• Air Warfare

  The new generation of defence companies emerging from the US UAV boom

  16th October 2026

  As the Pentagon accelerates procurement of low-cost, lethal UAVs through its Drone Dominance Program, emerging suppliers will need to demonstrate manufacturing capacity, supply chain resilience and reliability.

• Land Warfare

  Canada looking to expedite purchase of armoured fighting vehicle and a new tank

  26th January 2026

  Canada is improving its Leopard main battle tank fleet but before this is fully completed, it is expected to begin looking for new vehicles.

• Land Warfare

  Dominating the spectrum: ASELSAN’s EW capabilities take center stage at MSPO 2026

  4th September 2026

  ASELSAN is showcasing its advanced electronic warfare (EW) capabilities at MSPO 2026, highlighting technologies designed to detect, analyse, disrupt and deceive threats across increasingly contested electromagnetic environments.

• Air Warfare

  World Defense Show 2026: L3Harris to achieve full-rate production of Viper Shield soon

  9th February 2026

  L3Harris has completed the production candidate software load for its Viper Shield airborne electronic warfare system and is conducting sea trials with its VAMPIRE counter-drone system.

• Defence Notes

  US speeds up B61-13 nuclear bomb production as programme moves further ahead of schedule

  29th July 2026

  The US government plans to accelerate production even further after achieving key B61-13 milestones months ahead of schedule, as the programme advances amid growing US-China strategic competition.

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy advances with the Harpoon Service Life Extension Programme

  16th December 2025

  The US Navy plans to improve Harpoon’s anti-ship and land attack capabilities by equipping the missiles with sensors and technologies required for succeeding in future battlespace.

• Land Warfare

  British Army turns to local option for small robot trials

  26th May 2026

  The UK government has ordered XRC’s small Rhino UGV for trials just weeks after placing a contract for ARX Robotics Gereon tracked UGV which will also be manufactured in the UK. The latest move is another step in creating a force of 40% uncrewed systems.

• Naval Warfare

  AUKUS heavyweight torpedo test raises questions over future armed UUV requirements

  8th October 2026

  A heavyweight torpedo firing from the Royal Navy’s uncrewed submarine XV Excalibur suggests a shift beyond surveillance, with allied navies eyeing strike roles for large autonomous undersea vessels.

• Defence Notes

  Ukraine turns legacy Kongsberg land turrets into semi-autonomous USV weapons

  23rd September 2026

  The company told Shephard that Ukraine is operating modified Protector weapon stations originally supplied for armoured vehicles, with human operators authorising engagements from hundreds of kilometres away.

• Air Warfare

  First confirmed US one‑way drone strike on Iran sharpens Pentagon UAV expansion

  2nd March 2026

  The US is currently escalating its efforts to acquire more than 300,000 low-cost one-way attack drones, with the confirmed use of these platforms against Iran in recent days emphasising their growing use in combat.

• Land Warfare

  US Army reaches out to industry for M109 replacement in a deal worth up to $8 billion

  3rd September 2026

  The US has tried several times to replace the M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzer, a requirement which Shephard forecasts could be for as many as 670 platforms and worth as much as US$8 billion.

• Air Warfare

  US Navy to start the next phase of E-2D Block II modernisation in FY2028

  21st July 2026

  NAVAIR plans to award a five-year retrofit contract to a broader transition of the carrier-based airborne early warning fleet to the AHE configuration.

• Naval Warfare

  How China’s naval advancements are pushing the US Navy to innovate

  21st January 2026

  The US Navy is set to invest $30 billion in artificial intelligence, cyber, space and autonomy research and development efforts in FY2026 as the force rethinks how it fights in light of China’s naval rise.

• Air Warfare

  FIA 2026: BAE unveils Brontanax for British and international CCA requirements

  22nd July 2026

  Designed for the UK Royal Air Force’s StormFighter requirement, the carrier-capable platform could also support Royal Navy operations and international customers within the estimated $77.08 billion air force CCA market.

• Defence Notes

  Canada’s new military drone marketplace targets rapid acquisition pipeline

  23rd September 2026

  The Department of National Defence expects initial contracts to deliver thousands of uncrewed systems, but has yet to establish the quantities, capability mix or deadline behind Ottawa’s promised tenfold expansion.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Loitering munitions

  Organic Precision Fire - Medium (OPF-M) [USMC]

  Background Request for Waiver (RFW) In April 2026, the USMC announced a new programme, the Organic Precision Fire - Medium (OPF-M), to equip the Fleet ...

• Long Range Missile Defence Systems: > 90km range

  Long Range Air Defence [Belgium]

  Background In its Strategic Vision Defence 2025 Capability Investment Portfolio (CIP) document, Belgium announced that it has budgeted €1,981,590,000 ($2,287,101,638) for three long-range air defence systems. A decision is ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - mini

  Scorpio 500 [US]

  Background Contract Award In December 2024, XTEND was awarded a US$8.8 million contract by the US Department of Defense (DoD) for its Scorpio 500. As reported by ...

• Self-propelled guns

  Mobile Tactical Cannon [US]

  Background The US Army began using the M777 in 1995. Since then, it has served as a field artillery piece providing fire support for American ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  T-50 [Thailand]

  The purchase had been earlier approved by the Thai cabinet on 11 July 2017.  AVM Pongsak Semachai revealed that the aircraft would be paid for ...

