• Digital Battlespace

  MEV gives kiss of life to in-orbit satellites

  15th May 2020

  The reality of on-demand satellite servicing took a giant leap forward with the successful docking of Northrop Grumman’s Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) to a client …

• Digital Battlespace

  Australia probes into space with CubeSats

  6th May 2020

  Australia is expanding its space-based surveillance and communications capability with the next stage of development of new small satellites called CubeSats. Two separate programmes – …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Russia accepts Orion MALE UAV

  27th April 2020

  The Russian MoD has completed the acceptance process for the Orion MALE UAV, according to Nikolay Dolzhenkov, chief designer at St Petersburg-based manufacturer Kronstadt Group. …

• Naval Warfare

  USN welcomes USS Vermont into service

  20th April 2020

  The USN has commissioned the USS Vermont into active service as the 19th Virginia-class fast attack submarine. Despite a cancellation of the usual public ceremony, the …

• Air Warfare

  Embraer & SNC conduct inaugural flight of NAF Super Tucano

  20th April 2020

  Embraer and Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) have confirmed that the first A-29 Super Tucano aircraft destined for Nigeria has conducted its inaugural flight. The aircraft …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UK procures four Mission Master UGVs

  17th April 2020

  The UK has ordered four Rheinmetall Mission Master UGVs which will form part of its Robotic Platoon Vehicle programme. The vehicles are due to be …

• Air Warfare

  U-2 Dragon Lady shows plenty of life

  6th May 2020

  A popular phrase in the US is ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. In aviation, one could think of the DC-3 and the 747, …

• Defence Notes

  Saab staves off COVID-19 complications to deliver first UAE GlobalEye

  29th April 2020

  The first of three GlobalEye multirole Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C;) aircraft has been delivered by Saab to the UAE, in a move made possible by …

• Digital Battlespace

  South Korea approves military digital programmes

  30th April 2020

  The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) in South Korea has approved three new programmes critical to digitisation of the armed forces, while also signing off …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  BMT launches Pentamaran next generation hull-form

  16th April 2020

  Southampton-based BMT has released details on its new next generation hull-form for autonomous operations, the Pentamaran. It will be capable of performing commercial and defence …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  ROKAF receives second Global Hawk

  23rd April 2020

  The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) is now in receipt of half its Northrop Grumman RQ-4B Block 30 fleet after a second Global Hawk …

• Digital Battlespace

  More Japanese Hawkeyes arrive amid AEW restructure

  15th April 2020

  The third and fourth E-2D Advanced Hawkeye AEW aircraft for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) arrived last month. The pair of Northrop Grumman aircraft (bearing …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  FTUAS competitors take heart from US Army adjustments

  29th April 2020

  The US Army has approved Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) competitors to video test flights and associated acceptance procedures of their respective systems, as an alternative …

• Defence Notes

  Threod Systems launches new ISR divisions

  25th March 2020

  Estonia-based Threod Systems on 24 March announced the creation of two new divisions ­ – Cloud ISR and Homeland Security ISR – as part of a …

• Naval Warfare

  USS Delaware joins USN fleet

  6th April 2020

  The USN commissioned USS Delaware (SSN-791) on 4 April, welcoming it as the 18th Virginia-class attack submarine in the fleet. The vessel has been designed …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• ISR/special mission

  MC-27J - Algeria

  Programme Background Algeria has a long standing ISR aircraft requirement to support its Beech 1900 fleet comprised of six aircraft. The new ISR fleet is ...

• ISR/special mission

  C-208B ISR [Tunisia]

  Programme Background Requirement The acquisition of the C-208B Grand Caravan EX aircraft is part of Tunisia’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its ISR capabilities in response ...

• ISR/special mission

  King Air 350ER -Canada

  Programme Background Canadian Special Forces was looking to procure ISR aircraft to support their missions both overseas and domestically.  There were few Canadian suppliers to sell ...

• ISR/special mission

  King Air 350ER ISR - Kuwait

  Feb 2018: The US State Department has approved an estimated $259m potential foreign military sale of King Air 350ER intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft ...

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

  Long-Endurance UAV [US AFRICOM]

  Programme Background Ageing MQ-9A Reapers In November 2022, Shephard reported that GA-ASI would continue supporting contractor SMX with its MQ-9A after winning a $2.3 billion task ...

• ISR/special mission

  Shadow R1 [UK]

  Programme Background The RAF is moving forward with an ambitious plan to transform its intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) force to enable greater ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  ISR Civilian-Made UAVs [Taiwan]

  Background Civilian-made, Military-specification As reported by Shephard, to accelerate the acquisition process and urgently create a larger UAV inventory, Taipei is enlisting the help of the ...

