• Training

  Hadean completes live-virtual training capability for British Army

  1st October 2024

  Populating the World of Training is a project run by the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) and has been designed to bridge the real and synthetic worlds to provide more enhanced training for UK Armed Forces using Artificial Intelligence (AI).

• Air Warfare

  Should the US be concerned about the state of its nuclear arsenal?

  26th November 2024

  “We are going to get spare parts out of museums,” warns a former commander of USSTRATCOM.

• Naval Warfare

  HII acquires new manufacturing capacity for AUKUS work

  4th December 2024

  An existing facility in South Carolina will be turned over to work on AUKUS elements, as well as other US Navy projects.

• Land Warfare

  IDEX 2025: Rafael increases missile and drone defence capability as threats and demands rise

  21st February 2025

  Rafael president and CEO Yoav Tourgeman, speaking to Shephard at IDEX 2025, has outlined how the company is pushing through air defence programmes in the face of attacks on Israel from rockets, missiles and drones on multiple fronts.

• Land Warfare

  Rheinmetall awarded M107 ammunition contract

  13th January 2025

  Rheinmetall has been increasing its production capacities since 2022 and aims to be able to produce up to 1.1 million 155mm artillery shells annually by 2027.

• Air Warfare

  Turkey scales back F-16 deal while US shifts position on F-35s, minister claims

  28th November 2024

  Turkish Defence Minister Yaşar Güler gave updates on the country’s F-16 and Eurofighter acquisitions in Parliament, while signalling the US could reinstate Turkey into its F-35 programme.

• Land Warfare

  Poland announces IBCS integration timeline

  6th September 2024

  Polish defence leaders said the country already has a squadron trained on using the Integrated Battle Command System which it planned to move forward with in 2024.

• Defence Notes

  UK boosts defence budget by 5.3%, but is this enough?

  30th October 2024

  The UK budget announced in Parliament on 30 October is the first by a Labour government in 14 years. While it sees a boost in defence spending, this comes in the face of fiscal challenges and the effects of inflation.

• Land Warfare

  Australia orders more Bushmasters as new variants come into view

  9th January 2025

  The new Bushmasters will be used by the Australian Army’s second long-range fires regiment, to be based at the Edinburgh Defence Precinct in South Australia as part of the 10th Fires Brigade.

• Air Warfare

  L3Harris develops Viper Shield EW system and makes strides on DiSCO development

  3rd January 2025

  The US tech company and defence contractor showcased its Viper Shield EW Suite and provided further details on its DiSCO platform in Washington, DC last month.

• Air Warfare

  Industrial benefit or political distraction? Navigating the final assembly line

  24th December 2024

  Using the example of the F-35, does rolling out a domestic final assembly line make economic or industrial sense for countries wanting to purchase new aircraft?

• Land Warfare

  South Korean defence industry demonstrates its tech prowess

  6th November 2024

  Shephard takes a deep dive into the latest developments in the South Korean defence sector as the country arms itself to deal with current and future threats.

• Land Warfare

  Thales outlines Bushmaster offering for UK requirement

  19th September 2024

  The UK’s Land Mobility Programme (LMP) achieved some clarity at DVD this week. Thales was just one company pushing itself forward for what will be a hotly contested requirement with a focus on what the bids will mean for UK industry.

• Naval Warfare

  Saab Sea Giraffe to protect Swedish Navy

  20th December 2024

  The Swedish manufacturer will supply its Sea Giraffe 1X naval radar in a range of configurations.

• Air Warfare

  Kongsberg to invest $110 million to increase production capacities in the US

  19th September 2024

  Expected contracts from the US Armed Forces will see the company build a new facility in Virginia, as well as improving and expanding its manufacturing capabilities in Pennsylvania.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  MQ-1 Gray Eagle [US Army]

  Background Required Quantity Although the US Army first envisioned a requirement for 132 MQ-1C Gray Eagles, the US Army's Army Acquisition Objective (AAO) was increased ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Ajax IFV [UK]

  Programme Background Prior to commencing development of the Ajax the UK utilised the Warrior was its primary IFV. However, the Warrior entered service in 1987 making ...

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

  Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) Warrior [India]

  Programme Background Make In India The 'Make In India' initiative is an effort by the Indian government to boost domestic manufacturing. In the context of ...

• Military UAS - small

  Black Hornet 3 PRS (UK)

  Programme Background The British Army operated approximately 160 first-generation Black Hornet PD-100 nano UAS between 2013 and 2017, when the decision was made to retire ...

• Military UAS - small

  Bug Nano UAS (UK)

  Programme Background The British Army previously took delivery of 160 first-generation Black Hornet PD-100 nano UAS in 2013 to support operations in Afghanistan. After these ...

