Land Warfare

French Army snipers improve performance with new FN Herstal technology

8th February 2023

The French Army has placed the first major order for FN Herstal's latest ballistic calculator after extensive testing by snipers and designated marksmen.

Defence Helicopter

Royal Navy helicopter crews transfer control of UAS in European first

2nd February 2023

Using technology supplied by QinetiQ, two Royal Navy helicopter crews successfully exchanged control of a UAS while in flight.

Uncrewed Vehicles

US Navy looks to extend operational envelope for Triton UAS fleet

30th January 2023

A series of flight trials for the Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton high-altitude long-endurance UAS will determine the aircraft's ability to fly in icing conditions.

Defence Notes

Internet-of-Things firm completes asset tracking trial for UK MoD

6th January 2023

A recent trial saw efficiency at Devonport naval base improved through an IoT data network to track equipment.

Air Warfare

Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets to receive new electric ground power units

28th November 2022

New battery-powered ground power units will replace diesel systems at two RAF Typhoon bases, with the aim of reducing emissions and cutting costs.

Uncrewed Vehicles

Northrop Grumman counter-UAS architecture impresses in live-fire trials

25th November 2022

The US Army live-fire test evaluated the performance of the C-UAS system of systems before operational use.

Digital Battlespace

Raytheon demonstrates multi-domain comms tech in air force trial

21st November 2022

Raytheon BBN has demonstrated the capabilities of its Robust Information Provisioning Layer (RIPL) in a trial for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

Trial Operation Project (Japan)

Programme Background Japanese Coast Guard (JCG) Procurement The JCG was looking to replace its Chinese-made UAVs with MALE UAVs in the JCG PRAS Project. In April ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

Bayraktar TB2 (Japan)

Programme Background Turkish Claims In September 2022,  Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu visited Japan for the funeral of the former Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe. While there, in ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

Akinci (Pakistan)

Programme Background 'Brotherly Ties'  On 14 January 2022, the Pakistan government unveiled its first-ever National Security Policy. As reported by Shephard, the policy emphasised 'brotherly ties' with ...

Sealift/replenishment vessels

Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPVs) - (India)

Programme Background Requirements The units will perform multi-role support functions such as maritime surveillance& patrol, launching/recovery of torpedoes and operation of various types of aerial, ...

APCs/IFVs - 4x4, Reconnaissance/patrol vehicles

Multi-Role Vehicle (Protected) (MRV-P) Package 1 (UK)

Programme Background Requirement The MRV-P programme was intended to procure replacements for a diverse fleet of 4x4 and 6x6 vehicles purchased during the wars in Iraq ...

Military UAS - tactical

RQ-7B Shadow v2 Block III (USA)

Programme Background The first iteration of the Shadow UAS, the Shadow 600, was first introduced in 1992 and since then Textron has had a longstanding ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

Small UAS Plus (SUAS+) (Australia)

Programme Background Requirement The army had wanted up to 17 SUAS+ systems with a life of type of six years. The tender said the UAV ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

Hermes 900 StarLiner (Switzerland)

Programme Background Contract Information In September 2015, under the Reconnaissance Drone System 15 (ADS 15), the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (VBS) awarded ...

APCs/IFVs - tracked

Heavy IFV (Poland)

Programme Background Requirement Due to the perceived threat from Russia and the conflict in Ukraine, Poland has accelerated and expanded its plans to modernise its ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

V-Bat 128 (Canada)

Programme Background Requirement Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) is seeking a platform for the CCG that will significantly expand its surveillance range during search ...

Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial Resupply System (JTAARS) / Medium ULS-A (US)

Programme Background US Marine ULS-A programmes The US Marines are seeking a family of Unmanned Logistics Systems-Air (ULS-A), which will provide logistics and ground units with ...

Military UAS - small

Heavy Lift Capability (UASHLC) (UK)

Programme Background Requirement & Objective The RN has identified a requirement to acquire an RPAS to transport cargo and supplies between ships and personnel. When mature, it ...

APCs/IFVs - tracked

OMFV (USA)

Programme Background Requirement The OMFV programme is the latest of several attempts to develop a Bradley replacement.  Designed to be capable of operating with or without ...

APCs/IFVs - 6x6

Tigon

Hanwha Defense Systems selected DSA 2018 in Kuala Lumpur as the location to unveil its Tigon 6x6 armoured wheeled vehicle. The company conducted a fortnight-long ...

Matternet M2

The Matternet M2 quadcopter UAV has been certified by the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation for full logistics operations over cities. The platform is ...

Special operations vehicles

VOS-APP

The Arquus VOS-APP is a 6x6 support vehicle currently under trial with the French SOF. Acting as a replacement for the 1970s-vintage ACMAT VLRA, the VOS-APP is the ...

Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

KUS-VT tiltrotor

The KUS-VT is a tiltrotor UAV that first flew in October 2013 and was exhibited at ADEX 2013. The aircraft is designed to have a ...

Armoured engineer vehicles

M1150 ABV

The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) project, launched by the USMC in 2002, is a joint programme to meet the requirements of both the US ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

HQ-60

Similarly to other platforms in the L3 Technologies Hybrid Quadrotor (HQ) and Fixed-Wing Rotator family (see separate entries) of VTOL fixed-wing UAVs, the HQ-60 has ...

Air-launched ASW torpedoes, Ship-launched torpedoes, Submarine-launched torpedoes

MU90

The MU90 is a lightweight torpedo manufactured in collaboration between Leonardo, Naval Group and Thales. It is a fire-and-forget torpedo that can be launched from ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

Archer

The Archer is a short-range UAV being developed for India by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).  Based on the Rustom I and inspired by Bayrakar's ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

Flamingo Mk3

The Flamingo Mk3 entered production in July 2017 and is based on the Flamingo Mk2. The Mk3 has been designed to provide a 65% increase ...

Air: Electronic Attack - Jamming

Miysis DIRCM

Leonardo’s Miysis Directed Infrared Countermeasure (DIRCM) system provides high power, all aspect protection against modern and legacy Infrared Man-Portable Air Defence Systems (IR MANPADS) for ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

United 40 Block-5

The United 40 was unveiled at the Dubai Airshow 2011 and is a MALE UAV with a twin-wing configuration and a hybrid turbine-electric engine. The ...

Sealift/replenishment vessels

HSwMS Artemis

Sweden's SIGINT vessel, HSwMS Artemis, is being built to replace the Royal Swedish Navy's current intelligence-gathering vessel, HMS Orion. The new SIGINT ship is designed and built by ...

Mine-protected vehicles

Phantom 380-X1

The Phantom 380-X1 is a 4x4 multipurpose armoured vehicle produced by Thailand's Panus. It is powered by a six-cylinder turbo engine with an undercarriage capable ...

Patrol boats

PB40

The PB(X) is a new generation of patrol boats from Metal Shark being built for the USN Expeditionary Combat Command's Coastal Riverine Forces (CRF). The ...

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 ...