• Defence Helicopter

  DSEI 2015: SW-4 flying solo for MoD (video)

  15th September 2015

  The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has concluded a two-year long study looking at unmanned rotary wing systems, including conducting simulated deck landings with a …

• Land Warfare

  PLA expands Type 09 family

  7th September 2015

  China boasted that 84% of the equipment participating in its military parade in Tiananmen Square on 3 September had never been publicly seen before. Among …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UAVs cruise Tiananmen Square

  4th September 2015

  Amidst China’s spectacular military parade in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, were three types of UAV serving in various services of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The …

• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop-led team outlines WGS proposal

  31st August 2015

  A Northrop Grumman-led team has submitted a proposal to the Australian government for utilisation of the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) system. The team also includes …

• Defence Helicopter

  DSEI 2015: JHC looks to the future

  14th September 2015

  The UK has recently carried out a Future Capability Study (FCS) to set out long term requirements for its current military helicopter fleet and to …

• Digital Battlespace

  Thales’ NS100 radar undergoes testing

  3rd September 2015

  Thales' first new NS100 naval radar system has successfully completed Factory Acceptance Test (FAT), the company announced on 1 September. The FAT, which consists of …

• Defence Helicopter

  US Army finally commits to guided rockets

  4th September 2015

  The US Army has begun to acquire smart guidance kits for its 70mm (2.75in) rocket systems and is fielding them to frontline units for evaluation, …

• Digital Battlespace

  Raytheon bags comms testing deal

  13th August 2015

  Raytheon has been awarded a contract for the certification and testing of an upgrade to the AN/ARC-231 Multi-Mode Communications System by the US Army, the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MQ-8C beats previous endurance record

  26th August 2015

  The US Navy and Northrop Grumman have demonstrated endurance capabilities with the MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter, the company announced on 25 August. The MQ-8C …

• Naval Warfare

  US warns of Chinese reclamation

  24th August 2015

  The US expressed ongoing consternation over the scale of Chinese land reclamation in the South China Sea in a recent Pentagon report. The Department of …

• Digital Battlespace

  Cubic to produce F-35 training systems

  20th August 2015

  Cubic Global Defense has been awarded a series of contracts from Lockheed Martin Aeronautics to produce and enhance the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) air …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  iRobot to deliver FirstLook to US

  20th August 2015

  iRobot has received an order worth $4 million for 110 FirstLook unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and accessories from the US Navy, the company announced on …

• Land Warfare

  Bradley upgrades gather pace

  25th August 2015

  The Bradley fighting vehicle upgrade programme is gathering pace as all the vehicle hulls are expected to have common standards by next year. Bradley M3 …

• Defence Helicopter

  Airbus demonstrates Sferion system

  17th August 2015

  Airbus Defence and Space has demonstrated the ability of its Sferion pilot assistance system to protect helicopters in restricted visibility conditions during a series of …

• Training

  Camber for USAF simulation

  14th August 2015

  Camber has been awarded a five-year contract worth $135 million by the US government to provide modelling and simulation and Live, Virtual, and Constructive (LVC) …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Surface-to-surface missiles, Loitering munitions

  Project Brakestop [UK]

  Programme Background Information Notice On 25 September 2024, the UK MoD published a prior information notice on Project Brakestop, which informed the industry about the upcoming ...

• Loitering munitions

  Medium Range Precision Strike (MRPS) [UK]

  Programme Background Prior Information Notice (PIN) On 21 October 2024, the MoD published a PIN in collaboration with the Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S;). The notice ...

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

  Dominator XP [Thailand]

  Programme Background Purchase As reported by Shephard, in September 2023, the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) inducted three Dominator XPs. The RTAF purchased the trio ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  CH-47F Chinook (Singapore)

  Programme Background In July 2020, photos have emerged on the internet of the first Boeing CH-47F Chinook destined for the Republic of Singapore Air Force ...

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

  MQ-9B SkyGuardian (US)

  Programme Background On 6 March 2023, GA-ASI announced that the Air Force Special Operations Command (ASFOC) had contracted three MQ-9B SkyGaurdians, making it the first US customer of the ...

• Transport

  VC-25B - USAF

  The modifications to the 747-8 aircraft will include an electrical power upgrade with dual Auxiliary Power Units that are usable in flight, a mission communication ...

