• Defence Notes

  Saab radars gaining low, slow target detection

  25th June 2019

  As the number of airspace incursions involving UAVs continues to rise and make headlines due to the risk that they pose, industry is stepping up …

• Defence Helicopter

  Australia kicks off Tiger replacement effort

  10th July 2019

  The Australian Army has begun its search for a successor to the troubled Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH), with an RfI issued by the Capability …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Germany assesses Mikado UAV performance

  27th June 2019

  Germany has completed an evaluation of the Mikado UAS, testing incremental updates that have been introduced into the system.  The Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  India trials UAS deliveries

  21st June 2019

  Experimental beyond-visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations by UAS for deliveries have been recently conducted in India for proof of concept by a consortium of companies. This …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Schiebel makes moves down under

  26th June 2019

  Schiebel Pacific (SPL) has opened a new office and workshop at Albatross Aviation Technical Park in Yerriyong, New South Wales, and has announced a new …

• Defence Notes

  Malaysian MPA and UAV programmes approved

  21st June 2019

  The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) has confirmed to Shephard that the government has given approval for the service to prepare for the acquisition of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  NW-44 engine logs flight hour milestone

  20th June 2019

  Northwest UAV’s NW-44 Heavy Fuel Engine has logged 1500 sorties on combat and commercial small UAS, the company announced on 20 June.The purpose-built commercial off-the-shelf …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Paris Air Show: Quantum and ESG bring new ISR UAVs to town

  24th June 2019

  German unmanned systems manufacturer Quantum Systems and missions systems integration partner ESG jointly debuted a pair of small mock-up ISR UAVs - Vector and Scorpion …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Paris Air Show: Weaponised UAV expansion set to drive growth in the market

  18th June 2019

  Request Executive Summary The market for military unmanned systems will reach more than $14.5 billion annually by the end of the next decade, according to …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  New training programme from UMS Skeldar

  19th June 2019

   UMS Skeldar has developed a new training programme to enable commercial drone pilots to safely operate UAS in UK airspace.The training programme was delivered with …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Chess develops new C-UAS solutions

  12th June 2019

  Chess Dynamics has launched two automated UAS protection systems designed to protect airports and other critical infrastructure from rogue drone attacks.Based on the AUDS C-UAS …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Paris Air Show: Falco Xplorer lights fire to unmanned MALE competition

  17th June 2019

  The MALE unmanned market has a new addition and one that will potentially act as stiff competition to the General Atomics MQ-9B SkyGuardian. Leonardo’s new …

• Defence Helicopter

  Paris Air Show: Boeing foreshadows V-22 line closure

  10th June 2019

  It is ‘final call’ at the last chance saloon for any new or existing customers considering buying or purchasing more V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, according …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Inmarsat makes UAV play as emerging partnerships take-off

  30th May 2019

  The UK mobile satellite provider Inmarsat is seeking to increase its civil UAV sector footprint having established a set of five new partnerships with drone …

• Digital Battlespace

  Philippines orders UAS jammers from TRD

  7th June 2019

  TRD, a Singapore-based company, has successfully won a public bid to supply nine man-portable directional counter-UAS systems to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  AR3 (Ukraine Aid) [UK]

  Background £270 Million investment On 15 September 2025, the UK MoD noted that, since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the UK ...

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

  Intra-Theatre Lift [UK]

  Programme Background  Relationship to the Heavy Lift Challange The Royal Navy (RN) embarked on the Heavy Lift Challenge, now called the Heavy Lift Capability (UASHLC), to explore ...

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

  StormShroud: Autonomous Collaboration Platform (ACP) [UK]

  Background Autonomous Collaboration Platform (ACP) Strategy Reflecting on lessons learned from the cancellation of the Mosquito programme, the Royal Air Force (RAF) redefined the role ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Autonomous Collaboration Platform (ACP) (Project Vanquish) [UK]

  Background Autonomous Collaboration Platform (ACP) Strategy Reflecting on lessons learned from the cancellation of the Mosquito programme, the Royal Air Force (RAF) redefined the role ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Mini 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 ...

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

  Mini UAV - Land Exploration and Reconnaissance Vehicle (VERT) [Spain]

  Background VERT In June 2025, the Spanish Government announced a €72 million (US$82.5 million) investment in the Vehículo de exploración y reconocimiento terrestre (VERT), which translates ...

