• Air Warfare

  Paris Air Show: Romania orders first batch of Watchkeeper X drones

  21st June 2023

  Romania has awarded Elbit Systems a $180 million purchase order for three Watchkeeper X Tactical UAS, the Israeli firm announced at the Paris Air Show.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  ESEN Gördes demonstrates S-100 UAS navigation system

  25th July 2023

  The ESEN GöRDES vision based navigation system was successfully demonstrated on the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 UAS, showcasing its capability to operate in GPS-denied environments and offering a jam and spoofing resilient platform.

• Land Warfare

  GM Defense, Black Sage partner up to add drone defences to military vehicles

  2nd June 2023

  GM Defense has partnered with Black Sage Technologies to develop an integrated counter-uncrewed aerial systems (C-UAS) capability for tactical military vehicles.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Paris Air Show: BlueBird debuts SpyX loitering munition

  19th June 2023

  At Paris Air Show on 19 June, BlueBird Aero Systems debuted a new loitering munition, the SpyX, with a 50km operational range.

• Naval Warfare

  France and Italy's Horizon-class destroyers to receive mid-life upgrade

  1st August 2023

  The Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) has awarded Naviris and Eurosam a €1.5 billion ($1.65 billion) contract for the mid-life upgrade (MLU) of the French Navy’s Forbin-class destroyers and Italian Navy’s Orrizonte-class destroyers.

• Air Warfare

  Paris Air Show: NATO brokers Greek deal to acquire Safran UAVs

  21st June 2023

  The Greek Army has chosen Safran Electronics & Defense to modernise its UAV inventory, adding four new Patroller tactical drones to its current Sperwer fleet.  The …

• Digital Battlespace

  Smartshooter seeks US military interest in remote control fire control stations

  30th June 2023

  Smartshooter has unveiled a remotely controlled fire control system (FCS) integrated with radar and is looking for US DoD interest.

• Air Warfare

  Aeronautics and CRFS collaborate to integrate RF technology on Aerostar UAV

  21st July 2023

  Aeronautics and CRFS have successfully integrated RF technology into the Aerostar UAV range, enhancing its SIGINT/ELINT capabilities.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US Army moves forward on future tactical UAS without AeroVironment

  26th May 2023

  AeroVironment has been dropped from the hunt to provide the US Army with a Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS), leaving Griffon Aerospace, Northrop Grumman, Sierra Nevada and Textron Systems in the running.

• Naval Warfare

  New Turkish naval mines will be able to distinguish between friend and foe

  9th August 2023

  The Malaman smart bottom mine and Uça guided smart bomb will use acoustic, magnetic and pressure sensors to detect and classify targets.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  British Army eyes new small armed UAS capability

  19th May 2023

  The UK MoD has released a request for information on small armed UAS which could be used by the British Army.

• Air Warfare

  Germany's potential SCAF exit for GCAP unpacked

  3rd November 2023

  The leaked information about Germany leaving the Future Combat Air Systems (FCAS/SCAF) project and joining the rival Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) hints at the growing complexities and tensions within the Franco-German partnership.

• Training

  Exosonic begins trials of UAS testbed for supersonic aerial target programme

  26th May 2023

  Exosonic has commenced trials of its EX-3M Trident UAV, a quarter-scale testbed for the EX-3 Revenant supersonic aerial target drone it is developing for the US Air Force.

• Land Warfare

  How the US Army is getting ready to succeed in contested multidomain scenarios

  24th July 2023

  The service has been working on the improvement of strategy, inventory and training in addition to conducting several acquisition, development and modernisation efforts.

• Land Warfare

  Rising Anti-Armour Threats in Ukraine Spotlight Need for Active Protection Systems (Studio)

  6th September 2023

  Amid the evolving threats in modern warfare, active protection systems (APS), like Rafael’s Trophy, offer advanced defence for armoured vehicles.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  DEF129 Nano UAS [Australia]

  Programme Background DEF129 The Australian Ground Service has combined various army procurement efforts under the DEF129 programme to increase the abundance and proliferation of UAVs ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Aeromobila A Pilotaggio Remoto (Mini) [Italy]

  Programme Background Requirement Released on 5 August 2021, the Italian MoD's Multi-Year Defence Programme Document for 2021-2023 announced a programme aimed at acquiring a mini-UAS capable ...

• Military UAS - micro

  Aeromobila A Pilotaggio Remoto (Micro) [Italy]

  Programme Background Requirement Released on 5 August 2021, the Italian MoD's Multi-Year Defence Programme Document for 2021-2023 announced a programme aimed at acquiring a micro-UAS capable ...

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

  RQ-20 Puma (Belgium)

  Programme Background Requirement The Belgian MoD outlined plans to procure more mini and tactical UAS in its Strategic Vision for Defence published in 2016. According ...

