• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Indonesia tries out Chinese CH-4B drones

  19th September 2019

  The Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU) trialled a couple of Chinese-manufactured CH-4B MALE UAVs during the Dharma Yudha joint exercise from 9-12 September. This was the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MSPO 2019: Russia drives Korsar UAV tests forward

  2nd September 2019

  The Russian military Korsar tactical UAV has commenced flight testing, which is expected to run until the end of 2019.Following completion, first deliveries of the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DSEI 2019: Drone Evolution launches 'unjammable’ drone tech

  11th September 2019

  Drone Evolution launched its new rotary UAV protection technology as DSEI 2019. Dubbed SafeFlight, the system is designed to protect delivery drones from being jammed, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MSPO 2019: Russia's Altius-U kicks off flight testing

  30th August 2019

  The latest member of the Russian made Altius UAV family - Altius-U - has commenced flight testing, despite the country's MoD yet to publicise or confirm …

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2019: AUDS unveils latest counter-drone variant

  13th September 2019

  The Anti-UAV Defence System (AUDS) consortium has unveiled an optimised version of its counter-UAS (C-UAS) designed to support mobility requirements in the land domain. The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  GA-ASI expands Belgian team, is granted BVLOS permissions

  2nd September 2019

  General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has added four more Belgium-based businesses to its industry team that will deliver the MQ-9B SkyGuardian unmanned aerial vehicle to the …

• Digital Battlespace

  DSEI 2019: UK MoD outlines C-UAS demand signals

  13th September 2019

  Officials from the UK Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) C-sUAS team have challenged industry to provide greater capability for armed forces operating in austere conditions. According …

• Training

  UAVAIR delivers unmanned training to Australian Army

  28th August 2019

  UAVAIR has been delivering unmanned aerial vehicle training to the Australian Army, with over 1,000 soldiers having received training to date.  Across 11 locations in …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Rheinmetall and WB Group introduce new version of Mission Master UGV

  4th September 2019

  Rheinmetall has introduced its Mission Master unmanned ground vehicle integrated with the Warmate loitering munition from WB Group.  The two companies have teamed up to …

• Digital Battlespace

  Podcast: Five Eyes Connectivity - Tactical data links

  26th September 2019

  Welcome to Shephard Studio’s special series on Five Eyes Connectivity, sponsored by our partner Viasat.  Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and more. In the Five Eyes Connectivity podcast …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UAVOS and ISR Unmanned Technologies launch new VTOL UAV

  22nd August 2019

  UAVOS and ISR Unmanned Technologies have jointly developed a new unmanned helicopter for commercial and security applications.  The ISR-350-5 is the result of the joint …

• Digital Battlespace

  DSEI 2019: Durabook reveals new rugged laptop

  3rd September 2019

  Twinhead International Corporation will display its new Durabook Z14I rugged laptop for the first time at the DSEI exhibition in London.  The laptop is designed …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  SkyGuardian UAV demoed to RAF, USMC and RAAF

  27th August 2019

  General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has demonstrated the MQ-9B SkyGuardian unmanned aerial vehicle that the Royal Air Force is acquiring to members of the service, …

• Digital Battlespace

  DSEI 2019: Kirintec launches multi-mission cyber electromagnetic solution

  3rd September 2019

  Kirintec is looking to offer customers a new multi-mission solution for cyber and electromagnetic activites (CEMA) with its K-CEMA Jupiter solution to be launched at DSEI …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Bell carries out flight of APT 70 UAV

  29th August 2019

  Bell has conducted the first flight of its Autonomous Pod Transport (APT) 70 vehicle at its testing site near Fort Worth, Texas.  APT 70 is …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Intra-Theatre Lift [UK]

  Programme Background  Relationship to the Heavy Lift Challange The Royal Navy (RN) embarked on the Heavy Lift Challenge, now called the Heavy Lift Capability (UASHLC), to explore ...

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

  Carrier-UAV: Autonomous Collaboration Platform (ACP) [UK]

  Background Autonomous Collaboration Platform (ACP) Strategy Reflecting on lessons learned from the cancellation of the Mosquito programme, the Royal Air Force (RAF) redefined the role ...

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

  StormShroud: Autonomous Collaboration Platform (ACP) [UK]

  Background Autonomous Collaboration Platform (ACP) Strategy Reflecting on lessons learned from the cancellation of the Mosquito programme, the Royal Air Force (RAF) redefined the role ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Mini UAV (Bulgaria)

  Programme Background The Bulgarian Army wants to procure UAVs to enhance the organic tactical ISR capabilities of its ground forces. According to Bulgarian media, a ...

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

  Mini UAV - Land Exploration and Reconnaissance Vehicle (VERT) [Spain]

  Background VERT In June 2025, the Spanish Government announced a €72 million (US$82.5 million) investment in the Vehículo de exploración y reconocimiento terrestre (VERT), which translates ...

