• Air Warfare

  Greece and Israel cosy up over Rafael’s Spyder air defence system

  24th April 2024

  Ongoing discussions between Greece and Israeli arms manufacturer Rafael to acquire Spyder air defence systems underscored the resilience of international business ties despite geopolitical tensions.

• Naval Warfare

  Is the US Navy’s new DDG(X) destroyer facing cancellation?

  6th June 2024

  The projected costs for the DDG(X) destroyer project are spiralling, its technologies need to be matured and the USN has more pressing priorities. If the programme begins to repeat some of the mistakes made on previous major surface combatant procurements then DDG(X) is likely to face the axe.

• Land Warfare

  Germany orders more Patriot air defence systems

  26th March 2024

  The US Army has acquired more than 1,100 launchers of which it has exported at least 200 launchers, while more than 10,000 Patriot missiles have been produced to date.

• Training

  Maxar advances US Army’s global terrain simulation

  19th March 2024

  The One World Terrain prototype will become a key part of the US Army’s Synthetic Training Environment to provide soldiers realistic training with geospatial dataset.

• Land Warfare

  Rheinmetall wins $2.9 billion contract to supply Boxer 8x8s to the Bundeswehr

  21st March 2024

  Some of the 123 “Heavy Weapon Carrier for the Infantry” vehicles will be made in Australia and shipped to Germany.

• Land Warfare

  General Dynamics and Textron to develop Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle prototypes

  7th March 2024

  The USMC originally purchased 758 LAV-25 vehicles delivered from 1983–88 in six major variants. General Dynamics Land Systems and Textron Systems Corporation will develop competing prototypes to replace them.

• Land Warfare

  Azerbaijan turns to Israeli MoD for weaponry as tensions with Armenia rise

  15th March 2024

  Increasing tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia have prompted new military requests from Baku to Israel amid diplomatic efforts for peace.

• Training

  Announcement: Scott R Gourley takes over as new editor of Shephard’s Decisive Edge Training newsletter

  27th March 2024

  Following the successful launch of its Decisive Edge Training newsletter in 2023, Shephard is pleased to announce the appointment of Scott R Gourley as the next editor of this leading digital publication.

• Land Warfare

  US Army to increase investments in missile capabilities by 62% in FY2025

  15th March 2024

  The total amount allocated to missile capability purchasing over the next fiscal year will be $6.2 billion and will comprise additional funds for several programmes.

• Land Warfare

  Palantir bags $178 million US Army TITAN deep sensing contract

  8th March 2024

  Palantir has committed to constructing 10 TITAN ground stations and deploying five basic variants on the US Army’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, with frontline soldier input ensuring essential capabilities have been integrated into each system.

• Training

  Saab wins three-year extension to British Army live training contract

  9th April 2024

  Instrumented Live Training (ILT-D) is an appended precision laser based tactical engagement system for vehicles, armoured platforms, heavy weapon systems and anti-tank weapons used in force-on-force exercises as part of collective training.

• Land Warfare

  Spain orders 155mm artillery shells in $228 million contract

  13th March 2024

  Rheinmetall has become a major source of artillery ammunition across Europe, especially for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s invasion, and the German manufacturer has received orders for billions-of-dollars worth ammunition in recent years.

• Land Warfare

  Malaysia to deploy 4x4 Ejder Yalçın armoured combat vehicle in April 2024

  13th March 2024

  Malaysia will bolster its UN peacekeeping efforts in Lebanon with the advanced Panthera armoured combat vehicles as it upgrades its decades-old Condors.

• Digital Battlespace

  Push for greater use of open source data, says senior British officer

  19th April 2024

  The huge amount of open source data available may not carry the weight of secret sources but it does carry substantial value, according to speakers at Defence IQ C4ISR Global conference in London.

• Air Warfare

  How the Israeli Defense Forces overcame Iran’s attack

  15th April 2024

  Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel utilised numerous weapon systems, which Israel – with the cooperation of the US, UK, France and Jordan – was able to confront.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• LTVs - 4x4

  Infantry Squad Vehicle [USA]

  Background The JLTV, HMMWV, and ISV constitute the US Army’s Light Tactical Vehicle (LTV) fleet. The US Army has evaluated the ISV as part of ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Land 121 Phase 4 [Australia]

  Programme background Three suppliers were originally down-selected to meet the Land 121 Phase 4 requirement: Thales Australia, General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) and Force Protection ...

• Fighter - naval

  F-35C (FY2021-2025) [USA]

  Background In order to achieve their ultimate goal of 340 F-35C fighters, the U.S. Navy contracted a total of 101 platforms between FY2021 and FY2025. ...

• Fighter - naval

  F-35C (FY2026-2030) [USA]

  Background In order to achieve their ultimate goal of 340 F-35C fighters, the U.S. Navy contracted a total of 101 platforms between FY2021 and FY2025. ...

• Loitering munitions

  Project Instigator [UK]

  Background Prior Information Notice (PIN) On 21 October 2024, the MoD published a PIN in collaboration with the Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S;). The notice announced ...

