• Defence Notes

  What will next-gen counter-UAS capabilities for the US look like?

  21st November 2025

  Future US counter-uncrewed aerial system solutions are likely to require a flexible, multi-layered approach to tackle a broad spectrum of new threats as they emerge.

• Naval Warfare

  Mitsubishi eyes future with Australia’s Mogami selection

  15th December 2025

  With Australia’s selection of the Mogami-class for Project Sea 3000, Mitsubishi is investigating local production in the next decade as potential export opportunities emerge.

• Defence Notes

  “Capital follows confidence” as defence courts private money

  24th September 2026

  Outside investment and the direction in which venture money flows may reveal what defence will buy years before formal programmes begin.

• Defence Notes

  How US Special Operations Forces are using AI to transform modern warfare

  29th May 2026

  USSOCOM is expanding the use of artificial intelligence, autonomous systems and human-machine teaming to improve decision-making, survivability and operational reach in contested environments.

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy to accelerate the replenishment of SM-6 stocks as demand continues to surge

  5th May 2026

  The Naval Sea Systems Command exercised a US$335 million modification to a contract with RTX Raytheon to support increasing the production of Standard Missiles 6 by 2030. Shephard spoke with the company president about how the company has scaled to meet demand.

• Naval Warfare

  Eurosatory 2026: Red Cat eyes South American market for USV-led EEZ surveillance

  18th June 2026

  Success with the US Army’s Black Widow programme may have strengthened Red Cat’s international position, but executives believe the next growth opportunity lies in uncrewed surface vessels.

• Land Warfare

  Polaris expands Arctic mobility offering as US military orders grow

  10th September 2026

  The Military 850 Voyageur 155 Crossover has secured orders from the US Army, Air Force and Marine Corps, addressing demand for agile Arctic mobility with passenger, cargo and towing capacity.

• Air Warfare

  How the US Air Force plans to use data analytics to enhance the roles of airmen and assets

  27th November 2025

  The USAF has allocated nearly US$500 million to further the deployment of this type of technology in FY2026. It envisions using analytics to enhance sensors, weapons, missiles and human performance.

• Air Warfare

  UH-60M Black Hawk: export demand underpins $13 billion market opportunity

  19th May 2026

  The UH-60M is the latest variant of the UH-60, a workhorse multirole helicopter that continues to attract further orders from across the globe. With further modernisation upgrades underway, the platform is expected to remain in operation until 2050.

• Land Warfare

  Rheinmetall’s Lynx XM30 to go to “shakedown testing” ahead of its delivery to the US Army

  8th May 2026

  The first Lynx XM30 platforms are in the final stages of construction and integration, to be handed over to the US Army in the coming months. Shephard caught up with Rheinmetall to find out more about the programme's progress.

• Naval Warfare

  US continues to review AUKUS submarine deal as HII ticks off new Virginia-class sea trials

  8th October 2025

  The initial sea trials for Virginia-class SSN 798 conducted by Newport News Shipbuilding division and the US Navy marked an “important step”, but the ongoing AUKUS review casts a shadow over what the progress means for the partner nations.

• Naval Warfare

  STM’s European wins strengthen Turkey’s naval credibility on the continent

  13th May 2026

  Turkish defence and engineering company STM is attempting to challenge Europe’s established naval primes by winning contracts from Portugal to Pakistan – with a business model built on working in any shipyard in the world.

• Land Warfare

  New uses for proven weapons: adapting the Chain Gun for CUAS

  5th October 2026

  Northrop Grumman’s M230LF Chain Gun is finding a growing role in countering uncrewed aerial systems, with the 30mm weapon already deployed to Ukraine and adopted by US forces.

• Land Warfare

  Oshkosh to reoffer its Joint Light Tactical Vehicle as US Navy issues an RfI

  29th May 2026

  Oshkosh Defense is positioning for a potential return to the JLTV programme after losing out to AM General in 2023, as the US Navy is considering options for 7,500 vehicles.