• Military UAS - small

  Black Hornet 3 PRS (UK)

  Programme Background The British Army operated approximately 160 first-generation Black Hornet PD-100 nano UAS between 2013 and 2017, when the decision was made to retire ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  SW-4

  The SW-4 is aimed at the basic and advanced pilot training, troop transport and ISR missions. Its Polish designation is Puszczyk. The SW-4s are based ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  A-29 Super Tucano Afghanistan

  Media reports suggest that with the hourly cost of $1000, the A-29 is a successful platform for counter-insurgency missions. Its operational capability from unprepared airstrips, ...

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

  ISR Drones (First Batch) (Ukraine Aid) [Netherlands]

  Programme Background First Batch On 20 March 2024, Kajsa Ollongren, Minister of Defence of the Netherlands, announced that, following a 19 March Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting, ...

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

  Drone Action Plan (Ukraine Aid) [Netherlands]

  Programme Background APOS On 6 October 2024, the Dutch Minister of Defense, Ruben Brekelmans, visited Kharkiv and Kyiv. During his visit to Ukraine, he announced a new ...

• Maritime patrol

  Multi-Mission Aircraft (Canada - Option)

  Programme Background Canadian Air Force is operating 15 C-3P (Canadian designation CP-140) special mission aircraft in service. They were acquired between 1980-91 and expected to ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Ukrainian Drones (Ukraine Aid) [Netherlands]

  Programme Background Military Package On 5 March 2025, the Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof announced the Netherlands would reserve €3.5 billion ($3.8 billion) to continue ...

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

  V-Bat [Netherlands]

  Background Contract Award On 9 July 2025, Shield AI announced that the Netherlands MoD had acquired eight V-Bat, specifically the V-Bat 400, aircraft to enhance the maritime intelligence, surveillance ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

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

  Silent Falcon

  The Silent Falcon is a solar-electric sUAS with long-endurance capabilities for extended-range missions. The UAS can be used for commercial and military applications. The entire ...

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

  ULTRA

  The Unmanned Long-endurance Tactical Reconnaissance Aircraft (ULTRA) is a fixed-wing drone from DZYNE Technologies.  It is described as a long-endurance, GPS-harded intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platform with full ...

• DT18 Airframe

  The DT18 is a civilian UAV with approval for BVLOS operations by the French Civil Aviation Authority. Its applications include linear infrastructure monitoring, precision agriculture ...

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

  Jackal

  The Jackal is a small UAV manufactured by FLY BVLOS, Flyby Technology and Maxwell Innovations. The system features a plug-and-play system, meaning new equipment and technologies can be ...

• Freya

  An easy-to-use system which requires minimal training, Freya can be operated in difficult situations and weather conditions, including strong winds and mountainous areas. A tracker ...

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

  Delta

  The Delta is a UAV with a VTOL capability before rotating and operating as a conventional fixed-wing aircraft when airborne.  Manufactured by Fly BVLOS, Nigeria was expected ...

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

  Indago

  Indago is a small quadrotor UAV with VTOL. It is equipped with a large-screen handset and is marketed as 'whisper-quiet' with a noise level of ...

• Land: battle management systems

  AIMS-ISR

  AIMS-ISR is a software package used to process the video footage and data gathered from the cameras and other sensors fitted to airborne, ground-based and ...

• Air: mission management systems

  Ageon ISR

  Ageon ISR is a multi-INT C2/PED solution supporting cross-domain collection, ingestion, processing, exploitation and dissemination from tactical units to the global enterprise and cloud. Ageon ...

• UAS: communication systems

  muLTElink

  Produced by uAvionix, the muLTElink is a multiple-link airborne radio system designed for uncrewed platforms in particular. It combines C-Band, LTE, ISM and Viasat L-Band communications, ...

• Air: UAS radar

  EchoFlight

  The Echoflight radar by Echodyne is a Lightweight Metamaterials ESA (MESA®), a Detect-and-Avoid (DAA) 4D radar designed for mid-sized UAVs flying below the visual line of sight (BVLOS) ...

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

  DrN-15 (series)

  The DrN-15 is a hexacopter mini-UAV from ST Engineering. The platform is highly customizable and can carry various payloads depending on a user's requirements.  All DrN ...

• AR100C

  The AR100C is a quadcopter UAV designed for surveillance and reconnaissance missions at low-altitude BVLOS during day and night operations. The system is an improved ...

• Indago 2

  Lockheed Martin's Indago 2 UAS is designed to be programmed and integrated into existing systems and work processes for a range of applications. The folding, ...

• Foremost UAS Range

  The Foremost UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) Range is an area of restricted airspace, located near the village of Foremost, for UAS research and development or ...