• Military Logistics

  Cyclone, Mahindra partner on aerostructures parts

  27th June 2017

  Cyclone, a subsidiary of Israel-based Elbit Systems, and Mahindra Aerostructures of India have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the production of …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Counter-UAS options continue to grow

  27th June 2017

  The increasing popularity of drones, in all shapes and sizes, has brought to light a whole assortment of new security threats, including the growing hazard …

• Defence Helicopter

  ViaSat wins STT contract for Apache

  23rd June 2017

  ViaSat has received a multi-year contract from Boeing for the production of the KOR-24A Link 16 terminal for the US Army's AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopters, …

• Defence Notes

  Has the US lost the plot in South China Sea?

  23rd June 2017

  As the South China Sea transforms into a spider web of interconnected military facilities designed to lock out uninvited guests, one would have thought that …

• Defence Helicopter

  Safran, TAI to support Thai heli engines

  23rd June 2017

  Safran Helicopter Engines has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Thai Aviation Industries (TAI) to support helicopter engines operated by the Thai armed forces, the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Paris Air Show: Hot off the press (video)

  23rd June 2017

  Despite this year's Paris Air Show being a scorcher, with temperatures unseasonably high, the Shephard team worked to provide all the aviation news from the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Ka-226T helicopter JV registered in India

  23rd June 2017

  Russian Helicopters and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) have registered a joint venture (JV) for the production of Ka-226T light helicopters in India, Russian Helicopters announced …

• Defence Helicopter

  Arriel 2L2 makes first ground run

  22nd June 2017

  The engine that will power South Korea’s Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) has made its first ground run, Safran announced on 20 June. The Arriel 2L2 …

• Digital Battlespace

  Cloud hangs over geospatial intelligence

  22nd June 2017

  Textron Systems has seen strong military interest in the latest version of its cloud-based geospatial intelligence product, with a number of defence analysts evaluating the …

• Defence Notes

  Paris Air Show: F-35 makes its debut (video)

  21st June 2017

  The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II made its Paris Air Show debut and first flight demonstration to the public at Le Bourget.  Alan Norman, chief test …

• Defence Helicopter

  Paris Air Show: Eye of the Tiger (video)

  21st June 2017

  The French Tiger attack helicopter is a prominent addition to this year's Paris Air Show, with models taking part in both the static displays and …

• Defence Notes

  Paris Air Show: Rafale in depth (video)

  19th June 2017

  Prominently displayed on the Dassault and French DGA stands is the Rafale multirole combat jet, which when combined with its flight demonstrations during the week, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Paris Air Show: The aircraft on display (video)

  19th June 2017

  As Paris Air Show 2017 gets underway Shephard editors Grant Turnbull and Richard Thomas cast their gaze over the flight line to see what's on …

• Defence Notes

  Paris Air Show: Preview (video)

  16th June 2017

  Shephard editors Helen Haxell and Richard Thomas discuss the main themes of the upcoming Paris Air Show at Le Bourget, France. While the show looks …

• Land Warfare

  Indonesia inducts BTR-4M… but looking elsewhere

  29th May 2017

  Spets Techno Export announced that the Indonesian Marine Corps has officially started using an initial batch of five Ukrainian-built BTR-4M 8x8 APCs that were delivered …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - micro

  Black Hornet 3 (Ukraine Aid) [UK & Norway]

  Programme Background Russo-Ukraine War Since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, UAVs have proved vital to the country's defence. Consequently, as in this programme, the ...

• Military UAS - micro

  FPV Drones (Ukraine Aid) [Netherlands]

  Background Statement of Intent On 14 June 2024, the Deputy Minister for Strategic Industries Serhiy Boyev, Minister of Defence of Ukraine Rustem Umerov and the Minister of ...

• Military UAS - mini

  ISR Drones (Second Batch) (Ukraine Aid) [Netherlands]

  Programme Background First Batch On 20 March 2024, Kajsa Ollongren, Minister of Defence of the Netherlands, announced that, following a 19 March Ukraine Defense Contact ...

• Military UAS - mini

  UAVs (Ukraine Aid) [Norway]

  Background September 2024 On 3 September 2024, the Norwegian government announced that “Ukraine will get more drones donated to their frontline, and more air defence ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  GA-ASI Drone [Ukraine]

  Programme Background MQ-9A Reaper - April 2022 On 13 April 2022, Forbes reported that Ukraine was talking with GA-ASI to acquire the MQ-9A Reaper. Ukrainian officials ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Vector / Scorpion (Contracted) [Ukraine]

  Programme Background Previous Orders & Donations On 29 March 2022, the US Embassy in Warsaw announced that Quantum Systems had donated an unknown quantity of ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 300 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Presidential Drawdown (16 March 2022 & 13 April 2022) On 16 March 2022, President Biden announced $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine through ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 600 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background $300 Million USAI (1 April 2022) On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine following ...

