• Land Warfare

  China goes for ground-launched attack weapons as it strengthens deterrence strategy

  26th November 2025

  China has been advancing its capabilities with a new generation of precision-guided artillery and loitering munitions, positioning ALIT’s WS-series as direct competitors with Western systems like the US’s M982 Excalibur.

• Land Warfare

  Next-generation gun set to boost US Army combat vehicle capabilities

  8th January 2026

  The 50mm main weapon on the XM30 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle currently being competed for by industry will offer a step-change in firepower and targeting over the in-service M2 Bradley.

• Air Warfare

  Dubai Airshow 2025: Middle Eastern nations chart a broader course for defence procurement

  10th November 2025

  Several key defence contracts are still waiting to be confirmed in the air domain as global players including the US, some European countries and Turkey look to seize market opportunities.

• Land Warfare

  British Army’s Project Stokes 120mm mortar bids due in March 2026

  18th February 2026

  Project Stokes could see a new 120mm mortar capability enter British service, with domestic production and international partnerships central to competing bids.

• Air Warfare

  France air focus: Lower-cost sovereign capabilities propel $11.38 billion UAV market

  5th June 2026

  France is estimated to be Europe’s second-highest spender on UAVs, with a market focused on domestic production, loitering munitions and lower-cost sovereign systems. Its spending profile highlights substantial future market opportunities while reflecting broader industry trends.

• Air Warfare

  UK air focus: Drone spending trails European frontline states despite $10.46 billion valuation

  16th July 2026

  Despite the UK having the third-largest military UAV market in Europe, the country appears to be underinvesting in the capability relative to the size of its economy, particularly when compared with Baltic and eastern European states.

• Defence Notes

  White House calls on Pentagon contractors to “rapidly and aggressively” boost weapon production

  5th March 2026

  Intended to sustain Operation Epic Fury against Iran, efforts to increase the production of weapons and ammunition could expose long-standing weaknesses in the US defence industrial base.

• Defence Notes

  NATO signs agreements worth billions of dollars on missiles, air defence and aircraft

  9th July 2026

  Announcements on aircraft deals and agreements for trans-alliance cooperation to boost the production and purchase of weapons and equipment were key takeaways from this week’s NATO summit.

• Land Warfare

  Portugal set to join Boxer team as it progresses its army transformation

  22nd January 2026

  The Portuguese Army is undergoing an overhaul of its platforms with the latest move towards Boxer 8x8 vehicles marking a major step in reforming and modernising its brigades.

• Air Warfare

  Eurosatory 2026: How the deep-strike, loitering munition market skyrocketed to $13.8 billion in three years

  18th June 2026

  Ukraine’s rapid development of long-range, deep-strike loitering munitions has helped turn the sector into a market worth an estimated US$13.2 billion. The reasons behind this were outlined during Eurosatory 2026, as other countries embark on the early stages of procuring this capability.

• Air Warfare

  US Army awards nearly $6 billion in contracts for CUAS interceptors and UAS systems

  1st October 2025

  A contract of $5 billion was awarded to Raytheon by the US Army, while a $982 million contract award for uncrewed systems was scooped to Mistral Group.

• Naval Warfare

  Australia is ramping up its uncrewed surface fleet as Sea Archer lines up for key requirement

  2nd April 2026

  As advances in uncrewed technology increasingly shape Australia’s maritime future, Shephard spoke with the country’s head of navy capability and a Leidos Australia executive about the operational advantages behind the shift.

• Air Warfare

  Anduril awarded latest OPF-L contract with around $155.2 million still up for grabs

  20th January 2026

  As the US Marine Corps continues to push loitering munitions as a core battlefield tool, Shephard looks at how the latest contract award factors into future potential purchases.

• Land Warfare

  IDEF 2025: Turkey to get new border surveillance vehicles

  28th July 2025

  The vehicles are fitted with Aselsan Yanki gunshot detection system, Aselsan ACAR telescopic mast-mounted radar system and an Aselsan Shanin Gozu mast-mounted optical package.

• Land Warfare

  Oshkosh reboots British Army vehicle bid and displays JLTV with new weapons

  21st January 2026

  The British Army’s light protected mobility (LPM) requirement, part of the Land Mobility Programme, has taken on a new focus with the medium requirement bumped off to be replaced by heavy. The LPM may now need to fill some of the gap between light and heavy.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Bayraktar TB2 (1-20) [UAE]

  Background UAE and Turkish relations Historically, the two nations were not aligned with one another. However, this situation has quickly turned around, with Emeriti's plans ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | Joint Strike Ship [South Korea]

  South Korea is reportedly seeking to acquire up to three Joint Strike Ships as part of its "Three Axis System". The Joint Strike Ship (JSS) is ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | Joint Strike Ship [South Korea]

  South Korea is reportedly seeking to acquire up to three Joint Strike Ships as part of its "Three Axis System". The Joint Strike Ship (JSS) is ...

• Loitering munitions

  Turkish Loitering Munitions [Albania]

  Programme Background "Considerable" Speaking on 10 October 2024, Albania's  Prime Minister Edi Rama stated that Türkiye would provide Albania with a "considerable" number of loitering munitions. A government ...

