• Naval Warfare

  Indo Pacific 2025: Autonomous systems reigned but can the Australian Defence Force afford it?

  17th November 2025

  Multiple autonomous systems and technologies were on display at this year’s Indo Pacific, but questions remain over how the Australian Department of Defence will balance the books.

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy to invest more than $700 million in laser-related R&D efforts in FY2026

  26th January 2026

  The US Navy’s acceleration of its laser weapon development initiatives reflects a decisive shift towards ultimately having a “laser on every ship” across tomorrow’s surface fleet.

• Air Warfare

  Spain signs for two Quantum Systems UAS reconnaissance platforms

  7th May 2025

  The Vector and Twister systems will be utilised for medium and short-range ISR missions across the Spanish Armed Forces.

• Air Warfare

  Singapore P-8A buy integral to future maritime domain awareness network

  17th September 2025

  Singapore’s acquisition of the Boeing P-8A Poseidon will be part of a maritime domain awareness network that could include uncrewed aerial systems.

• Air Warfare

  Paris Air Show 2025: Teaming success for E-7 and MQ-28 as Ghost Bat targets Europe

  17th June 2025

  Boeing has announced the successful flight trial of a MQ-28 Ghost Bat uncrewed aerial system (UAS) teaming with an E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft against an airborne target.

• Air Warfare

  Skydio X10D becomes first UAS delivered for Tranche 2 US Army Short Range Reconnaissance programme

  8th May 2025

  The drone has equipped a US Army Transforming in Contact (TiC) to provide it with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.

• Air Warfare

  Why tactical UAVs are winning on the future battlefield (Podcast)

  9th May 2025

  In Conversation: In this special edition of the Shephard Defence Podcast, Tony Skinner sits down with Dan Slasky, President and CEO of Aeronautics, to explore how cutting-edge tactical unmanned aerial systems are reshaping today’s battlefields.

• Air Warfare

  DSEI 2025: NATO members evaluate Black Widow UAV as it joins NSPA catalogue

  12th September 2025

  The addition of Red Cat’s Black Widow to NATO’s NSPA catalogue opens the doors for allied forces to more easily procure the AI-enabled drone.

• Air Warfare

  Shield AI unveils V-Bat block upgrade

  9th April 2025

  The heavy-fuel engine V-Bat was officially showcased at Sea Air Space, after it was first teased in February 2025.

• Naval Warfare

  Advances in USV technology help develop tomorrow’s hybrid fleet

  27th October 2025

  As services like the Royal Navy and US Navy aim to develop hybrid fleets to reduce reliance on and dangers to crewed vessels, L3Harris, Metal Shark and Red Cat step forward.

• Air Warfare

  New UAVs: is the right capability being procured for the British Army?

  26th May 2025

  Following the retirement of Watchkeeper from the UK Armed Forces, what drone capabilities will be next sought as a replacement?

• Land Warfare

  How AI and robotics drive innovation in land-based defence

  23rd October 2025

  The future on the frontlines: automation and AI isn’t just about improving efficiency or driving down labour cost - for Pearson Engineering it’s everything.

• Defence Notes

  High tension in the High North – a wake-up call for NATO’s future Arctic defence efforts?

  20th January 2026

  Any potential ‘Arctic Sentry’ mission would be months in the planning, but with tensions high in the region given the US’s push for Greenland, NATO countries will need to continue to emphasise their commitment to the region, analysts have said.

• Land Warfare

  US Army to test droppable camera for perimeter security under the xTech programme

  12th May 2025

  Bounce Imaging’s Thermal Camera Spike is a rugged, deployable 360° surveillance tool.

• Naval Warfare

  US Coast Guard announces $350 million investment in robotics and autonomous systems

  26th September 2025

  The USCG will use part of this funding to acquire SkyDio X10D short-range uncrewed aircraft systems, VideoRay Defender remotely operated vehicles and Qinetiq Squad Packable Utility and mini-SPUR robots.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

• ISR/special mission

  C-208B ISR [Tunisia]

  Programme Background Requirement The acquisition of the C-208B Grand Caravan EX aircraft is part of Tunisia’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its ISR capabilities in response ...

• ISR/special mission

  King Air 350ER -Canada

  Programme Background Canadian Special Forces was looking to procure ISR aircraft to support their missions both overseas and domestically.  There were few Canadian suppliers to sell ...

• ISR/special mission

  King Air 350ER ISR [Kuwait]

  Programme Background In February 2018, the US State Department has approved an estimated $259m potential foreign military sale of King Air 350ER intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Long-Endurance UAV [US AFRICOM]

  Programme Background Ageing MQ-9A Reapers In November 2022, Shephard reported that GA-ASI would continue supporting contractor SMX with its MQ-9A after winning a $2.3 billion task ...

• ISR/special mission

  Shadow R1 [UK]

  Programme Background The RAF is moving forward with an ambitious plan to transform its intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) force to enable greater ...

