• Land Warfare

  Bids in for Canadian Bv206 replacement

  17th June 2025

  If all goes to plan, initial delivery of the selected vehicle could take place in 2029/2030 with final delivery in 2031/2032. The Bv206 were supplied to Canada many years ago and are in urgent need of replacement. More than 11,000 Bv206 were built for worldwide sale.

• Air Warfare

  AUSA 2025: AeroVironment showcases new variant of Switchblade loitering munition family

  15th October 2025

  The new Switchblade 400 was on display alongside new variants of existing drones: the Switchblade 600 Block 2 and Switchblade 300 Block 20.

• Air Warfare

  Spanish Army’s VAMTAC drone acquisition progresses ongoing UAV investment

  16th June 2025

  Spain has made clear its intent to acquire a range of uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), including those that will form part of its wider VAMTAC programme, announced in June 2025.

• Air Warfare

  “Gloves are off” as US Defense Secretary memo calls for sweeping drone procurement reform

  14th July 2025

  US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has promised to usher in a new era of “military drone dominance”.

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2025: Still no order from British Army or Germany for RCH 155 Boxers

  11th September 2025

  The first customer for the RCH 155 artillery system on the Boxer platform is Ukraine, which has already started to take delivery of the first of 54 systems from KNDS Deutschland. There is still no contract from Germany or the UK, while Hanwha continues to say it can supply its K9 system at short notice.

• Digital Battlespace

  EID to unveil new vehicle communication system at DSEI

  30th June 2025

  The Portuguese company’s naval communications system is in service across more than a dozen countries. It has turned to its home nation for support in developing a new vehicle based C2 system.

• Land Warfare

  US Army to test droppable camera for perimeter security under the xTech programme

  12th May 2025

  Bounce Imaging’s Thermal Camera Spike is a rugged, deployable 360° surveillance tool.

• Defence Notes

  Canada to deepen integration of multi-domain capabilities to strengthen its defences

  11th December 2025

  The Canadian Department of National Defence has created new organisations to manage the procurement and integration of all-domain solutions and allocated US$258.33 million to strengthen production capacities.

• Land Warfare

  Supacat and KNDS join forces for British Army vehicle programme

  17th November 2025

  The Land Mobility Programme is the biggest UK opportunity for the next few decades if it all falls into place. Companies have been filling their dance cards as milestones approach in the hope they are not the mirages of the past.

• Air Warfare

  January Drone Digest: MALE, rotary-wing and loitering munition UAVs dominate early 2026

  27th January 2026

  The first month of 2026 has seen activity in the MALE, rotary-wing, and loitering munition UAV markets, with significant investments and commitments from Germany, Turkey, the UAE and the US. At the same time, questions over loitering munition performance in Ukraine highlight the growing scrutiny alongside rising demand.

• Naval Warfare

  US Coast Guard announces $350 million investment in robotics and autonomous systems

  26th September 2025

  The USCG will use part of this funding to acquire SkyDio X10D short-range uncrewed aircraft systems, VideoRay Defender remotely operated vehicles and Qinetiq Squad Packable Utility and mini-SPUR robots.

• Land Warfare

  Western Europe is looking to refresh its APC/IFV fleets with potential $41 billion spend

  4th December 2025

  As militaries across Western Europe continue to modernise their capabilities, there are some major potential opportunities in the requirement for armoured personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles.

• Land Warfare

  Drone wars: countries are looking for answers but do companies have the solutions?

  18th March 2026

  Manufacturers are speeding up their counter-drone development efforts as countries increasingly focus on procurements to provide battlefield and national protection.

• Land Warfare

  World Defense Show 2026: Rostec unveils new infantry fighting vehicle

  9th February 2026

  The latest infantry fighting vehicle from Rosoboronexport draws on experience from the war in Ukraine, and is designed to be more lethal and more survivable than its predecessors.

• 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.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  MQ-1 Gray Eagle [US Army]

  Background Required Quantity Although the US Army first envisioned a requirement for 132 MQ-1C Gray Eagles, the US Army's Army Acquisition Objective (AAO) was increased ...

• Main battle tanks

  NGCV: DLP

  Programme Background Requirement The DLP is one of five vehicle families being developed for the US Army's NGCV programme. Expanded to include five programmes in ...

