• Digital Battlespace

  CIA faces crippling challenges in China

  17th May 2018

  China’s perfection of facial recognition and gait detection software, integrated into algorithms that have access to millions of profiles of ‘blacklisted’ individuals, would give Cold …

• Digital Battlespace

  US Navy looks to defeat enemy radars with AI

  12th April 2018

  The US Navy plans to equip its F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft with electronic warfare technology that utilises machine learning algorithms to detect, and possibly jam, …

• Digital Battlespace

  Post-Ukraine, US looks to boost 'grey-zone' research

  16th April 2018

  Supporting operations in the so-called 'grey zone', the amorphous space between peacetime activities and conventional warfare, has become a more pressing concern since Russia's actions …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2018: SkyRaider gets first public outing ahead of further demonstrations

  30th April 2018

  Aeryon Defense looks to have stolen a march on the competition at AUVSI’s Xponential in Colorado with the first public unveiling of its new Group …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DARPA Gremlins programme moves to Phase 3 with Dynetics

  18th April 2018

  Dynetics has been selected as the sole participant in Phase 3 of the DARPA Gremlins programme, following a year-long Phase 2 research process on preliminary …

• Training

  TerraSim releases TerraTools 5.6

  17th April 2018

  TerraSim has introduced TerraTools 5.6, the latest version of its virtual terrain generation software, the company announced on 9 April. The new software introduces a …

• Digital Battlespace

  DSA 2018: China’s Orwellian nightmare comes true

  19th April 2018

  George Orwell would have déjà vu if the late author of 1984 attended this week’s DSA exhibition in Kuala Lumpur. Beijing-based Yitu Technology showcased its artificial …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Sea-Air-Space 2018: Riptide to test compact UUV for DARPA

  9th April 2018

  Riptide Autonomous Solutions will begin sea testing a new version of its deep rated UUV as part of a DARPA phase II Small Business Innovation …

• Digital Battlespace

  Insight: Deciphering China’s AI militarisation

  9th April 2018

  Even with Beijing’s recent announcement that artificial intelligence (AI) will rewrite the very nature of a revolution in military affairs (RMA), China faces as many …

• Naval Warfare

  BAE announces investment for MISC upgrade

  16th April 2018

  BAE Systems is to invest £10 million to upgrade its Maritime Integration and Support Centre (MISC) in Portsmouth, the company announced on 12 April. The …

• Digital Battlespace

  DARPA announces COMPASS programme

  21st March 2018

  DARPA has announced a new programme called Collection and Monitoring via Planning for Active Situational Scenarios (COMPASS) to better understand and respond to adversary grey-zone …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DefExpo 2018: Indian robots grow more capable and intelligent

  13th April 2018

  India’s state-owned defence establishments continue to hone existing robotic products and to create new ones, including development of three types of surveillance robots from the …

• Land Warfare

  AUSA Global: Army exploring best path for hypersonic weapons development

  26th March 2018

  US Army leadership is weighing its options when it comes to developing hypersonic weapons, but isn't prepared to dive into programme specifics.  During the Association …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Raytheon developing UV swarm control tech

  29th March 2018

  Raytheon’s BBN Technologies is developing technology to direct and control swarms of small UAS and UGVs, the company announced on 26 March. The new technology …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Cepton unveils LiDAR solution for UGVs

  30th March 2018

  Cepton Technologies has introduced a new Vista LiDAR solution for unmanned ground vehicles - a key sensing technology to support self-driving efforts, the company announced …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  AdvaNced airCraft Infrastructure-Less Launch And RecoverY (ANCILLARY) [US]

  Background Aims & Timeline As stated by DARPA, the ANCILLARY programme aims to develop and fly an X-plane that will provide a “leap-ahead” in long-endurance, VTOL-capable ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - small

  Containerized Autonomous Drone Delivery System (CADDS) (Group 1-3) [US]

  Background Concept In early February 2026, the Defence Innovation Unit (DIU) stated that it required the ability to rapidly deploy large quantities of UAS while minimising the ...

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

  LongShot [USA]

  Background Requirement As explained by GA-ASI in February 2026, LongShot is envisaged as an air-launched UAV that will fly from larger, mostly crewed aircraft and ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  IA-63 Pampa III (Follow-On) [Argentina]

  Programme Background After the previous procurement of six AI-63 Pampa III aircraft from 2018 and 2019 agreements, Argentina was left with a further need for 34 aircraft. ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) [USA]

  Background Requirement Originally conceived as a replacement for the F-22, the PCA was designed to counter various air threats, including integrated air defence systems and ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  X-Bat [Poland]

  Background Polish involvement Speaking in June 2026, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that Shield AI offered Poland a role in the X-Bat programme, with the ...

