• Defence Notes

  EDEX 2018: Egypt eyes JF-17 Thunder Block 3s

  5th December 2018

  The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) is currently reviewing the progress of the PAC/Chengdu JF-17 Thunder.  At EDEX 2018 in Cairo, Shephard has learnt that representatives …

• Defence Notes

  Five missing after two US military planes crash off Japan

  6th December 2018

  Rescue operations were underway on 6 December for five US marines missing after two American military aircraft crashed during a refuelling operation off the coast …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Alpha selects Robotic Skies for global support

  16th November 2018

  Alpha Unmanned Systems has selected Robotic Skies to develop and implement a global support plan for its Alpha 800 unmanned helicopter and future commercial UAS, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  E2E SATCOM UAS-I node flies

  14th November 2018

  E2E has successfully completed an over-the-air flight test of its newly launched UAS-I satellite communication node for UAS. E2E is developing the solution in order …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  ASTRALiTe demos topo–bathy LiDAR

  26th November 2018

  ASTRALiTe has demonstrated its two-in-one topo-bathy LiDAR system flying on the DJI Matrice 600 Pro UAS during three separate test flight missions. Designed for topographic …

• Training

  MC-130P to enhance crew training

  15th November 2018

  A new ground instructional training aircraft (GITA) has arrived at the US Air Force's Sheppard AFB to provide improved training for C-130 training squadron staff. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Cranfield University joins EuroDRONE programme

  2nd November 2018

  Cranfield University has joined the EuroDRONE programme, to test the European Union’s (EU's) readiness to manage a broad range of UAS operations including interaction with …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Sonardyne leads P3AUV project

  27th November 2018

  Sonardyne has kicked-off the Precise Positioning for Persistent AUVs (P3AUV) project to enable AUVs to navigate more effectively with less surface support and for longer …

• Naval Warfare

  SEA, Daronmont to support Australian naval programmes

  21st November 2018

  SEA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Daronmont Technologies to support future Australian submarine and naval shipbuilding programmes. The companies will jointly address Royal …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment receives RQ-20B Puma AE II contract

  12th November 2018

  AeroVironment has received a $3.2 million contract to provide the RQ-20B Puma AE II UAS, training and support to an allied nation in the US …

• Digital Battlespace

  AOC 2018: US Army explores integrated tactical network concept

  23rd November 2018

  One of the potential capabilities evaluated at the recent US Army Network Integration Evaluation (NIE) 18.2, held from 1-12 November at Fort Bliss, Texas, was …

• Digital Battlespace

  AOC 2018: Industry eyes new EW concepts

  21st November 2018

  As recognition of the vital role dominance of the electromagnetic spectrum plays on the battlefield, industry is pushing forward with new EW concepts designed to …

• Defence Helicopter

  DARPA advances OPV flight trials

  14th November 2018

  The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Sikorsky recently trialled technology that can turn any helicopter into an optionally piloted vehicle (OPV), with …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  CAA launches UAS regulation training course

  8th November 2018

  The UK's Civil Aviation Authority International has launched a new one-day training course covering UAS regulations. The course, titled ‘Introduction to Unmanned Aircraft Systems Regulation’, …

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2018: Bangladesh Air Force plans NVT procurement

  22nd November 2018

  The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) Directorate of Air Training has issued a tender specification for a virtual night vision trainer (NVT) for installation at its …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 - MALE

  Bayraktar TB2 (Qatar)

  Programme Background In 2018 at DIMDEX, it was revealed that Qatar had bought six Bayraktar TB2 UAVs from Turkey. The deal also included three ground control stations, ...

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

  ISTAR UAS project (Canada)

  Programme Background Objective The Royal Canadian Navy's (RCN) main significant UAV project is the RCN Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance Unmanned Aircraft System (RCN ...

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

  Mini Reconnaissance Drones [Lithuania]

  Programme Background Planned Purchases On 14 September 2022, the Lithuanian MoD announced in a short statement on Twitter, now X, that it had begun organising ...