• Loitering munitions

  Organic Precision Fire - Light (OPF-L) (Uncontracted) [USMC]

  Background Force Design 2030 The USMC Force Design 2030 is a modernisation effort to create a lighter, more agile maritime force. In May 2022, an annual update ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Cobra IFV [Indonesia]

  Programme Background It is unclear how many different variants of the Cobra have been ordered by the TNI-AD, but it is thought that the majority ...

• Loitering munitions

  Echelon 2: Ground Organic Precision Strike Systems (GOPSS) [USSOCOM]

  Programme Background Requirements The U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has made loitering capabilities a priority in its efforts to support counter-violent extremist organization (C-VEO) operations and ...

• Self-propelled mortars

  Project Stokes [UK]

  Background The British Army does not currently operate any self-propelled mortars. The war in Ukraine has demonstrated that static fire support platforms are increasingly vulnerable ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Piranha V [Denmark]

  Programme Background In February 2013, the Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organization (DALO) selected the Piranha V as one of five contenders for evaluation to ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  T-50 Follow-On [Thailand]

  Programme Background The Royal Thai Air Force  (RTAF) exercised its option to purchase additional two aircraft from an earlier deal. The RTAF purchased four T-50 jets in ...

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munition 1 [Taiwan]

  Programme Background 2023 At Taichung in March 2023, NCSIST unveiled the loitering munition. The munition showed the country's focus on asymmetric capabilities to defend itself ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Land 400 Phase 2 - Boxer CRV [Australia]

  Programme Background History The Land 400 Phase 2 programme will procure a replacement for the ASLAV, a derivative of the General Dynamics Land Systems Light Armoured Vehicle ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Cobra IFV [Indonesia - Batch 2]

  Programme Background It is unclear how many different variants of the Cobra have been ordered by the TNI-AD, but it is thought that the majority ...

• Loitering munitions

  Maritime Launched Effects (MLE) [US]

  Background Origin The loitering munition effort dates back to at least 2018 and was previously called Maritime Precision Engagement (MPE). The US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Self-propelled rocket launchers

  PULS

  The PULS (Precise & Universal Launching System) from Elbit Systems is a modular, truck‑mounted multiple‑launch rocket/missile system developed in Israel to provide flexible long‑range fires ...

• Artillery rockets

  Predator Hawk

  The Predator Hawk artillery rocket, developed by Elbit Systems, is a high-precision, long-range weapon designed to engage targets at distances up to 300km. 

• Land: Defensive Systems - Gunshot Detection / Hostile Fire Indicator

  SWAD

  Small Arms Fire Warning and Direction System (SWAD) is a passive, stationary EO gunshot detection and hostile fire indicator manufactured by Elbit Systems. It is ...

• Land: COMINT and ELINT systems

  SkyFix DF

  The SkyFix DF is a lightweight, high-precision COMINT/DF system covering the 30MHz-3GHz frequency band. It uses a correlative interferometer technique and wide aperture, high-precision antenna ...

• Guided munitions

  Mini Lizard

  The Mini Lizard is a compact, precision-guided munition developed by Elbit Systems, tailored for light attack aircraft. Weighing approximately 9kg, the Mini Lizard is designed to ...

• Military UAS - small

  Thor

  Thor is a VTOL small-UAV manufactured by Elbit Systems. The platform is designed for ISR missions and features a real-time HD data link and unique ...

• Major networking projects

  ELBIT TIGER

  Tactical Intranet Geographic Dissemination in Real Time (TIGER) is a tactical communications system that integrates media, including legacy and narrowband channels, creating an end-to-end, unified ...

• Land: RWS

  Elbit UT50

  Announced in FQ4 2022, the Elbit UT50 is Elbit Systems of America's latest RWS mounted with a 50mm XM913 cannon. Elbit's development of a 50mm variant ...

• EO/IR systems, Sea: ship surveillance and fire control systems

  MSP 500

  The MSP 500 (Multi-Sensor Platform) is an electro-optical fire control and reconnaissance system developed by STN Atlas Elektronik and Zeiss Optronik and produced by Rheinmetall Defence ...

• Guided munitions

  Excalibur N5

  The Excalibur N5 is a 5-inch (127mm) naval variant of the Excalibur precision-guided artillery projectile, engineered to enhance the capabilities of naval gunfire. Designed for ...

• Towed guns

  ATHOS 2052

  The 155mm/52 calibre Autonomous Towed Howitzer Ordnance System (ATHOS) 2052 is a towed system offered by Elbit Systems, which acquired artillery manufacturer Soltam in 2010.Equipped ...

• Land: battle management systems

  Torch-X Mounted

  Elbit Systems Torch-X Mounted is a battle management solution that notably includes fire control capability and AI-powered decision support tools. According to news sources, the ...

• Light tanks

  ASCOD MMBT

  GDELS unveiled the ASCOD Medium Main Battle Tank (MMBT), a 120mm-armed 42 tonne tank based on its tracked ASCOD IFV, at Eurosatory 2018.  The ASCOD MMBT ...

• Land: vehicle simulators

  AGTS

  The Advanced Gunnery Training System (AGTS) is designed to train individuals, crews and platoons in the skills of precision gunnery. It provides training on procedures, ...

• Self-propelled mortars

  Soltam 120/81mm CARDOM

  The Soltam 120 mm Computerised Autonomous Recoil Deployed Outrange Mortar (CARDOM) is in service with the IDF (mounted in the tracked BAE Systems M113A3 (~250 ...