• Uncrewed Vehicles

  China aims UAVs at markets home and abroad

  15th October 2020

  China is experimenting with swarms of UAVs that could be used as loitering munitions, as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) expands its unmanned capabilities.

• Naval Warfare

  Timelines and details emerge on European Patrol Corvette programme

  22nd October 2020

  Aiming to improving naval commonality across Europe’s surface platforms, the fledgling European Patrol Corvette (EPC) concept has embraced modularity in the hope that the continent’s naval powers buy into its design philosophy and, more importantly, the programme itself.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  IAI acquires 50% of BlueBird Aero Systems

  24th September 2020

  Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has agreed to acquire 50% of the equity of UAS developer BlueBird Aero Systems, the company announced on 24 September. In …

• Naval Warfare

  Egypt set to obtain US maritime security equipment in FMS package

  2nd October 2020

  Egypt is close to receiving an array of US-supplied equipment for maritime security and surveillance, after the State Department approved a FMS package worth an estimated …

• Air Warfare

  Air Warfare magazine: loyal wingmen, the future of air power and more

  7th October 2020

  Read the latest edition of Air Warfare for free in our app or on your desktop. What's inside this edition: Comment In mid-September, the defence …

• Naval Warfare

  Western Europe pins hopes on technology to tackle next-gen MCM challenges

  13th October 2020

  With hundreds of thousands of legacy mines languishing in various states of wear in Europe’s seas and waterways, it is little wonder that the topic of mine countermeasure (MCM) operations remains at the forefront of naval considerations for the region’s navies.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  IAI's Heron family in the spotlight (sponsored)

  15th October 2020

  IAI designers are looking to a larger, more capable platform in order to take UAS capabilities to a new level.

• Digital Battlespace

  NATO experts develop ARTEMIS for sUAS detection

  4th September 2020

  A team at the NATO Communications and Information (NCI) Agency has built an experimental prototype to detect, identify and localise small UASs (sUASs) using low-cost …

• Digital Battlespace

  SRC to carry on support for Medusa programme

  25th August 2020

  SRC is continuing its involvement with the USAF Medusa programme under a maximum $90 million sole-source contract, the DoD announced on 24 August. The deal …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Black Eagle family expands with new electric members

  1st September 2020

  Israel-based Steadicopter has developed new lightweight electrically powered versions of its Black Eagle family of rotary-wing VTOL UAVs.  Black Eagle 25E and Black Eagle 50E …

• Defence Notes

  NATO evaluates SMASH as possible anti-drone terrorism solution

  18th August 2020

  The SMASH Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft System (C-sUAS) fire control solution from Smart Shooter is under consideration by NATO in its Defense Against Terrorism Program of Work …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  German Navy starts Skeldar V-200 tests

  19th August 2020

  The German Navy is conducting static and dynamic shipboard tests of the Skeldar V-200 VTOL UAV on the corvette Braunschweig. Social media posts from senior …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Tests prove Thor robustness before delivery to Philippines

  18th August 2020

  The Thor multirotor VTOL mini-UAS from Elbit Systems has completed environmental qualification tests before delivery to the military in the Philippines. According to Elbit, the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AVT secures X-MADIS contract from Thai Defence Agency

  30th June 2020

  Ascent Vision Technologies (AVT) has secured a contract for its eXpeditionary Mobile Air Defence Integrated System (X-MADIS) C-UAS from the Defence Technology Institute (DTI) of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Finnish coast guard agency to use Camcopter S-100

  6th July 2020

  The Finnish Border and  Coast Guard is to operate the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 VTOL UAS for maritime surveillance, in a service offered by the European …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Medium Range Reconnaissance (MRR) / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) [USA]

  The Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) Programme The RPUAS programme will provide the battalion and below-ground manoeuvre elements within the US Army with an organic, on-demand ...

• Military UAS - small

  Aerosonde (Qatar)

  Programme Background The Qatar MoD has established the Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center to carry out ISR missions for the Qatar Armed Forces. Among its roles ...

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

  Company Level Small Uncrewed Aircraft System (SUAS) Directed Requirement (DR) [US Army]

  Programme Background Requirement The US Army approved the Co-Level SUAS DR acquisition in June 2023 to supply Brigade Combat Teams with an "immediate, commercially available capability" to ...

• 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 - mini

  DEF129 (Small UAS) [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement The Australian Army identified a need for a small UAS to provide an organic ISR capability to units operating at the tactical ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Nightwarden (Qatar)

  Programme Background The Qatar MoD has established the Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center to carry out ISR missions for the Qatar Armed Forces. Among its roles ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Replicator 2 [US]

  Programme Background 1.0 The Replicator programme is a US effort to field thousands of attritable, autonomous systems across multiple domains before the end of 2025 ...

