• Land Warfare

  GM Defense charts course for electric future at IDEX 2023

  24th February 2023

  GM Defense forged closer ties with the UAE at the Emirati defence show and touted its electric vehicle capabilities.

• Training

  US Air Force AI-powered F-16 training jet takes the skies

  16th February 2023

  The reengineered artificial intelligence-driven, autonomous F-16 jet is fitted with an open system architecture and software that allows it to mimic the performance characteristic of other aircraft.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  HII unveils new REMUS 620 uncrewed underwater vehicle

  9th November 2022

  Modularity and future-proofing are key design aspects of HII’s new REMUS 620 uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV).

• Naval Warfare

  Australian navy acquires five Bluebottle USVs

  29th November 2022

  Australia steams ahead with new investment in indigenously developed USVs, plus a means of recovering/launching UUVs.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DARPA/Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter goes pilotless for logistics and rescue missions

  7th November 2022

  Without pilots on board, the autonomous Black Hawk helicopter performed long-endurance medical resupply while navigating between mountain ranges.

• Naval Warfare

  Curtiss-Wright supplies encrypted data storage for small UUV

  26th October 2022

  Low-weight subsystems, like that provided by Curtiss-Wright, help extend the mission endurance of UUVs.

• Naval Warfare

  South Korea to upgrade amphibious assault ship ROKS Dokdo

  9th December 2022

  The South Korean Navy is upgrading its oldest LPH, has awarded a contract for four new fast attack craft, and has changed tender evaluation processes following criticism from the biggest shipbuilders.

• Digital Battlespace

  Software-defined technology is 'democratising' electronic warfare, says DARPA official

  27th October 2022

  Software-defined jammers and radars are reducing the cost of development to thousands of dollars and could force a pace of change that makes threat libraries obsolete.

• Defence Notes

  Why a true joint approach is vital for electronic warfare

  17th November 2022

  Speakers at last month's AOC convention highlighted the many barriers that still prevent full interoperability on electromagnetic spectrum operations, both within the US DoD and internationally.

• Air Warfare

  DARPA selects Lockheed Martin for ACE programme

  5th October 2022

  Lockheed Martin will develop full-scale experimentation platforms to implement Air Combat Evolution algorithms and technologies in this phase of the programme.

• Defence Notes

  Applied Physical Sciences continues research for DARPA on undersea sensors

  26th September 2022

  Applied Physical Sciences receives Phase 3C research contract from DARPA for undersea sensing systems.

• Land Warfare

  DARPA seeks partners to fill infrared capabilities gap

  23rd September 2022

  DARPA is keen to find partners for the Optomechanical Thermal Imaging (OpTIm) programme. The effort will develop novel IR sensors without the drawbacks of thermal sensors and photodetectors.

• Digital Battlespace

  DARPA envisages smarter sensors with FENCE Phase 2 awards

  2nd September 2022

  Raytheon and Northrop Grumman are working on a DARPA programme to create neuromorphic IR camera technologies.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Final delivery of Danish autonomous MCM system imminent

  22nd September 2022

  The Royal Danish Navy is boosting its autonomous mine countermeasures capabilities by procuring new uncrewed underwater systems.

• Digital Battlespace

  US battle labs assess AI-based programme for airspace deconfliction

  7th September 2022

  The USAF and US Army partnership assessed Raytheon Corporation's AI solution that was designed to solve the problem of airspace deconfliction.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  LongShot [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement According to DARPA, the objective of the LongShot programme is "to disrupt the paradigm of air combat operations by demonstrating an unmanned ...

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

  AdvaNced airCraft Infrastructure-Less Launch And RecoverY (ANCILLARY) [US]

  Programme Background Aims & Timeline As stated by DARPA, the ANCILLARY programme aims to develop and fly an X-plane that will provide a "leap-ahead" in long-endurance, ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement Originally conceived as a replacement for the F-22, the PCA was designed to counter various air threats, including integrated air defence systems ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military - UUVs

  Manta Ray

  Manta Ray is an uncrewed underwater vessel (UUV) developed by Northrop Grumman.

• Military - UUVs

  Bluefin-Knifefish

  The Bluefin-Knifefish UUV was initially developed for the Surface Mine Countermeasure UUV (SMCM UUV) programme for the USN’s Littoral Combat Ships. It is manufactured by General Dynamics ...

• Sea: procedural training

  UUV Training Simulator

  The Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) Training Simulator teaches users how to operate and control a UUV, specifically with reference to mine hunting. The UUV is ...

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

  LongShot

  The LongShot is a developmental air-launched platform intended to increase the survivability of friendly crewed aircraft. In February 2021, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) ...

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

  XRQ-73

  The US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) unveiled the flying design of the XRQ-73 in June 2024. The aircraft has been developed under the  Series ...

• Sea: procedural training

  2 Sigma Digital Tutor

  A Digital Tutor that is designed to outperform schoolhouse instructors, bringing CTC training to a broad spectrum of sailors. Specifications include improving student outcomes for ...

• Military - USVs

  NOMARS

  The No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) is a US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) effort to develop a first-of-its-kind large uncrewed surface vessel.

• Major networking projects

  CHAIN

  The Compartmented High Assurance Information Network (CHAIN) is described as a robust architecture that improves interoperability of IT systems among the military services and security ...

• Riptide Mk II

  At Oceanology International 2018, Riptide Autonomous Solutions presented its second-generation micro-UUV – the Mk II. The Riptide Mk II UUV has a maximum speed of ...

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

  XV-24A LightningStrike

  The XV-24A LightningStrike, developed by Aurora Flight Sciences and its partners Rolls-Royce and Honeywell, was a project for a tilt-wing UAV powered by an electric-distributed ...

• Sea: sonar systems

  UUV-3500

  The Klein UUV-3500 side-scan sonar family is composed of the mid-depth (3000m) high-resolution, low-power, dual-frequency and the deep (6000m) variant which is a higher power ...

• Military - UUVs

  BlueWhale

  BlueWhale is an autonomous uncrewed underwater vessel (UUV) developed by Israel's Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

• Military - UUVs

  Iver4 580

  The Iver4 580 is a UUV designed by L3Harris for commercial and defence survey operations.

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

  Shrike

  The Shrike was a micro, portable, rugged VTOL-capable UAV designed for frontline day/night ISR.  Development of the Shrike began in 2008 under a $4.6-million contract from ...

• Military - UUVs

  D19 UUV

  Naval Group's family of D19 drones are AUVs designated for varying taskings such as identification, surveillance, EW, mobile target, minelaying and MCM operations.