• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Zala Aero upgrades GCS and simulator technology

  28th May 2012

  Zala Aero has unveiled its newest GCS control and video 3D simulator, which has been designed to train and test pilots on different platforms and …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Bluesky launches aerial survey drones service

  24th May 2012

  Bluesky has launched a fast response aerial survey service using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) or drones. The technology, originally developed by the military, includes Artificial …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UV-Pacific 2012: Australian Navy to trial embarked UAVs

  24th May 2012

  The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has secured funding for flight trials of a number of embarked UAVs as it works towards its ambition of having …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UV-Pacific 2012: Australia mulls lessons of Shadow procurement

  24th May 2012

  The Australian Army is reflecting on the lessons learned after the first 1,000 hours of AAI RQ-7B Shadow 200 operations in Afghanistan. The service currently …

• Digital Battlespace

  SOFIC 2012: ITT awarded USAF encryption contract

  23rd May 2012

  USAF has awarded ITT Exelis a contract to develop a prototype of its self-encrypting drives for UAV and laptop applications. The company has developed 'trusted …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Zala Aero unveils Zala 421-16 UAS upgrade

  23rd May 2012

  Zala Aero has launched the latest version of its Zala 421-16 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a focus on civil sector aerial photography customers. The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Heli-Pacific 2012: Schiebel S-100 crash due to loss of GPS

  23rd May 2012

  The 10 May crash of a Schiebel S-100 UAV in the South Korean port city of Incheon, which killed an engineer, was caused by a …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Elbit Systems wins new UAV contract

  22nd May 2012

  Elbit Systems has announced that it has been awarded a contract by an unnamed European customer, to supply Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). The contract, worth …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Predator demonstrates sovereign payload capability

  18th May 2012

  General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA ASI) has announced that along with Selex Galileo and Cobham, the Predator UAV has carried out a Sovereign Payload Capability …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Navy conducts cross-platform ASW demonstration

  14th May 2012

  Telephonics has announced today that the US Navy has conducted an exercise to demonstrate several anti-surface warfare (ASW) concepts of operation using an MH-60S Sierra …

• Digital Battlespace

  SOFEX 2012: KADDB and L-3 sign partnering agreement

  9th May 2012

  The King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau (KADDB) has signed a partnering agreement with L-3 Wescam signalling a gateway into the Middle-East market, it …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Kratos announces Grey Eagle UAV contract

  9th May 2012

  Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has announced that it is one of two companies selected by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) for a Phase 1 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  SOFEX 2012: KADDB debuts latest unmanned offering

  8th May 2012

  The King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau (KADDB) unveiled its first indigenous VTOL UAS at the Special Operations Forces Exhibition (SOFEX) on 8 May. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  ADF commences Shadow 200 UAV operations

  4th May 2012

  The Australian Defence Force has officially commenced operations with the Shadow 200 Tactical Unmanned Aerial System (TUAS) in Afghanistan, providing an enhanced capability to the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Volz Servos announces Aerosonde contract

  2nd May 2012

  AAI Unmanned Aircraft Systems has awarded Volz Servos a contract to supply ‘thousands’ of digital actuators (DA) for its Aerosonde small UAS. According to the …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Intra-Theatre Lift [UK]

  Programme Background  Relationship to the Heavy Lift Challange The Royal Navy (RN) embarked on the Heavy Lift Challenge, now called the Heavy Lift Capability (UASHLC), to explore ...

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

  Carrier-UAV: Autonomous Collaboration Platform (ACP) [UK]

  Background Autonomous Collaboration Platform (ACP) Strategy Reflecting on lessons learned from the cancellation of the Mosquito programme, the Royal Air Force (RAF) redefined the role ...

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

  StormShroud: Autonomous Collaboration Platform (ACP) [UK]

  Background Autonomous Collaboration Platform (ACP) Strategy Reflecting on lessons learned from the cancellation of the Mosquito programme, the Royal Air Force (RAF) redefined the role ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Mini UAV (Bulgaria)

  Programme Background The Bulgarian Army wants to procure UAVs to enhance the organic tactical ISR capabilities of its ground forces. According to Bulgarian media, a ...

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

  Mini UAV - Land Exploration and Reconnaissance Vehicle (VERT) [Spain]

  Background VERT In June 2025, the Spanish Government announced a €72 million (US$82.5 million) investment in the Vehículo de exploración y reconocimiento terrestre (VERT), which translates ...

