• Defence Notes

  PLA celebrates anniversary with new kit

  31st July 2017

  China celebrated the 90th anniversary of the formation of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) with a massive military parade at the Zhurihe Combined Tactics Training …

• Defence Helicopter

  Indian Sea Kings riddled with problems

  28th July 2017

  The Indian Navy’s (IN) ageing UH-3H Sea Kings are riddled with deficiencies that have compromised their availability for missions, the country’s top auditor has revealed.  …

• Digital Battlespace

  USAF squadron takes control of WGS-9

  25th July 2017

  The US Air Force’s (USAF) 4th Space Operations Squadron (4 SOPS) has taken over the operational control of the ninth Wideband Global SATCOM satellite (WGS-9), …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Afghanistan forces to gain additional ScanEagles

  26th July 2017

  Additional ScanEagle UAS will be heading to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) following a $19.6 million award from the US Department of Defence. The new …

• Naval Warfare

  Fallon cuts first steel for HMS Glasgow (video)

  21st July 2017

  Shephard spoke to UK defence secretary Michael Fallon following the steel cutting of the first Type 26, HMS Glasgow. To be known as the City …

• Training

  ASDOT team crumbles

  20th July 2017

  Following on from the Cobham Special Missions announcement of 14 July that it had teamed with Draken International for the UK’s Air Support to Defence …

• Defence Helicopter

  On display at RIAT (video)

  17th July 2017

  Shephard editors Grant Turnbull and Helen Haxell take a look at the flight line at RIAT 2017 and talk through some of the key platforms that …

• Special Operations

  Ukraine special ops development continues

  28th July 2017

  Force elements from Ukraine’s Special Operations Command have completed a joint training programme with the US Naval Special Warfare Command in the Black Sea as …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UAV demonstrator Sagitta makes maiden flight

  20th July 2017

  Airbus Defence and Space has for the first time flown its Sagitta UAS technology demonstrator, the company announced on 18 July. Sagitta flew autonomously for around …

• Defence Helicopter

  Paris Air Show: European helicopter procurement (video)

  16th June 2017

  Western European militaries are looking at new platforms to replace their existing fleets.  Shephard takes a look at the incumbent aircraft for Germany, Italy and …

• Defence Notes

  Typhoon in Brimstone live firing

  19th July 2017

  MBDA’s Brimstone air-to-surface missile has been fired from a Eurofighter Typhoon for the first time.The integration of the weapon is part of the Phase 3 …

• Digital Battlespace

  EU SATCOM agreement on horizon

  9th June 2017

  Plans for a pan-European Governmental Satellite Communications (GOVSATCOM) programme could be given the green light this month, enabling pooling and sharing of governmental satellite capacity …

• Defence Notes

  MBDA seeks munition revolution

  22nd June 2017

  European missile house MBDA has unveiled a new family of gliding smart munitions, but officials played down suggestions it could compete as a Small Diameter …

• Training

  Inzpire to support Protector RPAS training development

  21st July 2017

  Inzpire will provide subject matter expertise to support the development of training for the Royal Air Force’s future Protector UAS. The company announced a contract …

• Training

  ASDOT gains pace

  17th July 2017

  The UK’s Air Support to Defence Operational Training (ASDOT) requirement has been ratcheted up following the declaration that Cobham Special Missions had signed a teaming …

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 ...

• 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 ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A330 MRTT Follow-On [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 ...

• Main battle 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 ...

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

  Penguin C VTOL [Croatia]

  Background Announcment Redwire Corporation announced on 12 November 2025 that its wholly owned subsidiary, Edge Autonomy, had been contracted to deliver the Penguin C VTOL ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

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

  UAV Tactical Level [Norway]

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

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

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

  Capa-X

  The Capa-X is a VTOL-capable fixed-wing drone from Survey Copter, a subsidiary of Airbus. The drone has been linked with France's Système de Drone Tactique Léger (SDTL) ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  Tryzub Laser

  Ukraine's Tryzub (Trident) laser was revealed during the European Defence Industry: Prospects for Cooperation with the Ukrainian Defence Industry conference in 2025. Video footage from ...

• 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 ...