• Military UAS - small

  Black Hornet 3 PRS (UK)

  Programme Background The British Army operated approximately 160 first-generation Black Hornet PD-100 nano UAS between 2013 and 2017, when the decision was made to retire ...

• ISR/special mission

  Baekdu-II [South Korea]

  Programme Background This ISR aircraft programme, which first appeared on the 2020-24 Mid-Term Defense Acquisition Plan, comprises four Baekdu-II aircraft. These will add to two ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  ISR Civilian-Made UAVs [Taiwan]

  Background Civilian-made, Military-specification As reported by Shephard in April 2025, to accelerate the acquisition process and urgently build a larger UAV inventory, Taipei is enlisting the private ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  SW-4

  The SW-4 is aimed at the basic and advanced pilot training, troop transport and ISR missions. Its Polish designation is Puszczyk. The SW-4s are based ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  A-29 Super Tucano Afghanistan

  Media reports suggest that with the hourly cost of $1000, the A-29 is a successful platform for counter-insurgency missions. Its operational capability from unprepared airstrips, ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  ISR Drones (First Batch) (Ukraine Aid) [Netherlands]

  Programme Background First Batch On 20 March 2024, Kajsa Ollongren, Minister of Defence of the Netherlands, announced that, following a 19 March Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting, ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Drone Action Plan (Ukraine Aid) [Netherlands]

  Programme Background APOS On 6 October 2024, the Dutch Minister of Defense, Ruben Brekelmans, visited Kharkiv and Kyiv. During his visit to Ukraine, he announced a new ...

• Maritime patrol

  Multi-Mission Aircraft (Canada - Option)

  Programme Background Canadian Air Force is operating 15 C-3P (Canadian designation CP-140) special mission aircraft in service. They were acquired between 1980-91 and expected to ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Ukrainian Drones (Ukraine Aid) [Netherlands]

  Programme Background Military Package On 5 March 2025, the Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof announced the Netherlands would reserve €3.5 billion ($3.8 billion) to continue ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Silent Falcon

  The Silent Falcon is a solar-electric sUAS with long-endurance capabilities for extended-range missions. The UAS can be used for commercial and military applications. The entire ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  ULTRA

  The Unmanned Long-endurance Tactical Reconnaissance Aircraft (ULTRA) is a fixed-wing drone from DZYNE Technologies.  It is described as a long-endurance, GPS-harded intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platform with full ...

• DT18 Airframe

  The DT18 is a civilian UAV with approval for BVLOS operations by the French Civil Aviation Authority. Its applications include linear infrastructure monitoring, precision agriculture ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  Jackal

  The Jackal is a small UAV manufactured by FLY BVLOS, Flyby Technology and Maxwell Innovations. The system features a plug-and-play system, meaning new equipment and technologies can be ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Delta

  The Delta is a UAV with a VTOL capability before rotating and operating as a conventional fixed-wing aircraft when airborne.  Manufactured by Fly BVLOS, Nigeria was expected ...

• Freya

  An easy-to-use system which requires minimal training, Freya can be operated in difficult situations and weather conditions, including strong winds and mountainous areas. A tracker ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Indago

  Indago is a small quadrotor UAV with VTOL. It is equipped with a large-screen handset and is marketed as 'whisper-quiet' with a noise level of ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Canary

  Volatus Aerospace has stated that its civilian Canary rotary-wing cargo-carrying UAV can be adapted for military use in last-mile resupply operations.  Payloads are housed internally ...

• Land: battle management systems

  AIMS-ISR

  AIMS-ISR is a software package used to process the video footage and data gathered from the cameras and other sensors fitted to airborne, ground-based and ...

• Air: mission management systems

  Ageon ISR

  Ageon ISR is a multi-INT C2/PED solution supporting cross-domain collection, ingestion, processing, exploitation and dissemination from tactical units to the global enterprise and cloud. Ageon ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  ENVOY

  The ENVOY is a multi-mission rotary-wing UAV with a tandem-rotor design and a payload carrying capacity of 180kg. General Dynamics renamed the system ENVOY in mid-2025.  ...

• UAS: communication systems

  muLTElink

  Produced by uAvionix, the muLTElink is a multiple-link airborne radio system designed for uncrewed platforms in particular. It combines C-Band, LTE, ISM and Viasat L-Band communications, ...

• Air: UAS radar

  EchoFlight

  The Echoflight radar by Echodyne is a Lightweight Metamaterials ESA (MESA®), a Detect-and-Avoid (DAA) 4D radar designed for mid-sized UAVs flying below the visual line of sight (BVLOS) ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  DrN-15 (series)

  The DrN-15 is a hexacopter mini-UAV from ST Engineering. The platform is highly customizable and can carry various payloads depending on a user's requirements.  All DrN ...

• AR100C

  The AR100C is a quadcopter UAV designed for surveillance and reconnaissance missions at low-altitude BVLOS during day and night operations. The system is an improved ...