reconnaissance capabilities

  20th February 2023

  BAE Systems successfully tested Lockheed Martin Skunk Works’ Stalker and Indago sUAS on an Amphibious Combat Vehicle C4/UAS variant.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  BAE and Innovaero debut Strix, Australia’s first domestic armed VTOL UAS

  1st March 2023

  At the Avalon Airshow, BAE Systems Australia debuted Australia’s first domestically designed, built and armed VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) uncrewed air system (UAS), the Strix.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Aeronautics inks agreement for producing Orbiter 4 UAVs in Thailand

  22nd March 2023

  Aeronautics has expanded its Asia-Pacific operations, signing a collaboration agreement with RV Connex to produce the Orbiter 4 UAV in Thailand.

• Air Warfare

  IDEX 2023: Collins Aerospace partners with Saudi firm on UAS development

  22nd February 2023

  Collins Aerospace will integrate a number of its mission systems and software with SRB Aerial Systems' UAS platforms under a memorandum of understanding that is hoped to evolve into a long-term strategic partnership.

• Air Warfare

  IDEX 2023: Tekever gains perspective with new surveillance technology

  23rd February 2023

  Tekever has successfully integrated GAMASAR, the synthetic aperture radar system produced by the company, to its AR5 UAS.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  IDEX 2023: Israeli hydrogen-powered heavy lift UAS to fly by summer

  22nd February 2023

  Heven Drones expects the first flights with the hydrogen fuel-powered H2D 55 UAS to take place next July.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Royal Navy selects Animal Dynamics parafoil UAV for second phase of Heavy Lift challenge

  14th March 2023

  With a payload capacity of 135kg, the Stork STM can fly up to 400km using a parafoil wing to generate lift.

• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop Grumman details bid for US Navy TACAMO aircraft replacement

  17th March 2023

  The company believes its role as prime contractor on the E-2 Hawkeye puts it in a strong position for the programme to replace the USN's Boeing E-6 Mercury fleet.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  IMDEX 2023: Flyby and Thales look to further Jackal development after successful missile firing

  4th May 2023

  Having successfully developed and successfully fired a Lightweight Multi-Role Missile (LMM) from the Jackal drone, Flyby Technology and Thales see the system as offering a cross-domain capability for the UK and others.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Pentagon to focus on acquisition and development of UAV and missile capabilities

  17th January 2023

  Information and communication systems for ground troops are also likely to receive the DoD's attention in the coming years.

• Land Warfare

  US Army requests $185.5 billion for readiness and modernisation

  14th March 2023

  The FY 2024 request aims to fund a more data-centric force capable of operating in contested environments.

• Defence Notes

  US CENTCOM seeks industry partners to support Task Force 99

  27th February 2023

  US Central Command (CENTCOM) wants to increase the use of cutting-edge and innovative capabilities to create multi-domain solutions

• Air Warfare

  Canada eyes up P-8A Poseidon to replace Aurora fleet

  29th March 2023

  Canada has submitted a request to purchase P-8A Poseidon multi-mission aircraft to replace CP-140 Auroras but a final decision has not yet been made.

• Air Warfare

  Japan approved for more E-2D Hawkeye aircraft

  9th March 2023

  The US has approved a Foreign Military Sale of up to five additional E-2D AEW aircraft, as Japan bolsters its surveillance and monitoring capabilities.

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 - 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 - 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 - 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 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 - 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 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

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 ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  C-UAS Solution

  The C-UAS Solution uses goniometry, radar technologies and various sensors to detect and remove UAS from the air. So far, the solution has been proven effective against ...

• 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

  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

  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

  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 ...

• OPVs

  PPA/MultiPurpose Combat Ship (MPCS) EVO

  The PPA/MultiPurpose Combat Ship (MPCS) EVO is an enhanced version of the Thaon di Revel-class PPAs unveiled at Euronaval 2024. The PPA/MPCS EVO retains the core platform ...