• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2016: A big hit for V-Bat (video)

  5th May 2016

  Texas-based Martin UAV showcased a unique VTOL UAV design at this year's AUVSI Xponential in New Orleans, which it calls V-Bat. While some manufacturers have …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2016: Mexico acquires VTOL fixed-wing UAV (video)

  4th May 2016

  UAS manufacturer Arcturus UAV has revealed the Mexican Navy as a customer for its VTOL-capable fixed-wing unmanned aircraft. According to the California company, the navy …

• Defence Helicopter

  Newcomers continue FVL development

  13th May 2016

  Heavyweight industry players may have been selected to build full-scale helicopters for the US Army’s Joint Multi-Role (JMR) technology demonstrator programme, but smaller companies are …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2016: CybAero touches down on Swedish corvette

  4th May 2016

  CybAero and Airbus Defence and Space (DS) have successfully teamed up to perform a test launch and recovery of the Apid One VTOL UAV from …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Quad A 2016: US Army eyes revolutionary UAS

  29th April 2016

  The US Army is planning to set out fresh requirements in the mid-2020s for a runway-independent UAS, with the service potentially eyeing revolutionary designs that …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2016: What to Xpect at Xponential (video)

  2nd May 2016

  Unmanned Vehicles editor Richard Thomas gives us a sneak peak of the AUVSI Xponential show floor, this year being held in New Orleans. He outlines …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2016: New business angles with VTOL UAS

  5th May 2016

  Textron Systems say that their Aerosonde Hybrid UAS would need to continue development before any thought was given to customer sales, although as it stands …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2016: US Army looks for new small UAS

  3rd May 2016

  The US Army is looking to provide dismounted soldiers with a UAS toolkit by adding a small quadcopter to the already proven Puma and Raven …

• Defence Helicopter

  Aurora flies subscale LightningStrike

  20th April 2016

  Aurora Flight Sciences has successfully conducted the first flight of a subscale vehicle demonstrator (SVD) of its LightningStrike vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) X-Plane for DARPA …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Australia hunts for naval VTOL UAV

  15th April 2016

  Australia wants a small number of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAVs to develop experience in their use aboard Royal Australian Navy (RAN) ships at …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UAV Solutions demonstrates two SUAS

  15th April 2016

  Two of UAV Solutions’ small unmanned aircraft systems (SUAS) have taken part in flight demonstrations for the Robotic Aircraft for Public Safety (RAPS) Phase II …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DefExpo 2016: OIS-AT promotes UAV proliferation

  4th April 2016

  The private Indian firm OIS Advanced Technology (OIS-AT) has invested heavily in UAVs over the past four years. Indeed, Sanjay Bhandari, founder chairman and managing …

• Defence Helicopter

  Aurora contracted for X-Plane phase 2

  7th March 2016

  Aurora Flight Sciences has been awarded a contract by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for phase two of the Vertical Takeoff and …

• Defence Helicopter

  Heli-Expo 2016: Capability gap looming

  29th February 2016

  The Pentagon is facing a capability gap before new vertical lift technologies enter service, a leading rotorcraft analyst has argued. The US military continues to …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  New partnership targets VTOL UAS market

  2nd February 2016

  A new partnership between Hankuk Carbon of Korea and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will target the development and manufacture of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - tactical

  VTOL UAV (ROKA)

  Programme Background All branches of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces are placing a large emphasis on the procurement of unmanned systems to improve ISR ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Nano VTOL [USMC]

  In April 2024, the USMC released a document outlining its drone strategy and how it intended to achieve its uncrewed ambitions. The document contained various ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Nano VTOL [USMC]

  In April 2024, the USMC released a document outlining its drone strategy and how it intended to achieve its uncrewed ambitions. The document contained various ...

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

  Camcopter S-300 [South Korea]

  Programme Background Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) On 18 January 2023, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Northop Grumman at a ...

