Defence Notes

First firing for MBDA’s Sea Venom

7th July 2017

MBDA’s Sea Venom/ANL anti-ship missile has successfully completed its first firing at the Île du Levant test range in France, the company announced on 4 …

Land Warfare

India test fires QRSAM

6th July 2017

India has successfully test-fired the indigenously-developed Quick Reaction Surface-To-Air Missile (QRSAM) at the Chandipur integrated test range off the Odisha coast, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced …

Naval Warfare

IAI to deliver LRSAM systems to India

23rd May 2017

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will supply the Barak-8 Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile System (LRSAM) for four Indian Navy ships under a $630 million contract announced …

Land Warfare

MoD tests Thermoteknix night vision kit

26th April 2017

Thermoteknix Systems' night vision and thermal imaging equipment has been tested by the UK defence forces during the Army Warfighting Experiment (AWE) 2017.Products tested included …

Uncrewed Vehicles

Singpost comes onboard for Skyways

19th April 2017

Airbus Helicopters has signed Singapore Post (SingPost) as its logistics partner for its Skyways aerial unmanned parcel delivery system, the company announced on 18 April.Airbus …

Uncrewed Vehicles

MQ-8C undertakes first flight aboard LCS

17th April 2017

Northrop Grumman's MQ-8C Fire Scout has successfully completed its first flight aboard a US Navy Independence class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), USS Montgomery (LCS-8), the …

Uncrewed Vehicles

Predator B flies with radar warning receiver

12th April 2017

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA‑ASI) has demonstrated a Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) on the Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper Block 5 UAS in a flight trial from …

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

Project Vixen [UK]

Programme Background Project Goal The Royal Navy uses Leonardo crewed Merlin (AW101) helicopters fitted with CROWSNEST pods to provide airborne early warning capabilities for carriers. An early ...

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 ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) Project [Japan]

Programme Background Requirement The Japanese Coast Guard (JCG) operated a few dozen Chinese-made UAVs that conducted SAR and surveillance activities. The drones performed well and ...

Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

Camcopter S-100 [Greece]

Programme Background Trails A 2 August 2021 Schiebel press release announced the company had demonstrated the Camcopter S-100's capabilities to the Hellenic Navy. The UAV was ...

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

DEF129 Small UAS Plus [Australia]

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

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 - 4x4

4x4 Armoured Vehicle (Estonia)

Programme Background The Estonian military wants to replace its fleet of soft-skin troop transports with 4x4 and 6x6 armoured vehicles. This will improve the survivability ...

Loitering munitions

Loitering Munitions (Forecast) [Germany]

Programme Background Three Systems In April 2023, Germany reportedly ordered three different loitering munition systems to further assess their suitability for use by the German Armed ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

TAPAS BH-201 [India]

Programme Background Requirements As of late 2023, the Indian tri-service plan was reportedly to acquire 155 indigenously produced MALE UAVs alongside 31 MQ-9B drones from General Atomics (GA-ASI), ...

APCs/IFVs - 4x4

4x4 Armoured Vehicle (Unknown)

Programme Background The Estonian military wants to replace its fleet of soft-skin troop transports with 4x4 and 6x6 armoured vehicles. This will improve the survivability ...

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 ...

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 UGVs

Mission Master XT

Part of Rheinmetall's Mission Master family, The Mission Mater Extreme Terrain, or Mission Master XT, is a rugged UGV designed to accompany troops in challenging environments ...

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

Mojave

Unveiled in December 2021, the Mojave is a MALE UAV in development by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI). It is based on the avionics and flight control ...

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 ...

Loitering munitions

Mace

Mace is a loitering munition developed by UAC, a Czech-Ukrainian company that is a subsidiary of DeViro. The electric-powered, catapult-launched UAV can host various warheads, including HEAT, thermobaric and ...

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 ...

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 ...