• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Keymerging Technologies orders Responder UAV

  13th August 2013

  ING Robotic Aviation has announced that it will provide its Responder rotary wing unmanned aerial vehicle system (UAV) to Keymerging Technologies for use in aerial …

• Defence Helicopter

  AUVSI 2013: Sikorsky goes public with 'Matrix'

  13th August 2013

  Sikorsky has officially introduced its latest unmanned research and development (R&D) programme, the Matrix autonomous technology demonstrator, at the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Orbital announces UAV engine contract

  31st July 2013

  Orbital will develop a next-generation unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) engine for an unnamed customer in the US under a new contract announced on 31 July. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  FAA grants Puma UAV commercial use certificate

  29th July 2013

  The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted the AeroVironment Puma AE small unmanned aircraft system (SUAS) a Restricted Category rating, clearing the way for …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US Navy receives first upgraded Fire Scout

  25th July 2013

  Northrop Grumman has delivered the first MQ-8C upgraded Fire Scout UAV to the US Navy, the company announced on 19 July. The upgraded VTOL UAV …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Spanish Navy first customer for Skeldar UAV

  11th July 2013

  The Spanish Navy has confirmed that it will be the first customer to operate Saab’s Skeldar V-200 VTOL UAV. Saab announced that it had been …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  India debuts manpack VTOL UAVs for HADR

  2nd July 2013

  Search and rescue agencies operating in Northern India have successfully used man-portable VTOL UAVs for the first time in humanitarian assistance/disaster relief (HADR) operations, it …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Aeryon UAVs complete public safety trials

  27th June 2013

  Aeryon Labs has announced that its Scout and SkyRanger small unmanned aerial vehicles (SUAS) have recently taken part in trials conducted by the US Department …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Aeryon Labs unveils new SkyRanger SUAS

  24th May 2013

  Aeryon Labs has introduced a new small unmanned aerial system (SUAS) called the Aeryon SkyRanger. The vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAV has been designed …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  IMDEX 2013: Asia sees unmanned market worth

  14th May 2013

  With UAVs entering the forefront of Asian militaries’ thinking, the potential market over the next ten years for ship-based tactical UAVs is predicted to fetch …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  IDEF 2013: TAI pursues Anka production contract

  8th May 2013

  Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) is confident it has resolved the technical issues which saw a prototype Anka MALE UAV crash during acceptance testing in September …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UK furthers unmanned engineering efforts

  3rd May 2013

  Despite an overall perception of a British engineering industry in stagnation, efforts are underway in the unmanned arena to develop next generation systems to match …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  LAAD 2013: Santos Lab unveils VTOL UAV

  11th April 2013

  Santos Lab used the LAAD exhibition in Rio de Janeiro to publicly unveil a new VTOL UAV. Dubbed the ORBIS, the UAV features a quadrotor …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment announces new Raven SUAS order

  10th April 2013

  AeroVironment will supply additional RQ-11B Raven small unmanned aerial systems (SUAS) and new miniature gimbaled payloads to the US Army under a new order announced …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Piccolo Nano autopilot introduced for small UAVs

  19th March 2013

  UTC Aerospace Systems has released the Piccolo Nano autopilot, the newest and smallest addition to the Cloud Cap Technology Piccolo family of flight management systems. …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - small

  Aerosonde (Qatar)

  Programme Background The Qatar MoD has established the Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center to carry out ISR missions for the Qatar Armed Forces. Among its roles ...

• 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 - 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 ...

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

  DEF129 (Small UAS) [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement The Australian Army identified a need for a small UAS to provide an organic ISR capability to units operating at the tactical ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Nightwarden (Qatar)

  Programme Background The Qatar MoD has established the Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center to carry out ISR missions for the Qatar Armed Forces. Among its roles ...

• 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 - tactical

  Embarked VTOL UAV [South Korea]

  Programme Background VTOL Development In January 2024, South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced that it would commence development of a VTOL-capable rotary-wing UAV that ...

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

  Camcopter S-300 [South Korea]

  Programme Background Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) On 18 January 2023, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Northop Grumman at a ...