• 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 - small

  Small Reconnaissance Drones [Lithuania]

  Programme Background Planned Purchases On 14 September 2022, the Lithuanian MoD announced in a short statement on Twitter, now X, that it had begun organising ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-15SA Saudi Arabia

  The aircraft deal includes 170 APG-63(v)3 AESA radar sets, 193 F-110-GE-129 Improved Performance Engines, 100 M61 Vulcan Cannons, 338 Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems amongst ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Skeldar V-200 Dutch Navy

  Programme Background The Dutch Ministry of Defence issued a notice seeking information regarding the potential acquisition of a vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aerial vehicle ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Skeldar V-200 Belgian Navy

  Programme Background For the joint MCM programme between Belgium and the Netherlands, the Dutch Ministry of Defence issued a notice calling for information regarding the ...

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

  Company Level Small Uncrewed Aircraft System (SUAS) Directed Requirement (DR) [US Army]

  Programme Background Requirement The US Army approved the Co-Level SUAS DR acquisition in June 2023 to supply Brigade Combat Teams with an "immediate, commercially available capability" to ...

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

  Skeldar V-200 (ASW) [Canada]

  Programme Background Contract Award At Euronaval 2022, Shephard reported that UMS Skeldar and Ultra had been awarded a Phase 2 contract on 19 October to provide ...

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

  Flexible Tactical Uncrewed Air System (FTUAS) [UK]

  Programme Background Tender Notice & Timeline On 25 May 2021, the MoD published a tender notice for the urgent acquisition of a UAS and ancillaries under ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Replicator 2 [US]

  Programme Background 1.0 The Replicator programme is a US effort to field thousands of attritable, autonomous systems across multiple domains before the end of 2025 ...

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

  Medium Range Reconnaissance (MRR) / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) [USA]

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

• Light attack, Trainer

  Tejas LCA - India Follow-On

  According to the HAL's chairman R Madhavan, 'apart from all the capabilities of IOC aircraft, the FOC variant additionally comes with an air-to-air refuelling capability, close-combat ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Data links

  CLIP

  Common Link Integration Processing (CLIP) is a software product that performs data transformation and processes protocols for dissimilar communications formats. It meets requirements for common ...

• 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 ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  X-MADIS

  The eXpeditionary Mobile Air Defense Integrated System (X-MADIS) is a portable, fully integrated C-UAS system for fixed site, mobile and on-the-move operations. Combining four all-threat ...

• EO/IR systems

  CM262

  The CM262 is a gyro-stabilised portable optic that includes four sensor configurations, which enables it to operate effectively in a range of harsh environments and ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  Dronekiller

  The IXI Dronekiller is a handheld C-UAS device that employs software-defined radio technology to detect and affect Class 1 and Class 2 UAS devices without ...

• Loitering munitions

  Revenger

  The Revenger is a loitering munition developed by SRB Aerial Systems.  Not much is known about the platform; however, at IDEX 2023, two units were ...

• 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 ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  Airfence 5.0

  Airfence 5.0 is a C-UAS RF technology released by Sensofusion. It is designed to protect airports, personnel, prisons and private companies from rogue UAS in ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  Howler C-UAS

  Developed by Raytheon, the Howler is a counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS), which includes a Ku-band Radio Frequency Sensor (KuRFS), a command-and-control system, and a Coyote ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  Pitbull C-UAS Jammer

  In June 2018, MyDefence launched the Pitbull wearable C-UAS solution, which utilises smart jamming to defeat enemy drones. Pitbull was developed to have a minimal ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  SkyTracker

  SkyTracker is a technology suite that detects, identifies, tracks and mitigates UAS threats. The system provides continuous 24h automated monitoring in all weather conditions. The ...

• Land: RWS

  Pitbull

  General Robotics developed the lightweight Pitbull family of remote weapons station for use on aerial, land and naval crewed or uncrewed platforms. Armed with a single ...