• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2025: First mobility trials completed for British Army Challenger 3 tanks

  11th September 2025

  The mobility trials saw the Challenger 3 main battle tank (MBT) tested at a variety of locations in the UK, covering a combined 760km across a variety of terrains including road and cross country.

• Land Warfare

  Drone wars: countries are looking for answers but do companies have the solutions?

  18th March 2026

  Manufacturers are speeding up their counter-drone development efforts as countries increasingly focus on procurements to provide battlefield and national protection.

• Naval Warfare

  French Navy frigates to align with Hellenic Navy after Aster missile enhancement

  6th November 2025

  The FDI frigates will have an enhanced warfare capability that matches the configuration of ships ordered by Greece.

• Defence Notes

  Malaysia’s defence budget sets out major procurement goals for 2026

  16th October 2025

  The country has allocated RM21.70 billion for defence spending next year, with some major procurements set to be initiated across the country’s army, navy and air force.

• Naval Warfare

  Ireland orders Thales towed array sonar

  16th June 2025

  Ireland has a large Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) which extends 370km (200nm) offshore and contains 75% of the transatlantic subsea cables which carry $10 trillion in financial transactions daily. The country is investing to increase protection and surveillance of these waters.

• Air Warfare

  MBDA progresses Aster ramp-up with first accelerated delivery

  31st July 2025

  The first delivery comes less than two years after the first joint order was placed. MBDA has committed to halving Aster production lead-time by 2026.

• Naval Warfare

  Beyond GPS: How LEO satellites are changing the game in naval navigation

  10th October 2025

  Satellite navigation is increasingly critical for global maritime defence, and Low Earth Orbit satellites are rapidly overtaking the traditional and more widely used Medium Earth Orbit option as they are less susceptible to jamming or spoofing.

• Air Warfare

  Paris Air Show 2025: A400M production moved forward as development plans outlined

  17th June 2025

  It is more than a decade since the Airbus A400M tactical lift aircraft entered service. More than 130 aircraft are in service around the world with nine countries, while another order has been made by Indonesia. The company is now looking to lower operational costs and increase the number of potential missions.

• Land Warfare

  QinetiQ awarded contract for further work on lasers, future systems and energy weapons

  6th May 2025

  Notable projects under the Weapons Sector Research Framework (WSRF) contract include the British Army determining the impact of a vehicle-mounted laser weapon on drones and testing a vehicle-mounted Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon (RFDEW).

• Land Warfare

  CTAI’s 40mm cannon gains new A3B airburst round for UAV defence

  20th June 2025

  CTA International (CTAI), a joint venture between KNDS France and BAE Systems, developed the 40mm Cased Telescoped Armament System (40 CTAS) for integration onto armoured vehicles. It has been further developed for ships and ground-based systems.

• Defence Notes

  Rheinmetall sales up by almost a quarter on wave of German spending

  8th August 2025

  Germany’s Rheinmetall released its 1H 2025 results on 7 August, continuing the strong growth of recent years. A particular highlight of the result’s presentation was the Skyranger air defence system for which the company is predicting sales of about US$8.2 billion from the German Government before the end of the year.

• Land Warfare

  Eurosatory 2026: French SCORPION programme rolls on and shows export potential

  12th June 2026

  The SCORPION programme will replace the French Army’s legacy medium and light vehicles and see the overhaul of the Leclerc main battle tank.

• Air Warfare

  Paris Air Show 2025: Milkor and Hanwha partner to integrate the latter’s SAR payload into the Milkor 380

  17th June 2025

  Hanwha Systems and Milkor announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Paris Air Show to integrate the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) system into the Milkor 380 drone.

• Air Warfare

  Applied Intuition takes aim at major air combat programmes with UK expansion

  14th August 2025

  The autonomous software company’s new UK subsidiary is the latest in a line of businesses poised to expand and offer its services to the UK Ministry of Defence and industry, as the country invests more in AI and autonomous technology to deliver the next generation of uncrewed systems.

• Naval Warfare

  Interview: DSTA collaborates with Leonardo, Thales and Safran for naval C-UAS

  25th April 2025

  In an exclusive interview with Shephard, DSTA chief Ng Chad-son outlines how the agency is reshaping defence tech development through deeper collaboration with industry partners, from AI-enhanced radar to smart naval munitions.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• ISR/special mission

  Strategic Intelligence Aircraft [France]

  Background In February 2018, the Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, announced that the strategic intelligence aircraft program CUGE Universal EW Capability began to ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Land 121 Phase 4 [Australia]

  Programme background Three suppliers were originally down-selected to meet the Land 121 Phase 4 requirement: Thales Australia, General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) and Force Protection ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Flexible Tactical Uncrewed Air System (FTUAS) [UK]

  Background Tender notice and timeline On 25 May 2021, the MoD published a tender notice for the urgent acquisition of a UAS and ancillaries under ...