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

  Long Range/Long Endurance (LR/LE) [USMC]

  Programme Background Force Design 2030 The USMC Force Design 2030 is a modernisation effort to create a lighter, more agile maritime force. The update to ...

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

  K1000ULE [USMC]

  Programme Background Contact Award After a comprehensive down-selection evaluation, Kraus Hamdani Aerospace's K1000ULE drone won the USN's PMA 263 contract in April 2024. The company will now provide the USN ...

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

  Micro VTOL [USMC]

  Programme Background Force Design 2030 The USMC Force Design 2030 is a modernisation effort to create a lighter, more agile maritime force. The update to ...

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

  UAV Tactical Level [Norway]

  Programme Background Request for Information (RfI) In September 2022, the Norwegian Defence Material Agency (NDMA) launched a request for information in preparation for a possible ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Fixed-Wing VTOL UAV (Malaysia)

  Programme Background Tender Issued As reported by Shephard, on 18 June 2021, Malaysia issued a tender for fixed-wing hybrid VTOL UAVs.  Requirement The tender stated that Malaysia required ...

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

  Cargo UAV (Turkey)

  Programme Background Inception & Requirment Turkey's Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) initiated a programme to procure VTOL-capable cargo drones in June 2018. These were planned for ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

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

  Aerosonde SUAS

  The Aerosonde SUAS comes from a long line of capable aircraft. The Aerosonde SUAS, like the Aerosonde fleet of aircraft, operates through contractor-owned and operated ...

• Scout

  The Scout is a VTOL sUAS designed for public safety, and commercial and industrial users. The system can be carried and operated by one person. 

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

  Aerosonde HQ SUAS

  The Aerosonde Hybrid Quadcopter (HQ) SUAS is the VTOL version of the Aerosonde SUAS. It combines the capabilities of a multi-rotor platform with the efficiency ...

• Percepto

  The Percepto is an all-in-one aerial solution for autonomous security, safety and inspection operations 24/7. The system operates autonomously to fulfil preplanned missions and responds ...

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

  Skylark II

  The Skylark II is a fixed-wing UAV that can be used for various military and security applications, including tactical covert surveillance and reconnaissance, perimeter security ...

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

  CorvoX

  The CorvoX is a fixed-wing drone developed domestically by SYPAQ Systems. Unlike its sibling, the Corvo PPDS, the UAV is not made from cardboard. The drone's development ...

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

  PD-1

  The People’s Drone-1 (PD-1) is a fixed-wing small UAV manufactured by Ukrspecsystems. It is modular and can be given VTOL capability in around 15 minutes. ...

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

  T-Hawk Micro Air Vehicle

  The Honeywell T-Hawk Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) is a VTOL sUAS that has been used by the US military and the British Army to assist ...

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

  Skylark I-LEX

  The Skylark I-LEX is a mini-UAV manufactured by Elbit Systems.  Unveiled at the Paris Air Show 2015, the UAV is designed for ISR operations. It enables ...

• Counter-UAS systems, Land: Defensive Systems - DF systems

  PATS

  The Passive Aerial Threat Surveillance (PATS) sensor produced by Adsys Controls is a detection and tracking system capable of monitoring airspace for extremely low-signature airborne ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  HPEM

  The High-Power Electro-Magnetics (HPEM) is a C-UAS system developed by Diehl Defence. It is intended to protect both military installations and public events against threats ...

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

  C-100

  The C100 is a portable, packable mini rotary-wing UAV designed for long-range ISR and cargo-carrying tasks. Manfuaucted by Performance Drone Works (PDW), it features swappable payloads, an open ...

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

  Silent Falcon

  The Silent Falcon is a solar-electric sUAS with long-endurance capabilities for extended-range missions. The UAS can be used for commercial and military applications. The entire ...

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  EL-005

  The EL-005 is a two-stroke Otto cycle spark-ignited engine for unmanned aircraft, which is optimised for use with jet fuels. It has field-demonstrated levels of ...

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

  Penguin B VTOL

  The Penguin B VTOL is a variant of the Penguin B platform manufactured by Edge Autonomy. Announced in June 2021, the variant is a reliable, long-endurance ...