• Loitering munitions

  One-Way Attack Drones (Ukraine Aid) [UK]

  Programme Background 2024/2025 Military Aid Package On 12 January 2024, the UK government announced it would provide Ukraine with £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) in military ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  CV90 [Sweden]

  Programme Background As the domestic manufacturer and original operator of the CV90 IFV, Sweden has had a continuous fleet of CV90s in service since the ...

• Military UAS - micro

  Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) (Phase I) [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement The Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) provides short-range day and night ISR to US Army units at the squad, platoon and other small ...

• Self-propelled rocket launchers

  HIMARS [Sweden]

  Programme Background Following the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sweden began a process of military modernisation, in line with trends across much of Europe.  The ...

• Military UAS - small

  Puma 3 AE (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Military Aid - $300 Million On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine to "bolster Urkaine's capacity ...

• Military UAS - micro

  5,000 Latvian UAVs (Ukraine Aid) [Latvia]

  Background Ukrainian Defence Contact Group (UDCG) In January 2024, the Ukrainian Defence Contact Group (UDCG), a multi-nation organisation that coordinates military aid for Ukraine, established a drone ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Larger UAVs [Estonia]

  Background 2026-2029 Defence Investment On 30 July 2025, the Republic of Estonia’s Minister of Defence, Hanno Pevkur, announced the approval of a development plan allocating more ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Surface-to-air missiles

  Akash-NG missile

  The Akash-NG (New Generation) missile is an advanced surface-to-air missile system developed by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to enhance the country's air ...

• Core systems: cameras and IR detectors

  Ophir 26-105mm f/1.6 LWIR continuous zoom

  Ophir's plethora of IR optics includes a wide range of long-range zoom lenses for every application. Ophir's budget range has been extended to include a ...

• Military UAS - micro

  Vespa-15

  The Vespa-15 is a first-person view (FPV) rotary-wing UAV manufactured by a Ukrainian company.  In May 2025, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Ukraine announced it ...

• Military UAS - micro

  Black Hornet 3

  The Black Hornet 3 is the next generation of the PD-100 Black Hornet, the world’s smallest nano-UAS. This new model of the Black Hornet provides ...

• Military UAS - small

  Kazhan

  The E620 Kazhan is a Ukrainian-made rotary-wing attack drone. It is available in hexacopter and quadcopter configurations and can drop 60mm, 82mm, and 120mm mortar shells. ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  DM73

  The 120mm × 570 armour-piercing fin-stabilised discarding sabot (APFSDS) DM73 is a kinetic-energy (KE) round with an enhanced propulsion unit. It is produced by Rheinmetall ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Cetus Lite

  The Cetus Lite is a fixed-wing UAV from Abris Design Group. The company describes the aircraft as a mobile system that is hand-launched. It is ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Cetus Plus

  The Cetus Plus is a fixed-wing UAV from Abris Design Group.  The manufacturer describes it as a universal UAV designed to perform various tasks like photo ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Beetle

  The Beetle is a rotary-wing octocopter from Abris Design Group. According to the manufacturer, the UAV provides photo and video ISTAR and signal relay for first-person ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Linza 3.0

  The Linza 3.0 is a rotary-wing UAV from Quantum Frontline Industries (QFI), a German-Ukrainian joint venture from Quantum Systems and Frontline Robotics. The UAV was first delivered ...

• Loitering munitions

  Anubis

  The Anubis is a medium-range loitering munition designed to destroy enemy equipment and strategic targets. Designed and produced by Airlogix, the Auterion Airlogix Joint Venture ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  CB90

  Combatboat (Stridsbåt) 90 (CB90) is a class of small, rapid attack boats designed for raiding and inshore/nearshore coastal protection operations or deploying up to 20 ...

• EO/IR systems

  USG-212

  Described as a plug-and-play turnkey solution, the USG-212 is an EO/IR camera gimbal from Ukrspecsystems. It appears to be out of production. The gimbal has ...

• Main battle tanks

  Type 10

  Mitsubishi developed the 120mm-armed Type 10 MBT to meet the requirements of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) and publicly revealed a prototype in February 2008. ...

• Military UAS - small

  P550

  Designed by AeroVironment, the P550 is a fixed-wing UAV that can host reconnaissance, EW or offensive payloads. In an April 2024 statement, AeroVironment stated that ...