• Special Operations

  NSW looks to individual gear enhancements

  25th July 2019

  While United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) planners are looking toward a range of broad options to enhance the lethality of individual operators, some SOF …

• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop Grumman awarded AN/SPQ-9B work

  29th July 2019

  Northrop Grumman will act as design agent for the US Navy’s AN/SPQ-9B surface search and fire control radar, the company announced on 25 July. The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2019: Less talk, more action from drone task force (video)

  2nd May 2019

  As AUVSI's 2019 edition of Xponential draws to a close, the Shephard Media team comprising of Richard Thomas, Editor-in-Chief, Helen Haxell, Air Editor and Senior …

• Defence Notes

  Bulgaria’s fighter purchase on hold

  24th July 2019

  The Bulgarian Parliament has ratified the deal for the purchase of eight new-build Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70 fighters for the Bulgarian Air Force (BuAF). …

• Defence Notes

  Podcast: Air power, multi-domain operations, auditing the EDA and watching the Watchkeeper

  26th July 2019

  Welcome to Episode 27 of The Weekly Defence Podcast. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and more. Sign up to an early email alert of future podcasts here.

• Defence Notes

  US Navy orders AARGM

  31st July 2019

  Northrop Grumman has been awarded Lot 8 Full Rate Production of the AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) by the US Navy. The awarded, announced …

• Naval Warfare

  Integration and test agent selected for FFG(X) programme

  24th July 2019

  Lockheed Martin will be the Combat System Ship Integration & Test agent for the US Navy’s future Guided Missile Frigate (FFG(X)) ship programme. The ten-year …

• Defence Notes

  Opinion: What will Boris do for defence?

  24th July 2019

  Boris Johnson has been confirmed as the new prime minister of the United Kingdom. He enters office at a time of unparalleled global security challenges …

• Land Warfare

  Rheinmetall to modernise Puma for NATO VJTF 2023

  23rd July 2019

  Germany’s defence procurement office has awarded a contract to the ARGE Puma consortium for the System Panzergrenadier Very High Joint Readiness Task Force 2023 (VJTF …

• Digital Battlespace

  French RIFAN 2.1 contract issued

  5th April 2019

  Rohde & Schwarz has received a contract with Airbus and Naval Group for phase 2.1 of the French RIFAN programme, the company announced on 2 …

• Naval Warfare

  GNYK submits final MKS 180 bid

  23rd July 2019

  The Schleswig-Holstein shipyard of German Naval Yards Kiel (GNYK) announced on 18 July that it had submitted its final offer for the construction of the German …

• Naval Warfare

  Sea-Air-Space 2019: Chinese naval threat on the rise

  8th May 2019

  The US Navy is continuing to address the increased growth of China’s naval capabilities, with the country considered to pose the leading threat to American …

• Naval Warfare

  Austal launches future USS Oakland

  24th July 2019

  Austal USA has launched the US Navy’s future USS Oakland (LCS 24) at its ship manufacturing facility in Mobile, Alabama. The Independence-variant littoral combat ship …

• Land Warfare

  German Army orders Mungo vehicles

  25th July 2019

  Germany’s military procurement organisation has commissioned Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) to supply nine Mungo N/C Recce vehicles for the German Army. The N/C Recce variant of …

• Digital Battlespace

  Indian Air Force gets desperate for software-defined radios

  5th August 2019

  Amidst a pressing necessity for software-defined radios (SDR) to fill glaring gaps in its legacy systems for secure information sharing and situation awareness, the Indian Air …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  NH90 TTH [France]

  Background In 2001, the French government made its first purchase of 34 NH90 Tactical Transport Helicopters, followed by a second order in 2013 for an ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Joint Light Helicopter (HIL) programme [France]

  Background The French Ministry of the Armed Forces has elected to bring the launch of the French Armed Forces’ HIL programme forward to 2021. The ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - mini

  Micro & Mini Drones (France)

  Programme Background RequirementOn 23 April 2021, an RfP was published by the Direction de la Maintenance Aéronautique (DMAé) to supply around 500 micro and nano drones for the ...

• Short Range Missile Defence Systems: 0 to 20 km range

  Mistral SHORAD [Romania]

  Background Romania signed a contract with the Ministry of the Armed Forces and Veterans of the French Republic within the "European Joint Acquisition of Mistral ...

• Loitering munitions

  Colibri: Short-range loitering munition (Contracted) [France]

  Background Origins French Ministry of Armed Forces spokesperson Hervé Grandjean stated at a press conference in May 2022 that the General Directorate for Armament (DGA) ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 300 [France]

  Programme Background Plans to Purchase At Eurosatory 2022, Col. Arnaud Goujon, the French Army's chief of plans, told the media that the French Army was ...

