• Air Warfare

  Czech MoD enters talks to buy C-390 Millenium after prolonged consideration

  17th October 2023

  The negotiations between Embraer and the Czech MoD aim to finalise an acquisition contract for two C-390 Millenium transport aircraft under a deal that could exceed US$200 million.

• Air Warfare

  Will air forces in the Middle East look to new sources for advanced equipment?

  29th December 2023

  Amid a tense strategic situation and the absence of advanced indigenous products, Gulf Cooperation Council states have come to be regarded as a priority export destination for most new air, land or sea systems.

• Digital Battlespace

  US consortium aims to improve platoon power by factor of 10

  31st October 2023

  A consortium of nine companies plans to conduct experiments and exercises over the next 12 months to demonstrate how new technologies can massively increase the power of forces at platoon level.

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2023: MSI Defence Systems announces new mobile counter-UAS solution

  15th September 2023

  At DSEI 2023, MSI Defence Systems showcased the latest iteration of its Terrahawk Paladin VSHORAD C-UAS system, featuring radar and optical sensors and a 30mm Bushmaster autocannon. The company is working on a mobile version mounted on a 6x6 truck.

• Defence Notes

  India’s Defence Acquisition Council green lights $26.8 billion in spending

  4th December 2023

  India’s Defence Acquisition Council has unveiled a list of equipment needs and has stipulated that 98% of the contract value must be spent domestically. It added that 50% of the indigenous content should be in the form of material, components and software made in India.

• Air Warfare

  US Air Force strategic programmes to be affected by budgetary uncertainty

  15th November 2023

  The operation under continuing resolutions can impact the schedule of several US Air Force efforts including the B-21, AMRAAM and C3BM.

• Naval Warfare

  DSEI 2023: MARSS completes anti-drone installation on Canadian ship

  12th September 2023

  MARSS has completed the rapid installation of its NiDAR C2 counter-UAS (CUAS) system on board the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) replenishment and supply ship MV Asterix, an announcement which follows the recent unveiling of its X-JOC deployable NiDAR containerised system which is on display at DSEI.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Elistair unveils automated tethered observation UAS

  14th November 2023

  The Khronos tethered UAS has been designed to be simple to use and has drawn on Elistair’s experience with hundreds of existing customers.

• Air Warfare

  BAE Systems' anti-jammer for Eurofighter Typhoon moves to next phase

  17th November 2023

  BAE Systems’ Digital GPS Anti-jam Receiver (DIGAR) will boost the protection of the aircraft from GPS signal jamming, spoofing and radio frequency (RF) interference.

• Naval Warfare

  Systematic selected to provide C2 solution for German F126 Frigates

  21st November 2023

  The F126 frigate-class has been developed under the MKS 180 frigate programme for the German Navy and has been designed to produce one of the largest German surface warships in more than seven decades.

• Air Warfare

  US to boost Iraqi forces and Peshmerga air defence against Iran-backed threats

  19th December 2023

  In response to persistent missile and drone attacks predominantly carried out by Iran and its allied militias, the US has embarked on a strategic initiative to bolster Iraqi forces' air defence capabilities.

• Land Warfare

  Israel Aerospace Industries signs two loitering munitions deals

  23rd November 2023

  IAI has developed several loitering munitions or attack UAS including Harpy NG, Harop, Rotem and Mini Harpy. It has also been developing Point Blank, described as a 'hand-launched electro-optical guided missile' but much like the company's loitering munitions can dwell while confirming a target's nature.

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2023: Climate change – how military training will need to adapt

  25th November 2023

  How climate change poses various challenges and risks to defence training, readiness and infrastructure.

• Digital Battlespace

  Solving key multidomain challenges for major alliances

  12th December 2023

  Undertaking complex multidomain operations within a multinational alliance comes with challenges. Here are some ways to address them.

• Land Warfare

  Russia tests C-UAS slat protection over turrets and anti-UAV jamming systems for armoured vehicles

  20th September 2023

  Russian defence companies are adapting to emerging threats and exploring ways to counter top-attack munitions and first-person-view (FPV) UAVs.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - small

  Puma 2 AE [Germany]

  Programme Background The Germany navy had an urgent requirement for three UAS required for reconnaissance and identification in maritime operations. A platform was required that ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Replicator 1 [US]

  Programme Background Announcement & Requirement In late August 2023, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks announced the Replicator programme, an effort to galvanise an industry which ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Bayraktar TB2 (Qatar)

  Programme Background In 2018 at DIMDEX, it was revealed that Qatar had bought six Bayraktar TB2 UAVs from Turkey. The deal also included three ground control stations, ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Multidomian Micro Drones [USSOCOM]

  Background Special Notice On 14 November 2024, a Special Notice was released that informed the industry that the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) was looking for ...

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

  Thor [Israel]

  Background Various Contracts On 3 December 2024, the Israeli Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced it had purchased “advanced drones and autonomous systems” from Elbit Systems in various ...

• 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 - 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 - 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 ...

• 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-15SA Saudi Arabia

  The aircraft deal includes 170 APG-63(v)3 AESA radar sets, 193 F-110-GE-129 Improved Performance Engines, 100 M61 Vulcan Cannons, 338 Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems amongst ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Skeldar V-200 Dutch Navy

  Programme Background The Dutch Ministry of Defence issued a notice seeking information regarding the potential acquisition of a vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aerial vehicle ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Skeldar V-200 Belgian Navy

  Programme Background For the joint MCM programme between Belgium and the Netherlands, the Dutch Ministry of Defence issued a notice calling for information regarding the ...

• 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 - 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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Artemis [US]

  Background Origin Artemis began in 2024 due to the US European Command and Indo-Pacific Command's demand for UAVs that met the following requirements. As part ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

• Data links

  CLIP

  Common Link Integration Processing (CLIP) is a software product that performs data transformation and processes protocols for dissimilar communications formats. It meets requirements for common ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  X-MADIS

  The eXpeditionary Mobile Air Defense Integrated System (X-MADIS) is a portable, fully integrated C-UAS system for fixed-site, mobile and on-the-move operations.  Combining four all-threat air ...

• EO/IR systems

  CM202U

  The CM202U is a field-proven gyro-stabilised imaging system for counter small uncrewed aerial systems (C-sUAS) operations and ground ISR applications.  Manfuaucted by AVT Australia, it includes high-definition ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  Dronekiller

  The IXI Dronekiller is a handheld C-UAS device that employs software-defined radio technology to detect and affect Class 1 and Class 2 UAS devices without ...

• Loitering munitions

  Revenger

  The Revenger is a loitering munition developed by SRB Aerial Systems.  Not much is known about the platform; however, at IDEX 2023, two units were ...

• 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

  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

  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

  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 ...

• 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 ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  Pitbull C-UAS Jammer

  In June 2018, MyDefence launched the Pitbull wearable C-UAS solution, which utilises smart jamming to defeat enemy drones. Pitbull was developed to have a minimal ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  ADRIAN

  ADRIAN is a family of Counter-UAS solutions manufactured by ELT Group. The family is designed to intercept and neutralise mini and micro-UAS and includes versions ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  SkyTracker

  SkyTracker is a technology suite that detects, identifies, tracks and mitigates UAS threats. The system provides continuous 24h automated monitoring in all weather conditions. The ...

• EO/IR systems

  miniVUX-SYS

  The RIEGL miniVUX-SYS is a lightweight laser scanning system designed for integration with UAS/RPAS platforms. Manufactured by RIEGL, it features a miniVUX-series LiDAR sensor (e.g., ...