• Digital Battlespace

  Thales, Airbus receive French defence contract

  7th April 2016

  Thales and Airbus Defence and Space have received the GeoMaps contract to supply digital geographic data for the French Ministry of Defence’s mapping database, Thales …

• Defence Helicopter

  Singapore to replace US-based Chinooks

  7th April 2016

  Singapore will replace the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s (RSAF) fleet of six Boeing CH-47D Chinook helicopters. The replacement will only affect the Peace Prairie …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  iRobot completes sell-off

  6th April 2016

  iRobot has completed the sale of its defense and security business to Arlington Capital Partners for up to $45 million, it announced on 4 April. The …

• Digital Battlespace

  Space Fence advances

  6th April 2016

  Lockheed Martin's Space Fence is taking a step closer to reality with the recent opening of the Space Fence Integrated Test Bed (ITB) site in New …

• Defence Helicopter

  Vikhr-1 ATGMs for the Russian Ka-52 fleet

  6th April 2016

  The Kalashnikov Concern reported on 5 April 2016 that it had finalised the delayed contract for the delivery of Vikhr-1 anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) to …

• Naval Warfare

  Bulgaria to procure two combat ships

  6th April 2016

  The Bulgarian government has approved an investment project to fund the procurement of two corvette-sized combat ships for the Bulgarian Navy. The hulls are likely …

• Naval Warfare

  Marshall, Aerodata sign contract

  6th April 2016

  Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group has received a contract from Aerodata to provide special mission role conversion engineering services in relation to the latter’s ATR-72 …

• Digital Battlespace

  Singapore declassifies IAI radar

  6th April 2016

  The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) put its new Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) Elta Systems radar through its paces at the recent Exercise Cope …

• Land Warfare

  Niitek receives $10 million contract

  6th April 2016

  Chemring Sensors & Electronic System' US subsidiary Niitek has been awarded a $10 million contract from an undisclosed Gulf region country for its Groundshark system, Niitek …

• Defence Helicopter

  AVX remains in the FVL race

  5th April 2016

  Following successful wind-tunnel testing of its coaxial, compound design, AVX remains bullish about its involvement in the US Army’s Future Vertical Lift (FVL) programme. The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Patroller to replace French Army Sperwer

  5th April 2016

  The Patroller UAV has finally been confirmed as the replacement for the Sperwer UAS currently deployed with the French Army’s 61st Artillery Regiment from 2018. …

• Digital Battlespace

  F-35I C4 system enters production

  5th April 2016

  The Command, Control, Communications and Computing (C4) system developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for the Israeli variant of the F-35 aircraft has completed testing …

• Defence Notes

  US Navy delivers new APKWS variant

  4th April 2016

  The US Navy has delivered the first fixed-wing aircraft variant of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System (APKWS) to the marine attack squadron (VMA) 233 …

• Digital Battlespace

  DefExpo 2016: OIS-AT promotes four radars

  4th April 2016

  OIS Advanced Technology (OIS-AT), a private Indian company, showed four new radar types at DefExpo 2016 in Goa. In a briefing with Shephard, Sanjay Bhandari, …

• Digital Battlespace

  UK tests Finmeccanica’s BriteCloud decoy

  4th April 2016

  The UK Air Force has successfully conducted an initial evaluation of Finmeccanica’s BriteCloud anti-missile countermeasure decoy, the company announced at the end of March. The …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  HH-60W - Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH)

  According to the FY2021 Base funding, the HH-60W helicopter unit cost is $43.2 million. The HH-60W will be capable of employment day or night, in ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2 [Pakistan]

  Programme Background Requirement Following a 2019 skirmish with India, Pakistan placed newfound importance on EW and ISR, primarily due to the significant advantage gained during that ...

• 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 - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-9B SkyGuardian [Denmark]

  Programme Background Arctic Capability Package In February 2021, Denmark published the Arctic Capability package, a commitment to invest in new technologies, particularly uncrewed systems, to improve ...

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

  Long-Range Drones [Norway]

  Background Andøya Ambition On 3 April 2023, the Norwegian MoD released a statement confirming its plans for Andøya, the northernmost island in its Vesterålen archipelago. In addition to ...

• Loitering munitions

  Long Range One-way Platforms [US]

  Solicitation In October 2024, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) released a solicitation for long-range, one-way platforms. The DIU noted recent conflicts highlighted the asymmetric impact of low-cost, ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  V-Bat 128 [Canada]

  Programme Background Requirement Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) was seeking a platform for the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) that would significantly expand its surveillance range ...