• Loitering munitions

  Colibri: Short-range loitering munition (Uncontracted) [France]

  Background Origins French Ministry of Armed Forces spokesperson Hervé Grandjean stated at a press conference in May 2022 that the General Directorate for Armament (DGA) ...

• OPVs

  OPV Procurement (1-2) [Montenegro]

  Programme Background Timeline During Euronaval 2024, the French Ministry of Armed Forces and Veterans announced that Montenegro signed a contract for the acquisition of two ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  NH90 (Special Forces) [France]

  Background In French service, advanced H225M Caracals with aerial refuelling capabilities are used by SOF units of the French Air Force (FAF) and French Army. ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A330 MRTT (13-15) [France]

  Background In June 2020, The French government has pledged to buy new military heavy-lift helicopters and accelerate plans for naval drone, ISTAR and tanker aircraft programmes ...

• OPVs

  OPV 58 S [Senegal]

  Programme Background Senegal ordered three OPV 58 S patrol vessels on 17 November 2019. A procurement contract was signed between the Ministry of Armed Forces ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - mini

  UX11 (Ukraine Aid) [France]

  Programme Background First Batch On 6 September 2023, Sébastien Lecornu, the French Minister of Defence, announced Delair was providing Ukraine with more than 150 drones. ...

• 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 ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  PLFS [France]

  Background The Sabre, then known as the Sherpa FS, was developed as a response to a 2014 requirement for three types of new vehicles to ...

• Loitering munitions

  Larinae: Medium-range loitering munition [France]

  Background Origins French Ministry of Armed Forces spokesperson Hervé Grandjean stated at a press conference in May 2022 that the General Directorate for Armament (DGA) ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• CUAS - hybrid effector systems

  Boreades

  Boreades is a modular anti-UAV system developed by CS. This suite combines multi-sensors and multi-effectors in order to enable the detection, identification and neutralisation of rogue ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  UAS 100

  The UAS 100 is an autonomous, three-engined platform, modular UAS manufactured by Thales in partnership with Issoire Aviation, Hionos and with the support of the ...

• 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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  MX-10 Damocles

  The MX-10 Damocles is a quadcopter loitering munition from KNDS France and Delair. Unveiled at IDEX 2025, it features a 500g fragmentation payload. It is part ...

• Military UAS - small

  LEMUR

  LEMUR is a VTOL, fixed-wing UAV designed for long-endurance observation and reconnaissance missions. The aircraft is available with either an electric motor or an internal ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Tundra 2

  The Tundra 2 is a rotary-wing UAV from Hexadrone. It is described as a new, modular, plug-and-play, and multi-trade drone. Hexadrone's website states that the French Armed ...

• OPVs

  OPV 60

  The OPV 60 is designed to conduct surveillance missions in coastal and EEZ waters. The ship can be armed with a 40mm naval gun and ...

• EO/IR systems

  Euroflir 350

  The Euroflir 350 is an out-of-production gyro-stabilised optronic system. According to Safran, it is effective at long ranges, can track mobile targets, designate important areas for ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  NH90 TTH

  Developed as a multinational programme between France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, the European NH90 was designed to meet NATO requirements for multirole capability from ...

• Military UAS - small

  Lanner

  Unveiled at Eurosatory 2024, the Lenner is a modified variant of the Pengion C VTOL drone, specifically modified to meet the SDTL (Light Tactical Drone System) program ...

• Military helicopters - light/training, Military helicopters - multirole, Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  H160M

  Airbus is developing the H160M to meet the requirements of the French military for the Joint Light Helicopter (Hélicoptère Interarmées Léger, or HIL) programme. It ...

• Land: handheld NV devices

  O-NYX

  The Thales O-NYX is a Ultra-Compact Night Vision Goggle used by the French armed forces. They have an enlarged field of vision to 51° compared ...

• Pistols

  Glock Pistol

  The Glock family of pistols have been in widespread service since the Glock 17 was selected for Austrian military and police service in 1982. The company's ...

• Air: Defensive Systems - Radar Warning Receivers

  TDS-FA/-TA/-H

  Thales’ TDS family is comprised of Radar Warning Receivers (RWRs) designed to equip a range of fixed-wing aircraft. The product series includes the TDS-FA designed ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  Mistral 2

  MISTRAL is a man-portable, fully digital, heat-seeking missile designed to meet the requirements of all branches of the armed forces to defend against air threats. ...