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

  Micro UAV - Land Exploration and Reconnaissance Vehicle (VERT) [Spain]

  Background VERT In June 2025, the Spanish Government announced a €72 million (US$82.5 million) investment in the Vehículo de exploración y reconocimiento terrestre (VERT), which translates to the land exploration ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Small UAV [Belgium]

  According to reports, the Belgian Land Force is set to launch various procurement programmes to expand and diversify its UAV fleet. One of these is ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Small UAV [Belgium]

  According to reports, the Belgian Land Force is set to launch various procurement programmes to expand and diversify its UAV fleet. One of these is ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Mi2 Challenge [USN]

  Programme Background Requirements The USN wants a UAV to be flown in austere environments without dedicated launch or recovery equipment; since it would be launched ...

• 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 ...

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

  Parrot Anafi (Singapore)

  Programme Background On 7 February 2022, the Singapore Army posted photographs on Facebook that showed the Anafi UAV used as training devices in a five-day ...

• 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 - fixed-wing

  Fixed-Wing VTOL UAV (Malaysia)

  Programme Background Tender Issued As reported by Shephard, on 18 June 2021, Malaysia issued a tender for fixed-wing hybrid VTOL UAVs.  Requirement The tender stated that Malaysia required ...

• Military UAS - small

  Penguin C (Latvia)

  Programme Background In 2018, the Latvian MoD signed an agreement with Latvian companies UAV Factory and Atlas Aerospace to procure UAVs for the LNAF. Under ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

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

  AR5

  First announced in October 2012, the AR5 is a MALE UAS designed for SAR, surveillance and maritime patrol missions. The AR5 can be flown manually or commanded ...

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

  AR3 EVO

  Unveiled at DSEI 2025, the AR3 EVO is a small fixed-wing UAV from Tekever. The system is highly modular and can be configured in a ...

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

  AR3

  The AR3, or AR3 Net Ray, is an autonomous small-UAS designed to support land-based and maritime missions.  In May 2025, the Royal Air Force announced ...

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

  ARX

  Unveiled at Xponential 2024, the ARX is a fixed-wing drone developed by Tekever.  It features common electronics and software with other Tekever drones. Unlike those ...

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

  AR2 Carcará

  The AR2 Carcará is a hand- or catapult-launched mini-UAV designed to support search and rescue, surveillance and patrol operations in amphibious and maritime environments. It is ...

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

  AR4

  The AR4 is a hand-launched mini-UAS designed for rapid mobile deployment. Manufactured by Tekever, the UAS is suitable for both military and commercial ISTAR applications.  A ...

• EO/IR systems

  PT-8N

  The PT-8D is an IR system from Overwatch Imaging. It is fitted with multiple HD thermal cameras and has been designed to conduct missions at dusk ...

• EO/IR systems

  PT-8D

  Marketed as a cost-effective solution, the PT-8D is a wide-area search and ISR payload from Overwatch Imaging. It features an RGB colour camera and a ...

• EO/IR systems

  PT-8DN

  The PT-8DN is a versatile day-night payload from Overwatch Imaging.  It has dual RGB sensors of different focal lengths and an HD LWIR sensor. It also ...

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

  VTOL UAV

  The Defence Technology Institute launched the VTOL UAV R&D; project in cooperation with the Naval Research and Development Office, Royal Thai Navy and private sector ...

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

  MCOM UAV

  The Mundo Compuesto (MCOM) UAV is a fixed-wing UAV designed to provide surveillance during both day and night for military and security force users. It uses ...

• Universal UAV

  Universal UAV is designed for multiple missions in the field of surveillance and reconnaissance, monitoring forest fires or fisheries. It consists of a carbon-fibre composite ...

• UAS: Integrated systems - uncrewed

  UAV TRS

  Celestia’s UAV Tactical Recovery System (TRS) assures controlled and safe landing of a UAV at a pre-designated GPS location. It can be deployed on command ...

• Air: UAV simulators

  UAV Simulators

  Elbit Systems has developed simulation systems to train personnel in UAV operation, from generic UAV training for initial screening procedures up to full mission, high-fidelity ...

• Air: UAV simulators

  UAV Training

  Resource UAS offers a range of UAV training, from foundation courses to live flying on a range of aircraft. Each can be tailored to suit ...