• Land Warfare

  Teledyne FLIR receives $168 million to provide NBC systems for Strykers

  12th November 2024

  The new contract follows on from a US$13.3 million deal signed in 2023 for Teledyne FLIR to extend the capabilities of its R80D SkyRaider UAS to carry out chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) missions.

• Air Warfare

  Australia awards contracts for UAS platforms

  15th July 2024

  The orders break new ground for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) as they include an order for loitering munitions, the purchase of an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) and the first order for SkyMantis 2 in the region.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Pentagon adds Replicator 2 to budget request with focus on C-sUAS capabilities

  1st October 2024

  Funds for the second phase of this effort will be allocated in the US Department of Defense (DoD) FY2026 budget request.

• Air Warfare

  Boeing beats out Lockheed to scoop NGAD $20 billion contract

  21st March 2025

  Designated ‘F-47’, the sixth-generation fighter will serve as a replacement for Lockheed’s F-22 Raptor, currently in service with the USAF.

• Air Warfare

  Shield AI to provide V-BAT UAS to US Coast Guard

  3rd July 2024

  The V-BAT series aircraft is a single-engine ducted fan platform that can launch and recover from a hover and fly on wing in horizontal flight. It can operate as a flexible platform capable of performing Group 2 to Group 5 UAS missions and beyond.

• Land Warfare

  Sweden orders SEK700 million Giraffe 1X surface radar

  30th August 2024

  Saab will provide integration on the radar which will be installed on a four-wheel-drive vehicle.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment to display eVTOL P550 at AUSA 2024

  4th October 2024

  AeroVironment’s portfolio will grow thanks to the eVTOL P550 aimed at battalion-level tactical forces.

• Air Warfare

  Boeing’s Ghost Bat clocks up the milestones and progresses as Saab Australia gets on board

  15th January 2025

  More than 100 hours of physical flight have taken place since the first flight of MQ-28 Ghost Bat uncrewed aerial system (UAS) four years ago and this has been underpinned by approximately 20,000 hours of flying the digital twin.

• Air Warfare

  Leonardo unveils new design of uncrewed Proteus demonstrator

  7th January 2025

  According to Leonardo, the rotorcraft will conduct its first flight by mid-2025, following on from its £60 million (US$ 75 million) contract award in July 2022.

• Naval Warfare

  New Netherlands combat support ship Den Helder starts sea trials

  26th November 2024

  The vessel is expected to provide a significant additional capacity in the fight against drug trafficking and other police actions.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Thunderstrike establishes major drone facility at Danish airport

  22nd August 2024

  The hangar will be used to eventually produce 200-300 drones per year.

• Air Warfare

  AUSA 2024: UVision USA unveils multi-launch munition system

  11th October 2024

  UVision’s Hero-120 is one of a family of loitering munitions developed by the company. The Hero 120 has been ordered in the thousands for US forces including to meet the USMC’s Organic Precision Fire Mounted requirement.

• Air Warfare

  Boeing outlines new Integrator standard

  9th July 2024

  The Integrator is a multi-mission, long-endurance UAS designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. Intended to prioritise user flexibility, the platform has six modular payload bays, allowing users to customise the loadout to suit mission requirements.

• Training

  First RAAF pilot completes Ghost Bat training

  23rd August 2024

  Designed as a multirole system to escort crewed aircraft, the MQ-28A Ghost Bat began development in 2013 and took its first flight in February 2021. The training of the first military pilot is a major milestone.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Irish Defence Force calls for a drone fleet to bolster its work

  16th August 2024

  The force has put out a tender bid to acquire more than 30 drones before the end of 2024.

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 - tactical

  Class 2 Tactical UAS [Ireland]

  Background EU Tender On 13 March 2024, the Irish Department of Defence released a planning notice on the EU tenders website, confirming that the Irish ...

• 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 ...

• 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 - 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 ...

• 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. ...

• 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 ...

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, ...

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Grenade Launching UAS

  Manufactured by Korea CNO Tech Co, the as-yet-unnamed developmental UAS has been selected by the Republic of Korea Army for trials scheduled for 2022.  The hexacopter ...

• 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 ...