• Defence Notes

  Asian spending exceeds global average

  25th April 2017

  Defence spending in Asia and Oceania has risen considerably last year according to data released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).In fact in …

• Defence Notes

  MBDA awarded £539 million missile contracts

  25th April 2017

  MBDA has been awarded contracts worth a combined £539 million for new missile systems for the UK armed forces, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) …

• Defence Notes

  India, Korea sign MoU on shipbuilding

  25th April 2017

  The governments of India and the Republic of Korea (ROK) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop and strengthen defence industry co-operation in …

• Land Warfare

  Thai marines want ATMG firepower

  2nd May 2017

  The Royal Thai Marine Corps (RTMC) plans to acquire 155mm Autonomous Truck-Mounted Gun (ATMG) systems, part of Elbit Systems' ATMOS family, to increase the punch …

• Military Logistics

  Netherlands to host EART 2017 exercise

  24th March 2017

  The European Defence Agency's (EDA's) fourth European Air-to-Air Refuelling Training (EART) exercise is set to kick off at Eindhoven airbase in the Netherlands on 26 …

• Special Operations

  Interview: Pentagon revamps USSOCOM support

  30th March 2017

  Tom Palmer, liaison officer in the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), speaks exclusively to Shephard about the agency's role in providing support to the special operations …

• Defence Helicopter

  Thales, Europavia win Spanish helo support

  28th April 2017

  The Thales Programas and Europavia consortium has received a contract from the Spanish Army for the maintenance of helicopter communications and electronics systems, Thales announced …

• Defence Helicopter

  Quad A 2017: AN/ARC-201D radio recertified

  28th April 2017

  The Harris AN/ARC-201D airborne radio has been recertified for use in US Army helicopters, the company announced on 26 April. The airworthiness release was issued …

• Land Warfare

  K9 gives boost to India-Korea partnerships

  24th April 2017

  Engineering giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and South Korea's Hanwha Techwin signed a contract for co-development and co-production of the K9 Vajra-T 155mm self-propelled howitzer …

• Training

  EDA to conduct fifth HTIC programme

  22nd March 2017

  The fifth edition of the European Defence Agency's (EDA's) Helicopter Tactics Instructors Courses (HTIC) will start in May at Royal Air Force (RAF) Linton-on-Ouse in …

• Military Logistics

  Australia receives M88A2 Hercules vehicles

  24th April 2017

  The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) has received six new M88A2 Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lifting Extraction System (Hercules) armoured recovery vehicles worth over …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2017: Heavy-lift UAV weighs in

  2nd May 2017

  Norwegian company Griff Aviation has produced a prototype of a UAV which it claims can lift hundreds of pounds, which is set to be showcased …

• Defence Helicopter

  Japan modernises lasers on Apache tribe

  27th April 2017

  Japan is upgrading the 'eyes' of its fleet of Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters, according to a Lockheed Martin announcement dated 26 April. The US …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Norway orders Hugin AUV systems

  28th March 2017

  Kongsberg Maritime has received a contract to deliver four complete Hugin autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) systems to the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA), the company …

• Training

  Rockwell, Leonardo DRS selected for TCTS Inc-II

  3rd April 2017

  Rockwell Collins and Leonardo DRS have been selected by the US Navy to supply an encrypted, next-generation tactical training system for its Tactical Combat Training …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A330 MRTT (1-9) [NATO]

  Programme Background Following operations in Libya and extensive analyses by the European Defence Agency (EDA), it was agreed at the NATO Summit in 2012 that ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A330 MRTT Follow-On (NATO)

  Following operations in Libya and extensive analyses by the European Defence Agency (EDA), it was agreed at the NATO Summit in 2012 that the EDA ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawks [Norway]

  Programme Background NH90 NFH cancellation  The Norwegian government announced the termination of the NH90 NFH helicopter contract for 14 NH90s with NHIndustries in June 2022. Seahawk Acquisition ...

• Tanks

  New MBT [Romania]

  Programme Background Requirement The Romanian Army's MBT fleet is composed of T-55 variants that are due to be retired in the mid-2020s. Although Romania's TR-85 ...