• Long Range Missile Defence Systems: > 90km range

  Siper Block II [Türkiye]

  Background Türkiye is procuring the SİPER Block II long-range air defence missile systems. The systems are intended to provide an effective defensive capability against air ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  Hürkuş-C Advanced Armed Trainer (Turkey)

  The Hurjet-C development programme funding was included in the Hurkus-B procurement contract awarded by  the Turkish Undersecretariat for Defence Industries in December 2013.  The Hurjet will ...

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering munitions [Canada]

  Background Switchblade acquisition In February 2025, the Canadian government finalised a $67 million deal with AeroVironment (AV) to acquire the Switchblade 300 and Switchblade 600 ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2 (21-120) [UAE]

  Programme Background UAE and Turkish relations Historically, the two nations were not aligned with one another. However, this situation has quickly turned around, with Emeriti's ...

• 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 - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Akinci [UAE]

  Programme Background Surprise Delivery Baykar, in a statement of its 2024 achievements, stated that it had delivered two Akinci UAVs to the UAE, one in ...

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munitions (First Batch) [Japan]

  Background Appreciation of Loitering Munitions After years of not operating loitering munitions and armed UAVs, Japan’s position towards them has changed. Belatedly, the MoD realised the ...

• Self-propelled rocket launchers

  HIMARS [Canada]

  Background The Canadian army does not currently operate any MLRS systems. Following the effectiveness of MLRS in Ukraine, many militaries have begun investing in their ...

• Fighter - multirole

  JF-17 [Azerbaijan]

  Programme Background Requirement In October 2019, Turkish media sources reported that at least two Azeri pilots travelled to Pakistan to receive training in JF-17 aircraft. ...

• Self-propelled rocket launchers

  K239 Chunmoo (Batch 2) [Estonia]

  Background Estonia currently operates the HIMARS as its primary MRLS. However, in an effort to expand its capabilities, as well as diversify its supply base, ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2 (Qatar)

  Programme Background In 2018 at DIMDEX, it was revealed that Qatar had bought six Bayraktar TB2 UAVs from Turkey. The deal also included three ground control stations, ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: aerial targets, Loitering munitions

  Simsek

  The Simsek (Şimşek), or Lightning, is a high-speed target drone system that enables autonomous high-speed and low-altitude threat stimulation of aircraft and missiles for air-to-air, ...

• Artillery rockets

  TRG-230

  TRG-230 is a 230 mm GNSS/INS guided artillery rocket developed by the Turkish ROKETSAN as the medium-range guided artillery rocket for the firm’s universal MLRS ...

• Guided munitions

  M-712 Copperhead

  The M-712 Copperhead is a 155mm artillery projectile that is guided to its target via a laser guidance system, making it more resistant to electronic ...

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

  Aksungur

  The Aksungur is a twin-engined MALE UAS manufactured by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) for the Turkish Armed Forces. TAI completed the platform's maiden flight on 20 March ...

• Guided munitions

  SMKB (Smart-MK-Bomb)

  The Smart-MK-Bomb, or the SMKB, is a precision guidance kit developed by Mectron and designed to turn Mk 82 and Mk 83 bombs into guided munitions.

• Artillery rockets

  TRG-300 Block I

  TRG-300 is a 300 mm artillery rocket developed by Turkish ROKETSAN, serving as the heavy rocket in the TRG family of guided artillery missiles.

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

  Akinci

  The Akinci is a MALE UCAV manufactured by Baykar. Sometimes known as Uçan Balık, the UAV can be fitted with a range of ISR or ...

• Artillery rockets

  TRG/TRLG-122

  The TRG-122 is a Turkish 122mm family of guided artillery rockets developed by ROKETSAN for the T-122 Sakarya and other MLRS platforms. The family includes ...

• Air-to-surface missiles, Surface-to-surface missiles

  UMTAS/L-UMTAS

  Roketsan developed the imaging IR-guided Mızrak-U, also known as the UMTAS (Uzun Menzilli Tanksavar Sistemi, or Long-Range Anti-Tank System), and the laser-guided L-Mızrak-U (L-UMTAS) for ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Multirole Heavy Combat Helicopter

  The Multirole Heavy Combat Helicopter is an attack helicopter being developed by Turkish Aerospace to meet the operational requirements of the Turkish Armed Forces, including air-to-ground ...

• Self-propelled mortars

  2S34 Chosta

  The 2S34 Chosta is an upgraded version of the 122mm 2S1 tracked SPH that replaces the original 2A31 ordnance with the 120mm 2A80-1 mortar-gun, an ...

• EO/IR systems

  StormCaster-DX

  Unveiled at Modern Day Marine 2022, the Teledyne FLIR StormCaster-DX is a multi-role, low-SWaP laser target designator (LTD) payload designed to affect the STANAG-compliant terminal ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  Ares 150 SAT

  The Ares 150 SAT is a tactical patrol and guided-missile fast attack craft designed and developed by the Turkish manufacturer Ares Shipyard. The boats are ...

• Ship-launched torpedoes

  Tork

  Aselsan TORK is an antitorpedo torpedo developed to destroy acoustic-homing, wire-guided, non-wire-guided, and wake-homing torpedoes launched against surface ships and submarines.  It approaches the torpedo ...

• Loitering munitions

  Merkut

  The Merkut, or Merküt, is a first-person view (FPV) style loitering munition system developed by Titra Teknoloji A.Ş. It features a fragmentation warhead that distributes ...