• 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.

• 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.

• Land Warfare

  Germany follows Austria and orders Skyranger air defence systems

  28th February 2024

  Unveiled at Eurosatory 2004, the Oerlikon Skyranger is a mobile ground based air defence system (GBAD) which can be deployed against air targets at short and very short range and against ground targets. The system for Germany is the missile and gun system alone mounted on Boxer IFVs.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Ready for the race: Air separation drone swarms vs. air defence systems

  11th April 2024

  As the dynamics of aerial combat rapidly evolve, Chinese scientists have engineered a sophisticated air separation drone model that can fragment into up to six drones, each capable of executing distinct battlefield roles and challenging the efficacy of current anti-drone defences such as the UK’s Dragonfire laser system.

• 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.

• Naval Warfare

  South Korea approves more frigates plus SM-3 missiles

  6th May 2024

  South Korea’s six FFX Batch IV frigates are expected to be delivered by 2032 and will full retirement of remaining Pohang-class corvettes and Ulsan-class frigates, and possibly Gwanggaeto-class destroyers.

• Air Warfare

  Sweden orders third GlobalEye AEW&C

  27th June 2024

  The multi-role airborne surveillance system combines the S-band Erieye Extended Range (ER) radar and mission system with Bombardier’s Global 6000 jet aircraft.

• Land Warfare

  Three new Foreign Military Sales cases approved by US State Department

  19th August 2024

  The cases each help bolster European and NATO security, with the biggest order by far going to Germany.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UK’s EW UAS-jammer set for field testing

  16th May 2024

  The Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon (RFDEW) will be able to impact targets such as UAS up to 1km away by beaming radio waves to disrupt or damage critical electronic components.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  How Russia is ramping up efforts to counter drones in Ukraine

  30th April 2024

  Russian forces in Ukraine have been employing multifaceted strategies to counteract drones, as a past reliance on large-scale electronic warfare has shifted towards diverse, localised countermeasures.

• Land Warfare

  Preparations underway for Saudi–US Red Sands exercise

  10th January 2024

  Last year’s Rad Sands Live Fire (RSLF) included a demonstration of C-UAS capability and the second of this year’s events in October/November will be expected to include similar activity and companies from earlier events such as MARSS.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Tekever unveils new swarm-controlling UAS

  24th April 2024

  Tekever has manufactured the AR3, AR4 and AR5 UAS with all systems sharing common electronics and software architecture, which has enabled the reuse of ground segment elements within the new ARX UAS.

• Land Warfare

  British Army to overhaul dismounted close combat capabilities

  11th April 2024

  The future of the British Army’s DCC capabilities will include replacement equipment for female personnel and a new procurement framework.

• 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.

• Land Warfare

  Australia announces programme developments on eve of land warfare conference

  10th September 2024

  Australia’s Land Forces 2024 International Land Defence Exposition takes place in Melbourne this week with the government making announcements on land programmes and Supacat unveiling a new vehicle.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

• ISR/special mission

  MC-27J - Algeria

  Programme Background Algeria has a long standing ISR aircraft requirement to support its Beech 1900 fleet comprised of six aircraft. The new ISR fleet is ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  IAR-99 Replacement (Romania)

  On 29 August 2017, Leonardo announced that the IAR-99 trainer technology demonstrator (TD) will be fitted with company's Vixen 500E AESA radar. The Vixen 500E AESA ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-16V (9-16) [Bulgaria]

  Programme Background In April 2022, the US State Department approved a potential FMS worth $1.673 million to procure eight F-16Vs to Bulgaria. The aircraft are ...

• 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 - 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 - 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 ...

• AEW&C

  Airbus A330 AWACS (India)

  Programme Background India is planning to increase its AEW&C; capabilities with indigenous radar systems. IAF has requested to procure six Airbus 330 airliner to host ...

• 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 - 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 ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-16V [Türkiye]

  Programme Background Requirement Turkish Air Force ordered 100 F-35A aircraft as a partner nation, however, the country was removed from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme ...

• Maritime patrol

  Maritime Patrol Aircraft Procurement [Italy]

  Programme Background In an appearance before the Italian parliament’s Foreign and Defence Affairs Committee on 14 July 2022, Italian Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Adm ...

• 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 - 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 helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  AW101-Norway

  AgustaWestland is also providing initial support and training services, including spares at each of the operating bases and aircrew training. It will then provide performance ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Deployable/static missile systems

  Falcon

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

• Sea: surveillance system radar

  TRS-4D

  The TRS-4D C-band AESA multi-function air/surface radar is designed for dangerous, target-dense, blue waters and littoral environments. The TRS-4D is based on GaN AESA technology ...

• Sea: ship surveillance and fire control systems

  FCS-3

  The FCS-3 incorporates surveillance radar and fire control system capabilities in a C-band radar with AESA technology. Originally funded by the Japanese MoD, The FCS-3 ...

• Land: RWS

  Pitbull

  General Robotics developed the lightweight Pitbull family of remote weapons station for use on aerial, land and naval crewed or uncrewed platforms. Armed with a single ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  RBE2

  The AESA RBE2 is the first AESA radar produced in Europe for combat aircraft. The active phased array replaces the passive array in the RBE2 currently ...

• 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 ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  Vixen 500E

  The Vixen 500E is an X-band, compact, lightweight AESA radar for fighter and lead-in fighter trainer aircraft. It is currently fitted to the US Customs ...

• 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

  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 ...

• 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 ...

• Sea: naval surveillance radar

  KRONOS Naval

  KRONOS Naval is a multi-functional radar family based on AESA technology. Kronos can simultaneously perform a range of functions, including air and surface surveillance, threat ...

• Land: air defence radar, Land: coastal surveillance radars

  KRONOS Land

  KRONOS Land is a mobile multifunctional C-band radar system designed by Leonardo to support air and coastal defence tactical operations. The system simultaneously performs surveillance, ...

• Land: air defence radar, Land: indirect fire location radar

  KRONOS

  KRONOS is a mobile multifunctional C-band radar system designed by Leonardo to support air and coastal defence tactical operations.  The system simultaneously performs surveillance, dedicated target ...

• Land: air defence radar, Land: battlefield and ground surveillance radar

  TMMR

  The Tactical Multi-Mission Radar (TMMR) is a 3D C-Band full AESA Antenna Radar providing detection, classification and tracking of airborne and surface targets. It is ...