• Naval Warfare

  Proposed USN budget outlines unmanned investment

  11th February 2020

  Amid efforts to rein in spending in an economy feeling the figurative and literal weight of more than $20 trillion of debt, the FY2021 budget …

• Land Warfare

  Lockheed Martin receives DARPA OpFires award

  14th January 2020

  Lockheed Martin has received a $31.9 million contract from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to support the Operational Fires Integrated Weapon System …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Dynetics team flies X-61A Gremlins​ Air Vehicle

  20th January 2020

  Dynetics has successfully flown its X-61A Gremlins Air Vehicle for the first time, the company announced on 17 January. Part of the DARPA Gremlins programme, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Raytheon working on Competency Aware Machine Learning

  14th January 2020

  Raytheon has received a $6 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to developing machine learning technology, the company announced on 13 …

• Land Warfare

  DARPA OpFires programme makes progress

  9th December 2019

  Aerojet Rocketdyne has carried out a series of subscale propulsion-system test firings for the DARPA Operational Fires (OpFires) programme.Under OpFires, DARPA is working to develop …

• Digital Battlespace

  BAE Systems awarded DARPA ACK contract

  3rd December 2019

  BAE Systems has been selected by DARPA to develop software that will enable semi-autonomous multi-domain mission planning, the company announced on 3 December. DARPA is …

• 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 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Echodyne radars in DARPA programme testing

  26th November 2019

  Echodyne’s radar technology was deployed as part of a test flight for DARPA’s Aerial Dragnet programme in San Diego during October.Echodyne's EchoGuard and EchoFlight radars …

• Land Warfare

  Raytheon working on Subterranean Surveillance project

  13th November 2019

  Raytheon is working on a DARPA Subterranean Surveillance project to create new methods for detecting buried explosives using synthetic biology.Under its DARPA contract, Raytheon is …

• Digital Battlespace

  AOC 2019: DARPA makes its case for Mosaic Warfare

  29th October 2019

  In an effort to move away from overarching CONOPS or C2 structures, DARPA has used the platform of AOC 2019 to make its case for …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Northrop Grumman takes part in DARPA swarm test

  28th October 2019

  Northrop Grumman has detailed its participation in DARPA’s second unmanned vehicle (UxV) swarming field experiment. The experiment leveraged the command, control and collaboration capabilities of …

• Digital Battlespace

  LEO to provide ‘game changing’ capability

  7th November 2019

  Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite technology is set to provide a ‘game-changing’ capability for armed forces demanding flexible and cost-effective connectivity almost anywhere in the …

• Digital Battlespace

  AOC 2019: Mercury Systems positions for increased demand in COTS tech

  29th October 2019

  With the aid of its own custom solutions, Mercury Systems is looking to position itself as an enabler for commercial electronics companies that had previously not considered …

• Naval Warfare

  Metal toughness has deep-diving Riptide UUV in its element

  27th September 2019

  BAE Systems has developed two new prototypes of its Riptide UUV using aluminium and titanium that allow the system to dive to far greater depths, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Pacific 2019: MCM figures highly in Australian expo

  10th October 2019

  Australia is acquiring a number of Bluefin UUVs from General Dynamics Mission Systems, as the country seeks to improve its mine countermeasures (MCM) capabilities. Other …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  LongShot [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement According to DARPA, the objective of the LongShot programme is "to disrupt the paradigm of air combat operations by demonstrating an unmanned ...

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

  AdvaNced airCraft Infrastructure-Less Launch And RecoverY (ANCILLARY) [US]

  Programme Background Aims & Timeline As stated by DARPA, the ANCILLARY programme aims to develop and fly an X-plane that will provide a "leap-ahead" in long-endurance, ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement Originally conceived as a replacement for the F-22, the PCA was designed to counter various air threats, including integrated air defence systems ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military - UUVs

  Manta Ray

  Manta Ray is an uncrewed underwater vessel (UUV) developed by Northrop Grumman.

• Military - UUVs

  Bluefin-Knifefish

  The Bluefin-Knifefish UUV was initially developed for the Surface Mine Countermeasure UUV (SMCM UUV) programme for the USN’s Littoral Combat Ships. It is manufactured by General Dynamics ...

• Sea: procedural training

  UUV Training Simulator

  The Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) Training Simulator teaches users how to operate and control a UUV, specifically with reference to mine hunting. The UUV is ...

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

  LongShot

  The LongShot is a developmental air-launched platform intended to increase the survivability of friendly crewed aircraft. In February 2021, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) ...

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

  XRQ-73

  The US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) unveiled the flying design of the XRQ-73 in June 2024. The aircraft has been developed under the  Series ...

• Sea: procedural training

  2 Sigma Digital Tutor

  A Digital Tutor that is designed to outperform schoolhouse instructors, bringing CTC training to a broad spectrum of sailors. Specifications include improving student outcomes for ...

• Military - USVs

  NOMARS

  The No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) is a US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) effort to develop a first-of-its-kind large uncrewed surface vessel.

• Major networking projects

  CHAIN

  The Compartmented High Assurance Information Network (CHAIN) is described as a robust architecture that improves interoperability of IT systems among the military services and security ...

• Riptide Mk II

  At Oceanology International 2018, Riptide Autonomous Solutions presented its second-generation micro-UUV – the Mk II. The Riptide Mk II UUV has a maximum speed of ...

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

  XV-24A LightningStrike

  The XV-24A LightningStrike, developed by Aurora Flight Sciences and its partners Rolls-Royce and Honeywell, was a project for a tilt-wing UAV powered by an electric-distributed ...

• Sea: sonar systems

  UUV-3500

  The Klein UUV-3500 side-scan sonar family is composed of the mid-depth (3000m) high-resolution, low-power, dual-frequency and the deep (6000m) variant which is a higher power ...

• Military - UUVs

  BlueWhale

  BlueWhale is an autonomous uncrewed underwater vessel (UUV) developed by Israel's Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

• Military - UUVs

  Iver4 580

  The Iver4 580 is a UUV designed by L3Harris for commercial and defence survey operations.

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

  Shrike

  The Shrike was a micro, portable, rugged VTOL-capable UAV designed for frontline day/night ISR.  Development of the Shrike began in 2008 under a $4.6-million contract from ...

• Military - UUVs

  D19 UUV

  Naval Group's family of D19 drones are AUVs designated for varying taskings such as identification, surveillance, EW, mobile target, minelaying and MCM operations.