• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Wasp AE sets sights on Australia

  7th September 2016

  AeroVironment will offer its Wasp AE UAS to the Australian Army and Special Forces, the company announced on 6 September. The company has named a …

• Military Logistics

  USMC Osprey lands on HMAS Canberra

  21st July 2016

  An MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft of the US Marine Corps (USMC) successfully landed on the flight deck of the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN's) HMAS Canberra landing …

• Defence Notes

  Indian Navy gets Varunastra torpedo

  4th July 2016

  The Indian Navy has taken delivery of Varunastra, a ship-launched heavy-weight torpedo, the Indian Ministry of Defence announced on 29 June. Varunastra has been developed …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Seagull USV completes torpedo launch trials

  30th June 2016

  Elbit Systems has successfully fired torpedoes from its Seagull autonomous Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV), the company announced on 28 June. The trial, carried out at …

• Digital Battlespace

  US Navy modifies Austal’s Littoral Combat Ship contract

  22nd June 2016

  The US Navy has modified Austal’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) contract to procure a spare ‘Sea Giraffe’ radar for the Independence variant LCS programme, the …

• Land Warfare

  Eurosatory: FFG displays new G5 command post

  22nd June 2016

  Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft (FFG) has launched a prototype of its tracked Protected Mission Module Carrier G5 (PMMC G5) configured as a command and control vehicle.  …

• Defence Helicopter

  HMAS Canberra trials Chinooks

  31st May 2016

  The HMAS Canberra (L02), a Canberra class landing helicopter dock ship of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), conducted deck and handling trials with two Boeing …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UDT 2016: Wasps, torpedoes and ASW

  2nd June 2016

  While the US Combat Terrorism Technical Support Organization (CTTSO) continues to trial three Saab Sea Wasp ROVs delivered to them earlier this year, the company …

• Naval Warfare

  LCS 8 completes acceptance trial

  16th May 2016

  The future USS Montgomery (LCS 8) Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) has successfully completed acceptance trials following several underway and in-port demonstrations for the US …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UDT 2016: Irish navy poised for MCM AUV capability

  3rd May 2016

  Ireland's Department of Defence is preparing to issue a request for tenders for an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) capable of hunting for sea mines. Officials …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  More Bonefish tests ahead

  29th April 2016

  Saab Australia is excited about the prospects of its Bonefish USV Down Under, as its development continues. The latest series of talks suggests that it …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Royal Navy using UAS to navigate ice

  18th April 2016

  The Royal Navy’s HMS Protector ice patrol vessel is trialing the use of small UAS to navigate through the Antarctic region, the service announced on …

• Defence Helicopter

  Quad A 2016: Sikorsky defiant on SB>1

  29th April 2016

  Sikorsky and Boeing’s offering for the US Army’s Joint Multi Role (JMR) Technology Demonstrator is on track to perform its first flight next year, with …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DefExpo 2016: Trial awaits submarine-launched AUV

  29th March 2016

  Adamya, which means ‘impossible to subdue or defeat’ in Sanskrit, is the name of a new autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) from Indian firm Larsen & …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Kongsberg tests SAR UAV technology

  30th March 2016

  Kongsberg Geospatial and the County of Renfrew Paramedic Service have concluded the field trials of a new software application that improves the safety of operating …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Project Vixen [UK]

  Programme Background Project Goal The Royal Navy uses Leonardo crewed Merlin (AW101) helicopters fitted with CROWSNEST pods to provide airborne early warning capabilities for carriers. An early ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Akinci [Pakistan]

  Programme Background 'Brotherly Ties'  On 14 January 2022, the Pakistan government unveiled its first-ever National Security Policy. As reported by Shephard, the policy emphasised 'brotherly ties' with ...

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

  V-Bat 128 [Canada]

  Programme Background Requirement Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) was seeking a platform for the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) that would significantly expand its surveillance range ...

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

  Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) Project [Japan]

  Programme Background Requirement The Japanese Coast Guard (JCG) operated a few dozen Chinese-made UAVs that conducted SAR and surveillance activities. The drones performed well and ...

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

  Camcopter S-100 [Greece]

  Programme Background Trails A 2 August 2021 Schiebel press release announced the company had demonstrated the Camcopter S-100's capabilities to the Hellenic Navy. The UAV was ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPVs) (1-2) [India]

  Programme Background Requirements The units will perform multi-role support functions such as maritime surveillance & patrol, launching/recovery of torpedoes and operation of various types of ...