• Tanks

  M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 [Romania]

  Programme Background Requirement The Romanian Army's MBT fleet is composed of T-55 variants that are due to be retired in the mid-2020s. Although Romania's TR-85 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) - (Greece)

  Programme Background EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) was announced in early 2022 and the project contract was awarded ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  UAV Tactical Level [Norway]

  Programme Background Request for Information (RfI) In September 2022, the Norwegian Defence Material Agency (NDMA) launched a request for information in preparation for a possible ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) - (Italy)

  Programme Background EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) was announced in early 2022 and the project contract was awarded ...

• Maritime patrol

  MAWS/PATMAR [France]

  Programme Background In 2017, Germany and France announced that they would be working towards developing an MPA to replace their current fleets in service. The ...

• Tanks

  Leopard 2A8 [Netherlands]

  Programme Background Bidders and Suppliers The Leopard 2A8, the latest in the Leopard family, was selected by the Royal Dutch Army as per announcements in ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Bayraktar TB2 [Kuwait]

  Background Contract Award On 18 January 2023, Baykar announced signing a $370 million export contract with Kuwait for the Bayraktar TB2. According to the announcement, ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton - Germany (Cancelled)

  Programme Background Germany requested to buy four MQ-4C Triton HALE UAVs from Northrop Grumman. On 5 April 2018, the US State Department announced that it ...

• Corvettes

  European Patrol Corvette (EPC) [France]

  Programme Background Requirements The European Patrol Corvette (EPC) is one of the new PESCO (Permanent Structured Cooperation on Defence and Security) projects. PESCO was established ...

• AEW&C

  Alliance Future Surveillance and Control (1-6) [NATO]

  Programme Background NATO’s E-3A AWACS fleet is set to retire in 2035, after 50 years of service. To plan for the required follow-on capability, NATO's ...

• Corvettes

  European Patrol Corvette (EPC) [Italy]

  Programme Background Requirements The 2021-2023 Documento Programmatico Pluriennale (DPP) - a multi-year defence planning document from the Italian MoD - includes a plan to acquire eight "Patrol Ships", ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Land: air defence radar

  APIS

  APIS is a passive high-resolution primary radar system developed by Indra. It is the first passive system in the world capable of offering images using ...

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  AE50R

  The AE50R is an aviation gasoline single rotary engine with an output of 40.4kW. The engine is certified according to European Aviation Safety Agency Part ...

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

  LOTUS

  The LOTUS, Low Observable Tactical Unnamed System, is a tactical UAV especially designed for border patrol ISR operations.  The development of the project is funded by ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  Mistral 3

  The Mistral 3 is the latest member of the Mistral family of very short-range surface-to-air missiles. It entered service in 2018 and has been chosen ...

• Helicopter engines

  Arriel 2H

  Safran Helicopter Engines received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) engine type certification for its Arriel 2H engine, installed in the Avicopter AC312E, in April 2018. ...

• 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 ...

• Trainer

  Gabriel-TP

  Gabriel-TP is a low-wing, two-seat tandem trainer aircraft aimed at both military and civilian customers. It is certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in ...

• Air: NVGs

  PNL-3M Orlik

  PNL-3M are high-performance, lightweight, passive stereoscopic NVGs for helicopter crew members. Certification by European Aviation Safety Agency also enables civilian use. The device can be ...

• Loitering munitions

  Akeron RCH 170

  Unveiled in April 2025, the Akeron RCH 170 is a fixed-wing loitering munition from MBDA. Similar in design to the Switchblade 300, the catapult launched system ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  Standard 3

  Jointly developed by ATR and Thales, The Standard 3 avionics suite has been specifically designed for ATR-600 aircraft. It offers the pilot user-friendly interface, along ...

• Loitering munitions

  Akeron RCX 50

  Unveiled in April 2025, the Akeron RCX 50 is a rotary-wing loitering munition from MBDA.  According to reports, the RCX 50 is designed to support ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  DroneGun

  DroneGun enables controlled management of an adversarial UAS, causing no damage to the UAV or surrounding area. It either forces the drone to perform a ...

• Military - USVs

  NOMARS

  The No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) is a US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) effort to develop a first-of-its-kind large uncrewed surface vessel.

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  Trident 100TD2

  The Trident 100TD2 is a compression-ignition engine that is capable of operating on various types of heavy fuel. It is claimed to offer up to ...

• Space: radar systems

  ESA Sentinel-1

  Sentinel-1 is a planned constellation of four satellites with two already in orbit and two on order. They carry a payload of a C-band SAR ...