• Defence Helicopter

  US Navy issues APKWS contract

  20th December 2019

  The US Navy has issued a $2.68 billion IDIQ contract to BAE Systems for the APKWS Laser-Guided Rocket, the company announced on 18 December. The …

• Land Warfare

  Howitzer contract modification for BAE Systems

  16th December 2019

  BAE Systems Land & Armaments has received a modification to its Self-Propelled Howitzer contract from the US Army, the Department of Defense announced on 13 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US Army invests in Gray Eagle ER capabilities

  13th December 2019

  The US Army has awarded multiple contracts to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) to upgrade the MQ-1C Gray Eagle Extended Range's (GE ER) capabilities and …

• Digital Battlespace

  DARPA awards SafeDocs contract

  11th December 2019

  BAE Systems will develop new cyber tools designed to help prevent vulnerabilities in electronic files that can lead to cyberattacks under a new contract from …

• Defence Notes

  Podcast: Revolutions in Vertical Flight S1 E5 - The Dream of Urban Air Mobility

  20th December 2019

  Welcome to Shephard Studio’s podcast series on Revolutions in Vertical Flight, sponsored by our partner Bell. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and more. The Revolutions in Vertical Flight …

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2019: Military training tech on display (video)

  3rd December 2019

  Virtual reality, augmented reality and deep AI/machine learning are prominent themes at I/ITSEC 2019, as industry continues to innovate and deliver more immersive virtual solutions …

• Special Operations

  Singapore special ops gets new command centre and UAVs

  4th December 2019

  The Singapore Special Operations Task Force (SOTF) has inaugurated the Special Operations Command Centre (SOCC) as the country’s armed forces evolve to deal with changing …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Thailand to evaluate THeMIS UGV

  29th November 2019

  Milrem Robotics’ THeMIS UGV is to be evaluated by the Defence Technology Institute of Thailand (DTI) for the Thai armed forces, the company announced on …

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2019: Cubic to deliver P5 CTS for Typhoon customer

  4th December 2019

  Cubic Global Defense has announced that it is to deliver its P5 Combat Training System (CTS) to an international Eurofighter Typhoon customer. The contract was …

• Training

  Gripen development simulator inaugurated in Brazil

  29th November 2019

  The first Systems Rig (S-Rig) Gripen development simulator has been installed at the Gripen Design and Development Network (GDDN) in Gavião Peixoto, Brazil, Saab announced …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  BAE Systems in unmanned tech demo

  4th November 2019

  BAE Systems has been part of a demonstration for the Australian Army to investigate the potential of integrating autonomous technologies on the future battlefield. Held …

• Training

  UK on path to fulfil fast jet training gap

  21st November 2019

  One of the issues of buying training systems is that stove-piped procurements can lead to an inability to network devices to fulfil a common, overarching …

• Naval Warfare

  Indian Navy forced to do more with less

  5th December 2019

  India’s economy is forcing the Indian Navy (IN), which has been expanding its footprint, to restructure its procurement strategy. The IN’s share of the defence …

• Digital Battlespace

  Honeywell sees ‘room for growth’ in Asia-Pacific

  27th November 2019

  Honeywell predicts growing demand to modernise military aircraft fleets in Asia-Pacific. Air forces around the region have ageing aircraft fleets, and this is boosting demand …

• Digital Battlespace

  BAE Systems receives CMWS FMS orders

  19th November 2019

  BAE Systems will supply aircraft survivability equipment to a number of nations as part of US foreign military sales, the company announced on 18 November.The …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Skyborg [USA]

  Programme Background Programme Intention Skyborg is one of three USAF Vanguard programs outlined in the Air Force Science and Technology 2030 initiative. The program intends ...

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

  FPV Drones [Lithuania]

  Programme Background Ukraine FPV Drones On 5 April 2024, the Lithuanian MoD announced it would purchase around 3,000 Lithuanian-made FPV drones to give to Ukraine ...

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

  FPV Drones [Moldova]

  Programme Background Lithuanian Drones Lithuania's Minister of National Defense, Laurynas Kasciunas, announced that Lithuanian-produced thermal night vision devices and FPV drones had begun being delivered to Moldova during ...

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

  FPV Drones (Ukraine Aid) [Lithuania]

  Programme Background 3000 FPV Drones On 5 April 2024, the Lithuanian MoD announced it would purchase around 3,000 Lithuanian-made FPV drones to give to Ukraine to ...

• 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 ...

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

  V-Bat 128 (Brazil)

  Programme Background On 7 February 2022, Sheild AI announced on its website that it had signed a contract with VSK Tactical which included the 'purchase of [the] V-Bat ...

