• Defence Notes

  DSEI 2017: What to expect (video)

  11th September 2017

  Shephard editor Grant Turnbull talks about the positive economic tone at DSEI 2017 compared with previous shows that were fixated on diminishing budgets. This edition of …

• Naval Warfare

  DSEI 2017: Supacat riding the waves (video)

  15th September 2017

  Supacat unveiled its high performance SC12 RIB at DSEI 2017 and demonstrated its capabilities on the River Thames in London during the show. Supacat has …

• Digital Battlespace

  DSEI 2017: Raytheon to improve Shadow capability

  15th September 2017

  A new collaboration between the Royal Air Force and Raytheon UK will improve aspects of the Shadow surveillance aircraft, including an incremental upgrade of the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MDM 2017: 3D printing, UAV threats underestimated

  21st September 2017

  The potential threat to future military operations represented by 3D printing and small commercial UAVs has been underappreciated and underestimated.That was the opinion of one …

• Digital Battlespace

  DSEI 2017: Land C4ISR integration concept unveiled

  19th September 2017

  Systems engineering specialist Drumgrange displayed its Land C4ISR Integration concept for tactical ground vehicles at this year's DSEI. Aimed at supporting mobility operations, the vehicle-mounted …

• Digital Battlespace

  NavHub system for German armed forces

  15th September 2017

  Rockwell Collins’ NavHub navigation system has been selected by the German Ministry of Defence to provide Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) availability to a variety …

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2017: BAE connects to the tactical edge

  13th September 2017

  The BAE Systems Tactical Hotspot Concept Demonstrator tactical ground vehicle, designed to support strike brigades during expeditionary operations, will begin an 18-month evaluation programme with …

• Special Operations

  Special warfare applications for Wave Glider

  20th September 2017

  Naval customers and Liquid Robotics are considering a variety of ‘special warfare applications’ for the next-generation Wave Glider unmanned surface vessel (USV), company officials have …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DSEI 2017: Wave Glider makes a splash

  14th September 2017

  The latest iteration of the Liquid Robotics Wave Glider USV is now able to survive in demanding environments up to sea state six and greater, the …

• Digital Battlespace

  DSEI 2017: Unsheathing the Broadsword

  14th September 2017

  BAE Systems’ Broadsword wearable technology will achieve internal certification by the end of September, company officials have disclosed, while customers continue to evaluate systems ahead …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DSEI 2017: Leonardo predicts unmanned rotary dominance

  13th September 2017

  Leonardo is well into Phase 2 of its Rotary Wing Unmanned Air System (RWAS) capability concept demonstrator (CCD) for the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) …

• Naval Warfare

  DSEI 2017: Maritime Harop munition unveiled

  12th September 2017

  IAI has unveiled its latest iteration of its loitering munition, the Maritime Harop, at DSEI 2017 in London. The Maritime Harop is a long endurance …

• Naval Warfare

  USCG orders HC-144 missionisation equipment

  6th September 2017

  TFab Defense Systems (TFD has received a contract from the US Coast Guard to manufacture and deliver Minotaur mission system workstation units for the HC-144B …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MALE UAVs operating in Philippines; more expected

  13th September 2017

  The US Embassy in Manila announced on 11 September that the US military had deployed ‘Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft systems’ - note the plural - to …

• Digital Battlespace

  Hensoldt’s 3D radar demos detection capabilities

  29th August 2017

  Hensoldt’s Spexer 2000 3D radar has proved its detection capabilities against asymmetric threats during two customer demonstrations held in real operational conditions.  During the first …

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 ...