• MPVs - 4x4, Reconnaissance/patrol vehicles

  Multi-Role Vehicle (Protected) (MRV-P) Package 1 (UK)

  Programme Background Requirement The MRV-P programme was intended to procure replacements for a diverse fleet of 4x4 and 6x6 vehicles purchased during the wars in Iraq ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  RQ-7B Shadow v2 Block III (USA)

  Programme Background The first iteration of the Shadow UAS, the Shadow 600, was first introduced in 1992 and since then Textron has had a longstanding ...

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

  DEF129 Small UAS Plus [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement The army wanted up to 17 SUAS+ systems with a life of six years. The tender said the UAV would be issued ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  4x4 Armoured Vehicle [Estonia]

  Programme Background The Estonian military wants to replace its fleet of soft-skin troop transports with 4x4 and 6x6 armoured vehicles. This will improve the survivability ...

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munitions (Forecast) [Germany]

  Programme Background Three Systems In April 2023, Germany reportedly ordered three different loitering munition systems to further assess their suitability for use by the German Armed ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  4x4 Armoured Vehicle (Unknown)

  Programme Background The Estonian military wants to replace its fleet of soft-skin troop transports with 4x4 and 6x6 armoured vehicles. This will improve the survivability ...

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

  Hermes 900 StarLiner [Switzerland]

  Programme Background Contract Information In September 2015, under the Reconnaissance Drone System 15 (ADS 15), the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (VBS) awarded ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Heavy IFV [Poland]

  Programme Background Requirement Due to the perceived threat from Russia and the conflict in Ukraine, Poland has accelerated and expanded its plans to modernise its ...

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

  TAPAS BH-201 [India]

  Programme Background Requirements As of late 2023, the Indian tri-service plan was reportedly to acquire 155 indigenously produced MALE UAVs alongside 31 MQ-9B drones from General Atomics (GA-ASI), ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UGVs

  Mission Master XT

  Part of Rheinmetall's Mission Master family, The Mission Mater Extreme Terrain, or Mission Master XT, is a rugged UGV designed to accompany troops in challenging environments ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Tigon

  Hanwha Defense Systems selected DSA 2018 in Kuala Lumpur as the location to unveil its Tigon 6x6 armoured wheeled vehicle. The company conducted a fortnight-long ...

• Matternet M2

  The Matternet M2 quadcopter UAV has been certified by the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation for full logistics operations over cities. The platform is ...

• Military - USVs

  Sentinel - Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial (PBAT)

  Sentinel is an autonomous uncrewed surface vessel (USV) built from the decommissioned HMAS Maitland , a former Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Armidale-class Patrol Boat.

• Special operations vehicles

  VOS-APP

  The Arquus VOS-APP is a 6x6 support vehicle currently under trial with the French SOF. Acting as a replacement for the 1970s-vintage ACMAT VLRA, the VOS-APP is the ...

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

  KUS-VT tiltrotor

  The KUS-VT is a tiltrotor UAV that first flew in October 2013 and was exhibited at ADEX 2013. The aircraft is designed to have a ...

• Armoured engineer vehicles

  M1150 ABV

  The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) project, launched by the USMC in 2002, is a joint programme to meet the requirements of both the US ...

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

  Gray Eagle STOL / Mojave

  Unveiled in December 2021, the Mojave is a MALE UAV demonstrator aircraft. The Gray Eagle STOL, or GE STOL, is a production variant of the demonstrator. It ...

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

  HQ-60

  Similarly to other platforms in the L3 Technologies Hybrid Quadrotor (HQ) and Fixed-Wing Rotator family (see separate entries) of VTOL fixed-wing UAVs, the HQ-60 has ...

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

  Archer

  The Archer is a short-range UAV being developed for India by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).  Based on the Rustom I and inspired by Bayrakar's ...

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

  Flamingo Mk3

  The Flamingo Mk3 entered production in July 2017 and is based on the Flamingo Mk2. The Mk3 has been designed to provide a 65% increase ...

• Air: Electronic Attack - Jamming

  Miysis DIRCM

  Leonardo’s Miysis Directed Infrared Countermeasure (DIRCM) system provides high power, all aspect protection against modern and legacy Infrared Man-Portable Air Defence Systems (IR MANPADS) for ...

• Loitering munitions

  Mace

  Mace is a loitering munition developed by UAC, a Czech-Ukrainian company that is a subsidiary of DeViro. The electric-powered, catapult-launched UAV can host various warheads, including HEAT, thermobaric and ...

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

  United 40 Block-5

  The United 40 was unveiled at the Dubai Airshow 2011 and is a MALE UAV with a twin-wing configuration and a hybrid turbine-electric engine. The ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Samarthak Class

  The Samarthak-class consists of two Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPVs) being built by Larsen & Toubro for the Indian Navy. The ships will perform multi-role support functions such as maritime ...