• Digital Battlespace

  Indian military drafts wish list for space technologies to counter Chinese developments

  9th February 2024

  India has ambitious plans to develop its ISR capabilities in space but has a fight on its hands if it wants to keep in touch with competing nations.

• Defence Notes

  I/ITSEC 2023: How wide is the gap between the US and China’s capabilities?

  29th November 2023

  While Washington sees Beijing as its most comprehensive and serious challenger, the Jinping administration has been taking the lead in R&D within certain domains.

• Training

  Norway to train Ukrainian marines and supply support equipment

  16th February 2024

  Norway has been a part of the UK-led Maritime Capability Coalition which has supported the development of a maritime force in the Black Sea, the creation of a Ukrainian Marine Corps, and the provision of river patrol craft to defend coastal and inland waterways.

• Naval Warfare

  MBDA to provide Sea Ceptor naval defence systems for Polish Miecznik-class frigates

  15th January 2024

  The Miecznik (Swordfish) programme, a multi-role frigate project for the Polish Navy, was first reported in 2014 as a multi-role coastal patrol vessel.

• Land Warfare

  Hypersonic threats force Pentagon to modernise its missile defence architecture

  20th December 2023

  The US DoD has been updating policies, enhancing partnerships with allies and acquiring new sensors and systems.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Emgepron and Tidewise team up to develop first ‘made-in-Brazil’ USV

  8th March 2024

  Brazil's Emgepron and Tidewise have partnered to construct the Suppressor unmanned surface vessel by 2025 amid potential interest from the Brazilian Navy.

• Defence Notes

  Be immersed in pioneering tech innovation at World Defense Show 2024

  13th December 2023

  Journey to the Future at World Defense Show 2024 offers an interactive experience showcasing defence tech innovation and emerging trends across five domains.

• Defence Notes

  Sweden commits US$684.7 million in equipment and funds to Ukraine

  20th February 2024

  Sweden has announced another package of support for Ukraine, following hot on the heels of Canada’s additional support announced this week and last week’s support from the UK and the EU.

• Naval Warfare

  World Defense Show 2024: BAE Systems to demonstrate USV system at Defense Services Asia

  6th February 2024

  Nautomate, an autonomous control system for uncrewed marine vehicles, can provide assured mission delivery in complex, congested and contested environments. The system will be demonstrated on a United Engineering Systems P38 boat at DSA in Malaysia in May 2024.

• Naval Warfare

  Planning begins for Harry S Truman overhaul and refuelling

  29th January 2024

  A total of 10 Nimitz-class were built by Newport New Shipbuilding with the last one entering service in January 2009. The USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) entered service in 1998 with an out-of-service date of the early 2060s.

• Defence Notes

  How the Pentagon is using quantum technology to improve its military capabilities

  29th August 2023

  The US DoD has been conducting several initiatives in the area of quantum science, the study of the smallest possible units of matter and energy, and intends to deepen the efforts in FY2024 as it watches China make advances in defence.

• Defence Notes

  Industry and procurement are up to the challenge of a manufacturing surge, says US Army acquisition boss

  26th January 2024

  US large vehicle defence programmes will have companies extremely busy towards the end of this decade with XM30, M1E3, M10 Booker and robotic combat vehicle likely to be rolling off production this decade and possibly simultaneously. The question is, can industry and the acquisition model handle the surge?

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Ready for the race: Air separation drone swarms vs. air defence systems

  11th April 2024

  As the dynamics of aerial combat rapidly evolve, Chinese scientists have engineered a sophisticated air separation drone model that can fragment into up to six drones, each capable of executing distinct battlefield roles and challenging the efficacy of current anti-drone defences such as the UK’s Dragonfire laser system.

• Air Warfare

  Sky high diplomacy: Saudi Arabia's fighter jet puzzle entangles Eurofighter, Rafale and global alliances

  16th January 2024

  Saudi Arabia faces a juncture in aerial diplomacy as Germany's approval of a potential Eurofighter Typhoon deal introduces fresh possibilities and uncertainties, prompting the kingdom to weigh the Eurofighter against the appealing alternative of the Dassault Rafale.

• Training

  US Army to use virtual reality to train combat medics

  22nd December 2023

  The service is working with USC ICT to develop the OPUS-C BTE medical VR solution to train healthcare professionals in gunshot and blast trauma surgical techniques.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Air-Launched Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (ALUAV) [US]

  Background  Origins The development programme has its origins in the US-India Defence Technology and Trade Initiative signed between the nations in 2006 and renewed in 2015. This ...

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

  Air-Launched Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (ALUAV) [India]

  Background  Origins The development programme has its origins in the US-India Defence Technology and Trade Initiative signed between the nations in 2006 and renewed in 2015. This ...