• AGMV 1.1

  Programme Background The US Army has been seeking a lightweight, air-droppable, high mobility vehicle since as early as 2014, when it initiated its Ultra Light ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Heavy Lift VTOL (HVTOL) [US Army]

  Background USMC First, Army Second In September 2021, Kaman unveiled its Kargo UAV, specifically designed to meet the requirements of the Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial Resupply ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  AMPV [USA]

  Programme Background Platform Development The US Army initiated the AMPV programme to acquire a replacement for several variants of the M113 tracked APC, which has ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV Oshkosh Contract [US Army]

  Programme Background As of January 2021, the US DoD had signed 15 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 2) [US Army]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was intended to ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 1) [USA]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker (Sergeant Stout) [USA]

  Programme Background As part of the Army Transformation Initiative the US DoD is fundamentally reorganising the structure of the US Army. As part of this all Infantry ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow On

  Programme Background In March 2019, Airbus stated that it expected orders from the US Army for between 12 and 15 UH-72A helicopters. In March 2020, ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System (LMAMS) [US Army]

  Background First Contract In June 2011, the US awarded AeroVironment a $4.9 million series-production contract for the loitering munition, satisfying the US Army's Lethal Miniature ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) [Tranche 1] / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) (USA)

  Programme Background The Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) Programme The RPUAS programme will provide the Battalion and below-ground manoeuvre elements within the US Army with an ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Switchblade 300 (USA)

  Programme Background AeroVironment has been providing the Switchblade 300 loitering munition to the US Army under the long-standing Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile Systems (LMAMS) programme ...

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

  Group 4/5 UAV [US Army]

  Background Request for Information (RFI) On 5 June 2024, the American DoD published an RfI with an original response date of 19 July 2024. The ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  US Army Maneuver Support Vessel Light (MSVL)

  Programme BackgroundThe Maneuver Support Vessel (Light) or MSV(L) contract was awarded by the US Army to Vigor in 2017 and are being built to replace ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  US Army AVCATT PDSS

  L3Harris Technologies is the prime contractor for the US Army’s Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer (AVCATT) Post Deployment Software Support (PDSS) programme. L3Harris Technologies is ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  US Army Flight School XXI OFT/RCTD

  L3Harris Technologies is a major subcontractor to CSC on the US Army’s Flight School XXI (FSXXI) programme. L3Harris Technologies has built or is under contract ...

• Maritime patrol

  US-2

  The ShinMaywa US-2 is an amphibious short take-off and landing aircraft used primarily by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) for SAR. 

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  OH-58 Kiowa

  The single-engine OH-58 Kiowa, derived from the Bell 206, entered US Army service in 1969 as a light observation helicopter. More than 2,200 were built for ...

• Towed guns

  M198

  The US Army developed the M198 155mm towed howitzer from 1969 to replace the M114 155mm howitzer. From 1978, 1,600 weapons were built by Rock ...

• Towed mortars

  M120/M120A1

  The M120/M120A1 120 mm Towed Mortar System is a US-built version of the Soltam K6 mortar that was accepted into US Army service in 1990.

• Light tanks

  M10 Booker

  The US Army awarded General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) a contract worth US$1.14 billion to supply 96 light tanks under the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) ...

• JPT

  Designed for military applications, the Joint Platform Tablet (JPT) features a rugged design, including a military-grade aluminium case, dual-core processor, 128GB removable hard drive and ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72A/B Lakota

  In 2006, the US Army selected a version of the medium-sized, twin-engine H145, designated the UH-72A Lakota,  to meet its requirement for a new Light ...

• Armoured engineer vehicles

  M1150 ABV

  The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) project, launched by the USMC in 2002, is a joint programme to meet the requirements of both the US ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  RQ-7 Shadow 200

  The Shadow 200, designated RQ-7B by the US Army, is flown by the army brigade combat teams and combat aviation brigades along with the UAV ...

• REBS

  The Rapidly Emplaced Bridge System (REBS) is a 13m dry-gap bridge. It was designed by GDELS to meet a US Army requirement to provide a ...

• Land: Electronic Attack - Jamming

  AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III

  Sierra Nevada’s AN/PLQ-9 Thor-III is the standard Counter Improvised Explosive Device (CIED) manpack system in service with the US Army and US Marine Corps (USMC). ...

• DSB

  WFEL was selected in 1996 to develop the M18 Dry Support Bridge (DSB) for the US Army. The company designed, manufactured and integrated the DSB ...

• Individual grenade launchers

  M320 GLM

  The M320 Grenade Launcher Module (GLM) is a further development of the HK AG36 (see separate entry) to meet a US Army requirement. The M320 ...