• Air Warfare

  SOF Week 2026: DroneShield moves to double its production capacity in the US

  16th May 2026

  The DroneShield US subsidiary is rapidly expanding its manufacturing footprint in the country and has expedited the process to double its domestic production capacity in at least four months.

• Defence Notes

  How AI is reshaping defence procurement through sustainment

  10th July 2026

  Artificial intelligence is not just changing how defence equipment is maintained but how defence programmes are won, creating new opportunities for industry by influencing acquisition decisions and shaping competition.

• Defence Notes

  The speed of relevance: how companies can navigate the new era of European defence procurement

  15th June 2026

  European militaries face a rapidly evolving security landscape and defence production must accelerate to meet surging demand for platforms and equipment. Industry needs to adapt to ensure it gets its products into the hands of the end user, Evelyn Rafferty, Senior Director Aerospace and Defence - Europe at Plexus told Shephard’s Gerrard Cowan.

• Naval Warfare

  Aevex, Lockheed Martin and Thales deals highlight consolidation in naval technology

  19th October 2026

  A wave of acquisitions is bringing specialist autonomy and underwater technology under the umbrella of larger defence contractors. As a result, navies may gain faster access to capability, but not necessarily a broader choice of suppliers.

• Land Warfare

  Eurosatory 2026: European cooperation drives TRACKX programme towards production

  16th June 2026

  Finland and Sweden have advanced the Common Arctic Mobility programme, highlighting how multinational funding and industrial cooperation are becoming increasingly important to European defence capability development.

• Land Warfare

  SAHA 2026: MKE sets its sights on the Turkish Army’s self-propelled guns

  7th May 2026

  With multiple artillery platforms on display at SAHA 2026, Turkey’s defence contractors are positioning to replace the country’s older imported platforms.

• Naval Warfare

  France’s naval modernisation drives opportunities for European defence industry

  23rd October 2026

  Ahead of Euronaval 2026, major submarine, frigate and aircraft carrier programmes are driving investment, while future corvette replacements and growing interest in uncrewed vessels offer further opportunities for industry into the 2030s and beyond.

• Air Warfare

  Attack drones versus CUAS – the future of warfare or just another trend?

  17th August 2026

  Demand signals for counter-drone technology are strong and the market is becoming crowded, but is this really the beginning of a new phase of warfare or will commentators be talking about something else 10 years from now?

• Land Warfare

  First Skyranger 35 air defence gun arrives in Ukraine

  20th November 2025

  The Skyranger 35 for Ukraine is mounted on a Leopard 1 tank and is fitted with a KDG 35/1000 35mm/228-calibre cannon with a firing rate of 1,000 rounds per minute and a range up to 4km. The platforms join more than 6,000 vehicles in service or promised.

• Land Warfare

  Ukraine’s ground robot army still finding its feet

  31st October 2025

  Ukraine’s quest to replace soldiers with robots is hitting technical snags. Shephard spoke with industry leaders about difficulties in the field and what solutions are in the pipeline.

• Naval Warfare

  Ireland’s strategic cable role grows as naval capacity falls behind

  21st August 2026

  Around 75% of the northern hemisphere’s undersea cables transit Irish waters, but personnel shortfalls and a stalled multirole vessel programme leave patrol capacity in question.

• Land Warfare

  ARX Robotics expands in UK following British Army backing for uncrewed platforms

  30th April 2026

  Following an order from the British Army, ARX Robotics has begun manufacturing autonomous ground platforms in the UK. Christopher Foss examines the company's growing range of systems.

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy expands non-standard acquisitions to rapidly field emerging technologies

  23rd June 2026

  The US Navy is increasing the use of OTA obligations to accelerate the procurement of seabed-subsea, littoral, expeditionary and uncrewed solutions.

• Air Warfare

  UK A400M Saudi deployment highlights airlifter’s role as Airbus pursues upgrades

  21st October 2026

  Airbus is developing new capabilities for its A400M transport aircraft as European countries consider future airlift requirements and the UK plans to deploy the aircraft to Saudi Arabia.

• Naval Warfare

  How the Hormuz mine threat exposes potential Baltic MCM shortfalls

  1st May 2026

  Ageing Baltic vessels and an absence of active minehunting vessel programmes in the region have been put under the spotlight in the recent conflict.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - MALE

  Akinci [Ukraine]

  Programme Background Two Export Contracts In January 2022, the Daily Sabah reported that Baykar had "recently" signed its first export contract for the Akinci. Haluk Bayraktar ...

• Loitering munitions

  Deep-strike, low-cost, loitering munition [Ukraine]

  Background 30,000 On 2 December 2024, Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov told Reuters that Ukraine was targeting the production of 30,000 deep-strike loitering munitions in 2025. Three ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Heavy Lift Helicopter [Philippines]

  Programme Background Procurement from Russia In November 2021, Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana confirmed that a contract had been signed to acquire 16 Mi-171 heavy ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Vector / Scorpion (Selected) [Ukraine]

  Programme Background 500 Systems Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Quantum-Systems has provided many drones to Ukraine. Over 400 units have been provided as aid ...