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

  Anka-S (Second Batch) [Turkey]

  Programme Background First Batch Based on comments by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and Turkish media in 2018, Shephard believes that Türkiye acquired 26 Anka-S drones ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | SSN(X) Programme [USN]

  The US Navy may be far from reaching the end of procuring the current Virginia-class nuclear attack submarines (SSNs), but that does not mean planning for ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | SSN(X) Programme [USN]

  The US Navy may be far from reaching the end of procuring the current Virginia-class nuclear attack submarines (SSNs), but that does not mean planning for ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  New Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (NWJFAC) (India)

  Programme Background Requirements The Indian Navy is seeking replacements for a large proportion of its 19 46-49m-long waterjet-powered fast attack craft, several of which are approaching ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Mi-28NE Night Hunter

  Algerian military's follow-up order suggests that the country is satisfied with the Mi-28NE Night Hunters' performance in operational conditions in the desert environment featuring sandstorms ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  F-5E/F Adversary Trainer US Navy

  The F-5N is a single seat, dual engine supersonic land based fighter. It is designed to a service life of 9000 flight hours. The aircraft ...

• Loitering munitions

  ZT-180 [Russia]

  Programme Background Claims On 23 February 2023, DER SPIEGEL reported that, according to information it had gathered, China and Russia were negotiating the purchase of 100 ZT-180 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  HH-60W - Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH)

  According to the FY2021 Base funding, the HH-60W helicopter unit cost is $43.2 million. The HH-60W will be capable of employment day or night, in ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial Resupply System (JTAARS) / Medium ULS-A [USMC]

  Programme Background US Marine ULS-A programmes The US Marines are seeking a family of Unmanned Logistics Systems-Air (ULS-A), which will provide logistics and ground units with ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar

  AN/APQ-181

  The AN/APQ-181 is a low-probability-of-intercept radar fitted to USAF Northrop Grumman B-2 stealth bombers. During the B-2 Radar Modernization Program – completed in 2012 – the ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  CreoLand HP

  CreoLand HP is a 10W MANET radio designed for command centres, long-range applications, artillery and special forces units. Notably, it offers a data throughput of 100Mbps ...

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

  H10 Poseidon

  The H10 Poseidon is a fixed-wing VTOL-capable UAV manufactured by Swamrly. Due to the UAV's electric propulsion system, small-radar cross-section, lack of detachable thermal signature and ability to operate ...

• Air: UAS radar

  ANKA SATCOM Radome

  The ANKA SATCOM Radome is a structural component developed by the Turkish defence manufacturer Meteksan Savunma Sanayi. It is designed for the protection of Ku-band ...

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

  Khronos

  The Khronos is a tethered, fully automated UAV for ISR missions in GPS/GNSS-denied and RF-denied environments. The drone's manufacturer, Elistair, stated that it could be deployed from a ...

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

  DT-101

  The DT-101 is a small fixed-wing UAV from Deftech. The VTOL-capable platform features SATCOM with up to 10Mbs bandwidth capability. DefTech lists various payloads for ...

• 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

  DT-001

  The DT-001 is a tandem wing UCAV from Deftech. It can host a range of non-offensive payloads, such as IO/EO cameras and an airborne LIDAR. ...

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

  Spider VTOL

  The Spider VTOL is a mini electrical fixed-wing UAV. Unlike traditional VTOL UAVs with dedicated motors, propellors and structural parts for performing take-off and landing, the Spider ...

• Data links

  MAQA Terminal 3.8m Flyaway Variant

  The Modular Aperture Quad-Band Antenna (MAQA) Terminal is designed to provide a ruggedised, mobile, quad-band SATCOM terminal that supports operations with the WGS constellation, legacy ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  AN/VRC-118(V)1

  The AN/VRC-118(V)1 is a Mid-tier Networking Vehicular Radio (MNVR) which provides warfighters with the ability to share situational awareness. The MNVR utilises two joint tactical ...

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

  BLADE-55

  The Ballistic Loitering Attack Drone (BLADE, or BLADE-55) is a multi-role, weaponised rotary-wing UAV from Alare Technologies.  The drone can notably host two NAMMO M72 LAW weapons. Additionally, the ...

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

  Disruptor

  Publically unveiled at AUSA 2024, the Disruptor is a loitering munition and UAV manufactured by AEVEX Aerospace. The Group III aircraft utilises a pneumatic launcher or Rocket Assisted ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  AN/ARC-231 Skyfire

  The AN/ARC-231 Skyfire is an airborne VHF/UHF/LOS and DAMA SATCOM system. This system supports US DoD requirements for airborne, multi-band, multi-mission, secure anti-jam voice, data ...

• Air-to-surface missiles

  Viper-E

  In November 2011, MBDA bought the Viper-E (previously called Viper Strike) precision munition from Northrop Grumman. Viper-E allows aircraft, helicopters and UAVs to precisely engage ...