• Uncrewed Vehicles

  ​Northrop Grumman not pausing for thought on MQ-4C

  13th February 2020

  The US DoD's decision to pause production of the MQ-4C Triton high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) UAV is not one that concerns the platform’s manufacturer. A two-year …

• Digital Battlespace

  Raytheon awarded USAF comms terminals work

  17th January 2020

  Raytheon has received a contract action from the US Air Force Life Cycle Management Center for the force element terminal (FET) development effort. The $442.2 …

• Digital Battlespace

  American E-11A BACN aircraft crashes in Afghanistan

  28th January 2020

  The E-11A Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) aircraft is a rare platform in the USAF, and one of just four in service crashed near Ghazni …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Falco Xplorer​ UAS takes off

  17th January 2020

  Leonardo’s Falco Xplorer UAS has undertaken its maiden flight from Trapani Air Force base, the company announced on 17 January. The aircraft flew for around …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Innovative Chinese UAVs appear, including a triple-engine platform

  22nd January 2020

  A large UAV from the Tengden Technology Company in China performed its maiden flight on 16 January, the platform being notable for the three turbocharged …

• Defence Helicopter

  Lockheed Martin to up JAGM production

  17th December 2019

  Lockheed Martin has received funding from the US Army Contracting Command to increase the production rate of the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile, the US Department of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US AFRL's Ultra LEAP UAS in flight demo

  19th December 2019

  The US Air Force Research Laboratory’s Center for Rapid Innovation (CRI) has completed a two and a half-day continuous flight demonstration of the Ultra Long …

• Naval Warfare

  GARC/TALONS demonstrated for LCS mission module

  29th November 2019

  The US Navy has carried out an at-sea demonstration of the Greenough Advanced Rescue Craft (GARC) and Towed Airborne Lift of Naval Systems (TALONS) as …

• Defence Notes

  Defence Insight: Future market forecast (Air)

  18th December 2019

  The military fixed-wing sector was dominated by aircraft in 2019 with F-35, next-generation fighter aircraft and AWACs awards hitting the headlines.Lockheed Martin’s F-35 is the …

• Digital Battlespace

  Kratos awarded $39 million satellite comms monitoring contract

  6th December 2019

  Kratos Defense & Security Solutions announced on 6 December that it had been awarded a $39 million sole-source contract for geolocation global support services by …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Indago 3 offered with MANET capability

  4th October 2019

  Lockheed Martin Procerus Technologies (LMPT) will begin to offer its Indago 3 unmanned aerial vehicle integrated with Persistent Systems’ Wave Relay mobile ad hoc network …

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy developing new MVSOT solutions

  28th November 2019

  The US Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division (NSWC PCD) is developing a new non-lethal tool designed to slow down or stop on-coming target …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Echodyne radars in DARPA programme testing

  26th November 2019

  Echodyne’s radar technology was deployed as part of a test flight for DARPA’s Aerial Dragnet programme in San Diego during October.Echodyne's EchoGuard and EchoFlight radars …

• Defence Notes

  Helicopter collision in Mali kills 13 French soldiers

  26th November 2019

  Thirteen soldiers from France's Barkhane force in Mali were killed when two helicopters collided during an operation against jihadists in the country's north, the Elysee …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUSA 2019: MUTT gets a radio boost

  15th October 2019

  The Persistent Systems MPU5 radio has been installed on General Dynamics’s Multipurpose Unmanned Tactical Transport (MUTT) UGV as part of the latter’s Small Multipurpose Equipment …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - tactical

  Mi2 Challenge (USN)

  Programme Background Requirements The USN wants a UAV to be flown in austere environments without dedicated launch or recovery equipment; since it would be launched ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawk (Saudi Arabia)

  The sale is aimed at improving Saudi Arabia’s capability to meet current and future threats from enemy weapon systems, provide the capability to identify, engage ...

• AEW&C

  E-2D - USA

  The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye (AHE) is an all-weather, twin engine, carrier-based, Airborne Command, Control and Surveillance aircraft designed to extend task force defense perimeters. The ...

• Corvettes

  Tuo Chiang Class (Batch I) [Taiwan]

  Programme Background Requirements The multi-purpose corvette Tuo Chiang-class is made up of an initially smaller corvette and the first-in-class ROCN Tuo Chiang (not included in this programme value), followed by ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Pegasus SIGINT Aircraft (Follow-On) [Germany]

  In 2021, Germany awarded a contract to Hensoldt for the Kalaetron integrated SIGINT system to be installed on three Bombardier Global 6000 aircraft, forming the Persistent ...