• Loitering munitions

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Background Presidential Drawdown Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, on 21 April 2022, President Biden announced an $800 million Presidential Drawdown security ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Land 400 Phase 3 (Amphibious Vehicles) [Australia]

  Programme Background The Australian DoD released the initial RfI for the Land 400 Phase 3 programme in November 2015. Following consultations with local industry, the ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Land 400 Phase 3 (Logistics, Ammunition Carrier and Mortar Carrier Variants) [Australia]

  Programme Background The Australian DoD released the initial RfI for the Land 400 Phase 3 programme in November 2015. Following consultations with local industry, the ...

• Main battle tanks

  Main Battle Tank Upgrade [Australia]

  Programme Background Between 2006 and 2007, the Australian Army received 59 M1A1 AIM SA Abrams MBTs under Project Land 907 Phase 1. These vehicles were planned to ...

• Long Range Missile Defence Systems: > 90km range

  Land Ground Based Air Defence [UK]

  Background In November 2023, the UK published the Land Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD) Prior Information Notice, which informed industry of the future direction of the ...

• Loitering munitions

  Land Lethality Pipeline [UK]

  Background Defence Investment Plan (DIP) In late June 2026, the UK published its delayed Defence Investment Plan (DIP), which outlined plans to spend £298 billion ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  Land Mobility Programme (Light Mobility Vehicle) [UK]

  This programme briefly introduces the wider Land Mobility Programme and then focuses on the Light Mobility Vehicle (LMV) programme. Information on the LPM and HPM can ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Bayraktar TB3 [Turkish Army]

  Background Land Forces Command Delivery In late October 2024, Haluk Bayraktar, Baykar's CEO, stated that the Bayraktar TB3 had entered mass production and could be exported ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  Light utility vehicle replacement [Portugal]

  Background The Portuguese Army currently operates several classes of light utility vehicle, including the Mercedes G-Wagon, Toyota Land Cruiser, Land Rover Defender and Mitsubishi L200. ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  ACV (Batch 2) [USA]

  Background The Armoured Combat Vehicle (ACV) programme is intended to provide a replacement for the USMC's fleet of Amphibious Assault Vehicle 7 (AAV7) tracked vehicles. ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Trainer, Transport

  EMB-121 Xingu

  The EMB-121 Xingu is a twin-turboprop light transport and advanced multi-engine trainer aircraft developed by Embraer based on the EMB-110 Bandeirante. Its maiden flight was ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  Hawkei

  Thales Australia developed the 4x4 Hawkei for the Australian Army's Land 121 Phase 4 Protected Mobility Vehicle – Light (PMV-L) project.  The prototype was unveiled in ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Aertos 121

  The Digital Aerolus Aertos 121 ducted-fan quadrotor UAV is an improved version of the Aertos 120 infrastructure inspection platform. It is designed as an asset for ...

• Towed mortars

  Soltam K6 120mm Lightweight Towed Mortar

  The Soltam K6 120mm Lightweight Towed Mortar has a maximum range of 7,200m using conventional unassisted bombs. The K6 was selected for US Army service ...

• Land: air defence radar

  KRONOS Land

  KRONOS is a mobile multifunctional C-band radar system designed by Leonardo to support air and coastal defence tactical operations.  The system simultaneously performs surveillance, dedicated target ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Superav Land

  The Superav Land 8x8 is a modular vehicle with a large diameter turret ring that can be adjusted to fit a wide variety of remote-controlled ...

• Land: soldier modernisation systems - national programmes

  Land 125

  In 1994, Australia initiated Project Wundurra to develop an integrated soldier combat system, and by 2005 this had evolved into the multi-phase Land 125 programme ...

• Medium Range Missile Defence Systems: 20-90km range

  Land Ceptor

  MBDA Land Ceptor is a medium-to-long range ground-based air defence missile system based on the Common Anti-Air Modular Missile (CAMM) family of surface-to-air missiles developed ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  ALADIN

  ALADIN is a miniature system consisting of a man-portable GCS and a hand-launched air vehicle with exchangeable sensor payloads.  The UAV, which can be operated ...

• Transport

  C-40 Clipper

  The USN began replacing its ageing fleet of 29 McDonnell Douglas C-9B Skytrain aircraft in 1997 with the C-40A Clipper, a military version of the ...

• Towed guns

  Boran

  Turkey’s Makina ve Kimya Endustrisi Kurumu (MKEK), working with Aselsan, has developed the 105mm Boran towed artillery gun to meet a Turkish Land Forces Command ...

• Land: vehicle surveillance/target acquisition systems

  T-VIEW-Land

  The T-VIEW-Land is a lightweight EO/IR, gyro-stabilised sensor, installed on vehicles for day/night observation. It incorporates two cameras: a thermal imager and a colour charge-coupled ...

• Naval guns, Land: RWS

  Naval/Land Rogue

  The Land Rogue is an RWS developed by Reutech for installation on armoured vehicles. Capable of being armed with a 7.62mm machine gun, a 12.7mm ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  G-Wagon

  Mercedes-Benz G-Wagons are designed to meet specific military needs and have been in production since 1979. The vehicle comes in several variants, including 4x4 and 6x6 versions. ...

• Military vehicle engines

  V903

  The V903 is a series of heavy-duty V8 diesel engines developed to power military vehicles. Production began in 1981 after the 500 hp VTA-903-500 variant ...