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

  Embarked VTOL UAV [South Korea]

  Programme Background VTOL Development In January 2024, South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced that it would commence development of a VTOL-capable rotary-wing UAV that ...

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

  Camcopter S-300 [South Korea]

  Programme Background Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) On 18 January 2023, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Northop Grumman at a ...

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

  Long Range/Long Endurance (LR/LE) [USMC]

  Programme Background Force Design 2030 The USMC Force Design 2030 is a modernisation effort to create a lighter, more agile maritime force. The update to ...

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

  K1000ULE [USMC]

  Programme Background Contact Award After a comprehensive down-selection evaluation, Kraus Hamdani Aerospace's K1000ULE drone won the USN's PMA 263 contract in April 2024. The company will now provide the USN ...

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

  Micro VTOL [USMC]

  Programme Background Force Design 2030 The USMC Force Design 2030 is a modernisation effort to create a lighter, more agile maritime force. The update to ...

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

  UAV Tactical Level [Norway]

  Programme Background Request for Information (RfI) In September 2022, the Norwegian Defence Material Agency (NDMA) launched a request for information in preparation for a possible ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Fixed-Wing VTOL UAV (Malaysia)

  Programme Background Tender Issued As reported by Shephard, on 18 June 2021, Malaysia issued a tender for fixed-wing hybrid VTOL UAVs.  Requirement The tender stated that Malaysia required ...

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

  Cargo UAV (Turkey)

  Programme Background Inception & Requirment Turkey's Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) initiated a programme to procure VTOL-capable cargo drones in June 2018. These were planned for ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

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

  Aerosonde SUAS

  The Aerosonde SUAS comes from a long line of capable aircraft. The Aerosonde SUAS, like the Aerosonde fleet of aircraft, operates through contractor-owned and operated ...

• Scout

  The Scout is a VTOL sUAS designed for public safety, and commercial and industrial users. The system can be carried and operated by one person. 

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

  Aerosonde HQ SUAS

  The Aerosonde Hybrid Quadcopter (HQ) SUAS is the VTOL version of the Aerosonde SUAS. It combines the capabilities of a multi-rotor platform with the efficiency ...

• Percepto

  The Percepto is an all-in-one aerial solution for autonomous security, safety and inspection operations 24/7. The system operates autonomously to fulfil preplanned missions and responds ...

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

  Skylark II

  The Skylark II is a fixed-wing UAV that can be used for various military and security applications, including tactical covert surveillance and reconnaissance, perimeter security ...

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

  CorvoX

  The CorvoX is a fixed-wing drone developed domestically by SYPAQ Systems. Unlike its sibling, the Corvo PPDS, the UAV is not made from cardboard. The drone's development ...

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

  PD-1

  The People’s Drone-1 (PD-1) is a fixed-wing small UAV manufactured by Ukrspecsystems. It is modular and can be given VTOL capability in around 15 minutes. ...

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

  T-Hawk Micro Air Vehicle

  The Honeywell T-Hawk Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) is a VTOL sUAS that has been used by the US military and the British Army to assist ...

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

  Skylark I-LEX

  The Skylark I-LEX is a mini-UAV manufactured by Elbit Systems.  Unveiled at the Paris Air Show 2015, the UAV is designed for ISR operations. It enables ...

• Counter-UAS systems, Land: Defensive Systems - DF systems

  PATS

  The Passive Aerial Threat Surveillance (PATS) sensor produced by Adsys Controls is a detection and tracking system capable of monitoring airspace for extremely low-signature airborne ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  HPEM

  The High-Power Electro-Magnetics (HPEM) is a C-UAS system developed by Diehl Defence. It is intended to protect both military installations and public events against threats ...

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

  C-100

  The C100 is a portable, packable mini rotary-wing UAV designed for long-range ISR and cargo-carrying tasks. Manfuaucted by Performance Drone Works (PDW), it features swappable payloads, an open ...

• 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 ...

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  EL-005

  The EL-005 is a two-stroke Otto cycle spark-ignited engine for unmanned aircraft, which is optimised for use with jet fuels. It has field-demonstrated levels of ...

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

  Penguin B VTOL

  The Penguin B VTOL is a variant of the Penguin B platform manufactured by Edge Autonomy. Announced in June 2021, the variant is a reliable, long-endurance ...