• Defence Notes

  How France’s future budget will prepare its forces for tomorrow’s warfare

  26th January 2023

  Under the future military programming law 2024-2030 umbrella, France intends to invest in innovation as well as in cyber, maritime, space and UAS capabilities.

• Land Warfare

  Mobility and deception keeping Ukrainian air defence systems intact

  20th March 2023

  Mobility and deception tactics have helped keep Ukrainian air defence systems stay online during Russia's invasion of the country.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Animal Dynamics' parafoil UAS aims to tackle logistics challenges

  13th December 2022

  Animal Dynamics has partnered with Orbital UAV to explore propulsion solutions for its parafoil-wing Stork-STM UAS.

• Land Warfare

  Thailand’s first LG1 towed howitzers touch down

  7th February 2023

  The first of Thailand's new 105mm field guns have arrived home, while the country's Defense Technology Institute (DTI) pursues other indigenous programmes such as combat reconnaissance vehicles and an MRAP.

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2022: HII enhances human-machine teaming training for US Army

  9th December 2022

  HII’s crewed-uncrewed teaming training system has been tested with the US Army’s Apache, but it can operate with any autonomous system with the right equipment to receive data.

• Air Warfare

  BAE destroys fast-moving UAS with APKWS

  1st December 2022

  BAE Systems has demonstrated the effectiveness of APKWS in targeting agile, high-speed UAS.

• Air Warfare

  UPDATED: FCAS is ‘on the way to first flight’, says Airbus

  20th December 2022

  The Franco-German Future Combat Air System programme is moving onto Phase 1B, where Dassault, Airbus, Indra and Eumet will develop a demonstrator.

• Air Warfare

  US Air Force retires RC-26 reconnaissance aircraft

  10th January 2023

  The US Air Force is retiring its fleet of RC-26Bs nationwide that provided law enforcement with observation support in counter-narcotics, counterinsurgency and homeland security missions.

• Air Warfare

  US F-15EX successfully tests new missile stations

  6th January 2023

  The US Air Force has validated that weapons can be fired effectively and safely from the F-15EX’s new weapon stations, adding additional payload capacity to the aircraft.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  TB2 UAV conquers another export market with Kuwaiti order

  20th January 2023

  Turkish developer Baykar's best-selling TB2 has chalked up a 28th export customer, with more in the pipeline according to the company.

• Land Warfare

  Qatar continues to enhance counter-UAS capabilities as World Cup continues

  1st December 2022

  As the prevalence of military-grade and militarised COTS UAVs continues to grow, Qatar is set to expand its counter-UAS capabilities.

• Training

  Droneshield, xReality partner up for counter-drone training at I/ITSEC 2022

  29th November 2022

  DroneShield will leverage xReality's immersive technology to offer C-UAS training solutions for military markets.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Northrop Grumman counter-UAS architecture impresses in live-fire trials

  25th November 2022

  The US Army live-fire test evaluated the performance of the C-UAS system of systems before operational use.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Aerostructures manufacturing deal could smooth path to Indian MQ-9B purchase

  4th January 2023

  General Atomics' strategic partnership with India's Bharat Forge could pave the way to Delhi's long-awaited order of 30 MQ-9Bs.

• Defence Helicopter

  Nigeria to receive new attack helicopters

  9th December 2022

  The Nigerian Air Force is to receive more than 50 attack air assets to strengthen its ability to fight insecurity within its borders.

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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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

  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

  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 ...

• 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 ...