• Air Warfare

  Embraer bets on US manufacture C-390 Millennium as incentive to lower US tariffs

  5th August 2025

  While Embraer’s Q2 results were not affected by US tariffs and it managed to avoid US President Donald J Trump's additional 40% tariff rate on Brazil, the 10% tariff rate still remains.

• Air Warfare

  Embraer and Denel to explore working on C-390 Millennium

  7th April 2025

  The South African aerospace and defence company has signed an MoU with Embraer to collaborate on manufacturing the aircraft as well as MRO work for the C-390 Millennium.

• Air Warfare

  Bayraktar TB2: The $4.11 billion market success of a cost-effective MALE UAV

  22nd January 2026

  The success of the Bayraktar TB2 stems from it fulfilling a niche of providing reasonable capabilities at a low cost, leading to its acquisition by more than 30 countries including many in Africa; but there are reasons to be cautious about its potential future prospects.

• Land Warfare

  Lockheed Martin builds first Saudi Arabian THAAD components

  12th May 2025

  The THAAD launcher was first procured by Saudi Arabia in 2017, with local production a key condition of the sale.

• Land Warfare

  US DoD task force’s DroneHunter acquisition lays groundwork for Replicator 2 CUAS strategy

  2nd February 2026

  As the US Department of Defense looks to counter the growing threat of uncrewed aerial systems to improve homeland security, the DroneHunter acquisition could point to future commercial innovation.

• Air Warfare

  US combat drone plan rushes forward with first flight and selection in FY2026

  29th August 2025

  The US Department of Defence (DoD) previously selected Anduril Industries and General Atomics to develop production-representative prototypes under the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) programme. A competitive Increment 1 production decision is expected in FY2026.

• Air Warfare

  Spain air report: Demand builds with $19.7 billion up for grabs in unawarded contracts

  29th January 2026

  Despite Spain’s modest GDP spend on defence, the country still has a range of fixed-wing and UAV programme requirements as yet unawarded, with a potential US$3.10 billion set to be spent over the next decade.

• Naval Warfare

  Can the West keep up with China’s “XXL” uncrewed submarines?

  12th January 2026

  The UK, the US and Australia have all been working on “extra-large” uncrewed underwater vehicles, but China’s reported development of a significantly larger capability demonstrates the country’s rapid advancement in underwater warfare.

• Air Warfare

  Uncertainty remains as Trump boasts F-55 and F-22 Super aircraft programmes

  19th May 2025

  While details are light after the President’s comments, the US Air Force (USAF) has long needed to boost its fighter aircraft capabilities, according to USAF and analyst viewpoints.

• Air Warfare

  Collins Aerospace wins $80 million contract for US Army Black Hawk avionics upgrade

  19th March 2025

  The US$80 million contract will provide the US Army Black Hawk helicopters with faster and more flexible technology on the battlefield, with upgrade work “actively” ongoing.

• Land Warfare

  South Korean defence industry demonstrates its tech prowess

  6th November 2024

  Shephard takes a deep dive into the latest developments in the South Korean defence sector as the country arms itself to deal with current and future threats.

• Naval Warfare

  Indo Pacific 2025: Autonomous systems reigned but can the Australian Defence Force afford it?

  17th November 2025

  Multiple autonomous systems and technologies were on display at this year’s Indo Pacific, but questions remain over how the Australian Department of Defence will balance the books.

• Land Warfare

  Israel’s Elbit Systems riding high and reports almost a billion dollars in orders to close 2024

  23rd December 2024

  Elbit Systems has signed another US$967 million in orders in the past three months after reporting its land revenues increased by 24% for 3Q2024 compared to 3Q 2023 thanks to increasing ammunition and munition sales in Israel.

• Land Warfare

  Lockheed picks Australian site for GMLRS support and possible missile manufacture

  20th August 2025

  A final decision on the siting of an Australian Weapons Manufacturing Complex (AMWC), which will produce all-up GMLRS (Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System) rounds, will be made by the Australian Department of Defence (DoD).

• Land Warfare

  Malaysia advances armoured modernisation with $435 million Tarantula vehicle deal

  23rd May 2025

  Mildef International Technologies will supply high-mobility armoured vehicles featuring systems from Aselsan under a new strategic agreement.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Intra-Theatre Lift [UK]

  On 27 June 2022, the MoD released a request for information (RFI) for a long-reach intra-theatre lift UAV. The RfI stated that the MOD had identified a ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Intra-Theatre Lift [UK]

  On 27 June 2022, the MoD released a request for information (RFI) for a long-reach intra-theatre lift UAV. The RfI stated that the MOD had identified a ...

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

  MALE UAV [Argentina]

  Background Requirement Argentina has an outstanding requirement for a MALE class UAV to conduct ISR operations in Argentina airspace and along the country's long coastline. ...

• Loitering munitions

  Harop [Morocco]

  Programme Background In November 2021, Haaretz reported that a $22 million drone sale between Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Morocco had occurred. That publication and ...

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

  Heron TP [India]

  Programme Background Emergency Procurement The Narendra Modi-led Indian government granted the Armed Forces Rs 500 crores to upgrade their warfighting capabilities due to the ongoing ...