• Submarines: nuclear/attack

  PROSUB - SSN [Brazil]

  Programme Background Following the successful delivery of the four Riachuelo-class SSK, which is due to all enter service between 2020 and 2023, the construction of ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Data links

  Data links | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | Future Naval Fighter China

  China is planning to deploy stealth naval fighter aircraft with vertical take-off landing capabilities to operate from Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)'s future Type 075A class ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | Light Replenishment Oiler (T-AOL) [USN]

  The US Navy wants to procure a new class of medium-sized supply ships aimed at refuelling, rearming, and resupplying naval assets. The Navy’s proposed FY2025 budget requests $7.7 ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | Light Replenishment Oiler (T-AOL) [USN]

  The US Navy wants to procure a new class of medium-sized supply ships aimed at refuelling, rearming, and resupplying naval assets. The Navy’s proposed FY2025 budget requests $7.7 ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Polar Support Vessel [Brazil]

  Programme Background Requirements In June 2020, the Brazilian Navy released a Request for Proposal (RfP) to procure a new Antarctic vessel to be manufactured in Brazil. The ...

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

  Naval Collaborative Combat Air Vehicle (N-CCAV) [India]

  Programme Background CATS Warrior The Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) is a planned, uncrewed and crewed family of aircraft in development by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Project Mosquito [UK]

  Programme Background Inception and Capabilities In 2019, in collaboration with the RAF, the UK's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) released details of its new UAS ...

• Submarines: conventional/attack

  Taigei Class (29SS) (3-7) [Japan]

  Programme Background The Taigei-class (29SS) is the latest class of submarines to be developed for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). The class, which has been developed ...

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

  High-Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS) [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 ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

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

  Hybrid Tiger

  Manufactured by the Naval Research Laboratory, the Hybrid Tiger is an electric UAV. As its name suggests, the platform features a hybrid power generation unit. ...

• Air: UAS radar

  RASAR

  The real-time, autonomous, synthetic aperture radar (RASAR) is a self-contained radar designed for installation under the wing of UAS for counter-IED and FOPEN (Foliage Penetration) missions. It is ...

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

  SA-400 Jackal

  The SA-400 Jackal is a heavy-payload-capability, long-endurance VTOL UAS that had its first flight in 2013. It is an optionally piloted vehicle, so it can ...

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

  Outlaw SeaHunter

  Outlaw UAVs are used by military and research agencies for training, testing, data collection and system development. In the 114-137kg maximum take-off weight class, SeaHunter ...

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

  ShadowHawk

  The ShadowHawk is a VTOL UAV that can be transported and launched/recovered within a small area. The ShadowHawk is able to maintain aerial surveillance at ...

• Air: EO/IR – Jamming Systems

  AN/AAQ-45

  Leonardo’s AN/AAQ-45 Distributed Aperture Infrared Countermeasures is designed to equip rotorcraft. The system is being installed on Sikorsky HH-60G Pave Hawk medium-lift utility helicopters used ...

• Air-launched ASW torpedoes, Ship-launched torpedoes

  Shyena/TAL

  Shyena, also known as TAL (The Advanced Light Torpedo), is an Indian lightweight anti-submarine torpedo developed by the Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (affiliated to ...

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

  Havoc

  Havoc is a MALE modular payload UAS designed for customers with varying missions and payload requirements. Features include tool-less assembly, rolling take-off and landing and ...

• Military - USVs

  MAST

  The Maritime Autonomy Surface Testbed (MAST) was developed by ASV Global and Roke Manor Research under funding from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. It ...

• Subsystems: software

  SWARM

  CHI Systems worked with Lockheed Martin on a programme for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to build software models that imitate human behaviour, and ...

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

  Bat

  Northrop Grumman is developing the Bat family of medium-altitude, multi-mission UAS. The company announced two variants of the UAS (3.7m and 4.3m) and a rotary-wing ...

• Light UGVs

  Dragon Runner

  The Dragon Runner UGV, manufactured by QinitiQ, has two versions: the Dragon Runner 10 (DR10) and the slightly larger Dragon Runner 20 (DR20). All Dragon ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  CLS-200

  The CLS-200 is part of the Yates Electrospace Corporation Silent Arrow family. It is a powered cargo-carrying one-use UAV, based on the company's GD-2000 glider.  In ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  XQ-67A

  In February 2024, GA-ASI first released images of the XQ-67A, a drone developed under a contract for thge USAF's Off-Board Sensing Station (OBSS) developmental programme. It ...

• Light UGVs

  Jackal

  Launched in September 2014, Clearpath Robotics' Jackal is a small, portable, integrated and weatherproof UGV. It has been built on a metal chassis and has four wheels ...