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

  Naval Collaborative Combat Air Vehicle (N-CCAV) [India]

  Programme Background CATS Warrior The Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) is a planned, uncrewed and crewed family of aircraft in development by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited ...

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

  Orbiter 3 (Croatia)

  Programme Background The Croatian government launched a competitive tender for the procurement of a short-range UAV in October 2017. Although the tender was opened on ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Protected 4x4 Replacement [Argentina]

  Programme Background Argentina currently operates the AML, Spartan 4x4 APC and Dongfeng Warrior CSK131, with 45 still in service across the three vehicles. It also previously operated ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8, APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Land Mobility Programme (Heavy Protected Mobility) [UK]

  Programme Background Requirement Serving in several iterations since 1963, the FV432 Mk3 'Bulldog' remains operational and deployed as command vehicles, ambulances, and recovery vehicles within the British Army. Although ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6, LTVs - 4x4

  Supacat HMT 400 & 600 [UK]

  Programme Background Programme Requirements The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) stated in a Contract Notice that it had a requirement for at least 70 new HMT platforms ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Boxer (MIV) [UK]

  Programme Background History The UK MoD announced in March 2018 that it would re-join the Boxer programme and pursue a sole-source acquisition of the 8x8 ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV (US Army) (Batch 1) [USA]

  Background As of January 2021, the US DoD had signed 15 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all branches ...

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

  Heavy Lift VTOL (HVTOL) [US Army]

  Background USMC First, Army Second In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial Resupply ...

• Main battle tanks

  Decisive Lethality Platform [USA]

  Background The DLP is one of five vehicle families being developed for the US Army's NGCV programme. Expanded to include five programmes in October 2018, ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  AMPV [USA]

  Background Platform development The US Army initiated the AMPV programme to acquire a replacement for several variants of the M113 tracked APC, which has been ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  AN/PRC-170

  The AN/PRC-170 Javelin is a single-channel, small-form-factor radio that supports TSM waveform. Produced by Thales, it provides voice and data communications across multipath and dynamic environments. ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 400

  At AUSA 2025, AeroVironment (AV) unveiled the Switchblade 400, a rocket-launched, medium-range, man-portable loitering munition. AV states the aircrat has been designed to defeat tanks and heavy ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MUBC

  The Modular Universal Battery Charger (MUBC) is a scalable charging system for a range of military and commercial batteries. It provides for the addition of ...

• Land: soldier modernisation systems - industry programmes

  Warrior Systems

  General Dynamics Mission Systems is prime contractor and system integrator for the US Army’s Warrior soldier systems, which include Air Warrior, Future Force Warrior, Land Warrior ...

• Land: battle management systems

  Joint Battle Command - Platform

  Joint Battle Command - Platform (JBC-P) is a networked mission command information system designed for the US Army and USMC. It can provide real-time blue ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Shadowcat

  General Dynamics Shadowcat radio provides low-visibility communications in a small form factor package. Capable of forming mesh networks, it provides voice, video and data communications ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-HL

  Manufactured by InstantEye Robotics, the InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-Heavy Lift (HL) is a rotary-wing UAV that is involved in the US Army's Render Safe Sets, Kits & ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  OH-58D Kiowa Warrior

  The OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, manufactured by Bell Helicopter Textron, is a two-person, light scout helicopter with a day/night mast-mounted sight, glass cockpit and four-bladed rotor system. ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530F Cayuse Warrior

  An evolution of the OH-6 Cayuse light observation helicopter, the MD 530F was initially Federal Aviation Administration-certified in July 1985 as the Model 369FF. It ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Warrior

  The Warrior IFV entered service with the British Army in mid-1987. A total of 789 vehicles were delivered in IFV, infantry command, anti-tank, recovery, repair, ...

• Land: vehicle simulators

  Convoy/C-IED Training System

  Laser Shot’s Convoy/Counter IED Training System consists of an immersive training environment that places soldiers in high-fidelity, virtual scenarios in order to train on a ...

• Unguided Medium Calibre Ammunition

  M792 High Explosive Incendiary Tracer

  The M792 High Explosive Incendiary Tracer (HEI-T) is a 25mm medium calibre round manufactured by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems.

• Land: NVGs

  AN/PSQ-20B ENVG

  The AN/PSQ-20B ENVG (Enhanced Night Vision Goggle) is a helmet-mounted dual-waveband monocular night vision system. As a fusion system that combines image intensification technology with ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  Falcon II Nyx

  The Falcon II Nyx is a rotary-wing drone from Wave Aerospace. It is in the US Army's Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment (AEWE) programme. Primarily designed to operate in ...

• Land: soldier modernisation systems - national programmes

  DANES

  Initial efforts to field a complete soldier system through the Danish Army Network-Enabled Soldier (DANES) concept were abandoned, following an evaluation of the US Land ...