Framework contracts and leasing options aim to shorten acquisition timelines, while manufacturing partnerships could help suppliers scale production to meet allied demand.
By combining established manufacturing capacity with startup aircraft design, the partnership could offer an alternative approach to scaling military uncrewed aircraft production.
As the launch customer for the NATO-configured variant, Portugal also took delivery of the first five A-29N aircraft from its order for 12, placed in 2024.
Qatar and Indonesia followed the US’s high spending on new uncrewed aerial vehicle contracts across 2025, while MALE and micro drones and loitering munitions were particularly popular subcategories this year.
Developed by Israel's Uvision and with systems being sold in the thousands to multiple European NATO countries and the US, the Hero family of loitering systems is also in production in the US and Italy, the latter through Rheinmetall.
With all 31 aircraft set to be delivered by 2030, the helicopters will gradually replace the ageing Sea Lynx fleet which are due to be retired in 2026.
German, French and Spanish leadership set an end-of-year deadline to decide the fate of the Future Combat Air System programme which has struggled with a political stalemate for the latter half of 2025.
The Canadian Department of National Defence has created new organisations to manage the procurement and integration of all-domain solutions and allocated US$258.33 million to strengthen production capacities.
The Picatinny Common Lethality Integration Kit is designed to overcome the issue of unique integration methods between lethal payloads and drones as well as avoiding problematic acquisition conditions created by vendor lock.