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

  Micro UAV - Land Exploration and Reconnaissance Vehicle (VERT) [Spain]

  Background VERT In June 2025, the Spanish Government announced a €72 million (US$82.5 million) investment in the Vehículo de exploración y reconocimiento terrestre (VERT), which translates to the land exploration ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Mi2 Challenge [USN]

  Programme Background Requirements The USN wants a UAV to be flown in austere environments without dedicated launch or recovery equipment; since it would be launched ...

• Military UAS - small

  Small UAV (Bulgaria)

  Programme Background The Bulgarian Army wants to procure UAVs to enhance the organic tactical ISR capabilities of its ground forces. According to Bulgarian media, a ...

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

  Parrot Anafi (Singapore)

  Programme Background On 7 February 2022, the Singapore Army posted photographs on Facebook that showed the Anafi UAV used as training devices in a five-day ...

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

  Thor [Israel]

  Background Various Contracts On 3 December 2024, the Israeli Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced it had purchased “advanced drones and autonomous systems” from Elbit Systems in various ...

• 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 - small

  Penguin C (Latvia)

  Programme Background In 2018, the Latvian MoD signed an agreement with Latvian companies UAV Factory and Atlas Aerospace to procure UAVs for the LNAF. Under ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Family of UAVs [Bangladesh]

  Programme Background RfP The Bangladesh Army released a 106-page tender document to gather information about different platforms that would enable the force to "standardise" its UAV ...

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

  Tempest 50 [USAF]

  Programme Background Contract Award On 18 December 2024, the US DoD announced that the USAF had awarded Firestorm Labs a $100 million Small Business Innovation Research ...

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

  UAV-2 Gavilan [Ecuador]

  Background Domestic Development Development of the UAV-2 Gavilan by CIDFAE began in 2009, with the FAE unveiling the UAV in 2014. Reportedly, the FAE has five ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

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

  AR5

  First announced in October 2012, the AR5 is a MALE UAS designed for SAR, surveillance and maritime patrol missions. The AR5 can be flown manually or commanded ...

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

  ARX

  Unveiled at Xponential 2024, the ARX is a fixed-wing drone developed by Tekever.  It features common electronics and software with other Tekever drones. Unlike those ...

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

  AR3

  The AR3, or AR3 Net Ray, is an autonomous small-UAS designed to support land-based and maritime missions.  In May 2025, the Royal Air Force announced ...

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

  AR2 Carcará

  The AR2 Carcará is a hand- or catapult-launched mini-UAV designed to support search and rescue, surveillance and patrol operations in amphibious and maritime environments. It is ...

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

  AR4

  The AR4 is a hand-launched mini-UAS designed for rapid mobile deployment. Manufactured by Tekever, the UAS is suitable for both military and commercial ISTAR applications.  A ...

• EO/IR systems

  PT-8N

  The PT-8D is an IR system from Overwatch Imaging. It is fitted with multiple HD thermal cameras and has been designed to conduct missions at dusk ...

• EO/IR systems

  PT-8D

  Marketed as a cost-effective solution, the PT-8D is a wide-area search and ISR payload from Overwatch Imaging. It features an RGB colour camera and a ...

• EO/IR systems

  PT-8DN

  The PT-8DN is a versatile day-night payload from Overwatch Imaging.  It has dual RGB sensors of different focal lengths and an HD LWIR sensor. It also ...

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

  VTOL UAV

  The Defence Technology Institute launched the VTOL UAV R&D; project in cooperation with the Naval Research and Development Office, Royal Thai Navy and private sector ...

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

  MCOM UAV

  The Mundo Compuesto (MCOM) UAV is a fixed-wing UAV designed to provide surveillance during both day and night for military and security force users. It uses ...

• Universal UAV

  Universal UAV is designed for multiple missions in the field of surveillance and reconnaissance, monitoring forest fires or fisheries. It consists of a carbon-fibre composite ...

• UAS: Integrated systems - uncrewed

  UAV TRS

  Celestia’s UAV Tactical Recovery System (TRS) assures controlled and safe landing of a UAV at a pre-designated GPS location. It can be deployed on command ...

• Air: UAV simulators

  UAV Simulators

  Elbit Systems has developed simulation systems to train personnel in UAV operation, from generic UAV training for initial screening procedures up to full mission, high-fidelity ...

• Air: UAV simulators

  UAV Training

  Resource UAS offers a range of UAV training, from foundation courses to live flying on a range of aircraft. Each can be tailored to suit ...

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

  E-UAV

  In October 2021, the Jordan Design and Development Bureau (JODDB) unveiled the E-UAV at the Artificial Intelligence Defense Technology and Cyber Security Exhibition and Conference (AIDTSEC). The UAV is ...