Defence Notes

Podcast: Revolutions in Vertical Flight S1 E5 - The Dream of Urban Air Mobility

20th December 2019

Welcome to Shephard Studio’s podcast series on Revolutions in Vertical Flight, sponsored by our partner Bell. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and more. The Revolutions in Vertical Flight …

Defence Notes

Podcast: Revolutions in Vertical Flight S1 E6 - the Future of VTOL Innovation

20th December 2019

Welcome to Shephard Studio’s podcast series on Revolutions in Vertical Flight, sponsored by our partner Bell. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and more. The Revolutions in Vertical Flight …

Uncrewed Vehicles

US AFRL's Ultra LEAP UAS in flight demo

19th December 2019

The US Air Force Research Laboratory’s Center for Rapid Innovation (CRI) has completed a two and a half-day continuous flight demonstration of the Ultra Long …

Uncrewed Vehicles

US Army invests in Gray Eagle ER capabilities

13th December 2019

The US Army has awarded multiple contracts to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) to upgrade the MQ-1C Gray Eagle Extended Range's (GE ER) capabilities and …

Naval Warfare

New P-8A arrives at RAAF Base Edinburgh

13th December 2019

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has received its twelfth and final P-8A Poseidon at RAAF Base Edinburgh. The P-8A Poseidon and the MQ-4C Triton …

Uncrewed Vehicles

GA-ASI begins MQ-9 demo in Greece

12th December 2019

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has begun a series of MQ-9 Guardian demonstration flights hosted by the Hellenic Air Force (HAF).Taking place out of Larissa …

Uncrewed Vehicles

Orbiter 4 UAS completes 25hr flight

12th December 2019

Aeronautics Group’s Orbiter 4 UAS has completed a 25 hour flight, setting a new endurance record for the platform. The flight was performed at mission …

Uncrewed Vehicles

DroneShield systems protect Southeast Asian Games

10th December 2019

DroneShield counter-UAS systems successfully protected the opening ceremony of the 30th Southeast Asian Games held in Philippine Arena, Ciudad de Victoria, Santa Maria, Bulacan, the …

Training

Australian, Bruneian forces train together

10th December 2019

Australian and Bruneian land forces have completed joint training during Exercise Mallee Bull at Gallipoli Barracks, the Australian Department of Defence announced on 9 December. …

Uncrewed Vehicles

DroneSentinel certified by CPNI

5th December 2019

DroneShield’s DroneSentinel multi-sensor C-UAS system has been certified by the UK government’s Centre for Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI). The certifications allows for DroneSentinel to …

Uncrewed Vehicles

German Army orders C-UAS system

4th December 2019

Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace has received a contract from the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment (BAAINBw) to deliver a Counter-UAS (C-UAS) system, the company announced …

Uncrewed Vehicles

Grey Eagle Extended Range launches Small Glide Munition

27th November 2019

The MQ-1C ER Gray Eagle Extended Range (GE-ER) UAS has demonstrated its ability to launch a Dynetics GBU-69B Small Glide Munition (SGM) in a US …

Uncrewed Vehicles

Echodyne radars in DARPA programme testing

26th November 2019

Echodyne’s radar technology was deployed as part of a test flight for DARPA’s Aerial Dragnet programme in San Diego during October.Echodyne's EchoGuard and EchoFlight radars …

Special Operations

D-Fend C-UAS system deployed by US Special Ops

22nd November 2019

D-Fend Solutions has been working with the US Department of Defense to co-develop advanced counter-UAS capabilities. The company has been working with the US Assistant …

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 ...

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 ...

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

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 ...

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 ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

Blue Water Maritime Logistics UAS

The Blue Water Maritime Logistics UAS is a developmental cargo-carrying platform heavily based on the Skyways commercial available V2.5 Hybrid-Electric UAS.  Following a 2019 industry event, the Naval ...

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

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 ...