• Military UAS - small

  Bug Nano UAS (UK)

  Programme Background The British Army previously took delivery of 160 first-generation Black Hornet PD-100 nano UAS in 2013 to support operations in Afghanistan. After these ...

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

  Blue Water Maritime Logistics UAS (BWUAS) [USA]

  Programme Background Programme Goal The Blue Water Maritime Logistics UAS (BWUAS) programme stems from the Military Sealift Command and Fleet Forces Command identifying, in 2018, a ...

• Military UAS - small

  Puma 2 AE (Germany)

  Programme Background The Germany navy had an urgent requirement for three UAS required for reconnaissance and identification in maritime operations. A platform was required that ...

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

  Mini UAS [Spain]

  Programme Background Fuerza 35 Project This project is a Spanish Army initiative to create and maintain an effective force by forming flexible and cohesive operational ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  General-Purpose UAS [Australia]

  Programme Background Banned As reported by Shephard in August 2023, in the past, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) used commercial UAS from companies such as DJI for ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Indigenous UAS (South Korea)

  Programme Background South Korea's Total UAS Budget The government of South Korea wants to grow its domestic UAS industry. To do this, it was reported in ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Long Range Reconnaissance (LRR) / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) [USA]

  Under its Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) programme, the US Army plans to procure a Family of Small UAS (FoSUAS) to provide an organic ISR capability ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Long Range Reconnaissance (LRR) / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) [USA]

  Under its Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) programme, the US Army plans to procure a Family of Small UAS (FoSUAS) to provide an organic ISR capability ...

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

  MALE UAV (Finland)

  Programme Background Defence Report 2017 The Government's Defence Report 2017 stated that Finland's fighter capability could not be replaced wholesale by UAVs. Therefore, the FDF ...

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

  Anafi [Sweden]

  Programme Background Sweden announced on 7 February 2024 that Defence Material Works had procured drones for the Home Guard on behalf of the Armed Forces. ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  New Coastal Ranger Commando Vessels [Norway]

  Programme Background Requirements According to Naval News, the Norwegian Coastal Ranger Commando is seeking to acquire an undisclosed number of new fast attack/interceptor craft. The ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

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

  Maveric UAS

  The Maveric is a small, lightweight UAS designed to perform covert ISR missions at the tactical level. In order to camouflage the drone, its profile ...

• Air: UAV simulators

  UAS Academy

  IAI has established a UAS Academy for training and certification of operators and technicians. The academy was established to meet a perceived need for skilled ...

• Lynx UAS

  The Lynx is an sUAS used for large-area precision agriculture and surveying and has an endurance of 3h with the standard mapping payload. Its hand-launched ...

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

  UAS 100

  The UAS 100 is an autonomous, three-engined platform, modular UAS manufactured by Thales in partnership with Issoire Aviation, Hionos and with the support of the ...

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

  Heavy UAS

  The Heavy UAS, or Cargo Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, is, as its name suggests, a cargo-carrying UAV.  Manufactured by Honeywell Aerospace, the VTOL capable UAV's horizontal flight ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  MAUI

  The Mobile Application for UAS Identification (MAUI) is an acoustic sensor that operates on smartphones using the microphone to detect Group 1 (small, lightweight) UAVs, ...

• 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 ...

• Hex Mini UAS

  The Hex Mini is a hexacopter UAS capable of autonomous operation. Launched in under 10min, the system is constructed of sturdy materials and supports gyrostabilised ...

• Air: UAV simulators

  UAS Operator Training

  To help in the development of training applications for UAS pilots, Presagis offers a suite of integrated COTS software that can be used for the ...

• Air: UAV simulators

  UAS Mission Trainer

  The UAS Mission Trainer combines an open architecture with COTS hardware and simulation software that minimises the use of proprietary designs to provide a platform-agnostic ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  Cobham C-UAS

  Unveiled at the AUVSI 2017 trade show in Dallas, Texas, the Cobham C-UAS primarily consists of wideband omnidirectional, directional helix (single- or dual-band), directional flat ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  Skylock C-UAS

  Skylock, an Avnon Group company, has developed a C-UAS system that is intended to bring sensors, jammers and a laser effector into a single deployable ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Small UAS CISR

  Cubic's Secure ISR Radio (SCISR) for small unmanned aerial systems is a rugged common data link (CDL) multi-band (L, S, and C) full-duplex transceiver for ...

• UAS: Integrated systems - uncrewed

  AsteRx-m2 UAS

  The AsteRx-m2 UAS is a GNSS receiver designed to be easily integrated into UAS applications to provide centimetre-level RTK positioning. The system’s standard connectors enable ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  C-UAS Solution

  The C-UAS Solution uses goniometry, radar technologies and various sensors to detect and remove UAS from the air. So far, the solution has been proven effective against ...