• Self-propelled rocket launchers

  Long-Range Ground Strike (FLP-T) [France]

  Background The French Army currently operates the M270 as its only MLRS. France previously procured a total of 55, though this number had reduced to ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Su-30SM Armenia

  The Su-30SM is upgraded variant of Su-30MKI. Its capabilities include Bars-R radar, RVV-SV medium-range air-to-air missile, Thales SMD55S/VEN-3022 or Russian IKSh-1M avionics replacing Elbit SU967 head-up display, LINS-1000RS inertial ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  French MALE UAVs [France]

  Background Requirements The French Ministry of the Armed Forces wishes to develop a French MALE offering comparable to the MQ-9 Reaper, which would, it is hoped, promote ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6, MPVs - 4x4

  Multi-Role Vehicle (Protected) Package 2 [UK]

  Background The MRV-P platforms will replace a diverse fleet of 4x4 and 6x6 vehicles purchased during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, thereby helping to standardise ...

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

  Mini Intelligence Drone System (SMDR) [France]

  Background Requirement The French Army identified a need for a new tactical UAS to replace the Drac, which entered service in 2008. The Mini Reconnaissance ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  LAV Replacement [Japan]

  Programme Background The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) and Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) received 1,937 Light Armoured Vehicles (LAVs) from Komatsu between 2001 and ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Project NYX: Land Autonomous Collaborative Platform (LACP) [UK]

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

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  VBCI (Qatar)

  Programme Background The VBCI-2 was selected in preference to a competing offer comprising Patria's AMV 8x8 equipped with a Lockheed Martin turret. However, at the ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Acquisition of an Initial Depth Support Drone Capacity (ADAPT) [France]

  Background Aftermath of SDT To fill the capability void left by the cancellation of the second section of the Tactical Drone System (SDT) programme, three ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530G Lebanon

  The Armed MD 530G Scout Attack Helicopter features next-generation all-glass cockpit that includes: two Genesys Aerosystems IDU-680 6” x 9” LCD primary displays, Tek Fusion ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  VBMR Griffon (Batch 1) [Belgium]

  Background Requirements In its Strategic Vision for Defence document published in June 2016, the Belgian MoD outlined its aspirations for equipping five motorised manoeuvre battalions ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Bushmaster [Netherlands]

  Background The six Bushmasters ordered by the Royal Netherlands Army will be manufactured in Australia. More than 60 Australian suppliers will be involved in the ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Transponders and IFF

  Thales TSX-3500

  Thales TSX 3500 Family includes the TSA & TSB 3520 - Naval IFF Interrogators and Combined Interrogator Transponder, which provide medium and long-range information on ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  SquadNet Soldier Radio

  Thales SquadNet Soldier Radio is compact radio with a simplified screen designed for dismounted troops. It has built-in Bluetooth and GPS functionality, as well as ...

• Naval: Radio and SATCOM

  SURFSAT-L

  Produced by Thales, SURFSAT-L is a SATCOM terminal designed for medium to large surface vessels. According to the manufacturer, it is designed to achieve a ...

• Frigates

  SIGMA 115115HN

  Dutch shipbuilder Damen has designed a new multi-mission frigate as part of the Sigma class known as the Sigma 11515. As with all Sigma-class designs, ...

• EO/IR systems

  TALIOS

  The TArgeting Long-range Identification Optronic System (TALIOS) is a targeting pod from Thales.  It is equipped with top-down and bottom-up datalinks and can scan a large area, identify ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  NH90

  As part of the Helisim consortium based in Marignane, Thales has supplied an NH90 simulator for use by French and foreign military forces. Helisim also ...

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  Live Training Solutions

  Thales offers live training solutions for land and combined forces around the world. Thales Combat Training Centres are available for open and urban battlefields, and ...

• Air: surveillance and maritime patrol radar, Air: UAS radar

  Searchmaster

  The Searchmaster is an airborne multi-role surveillance radar manufactured by Thales. The Searchmaster is suitable for MALE (medium altitude, long endurance) UAVs, medium-tonnage or heavy-lift ...

• Data links

  Link Y Mk2

  Thales Link Y Mk2 is used to securely exchange tactical data and orders via a self-managing, adaptive radio network between multiple military platforms. Designed for ...

• Land: battle management systems

  SILVER

  Developed by Indra Systemas, SILVER is a land management system designed specifically for vehicular applications. Based on a modular system that can run on COTS ...

• Sea: naval surveillance radar

  NS50

  The NS50 is a four-dimensional surveillance radar produced by Thales. It is designed to provide simultaneous air and surface target detection and tracking, and fire ...

• Air: transport/tanker simulators

  A330 Voyager MRTT Training Services

  Through AirTanker Services, a JV between Thales, Airbus Group, Cobham, Rolls-Royce and Babcock, Thales provides and maintains training services for the RAF’s Future Strategic Tanker ...

• Sea: sonar systems

  Captas-4 Compact

  CAPTAS-4 Compact is part of the wider CAPTAS family of Combined Active and Passive Towed Array Sonars. CAPTAS-4 Compact is a reduced-footprint variant of Thales' CAPTAS-4, ...

• Loitering munitions

  Munition Télé-Opérée – Longue Portée (MTO-LP)

  At the Paris Air Show 2025, Thales and Boreal announced they had partnered to develop the Munition Télé-Opérée – Longue Portée (MTO-LP), a long-range loitering ...

• Sea: naval surveillance radar

  Smart-S Mk 2

  The Smart-S Mk2 is a three-dimensional naval air and surface surveillance radar manufactured by Aselsan and Thales. The transmit and receive modules are produced by ...