Defence Notes

Russia to hold biggest military drills since Cold War

28th August 2018

Russia, in September 2018, will hold its biggest war games since at least the 1980s, with around 300,000 troops and 1,000 aircraft, the Russian Ministry …

Uncrewed Vehicles

US Army, Bell advancing micro-UAS technologies

24th August 2018

The US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and Bell are continuing their joint effort to further advance the development of new micro UAS technologies, the army …

Military Logistics

Fort Carson goes green

24th August 2018

AECOM has begun construction of a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) at the US Army's Fort Carson in Colorado, using Lockheed Martin's GridStar Lithium energy …

Military Logistics

Rostec introduces new exoskeleton

24th August 2018

Rostec has introduced a new exoskeleton for the new generation of the Ratnik combat suit at the International Military-Technical Forum Army 2018. The exoskeleton has …

Defence Notes

Venezuela denies Colombian claims of armed forces incursion

23rd August 2018

Venezuela has hit back at Colombia, branding as fake news, claims from its neighbour that helicopters and troops had violated its sovereignty in an illegal …

Digital Battlespace

DARPA reviews satellite servicing robot design

22nd August 2018

DARPA has concluded the preliminary design review of a satellite servicing payload for its Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) programme. According to DARPA, results …

Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) (Tranche 2) / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) [USA]

Programme Background The Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) Programme The RPUAS programme will provide the battalion and below-ground manoeuvre elements within the US Army with an ...

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 ...

Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

Commercial / MOTS UAVs [Germany]

Programme Background Challenge On 16 June 2023, the Bundeswehr posted the "Commercial / Military off the shelf UAS for the Bundeswehr" challenge on KOINNOvationsplatz. The two-week ...

Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

Micro UAV (Argentina)

Programme Background Tender The EA and MoD in April 2021 announced Public Tender 0090/2021 (UOC: 84/135) which saw the General Directorate of Material begin the process ...

Military helicopters - attack

AH-64E Apache (Indian Air Force)

Programme Background The Indian Army was originally granted co-ownership of the 22 Apaches by the Indian MoD. However, the IAF refused to cede them to ...

Loitering munitions

DELI (Türkiye)

Programme Background Speaking to Shephard at SAHA Expo 2022, a spokesperson stated that the platform was expected to enter into service with the Turkish Armed ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

Akinci [Libya]

Programme Background 2022 Reports In October 2022, various Libyan media outlets reported that the country was eyeing a possible procurement from Baykar, possibly the Akinici ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

TUAS [Malaysia]

Programme Background Tender & Requirments The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) issued a tender in May 2020 to provide a new Tactical Uncrewed Aerial System (TUAS). ...

OPVs

Sri Lankan CG 85M OPVs

Programme Background The Sri Lankan coast guard is expected to receive three new offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) in the near future to be built locally. ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

ScanEagle [Czechia]

Programme Background Earmarked The ACR took delivery of ten ScanEagle systems (100 UAVs), which were received as a donation from the US in 2015. In ...

Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

Special Forces Micro-UAV (India)

Programme Background Mass of Requests In October 2022, the Indian Army released a flurry of RfIs for various UAVs, showing its desperation to get UAVs ...

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 ...

Loitering munitions

Small-Sized Suicide Drones [South Korea]

Programme Background Drone Ambition As reported by Shephard, South Korea has ambitions to possess a large arsenal of drones. In May 2024, the presidential office ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

HUSAR (2023 Order) [Germany]

Programme Background First Order In 2015, the German Army launched the HUSAR programme to identify a replacement for its Airbus Defence & Space KZO and ...

Transport/tanker aircraft

C-37A - USAF

Programme Background The USAF was using C-20B transport aircraft, variant of civilian Gulfstream III, to provide worldwide airlift for DoD and government officials. With the ...

md4-3000

The md4-3000 is a small VTOL quadcopter UAV with a maximum take-off weight of 15kg, one-third of which can be payload. It can fly by remote ...

Neo V2

Flycam UAV displayed the Neo V2 at the Commercial UAV Expo in Las Vegas in November 2016. Developed in 2014, the UAV has a twin-boom ...

Falcon 8+

Intel unveiled the Falcon 8+ for the first time at the Commercial UAV Expo in Las Vegas in November 2016. The V-Form octocopter, which will ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

Skylark 3

The Skylark 3 is a small UAS manufactured by Elbit Systems. It is designed for both dismounted and vehicle-based operations.  It can perform a range of ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

M12 Monitor

The Saxon Remote Systems M12 Monitor UAV is a commercial and military system designed to perform a range of roles such as surveillance, pipeline inspection ...

H520

The H520 is a hexarotor VTOL UAV designed for the commercial and industrial markets by Yuneec International. The system was unveiled in January 2017. It ...

Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

SICX-10E

The SICX-10E is a rotary-wing UAV suitable for a range of military and civil roles, including tactical ISR, bomb damage assessment, homeland security, aerial surveillance, ...

Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

SICX-25

The SICX-25 is a rotary-wing UAV suitable for a range of military, commercial and civil missions, including tactical ISTAR, bomb damage assessment, civil air surveillance, ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

30 June

Developed by the Egyptian Ministry of Military Production, the 30 June is a MALE fixed-wing UAV designed for reconnaissance missions.  Additionally, it features an electromagnetic system and ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

Wulung

The Wulung is an Indonesian tactical UAV. First displayed at the Indo Defence Expo and Forum in November 2014, the aircraft entered mass production in May ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small, Military UAS - tactical

Resolute Eagle

The Resolute Eagle is a tactical Group 3 UAS with fuselage and underwing payload bays, which is able to carry multiple sensors. The UAS has been ...

EO/IR systems

Skybox

The Skybox allows gimballed camera systems developed for small UAVs to be integrated on the nose of manned helicopters. It accommodates cameras such as DJI’s ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

EJ-30

Produced by Industrial Complex Engineering Robots in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Military Production, the EJ-30 is a MALE UAV with visual similarity to the ...

Special operations vehicles

Yagu

Plasan unveiled the Yagu 4x4 at the March 2018 Expo Seguridad event. It is based on the Arctic Cat Wildcat 4 1000 commercial all-terrain vehicle. The ...

Air: mission management systems

TM-100 Map and Video Management system

Trakka Systems introduced a new TM-100 Map and Video Management system at HAI Heli-Expo 2017 in Dallas. The augmented reality mapping system with metadata video and audio ...