• Military UAS - mini

  SkyRanger R70 (Ukraine Aid) [Canada]

  Programme Background On 19 February 2024, the Canadian Defence Minister, Bill Blair, announced that the country would donate more than 800 SkyRanger R70 UAVs to ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Ka-226T- Air Force [India]

  Programme Background India had operated a diverse and antiquated fleet of helicopters to support its high-altitude operations along contested borders with China and Pakistan. Reducing ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Ka-226T - Army [India]

  Programme Background India had operated a diverse and antiquated fleet of helicopters to support its high-altitude operations along contested borders with China and Pakistan. Reducing ...

• Military UAS - small

  T-150 (Ukraine Aid) [UK]

  Programme Background Virtual Address On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. On 3 May 2022, the UK's Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, virtually addressed the Ukrainian ...

• 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 - mini

  Quantix Recon (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background April Meeting In mid-April, just shy of two months after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, the Ambassador and the Defence Attaché at the Embassy of Ukraine met ...

• Main battle tanks

  Merkava Mk3 [Cyprus]

  Programme Background Following the announced donation of 41 T-80U/UK tanks to Ukraine, Cyprus is actively seeking a replacement MBT for its Armed Forces. Cyprus offered ...

• Long Range Missile Defence Systems: > 90km range

  S-400 [India]

  Background India is modernising its air defence by procuring  S-400 LRSAM systems (Triumf Missile System), which are planned to be used by the Air Force.  The fifth system ...

• Main battle tanks

  Leopard 2A8 [Germany]

  Background Germany has operated the domestically produced Krauss-Maffei Wegmann Leopard 2 since its inception in the 1970s. Spanning now eight versions, the Leopard 2A8 is the latest ...

• Corvettes

  Ada Class Corvettes (1-2) [Ukraine]

  Background Timeline In October 2020, the MoD of Ukraine and the President of the Turkish Defence Industries signed a memorandum of understanding. This outlined intentions ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Next Generation Fighter Aircraft (Vietnam)

  Programme Background Requirement The Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) operates an ageing fleet of Su-22 aircraft as well as Su-27s and Su-30s. According to expert commentary, ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Main battle tanks

  T-80UD

  The 125mm-armed T-80UD MBT is a variant of the T-80 which was in production in Ukraine when the Soviet Union broke up in 1991. An ...

• Loitering munitions

  AQV 100 Scalpel

  The AQV 100 Scalpel, or AQV-100, is a low-cost loitering munition manufactured by One Way Aerospace.  The drone is operated using a first-person view and ...

• Military UAS - micro

  Mini 2

  The Mini 2 is a micro rotary-wing drone from DJI. It features a 3-axis gimbaled 12MP camera for photographs and 4k/30fps for video capture. Shephard believes ...

• Transport

  An-140

  The An-140 is a light turboprop military transport aircraft developed from the An-140 regional airliner, which first flew in September 1997. It is designed to ...

• Air: sonar systems

  VGS-3

  The VGS-3 is a dipping sonar for the Ka-27/Ka-28 helicopter developed by the State Enterprise Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Hydrodevices.

• Loitering munitions

  Shahed-236

  The Shahed-236, or MC 236, is a successor to the Shahed-126. It is a loitering munition designed in Iran. The drone was presented to Russia in ...

• Fighter - air superiority

  MiG-29

  The MiG-29 (NATO reporting name Fulcrum) is an air superiority fighter aircraft designed to engage air targets in any weather, day and night.  The production ...

• Loitering munitions

  FP-5 Flamingo

  The FP-5 Flamingo is a ground-launched UAV system/cruise missile developed and manufactured by Fire Point. The system is designed to engage ground targets and is ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Orlan-10/10E

  Developed by the Russia-based Special Technology Center, the Orlan-10 is a medium-range UAS with many variants, such as the 10E, an export version introduced in 2017. The ...

• Fighter - ground attack

  Su-25

  The Su-25 (NATO reporting name Frogfoot) is a single-seat ground attack aircraft developed for close combat air support missions. Production of the Su-25 began in ...

• Air-to-surface missiles

  Kh-59/Kh-59E

  The Kh-59, designated by NATO as the AS-13 "Kingbolt," is a TV command-guided air-launched cruise missile. It has been offered on the export market as Kh-59E.

• Land: coastal surveillance radars

  Predel-E

  The Predel-E is a coastal surveillance radar produced by Russian manufacturer Concern Morinformsystem-Agat JSC. The system is intended as an over-the-horizon surveillance system, designed to ...

• Artillery rockets

  9M55

  9M55 is a family of 300 mm artillery rockets developed for the BM-30 Uragan MLRS developed by the Soviet Union.

• Military UAS - mini

  Matrice 300 RTK

  The Matrice 300 RTK is a rotary-wing UAV manufactured by DJI. Despite being primarily aimed at industrial applications, militaries utilise it for ISR tasks.  In ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  SURA HMTDS

  SURA is a helmet-mounted display system produced in Ukraine. Notably, it offers off-boresight acquisition capability to pilots and can cue the aircraft's sensor systems using ...