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

  Mini Intelligence Drone System (SMDR) [France]

  Background Requirement The French Army identified a need for a new tactical UAS to replace the Drac, which entered service in 2008. The Mini Reconnaissance ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  M Solar-X [Thailand]

  Programme Background Roadmap In February 2024, the RTAF unveiled its White Paper 2024. Incorporating lessons from the Russo-Ukrainian War, the Israel-Hamas War, and other events ...

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

  Seeker 400 - First Batch (UAE)

  Programme Background The UAE has a long history of transactions with Denel Dynamics. The country has been purchasing various Seeker systems from as far back ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  NH90 NFH-Italy

  Programme Background  The Italian Navy has taken delivery of its first NH90 NFH helicopter in Full Operational Capability (or Step B) configuration in November 2013. ...

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

  CH-4 (First Batch) [Pakistan]

  Programme Background First Batch According to the Pakistan Exim Trade Info website, five aircraft were delivered to the country on 15 January 2021. According to a ...

• Loitering munitions

  Medium-Range Loitering Munition with LEO Satellite Data Link [South Korea]

  Background New Project In April 2025, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) announced a new project titled “Development of Medium-Range ...

• Military UAS - small

  Small UAV (Bulgaria)

  Programme Background The Bulgarian Army wants to procure UAVs to enhance the organic tactical ISR capabilities of its ground forces. According to Bulgarian media, a ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

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

  Caihong

  The Caihong (Rainbow), also known as the Cai Hong or CH, is a solar-powered HALE platform designed for near-space flight. It is suitable for military ...

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

  Morning Star

  Aviation Industry Corporation of China’s Morning Star is a quasi-satellite, near-space, solar-powered platform. It is designed for both military and civilian applications, including reconnaissance, navigation ...

• FL-3

  The FL-3 is a planned solar-powered, long-endurance, near-space platform with an 85,300ft ceiling. Speculated future uses include communication, ground observation, meteorological monitoring and operation as ...

• ISR/special mission, Maritime patrol

  A320neo M3A

  Currently under development by Airbus, the A320 M3A is the Maritime Patrol version of the civilian A320neo aircraft. The aircraft can be fitted with a wide ...

• Space: radar systems

  SARah

  SARah is the planned follow-on system for the SAR-Lupe radar satellite constellation operated by the German Armed Forces. In 2013, it was announced that OHB ...

• Major networking projects

  EAC

  The NATO Communications and Information Agency awarded ACTIA Sodielec a contract in June 2013 to provide NATO with an Extended Advanced SATCOM Network Monitoring and ...

• Space: radar systems

  ESA Sentinel-1

  Sentinel-1 is a planned constellation of four satellites with two already in orbit and two on order. They carry a payload of a C-band SAR ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Vocality Pro Series

  The Pro Series includes the V25, V50, V150 and V20. These are designed to be used in a central communications hub or as part of ...

• Air: COMINT and ELINT systems

  FlyingFish Maritime

  The FlyingFish Maritime SIGINT system is one of several derivatives of the FlyingFish Airborne Satellite Monitoring System developed by Horizon Technologies. Designed to be mounted ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing

  S-70UAS U-Hawk

  Unveiled at AUSA 2025, the S-70UAS U-Hawk is an uncrewed version of Sikorsky’s crewed UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter.  It will act as a delivery aircraft for medium-sized uncrewed ground vehicles ...

• Air: COMINT and ELINT systems

  FlyingFish

  FlyingFish is an Airborne Satellite Monitoring System designed to detect and intercept SATCOM from airborne ISR platforms. As a passive system, it cannot be detected ...

• Guided munitions

  GP155B

  The GP155B is a 155mm artillery round developed by Norinco. The GP155B integrates satellite-based guidance systems that are compatible with both the Chinese Beidou Navigation ...

• Data links

  Space CDL

  The Space Common Data Link (CDL) system provides a wideband data link capability adaptable to a variety of space-based applications. It consists of separate transmitter ...

• 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 ...

• Naval: COMINT and ELINT systems

  FlyingFish Naval

  The FlyingFish Naval SIGINT system is one of several derivatives of the FlyingFish Airborne Satellite Monitoring System (ASMS) developed by Horizon Technologies. Whereas the original ...