• Digital Battlespace

  China conducts anti-satellite test

  17th October 2013

  The Chinese government is believed to have conducted anti-satellite tests in September, an act that is being closely monitored by the US, Shephard has been …

• Naval Warfare

  Northrop Grumman wins French E-2C Hawkeye work

  16th October 2013

  Northrop Grumman has been issued a $34.5 million contract by the US Navy to upgrade the French Navy’s fleet of three E-2C Hawkeyes with an …

• Military Logistics

  WEW introduces new water tank concept

  14th October 2013

  WEW has developed a new mobile, modular water system that it hopes to deliver to the German Army, following the completion of trials at the …

• Military Logistics

  Afghans receive two C-130s

  10th October 2013

  The Afghanistan Air Force (AAF) has taken delivery of two C-130H Hercules transport aircraft from US armed forces  during a ceremony at Kabul International Airport …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Watchkeeper receives MAA approval

  7th October 2013

  The WK450 Watchkeeper UAV design has finally received certification from the UK’s Military Aviation Authority (MAA), Thales UK has announced. According to Thales, which manufactures …

• Land Warfare

  US Army orders Mantis i23 gimbaled sensor payloads

  2nd October 2013

  The US Army has ordered Mantis i23 gimbaled sensor payloads from AeroVironment for its fleet of RQ-11B Raven unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The contract, worth …

• Land Warfare

  Canadian government ‘stuck in a rut’ over armoured vehicles

  30th September 2013

  With a potential contract award thought to be imminent, the Canadian Close Combat Vehicle (CCV) programme has drawn a new round of criticism and calls …

• Military Logistics

  French Air Force plans for A400M future

  30th September 2013

  The French procurement agency (DGA) used a ceremony to mark delivery of the first A400M transport aircraft to the French Air Force in Seville on …

• Land Warfare

  AI3 successfully defeats first UAS target

  26th September 2013

  Raytheon’s Accelerated Improved Intercept Initiative (AI3) system programme has reached a new milestone with the system’s successful defeat of a UAS in flight. The intercept …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  High five for Phantom Eye

  20th September 2013

  Boeing Phantom Works has conducted the fifth flight test of its Phantom Eye HALE demonstrator, which saw the UAV reach an altitude of 28,000ft. The …

• Defence Helicopter

  Saab receives IDAS order for Indian ALH

  20th September 2013

  Saab will commence serial production of an integrated electronic warfare self-protection system for installation on the Indian Army’s and Air force’s Advanced Light Helicopter. The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Northrop Grumman details Triton radar development progress

  19th September 2013

  Northrop Grumman is in the midst of risk-reduction tests of the Multi-Function Active Sensor (MFAS) to be installed on the US Navy’s Triton unmanned aircraft …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Aurora announces Orion UAS’ first flight

  18th September 2013

  The Orion unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) being developed by Aurora Flight Sciences successfully completed its first flight on 24 August. The company announced the news …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Government body calls for Reaper transparency

  16th September 2013

  A UK government official representing the ‘All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Drones’ has challenged the Ministry of Defence’s use of armed UAVs, calling for …

• Defence Helicopter

  Australian Army Chinooks complete Afghanistan operations

  16th September 2013

  The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) has announced that Rotary Wing Group – Eight (RWG-8), the Australian Army Aviation Detachment, has officially completed its mission …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 - 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 - 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 - 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 ...

• 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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - 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  Requirement The Belgian MoD outlined plans to procure more mini and tactical UAS in its Strategic Vision for Defence published in 2016. According to ...

• 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 - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) [Canada]

  Programme Background Programme Inception The Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) Joint Unmanned Surveillance and Target Acquisition System (JUSTAS) project was established to procure a UAS for ...

• 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 ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

• EO/IR systems

  CM262

  Manfuaucted by AVT Australia, the CM262 is a ground-based imaging system combining four sensor configurations into a compact and ruggedised system for C-UAS and ISR ...

• 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 ...

• EO/IR systems, Land: unattended sensor/surveillance systems, Land: vehicle surveillance/target acquisition systems

  T-SIGHT

  The T-SIGHT is a rapid deployment and vehicle-mounted medium-range surveillance system. It hosts the SIGHT-25HD EO/IR system. It is designed for remote tactical surveillance, ISR observation, force protection, route ...

• EO/IR systems

  CM202U

  The CM202U is a field-proven gyro-stabilised imaging system for counter small uncrewed aerial systems (C-sUAS) operations and ground ISR applications.  Manfuaucted by AVT Australia, it includes high-definition ...

• Medium Range Missile Defence Systems: 20-90km range

  Falcon Air Defence System

  Unveiled at IDEX 2019, Falcon is a medium range ground-based air defence system, including C-RAM and C-UAS capabilities. The Falcon consists of Lockheed Martin's Skykeeper ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  C-UAS Operator Assist

  Operator Assist software contributes to force protection by utilising algorithms to detect and track objects in the air and on the ground. This increases the ...

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

  ATLAS C4EYE

  The Advanced Technology Light Acquisition System (ATLAS) C4EYE is the smallest UAS developed by C-Astral Aerospace. Part of the Bramor family of UAS, the Atlas ...

• 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 air ...