• Training

  King Air sim exceeds 5,000 hours

  24th February 2017

  The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) operates a fleet of 16 King Air 350 multi-role light aircraft to provide tactical air mobility, training for air …

• Military Logistics

  Avalon 2017: RAAF announces MRTT FOC and upgrade

  2nd March 2017

  The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) announced at the Avalon Air Show on 2 March that its fleet of Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) …

• Defence Helicopter

  Avalon 2017: NorthStar offers Australia an alternative

  1st March 2017

  NorthStar Aviation is offering the Australian Defence Force (ADF) an alternative solution to meet its requirement for a deployable light attack and reconnaissance helicopter for …

• Naval Warfare

  MCA seeking unmanned capability

  7th February 2017

  The UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is exploring the possible use of UAS under the Maritime RPAS Pathfinder project that would see systems complementing …

• Special Operations

  IDEX 2017: UAE eyes additional Archangels

  23rd February 2017

  After successful deployment to Yemen and other regional hotspots, the United Arab Emirates is expected to place even more orders for the US-built Iomax 'Archangel' …

• Naval Warfare

  USCG receives 11th regenerated C-27J

  20th February 2017

  The United States Coast Guard (USCG) station in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, has received a newly regenerated C-27J Spartan medium range surveillance aircraft, the USCG …

• Digital Battlespace

  L-3 Wescam introduces MX-RSTA

  21st February 2017

  L3 Wescam has developed a new generation reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition (RSTA) system for ground combat and force protection missions, the company announced on …

• Digital Battlespace

  IDEX 2017: Viper sees further

  21st February 2017

  Lockheed Martin has secured a contract to provide the US Marine Corp with its Targeting Sight System to be fitted to the AH-1Z Viper attack …

• Digital Battlespace

  Aero India 2017: Controp views Indian market positively

  16th February 2017

  Controp, the Israeli manufacturer of EO/IR sensors and surveillance systems, currently has two primary areas of focus in the Indian market – border and coastal …

• Naval Warfare

  SharpEye for next Batch 2 River class OPVs

  21st February 2017

  Kelvin Hughes will supply its SharpEye radar systems for the Royal Navy's two latest Batch 2 River class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs), the company announced …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  IDEX 2017: UAE receives Predator UAVs

  14th February 2017

  The United Arab Emirates has accepted delivery of all aircraft for its initial Predator UAV system, Shephard has learnt.Designated the RQ-1E in UAE service, the …

• Naval Warfare

  Harbour defence system delivered to India

  15th February 2017

  Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has completed delivery of a harbour defence system to the Indian Navy for the Port of Mumbai, the company announced on …

• Special Operations

  New Blighter surveillance system introduced

  17th February 2017

  Blighter Surveillance Systems has developed a new fully integrated, battery operated, man portable radar/camera surveillance system designed for rapid deployment, the company announced on 16 …

• Defence Helicopter

  SATCOM through rotor blades demonstrated

  15th February 2017

  Hughes Network Systems has demonstrated a 360-degree beyond-line-of-sight SATCOM capability transmitting HD video through the rotating blades of a NorthStar Aviation 407 helicopter, the company …

• Defence Notes

  Japan faces headwinds in aircraft exports

  15th February 2017

  The Japanese government wishes to reduce development and production costs by exporting defence equipment to foreign nations. While this would boost Japan's domestic defence industry, …

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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...