• Data links

  Data links | Pegasus SIGINT Aircraft (Follow-On) [Germany]

  In 2021, Germany awarded a contract to Hensoldt for the Kalaetron integrated SIGINT system to be installed on three Bombardier Global 6000 aircraft, forming the Persistent ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | Pegasus SIGINT Aircraft (Follow-On) [Germany]

  In 2021, Germany awarded a contract to Hensoldt for the Kalaetron integrated SIGINT system to be installed on three Bombardier Global 6000 aircraft, forming the Persistent ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | Pegasus SIGINT Aircraft (Follow-On) [Germany]

  In 2021, Germany awarded a contract to Hensoldt for the Kalaetron integrated SIGINT system to be installed on three Bombardier Global 6000 aircraft, forming the Persistent ...

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

  Persistent Surveillance / High-Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS) [Japan]

  Programme Background Drone Appetite Released in December 2022, the Defence Buildup Programme (DBP) called on the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) to replace some human assets with ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R (Spain)

  Programme Background On 16 March 2022, the US State Department approved an FMS to Spain for eight MH-60R helicopters and associated equipment and weaponry for $950 ...

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

  Project 22350 / Orlan-10 (Russia)

  Programme Background The Russian Navy is following emerging trends of crewed surface vessels, including surface combatants, for the launch, operation and recovery of uncrewed maritime ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  Maritime Operations Helicopters Block 2 (South Korea)

  Programme Background The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) was seeking additional naval helicopters under its Maritime Operations Helicopter Batch 2 (MOH2) project. It represented a ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton - Germany (Cancelled)

  Programme Background Germany requested to buy four MQ-4C Triton HALE UAVs from Northrop Grumman. On 5 April 2018, the US State Department announced that it ...

• ISR/special mission

  P-1 EW [Japan]

  Programme Background Requirement Japan has operated the EP-3, a COMINT/SIGINT/ELINT configuration of the P-3 Orion, since 1993. As of 2024, the Japanese MoD maintains that these aircraft ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  SH-60L Tranche 1

  Programme Background  The JMSDF has identified a need to improve the capabilities of its maritime patrol and ASW helicopter fleet.  The Acquisition, Technology and Logistics ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

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

  Indago

  Indago is a small quadrotor UAV with VTOL. It is equipped with a large-screen handset and is marketed as 'whisper-quiet' with a noise level of ...

• Military UGVs

  Dragon Runner

  The Dragon Runner UGV, manufactured by QinitiQ, has two versions: the Dragon Runner 10 (DR10) and the slightly larger Dragon Runner 20 (DR20). All Dragon ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MPU5

  The MPU5 (WR-5100) has been described as a smart MANET radio, designed for connectivity, interchangeable frequency module, stream HD video and integrated Radio over IP functionality. ...

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

  Orion HL

  The Elistair Orion Heavy Lift (HL) is a rotary-wing tethered UAV designed for use as a persistent relay solution to form part of a secured mobile network. ...

• Data links

  MiMMC

  Microsat Man-Packable Mission Command (MiMMC) is a satellite-based BLoS communications system providing the ability to extend mission command applications including voice, video and data transfer ...

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

  Sentinel

  First displayed at DSEI 2023, Sentinel is a tethered drone from Drone Evolution. Designed to support various applications, such as increased ISR, EW and communications, ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  SOVERON VR

  Designed by Rohde&Schwarz;, the SOVERON VR is a ruggedised vehicle SDR that supports the V/UHF band. Notably, it comes with a built-in amplifier and a cosite ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  SOVERON HR

  The SOVERON HR5000 is a multiband handheld radio that supports two voice channels and IP data transmission in parallel. Developed by Rohde&Schwarz;, it is in ...

• Major networking projects

  BACN/RAIDER

  Battlefield Airborne Communications Node/Rapid Attack Information Dissemination Execution Relay (BACN/RAIDER) is a MANET experiment in which a BACN radio network gateway aboard an RB-57 Canberra ...

• Land: air defence radar

  RSR900 StealthRad Family

  The RSR 900 StealthRad product range has been developed in response to increasing demands for persistent, all-weather and high-visibility situation awareness of borders, strategic infrastructure, ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Orion

  The Orion is a twin-engine UAS capable of flying for over 100h at a time with large payloads. The system has a length of 40.2m, ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MIPR

  The Military IP Radio (MIPR) is described as a next-generation tactical IP radio designed to deliver high-speed broadband data communication to the battlefield. Modular and ...

• Military UGVs

  Multi-Utility Tactical Transport (MUTT)

  The Multi-Utility Tactical Transport (MUTT) UGV is designed to be a multirole, rugged, small-unit forcemultiplier. Able to operate in remote-controlled, tethered or tele-operated modes, it ...

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

  Falco Xplorer

  The Falco Xplorer is a light, MALE long-endurance UAS developed by Leonardo for persistent ISR missions. It was unveiled at the Paris Air Show in 2019 and completed its ...

• Military UGVs

  Talon

  The Talon is a medium-sized tactical UGV that was first introduced in 2000. Manufactured by QinetiQ, the drone is described as a multi-mission Explosive Ordnance ...