• Loitering munitions

  Mini Harpy [Estonia]

  Programme Background Russia's Aggression In February 2023, Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said the country was set to procure loitering munitions to enhance its indirect ...

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munitions [Japan]

  Programme 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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Testing Loitering Munitions [Germany]

  Background Three Tested Models In April 2023, Germany reportedly ordered three different loitering munition systems to assess further their suitability for use by the German Armed ...

• Loitering munitions

  Harop (Amphibious Transport Ships) [Netherlands]

  Programme Background Multifunctional Support Vessels In September 2024, the Dutch MoD announced that the Royal Netherlands Navy would receive two new Multifunctional support vessels from Dutch ...

• Loitering munitions

  Harop [Israeli Navy]

  Programme Background MADEX 2023 At MADEX 2023, IAI displayed the Mini-Harpy, dubbed the Green Dragon, loitering munition in a 12-system launcher mounted to an Israel ...

• Military UAS - small

  Intra-Theatre Lift [UK]

  Background  Relationship to the Heavy Lift Challenge The Royal Navy (RN) embarked on the Heavy Lift Challenge, now called the Heavy Lift Capability (UASHLC), to explore cargo-carrying ...

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

  Orbiter 3 (Croatia)

  Programme Background The Croatian government launched a competitive tender for the procurement of a short-range UAV in October 2017. Although the tender was opened on ...

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

  Artillery UAV [Thailand]

  Programme Background Requirement & Replacement The Royal Thai Army (RTA) was understood to be seeking a new tactical UAV to replace four legacy Israel Aerospace Industries ...

• Loitering munitions

  Mini-Harpy [Israeli Navy]

  Programme Background MADEX 2023 At MADEX 2023, IAI displayed the Mini-Harpy, dubbed the Green Dragon, loitering munition in a 12-system launcher mounted to an Israel Navy Sa'ar 6 ...

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

  MALE UAV [South Korea]

  Background Origins & Existing Requirement The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA) recognised the need to procure an MALE ISR UAV in the aftermath of the North ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military - UUVs

  BlueWhale

  BlueWhale is an autonomous uncrewed underwater vessel (UUV) developed by Israel's Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

• Air: COMINT and ELINT systems

  ELL-8385

  Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) ELL-8385 is an integrated electronic support measure designed to equip Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). Open source imagery intelligence indicates that the ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Rotem

  The Rotem, or Rotem L, is a loitering munition based on a multi-rotor UAV. Manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the quadcopter features an EO/IR camera payload ...

• Heavy UGVs

  RobDozer

  The RobDozer, or Panda, is an uncrewed ground combat engineering system manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and ELTA Systems.  The UGV is designed for breaching tasks, ...

• Loitering munitions

  ASN-301

  The ASN-301 is a Chinese anti-radiation loitering munition. Likely based on Israel's Harpy drone, the ASN-301 features a delta-wing configuration and a pusher propeller, and ...

• Anti-ship missiles

  Gabriel IV

  The Gabriel IV is a significant advancement in the Gabriel family of anti-ship missiles. It incorporates a jet engine, enabling over-the-horizon (OTH) attack capabilities and ...

• Air: COMINT and ELINT systems

  ELI-3120

  Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) ELI-3120 is a Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) system designed for use at the operational and tactical levels. The ELI-3120 architecture also includes ...

• Air: COMINT and ELINT systems

  ELK-7071

  Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) EL/K-7071 is an integrated electronic support measure designed to equip UAVs. While not explicitly stated by the system’s manufacturer, it is ...

• Loitering munitions

  Kargi (Improved)

  At ADEX 2022, Lentatek unveiled a new, as-yet-unnamed version of the Kargi loitering munition.  Instead of Kargi's radio frequency (RF) seeker, this new version features an under-nose EO/IR ...

• Heavy UGVs

  RobARC

  The RobARC, or Sahar, is a military UGV manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). The UGV's payload comprises a variety of sensors, allowing the Sahar to detect above-ground, ...

• Heavy UGVs

  RoBattle

  The RoBattle, or LR3, is a six-wheeled military UGV developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).  Intended to assist troops engaged in mobile operations, it is a ...

• Medium Range Missile Defence Systems: 20-90km range, Self-propelled missile systems

  ABISR

  The ABISR is a medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), introduced around 2017.  ABISR is a more compact and mobile counterpart ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM, Data links

  ELK-1891 SATCOM

  The ELK-1891 is a full duplex X- or Ku-band SATCOM network, intended for uninterrupted mid-rate OTH communications (eg voice, data, compressed video). Each subscriber port ...

• Air: COMINT and ELINT systems

  ELI-3001 AISIS

  Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) ELI-3001 Airborne Integrated Signals Intelligence System equips the Israeli Air Force’s (IAF) three Gulfstream G-550 Shavit SIGINT aircraft. IAI’s official literature ...

• Short Range Missile Defence Systems: 0 to 20 km range

  SPYDER-SR

  Rafael Advanced Defense Systems developed the SPYDER-SR (Short-Range) air defence system with support from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to provide rapid-response, all-weather protection against various ...