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

  Group Unmanned Isr DronE (GUIDE) [Netherlands]

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

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

  Loyal Wingan [Japan]

  Programme Background Drone Appetite Released in December 2022, the Defence Building Program (DBP) called on the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) to replace some human assets with uncrewed ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Replicator 1 [US]

  Programme Background Announcement & Requirement In late August 2023, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks announced the Replicator programme, an effort to galvanise an industry which ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Mi2 Challenge [USN]

  Programme Background Requirements The USN wants a UAV to be flown in austere environments without dedicated launch or recovery equipment; since it would be launched ...

• Loitering munitions

  Artemis [US]

  Background Origin Artemis began in 2024 due to the US European Command and Indo-Pacific Command's demand for UAVs that met the following requirements. As part ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  XM30 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle [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 ...

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

  Air Launched Effect (ALE) [South Korea]

  Programme Background KF-21 Boramae Crewed Fighter The Republic of Korea's Air Force (ROKAF) plans to acquire the KF-21 Boramae fighter, replacing F-4E Phantom II and ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  ACV-30 PRTV (USA)

  Programme Background The Armoured Combat Vehicle (ACV) programme is intended to provide a replacement for the USMC's fleet of Amphibious Assault Vehicle 7 (AAV7) tracked ...

• ARV (USMC)

  Programme Background The ARV constitutes one component of a wider USMC effort to develop an interconnected network of manned and unmanned platforms more suited to ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Loitering munitions

  Viper 10

  The Viper 10 is a rotary-wing first-person view (FPV) drone from Baltic Viper. The loitering munition quadcopter has a 4kg payload, a reinforced communication system, and ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  Hivemind

  Developed by Shield AI, Hivemind is an ecosystem of tightly integrated AI software tools and interfaces that leverages several factors to deliver  intelligent and resilient autonomy ...

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

  Netra 5

  Launched at Aero India 2025, the Netra 5 is a rotary-wing UAV manufactured by ideaForge. It can host a 900g EO/IR camera and drop a ...

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

  GA-10FPV-AI

  The GA-10FPV-AI is a Lithuanian FPV quadcopter drone manufactured by Granta Autonomy. The drone can carry a 3kg payload and operate in GNSS-denied environments. In September 2024, Granta Autonomy ...

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

  TETTRON TM-450

  The Tettron TM-450 is a micro rotary-wing UAV manufactured by Thunder Tiger. The primary mission of the drone is to provide short-range reconnaissance (SRR), particularly ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  INTeACT

  Developed by BAE Systems, INTeACT is a next-generation combat management system for surface vessels with a dedicated software development kit (SDK). Notably, it includes AI-powered ...

• Loitering munitions

  FWD-LM01

  The FWD-LM01 is a loitering munition unveiled by Flying Wedge Defence & Aerospace at the Paris Air Show 2025. The manufacturer states the drone is built for ...

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

  UAS Concept 1

  In July 2022, BAE Systems revealed two UAV concepts. The UAS Concept 1 is described as a small, versatile aircraft designed to augment existing forces ...

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

  Jump 20-X

  Unveiled at IDEX 2025, the Jump 20-X is an advancement of AeroVironment's Jump 20 UAV. It is a small (Group 3), fixed-wing, VTOL-capable aircraft with a heavy-fuel ...

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

  Nova 2

  The Nova 2 is a rotary-wing UAV designed by Sheild AI. The platform features Level 5 autonomy, allowing it to autonomously traverse complex domains without an operator's ...

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

  UAS Concept 2 / Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP)

  In July 2022, BAE Systems revealed two UAV concepts, one later being branded Concept 2, or the Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP), at DSEI 2023.  Signage near ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Cinder

  Dragoon Technology is a UAV being developed for the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU)'s Artemis effort.  In May 2025, Teledyne FLIR announced it had teamed with Dragoon to offer ...

• Military UGVs

  Robotics Technology Demonstrator

  BAE Systems unveiled its Robotics Technology Demonstrator (RTD) at the AUSA exhibition in 2019. Designed to meet the requirements of the US Army's Robotic Combat ...

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

  Inquisithor

  Shephard saw the Inquisithor at DSA 2024. It is a quadcopter UAV from ProLab Engineering. It is highly customisable and can be changed to a user's requirements ...

• Air: aerial targets, Loitering munitions

  Super Simsek

  The Super Simsek (Süper Şimşek) is an improved version of the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) training drone turned loitering munition.  The drone has reconfigurable payload options ...