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

  Micro UAV - Land Exploration and Reconnaissance Vehicle (VERT) [Spain]

  Background VERT In June 2025, the Spanish Government announced a €72 million (US$82.5 million) investment in the Vehículo de exploración y reconocimiento terrestre (VERT), which translates to the land exploration ...

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - small

  Small UAV (Bulgaria)

  Programme Background The Bulgarian Army wants to procure UAVs to enhance the organic tactical ISR capabilities of its ground forces. According to Bulgarian media, a ...

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

  Parrot Anafi (Singapore)

  Programme Background On 7 February 2022, the Singapore Army posted photographs on Facebook that showed the Anafi UAV used as training devices in a five-day ...

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

  Thor [Israel]

  Background Various Contracts On 3 December 2024, the Israeli Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced it had purchased “advanced drones and autonomous systems” from Elbit Systems in various ...

• 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 - small

  Penguin C (Latvia)

  Programme Background In 2018, the Latvian MoD signed an agreement with Latvian companies UAV Factory and Atlas Aerospace to procure UAVs for the LNAF. Under ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Family of UAVs [Bangladesh]

  Programme Background RfP The Bangladesh Army released a 106-page tender document to gather information about different platforms that would enable the force to "standardise" its UAV ...

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

  Tempest 50 [USAF]

  Programme Background Contract Award On 18 December 2024, the US DoD announced that the USAF had awarded Firestorm Labs a $100 million Small Business Innovation Research ...

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

  UAV-2 Gavilan [Ecuador]

  Background Domestic Development Development of the UAV-2 Gavilan by CIDFAE began in 2009, with the FAE unveiling the UAV in 2014. Reportedly, the FAE has five ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

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

  AR5

  First announced in October 2012, the AR5 is a MALE UAS designed for SAR, surveillance and maritime patrol missions. The AR5 can be flown manually or commanded ...

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

  ARX

  Unveiled at Xponential 2024, the ARX is a fixed-wing drone developed by Tekever.  It features common electronics and software with other Tekever drones. Unlike those ...

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

  AR3

  The AR3, or AR3 Net Ray, is an autonomous small-UAS designed to support land-based and maritime missions.  In May 2025, the Royal Air Force announced ...

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

  AR2 Carcará

  The AR2 Carcará is a hand- or catapult-launched mini-UAV designed to support search and rescue, surveillance and patrol operations in amphibious and maritime environments. It is ...

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

  AR4

  The AR4 is a hand-launched mini-UAS designed for rapid mobile deployment. Manufactured by Tekever, the UAS is suitable for both military and commercial ISTAR applications.  A ...

• EO/IR systems

  PT-8N

  The PT-8D is an IR system from Overwatch Imaging. It is fitted with multiple HD thermal cameras and has been designed to conduct missions at dusk ...

• EO/IR systems

  PT-8D

  Marketed as a cost-effective solution, the PT-8D is a wide-area search and ISR payload from Overwatch Imaging. It features an RGB colour camera and a ...

• EO/IR systems

  PT-8DN

  The PT-8DN is a versatile day-night payload from Overwatch Imaging.  It has dual RGB sensors of different focal lengths and an HD LWIR sensor. It also ...

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

  VTOL UAV

  The Defence Technology Institute launched the VTOL UAV R&D; project in cooperation with the Naval Research and Development Office, Royal Thai Navy and private sector ...

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

  MCOM UAV

  The Mundo Compuesto (MCOM) UAV is a fixed-wing UAV designed to provide surveillance during both day and night for military and security force users. It uses ...

• Universal UAV

  Universal UAV is designed for multiple missions in the field of surveillance and reconnaissance, monitoring forest fires or fisheries. It consists of a carbon-fibre composite ...

• UAS: Integrated systems - uncrewed

  UAV TRS

  Celestia’s UAV Tactical Recovery System (TRS) assures controlled and safe landing of a UAV at a pre-designated GPS location. It can be deployed on command ...

• Air: UAV simulators

  UAV Simulators

  Elbit Systems has developed simulation systems to train personnel in UAV operation, from generic UAV training for initial screening procedures up to full mission, high-fidelity ...

• Air: UAV simulators

  UAV Training

  Resource UAS offers a range of UAV training, from foundation courses to live flying on a range of aircraft. Each can be tailored to suit ...

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

  QTP-UAV

  The Quad Tilt Prop UAV (QTP-UAV) is an electric platform that is designed to provide VTOL capability with high-speed horizontal flight.