• Defence Notes

  RT pursues civil aerostat capability

  20th March 2012

  Aeronautics subsidiary RT is preparing to take its Skystar 180 and 300 aerostats to Nimes, France on 24 March to evaluate its transition from a …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Boeing Phantom Eye undergoes taxi testing

  13th March 2012

  Boeing has announced that its Phantom Eye high altitude long endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has conducted its first medium-speed taxi test. The hydrogen-powered …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Schiebel announces heavy fuel flight

  13th March 2012

  A heavy-fuel variant of a Camcopter S-100 UAS completed its maiden flight on 12 March, manufacturer Schiebel has announced. The UAS was flown at the …

• Defence Helicopter

  'Pashtun Jaguar' tests UK helicopter crews for Afghanistan

  12th March 2012

  Rotary-wing assets from the UK's Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) have taken part in a large exercise to prepare troops heading for Afghanistan. JHC's Exercise Pashtun …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  GA-ASI furthers Predator radar development

  8th March 2012

  General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has furthered the development of its Due Regard Radar for the Predator B by testing a prototype on a manned …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Resource Group announces new UAS training initiative

  27th February 2012

  Resource Group has announced that it will be launching a new training division called ‘Resource UAS’ to deliver foundation training for UAS (unmanned aerial systems) …

• Digital Battlespace

  TRACER goes operational with SOUTHCOM

  22nd February 2012

  The US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) has deployed Lockheed Martin's Tactical Reconnaissance and Counter-Concealment-Enabled Radar (TRACER) following operational demonstrations. According to Lockheed Martin, the sensor which …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Mini Falcon ordered for UAV college course

  21st February 2012

  Innocon’s Mini Falcon II TUAV has been ordered by Northland Community and Technical College in the US for the college’s UAS maintenance and training programme. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  SGA2012: Elbit highlights evolving unmanned strategy

  16th February 2012

  The UAV market has switched emphasis from long endurance to systems interoperability, executives at Elbit Systems have told Shephard. Describing a shift in global requirements …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  SGA2012: Chinese VTOL readies for open market

  16th February 2012

  Beijing Yotaisc Technology Development is preparing to bring its X200 vertical take-off/landing (VTOL) UAV to the market in September, company officials have stated. Speaking to …

• Defence Helicopter

  SGA2012: Israeli manufacturer lightens the load

  16th February 2012

  Israeli company Kanfit used the Singapore Airshow to showcase its hybrid metal and composite material that significantly reduces the weight of military components. Shachar Fine, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  SGA2012: Japanese companies exhibit VTOL UAV prototypes

  15th February 2012

  Aoki Best-Tech has unveiled a prototype of its quad tilt-rotor VTOL UAV for the first time as company executives predict that is nearing completion. Speaking …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  SGA2012: DRDOâ??s long UAS slog continues

  15th February 2012

  The Indian Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) is advancing with the development of its own unmanned systems as it continues to test its platforms …

• Defence Helicopter

  Heli-Expo 2012: X3 being prepared for US tour

  12th February 2012

  Eurocopter is set to tour its X3 compound helicopter in the United States and demo the technology to the US Army, it has been revealed. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Thales unveils FULMAR

  8th February 2012

  Thales has unveiled the newest addition to its coastal and maritime border surveillance portfolio with the FULMAR maritime surveillance and identification UAV system. Jointly developed …

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.