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

  V-Bat [India]

  Background Make In India The ‘Make In India’ is an initiative by the Indian government to grow the domestic manufacturing industry. In the defence context, ...

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

  Group Unmanned Isr DronE (GUIDE) [Netherlands]

  Background Competition On 14 March 2025, the Netherlands announced a competition on the EU tendering website for the future procurement of 514 UAVs for intelligence, surveillance, ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) services [USN]

  In April 2026, AeroVironment (AV) and Shield AI announced that they had been selected to compete for a US$800 million task order to provide Contractor-Owned, ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) services [USN]

  In April 2026, AeroVironment (AV) and Shield AI announced that they had been selected to compete for a US$800 million task order to provide Contractor-Owned, ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | X-Bat [Poland]

  Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated in June 2026 that Shield AI offered Poland a role in the X-Bat programme. Defence Insight forecasts that Poland could acquire the ...

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

  Shield AI UAVs [Saudi Arabia]

  Background Reported Talks Reporting from the World Defence Show (WDS) 2026, the Middle East Eye (MEE) noted that, according to two sources, Saudi Arabia was ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | V-Bat [Poland]

  On 23 June 2026, Poland announced a US$16 million deal with Shield AI to procure a V-Bat system. The platforms will be used by the ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | V-Bat [Poland]

  On 23 June 2026, Poland announced a US$16 million deal with Shield AI to procure a V-Bat system. The platforms will be used by the ...

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

  Ship-Bourne VTOL UAV [Singapore]

  Background Multi-Role Combat Vessel  The Republic of Singapore Navy will retire its six Victory-class corvettes and replace them with a new platform, the Multi-Role Combat ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - tactical

  XRQ-73

  The US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) unveiled the flying design of the XRQ-73 in June 2024. The XRQ-73 designation places this aircraft in the experimental ...

• Military - UUVs

  Manta Ray

  Manta Ray is an uncrewed underwater vessel (UUV) developed by Northrop Grumman.

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

  X-68A

  The X-68A is a developmental, host-platform-agnostic air-launched effect (ALE). After developmental contracts were first awarded in 2021 under the LongShot programme, General Atomics (GA-ASI) emerged as the preferred supplier ...

• Military - USVs

  NOMARS

  The No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) is a US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) effort to develop a first-of-its-kind large uncrewed surface vessel.

• Sea: procedural training

  2 Sigma Digital Tutor

  A Digital Tutor that is designed to outperform schoolhouse instructors, bringing CTC training to a broad spectrum of sailors. Specifications include improving student outcomes for ...

• Major networking projects

  CHAIN

  The Compartmented High Assurance Information Network (CHAIN) is described as a robust architecture that improves interoperability of IT systems among the military services and security ...

• Tiltrotors, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  X-76

  The X-76 is an operational crewed aircraft designed to combine the flexibility of a helicopter with the speed of a fixed-wing aircraft.  Bell Textron is ...

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

  XV-24A LightningStrike

  The XV-24A LightningStrike, developed by Aurora Flight Sciences and its partners Rolls-Royce and Honeywell, was a project for a tilt-wing UAV powered by an electric-distributed ...

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

  Shrike

  The Shrike was a micro, portable, rugged VTOL-capable UAV designed for frontline day/night ISR.  Development of the Shrike began in 2008 under a $4.6-million contract from ...

• Data links

  QNT

  The QUINT Networking Technology (QNT) programme is intended to develop robust, affordable, miniature networked data link technologies suitable for use on weapons and by tactical ...

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar, Air: surveillance radar, Air: UAS radar

  AN/ZPY-5 VADER

  The Vehicle and Dismount Exploitation Radar (VADER) is an airborne radar system manufactured by Northrop Grumman. It is designed to track vehicles and foot traffic ...

• Data links

  TTNT

  The Tactical Targeting Network Technology (TTNT) programme is intended to develop, evaluate and demonstrate reconfigurable, affordable, robust, interoperable and evolvable communications technologies to support emerging ...

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

  X-61A Gremlin

  Dynetics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leidos, is developing the X-61A Gremlin. This low-cost swarming drone can be outfitted with different payloads, launched by a mothership, recovered ...

• Air: helicopter radar, Air: surveillance radar

  FORESTER

  The Foliage Penetration (FOPEN) Reconnaissance, Surveillance, Tracking and Engagement Radar (FORESTER) is an airborne radar system that provides stand-off, persistent, wide-area surveillance for situational awareness ...

• Land: vehicle surveillance/target acquisition systems

  TKN-AI

  TKN-AI is a commander’s periscope intended for guiding a vehicle, and battlefield observation and target acquisition by day and night. It is compatible with T-62, ...