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

  K1000ULE [USMC]

  Programme Background Contact Award After a comprehensive down-selection evaluation, Kraus Hamdani Aerospace's K1000ULE drone won the USN's PMA 263 contract in April 2024. The company will now provide the USN ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | ISR Drone (Ukraine Aid) [Netherlands]

  As part of its pledged €2 billion in military aid to Ukraine in 2024, the Netherlands announced in March 2024 that it had secured a ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | ISR Drone (Ukraine Aid) [Netherlands]

  As part of its pledged €2 billion in military aid to Ukraine in 2024, the Netherlands announced in March 2024 that it had secured a ...

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

  Micro VTOL [USMC]

  Programme Background Force Design 2030 The USMC Force Design 2030 is a modernisation effort to create a lighter, more agile maritime force. The update to ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | ISR Drones (First Batch) (Ukraine Aid) [Netherlands]

  The Netherlands announced in March 2024 that it had secured a more than €200 million contract for new ISR drones. The MoD's press release confirmed ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | ISR Drones (First Batch) (Ukraine Aid) [Netherlands]

  The Netherlands announced in March 2024 that it had secured a more than €200 million contract for new ISR drones. The MoD's press release confirmed ...

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

  UAV Tactical Level [Norway]

  Programme Background Request for Information (RfI) In September 2022, the Norwegian Defence Material Agency (NDMA) launched a request for information in preparation for a possible ...

• 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 ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Micro VTOL [USMC]

  In April 2024, the USMC released a document outlining its drone strategy and how it intended to achieve its uncrewed ambitions. The document contained various ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Micro VTOL [USMC]

  In April 2024, the USMC released a document outlining its drone strategy and how it intended to achieve its uncrewed ambitions. The document contained various ...

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

  Cargo UAV (Turkey)

  Programme Background Inception & Requirment Turkey's Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) initiated a programme to procure VTOL-capable cargo drones in June 2018. These were planned for ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

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

  Penguin B VTOL

  The Penguin B VTOL is a variant of the Penguin B platform manufactured by Edge Autonomy. Announced in June 2021, the variant is a reliable, long-endurance ...

• Ikarus

  The Ikarus is a rotary-wing UAV suitable for various roles, including agricultural survey, industrial inspection, search and rescue, and all aspects of health and safety ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Lynx VTOL

  The Lynx VTOL aircraft takes off like a helicopter, flies like a fixed-wing aircraft and is used for precision agriculture and surveying. It has an ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Zala VTOL

  Manufactured by Zala Aero Group, the ZALA VTOL is a hybrid platform that can be operated both as a fixed-wing and rotary-wing UAV due to ...

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

  Argus VTOL

  The Argus VTOL, currently in development, is part of the Argus family of UAVs manufactured by Free Horizons, which also features the Argus Predator Mk ...

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

  Rakshak VTOL

  The Rakshak VTOL is a fixed-wing UAV with an EO/IR sensor for ISR missions. Developed by TATA Advanced Systems, the UAV is VTOL-capable, allowing it to operate ...

• Air: aerial targets

  Viking VTOL

  The Viking VTOL is an aerial target designed to mimic the size and flight characteristics of most larger, Group 1 (and potentially Group 2) platforms.  Boresight has ...

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

  Stream C VTOL

  At IDEX 2019, Threod Systems unveiled a new version of the Stream C UAS, capable of VTOL manoeuvres. Known as the Stream C VTOL, this ...

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

  Zala 421-22

  The Zala 421-22 is a rotary-wing UAV designed for ship- or land-based reconnaissance and surveillance, bomb damage assessment and real-time target acquisition. The VTOL UAV ...

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

  SR-10 VTOL

  Deftech showcased the SR-10 VTOL at DSA 2022. It has been locally designed in Malaysia to conduct aerial mapping, surveillance and line inspection missions. The hand-launched platform is powered ...

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

  H6 Poseidon

  Manufactured by Swarmly, the H6 Poseidon is a fixed-wing VTOL-capable UAV. The second largest member of the Poseidon family, the vertical lift is provided through ...

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

  Penguin C VTOL

  The Penguin C VTOL is the VTOL version of the Penguin C MIL Mk2; hence it is sometimes called the Penguin C Mk2 VTOL. Edge ...

• RMAX

  The RMAX is a remotely piloted UAV that was developed in the 1990s for industrial and farming applications, including aerial spraying. The UAV can also ...