• Defence Notes

  Eurosatory 2026: Iran’s attacks on UAE have “accelerated” Edge’s plans, says company

  25th June 2026

  The UAE’s Edge has undergone massive changes since it was formed in 2019, from acquisitions to partnerships, and has now set up a European division in Paris.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - small

  Puma 3 AE (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Military Aid - $300 Million On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine to "bolster Urkaine's capacity ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1165 Special Ops HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HHMWV, or Humvee, has been in US service since 1983. The M1165A1B3 is a special operations variant of the platform.  In 2015, the US ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 300 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Presidential Drawdown (16 March 2022 & 13 April 2022) On 16 March 2022, President Biden announced $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine through ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 600 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background $300 Million USAI (1 April 2022) On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine following ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank [US]

  Programme Background As IAI stated in a 19 January 2023 press release, it had been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract by the Irregular Warfare Technical Support ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Puma LE [Kosovo]

  Background Contract Award On 21 January 2022, the US Department of Defence (DoD) announced that AeroVironment had been awarded an $11.01 million firm-fixed contract for Puma ...

• Loitering munitions

  ALTIUS-600M (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background On 24 February 2023, the US DoD announced that the Biden Administration had released an additional aid package under the Ukraine Security Assistance ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1152A1B2/M1165A1B3 HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HMMWV has been in US service since the 1980s. Despite the introduction of newer platforms, the US DoD continues to utilise the platform ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1165A1B3 HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HMMWV has been in US service since the 1980s. Despite the introduction of newer platforms, the US DoD continues to utilise the platform ...

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - small

  Puma 2 AE [Estonia]

  Programme Background The US DoD announced that it had awarded AeroVironment an $8.868 million firm-fixed-price contract to supply an undisclosed number of RQ-20B Puma AE ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS): Switchblade [US]

  Background DoD contract On 27 August 2024, the US DoD announced that AeroVironment had been awarded a ceiling of $990 million hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  ACV-30 PRTV [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. ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  XQ-58A Valkyrie [USMC]

  Programme Background Contract Award On 30 December 2022, the US DoD announced that it had awarded Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems a $15.52 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  TH-73 Advanced Helicopter Training System (AHTS) (TH-57 Replacement)

  Programme Background Contenders for the competition included the Leonardo single engine TH-119 – a military variant of the AW119Kx – and Bell’s newly upgraded single ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Pistols

  M9

  M9 is the US DoD designation for the military-specification 9mm Beretta 92FS, selected in 1985 to replace the 45cal M1911A1 in US service. Sales to ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  Igla/SA-18

  The 9K38 Igla (US DoD designation SA-18, NATO reporting name Grouse ) IR-homing MANPADS was developed by KBM and entered service in 1983 to meet the requirements ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank

  Point Blank Weapon System is a hand-launched electro-optical VTOL-capable loitering munition developed by Isreal Aerospace Industries (IAI). IAI has been awarded a contract by the US ...

• Military UAS - small

  ScanEagle 3

  Insitu unveiled the ScanEagle 3 at the Xponential exhibition in Denver in May 2018. The platform has twice the payload capacity of its ScanEagle predecessor ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  BAT-850

  Pathfinder's BAT-850 VSAT is a carbon fibre, tri-band terminal with auto-acquisition capability. Suitable for flyaway (case-based) and vehicle-mounted applications, it is in service with the ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  URC-300

  The URC-300 is a software-defined radio designed for line-of-sight, ground-to-air communications in particular. Introduced in 2020, it adheres to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards as well ...

• Air: aerial targets

  BQM-177A/i

  The BQM-177A subsonic aerial target (SSAT) was designed for the USN, and the BQM-177i is the export variant. The BQM-177 provides realistic threat emulation for ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Banshee Tactical Radio

  Developed by Fenix Group, the Banshee Tactical Radio (BTR) is a communications system that uses 4G/LTE connectivity to provide secure mesh networking capability on the ...

• Crew-served grenade launchers

  Striker 40/MK47

  General Dynamics is systems integrator for the Striker 40 (MK47 AGL in US service). The complete system comprises the weapon, AN/PWG-1 Lightweight Video Sight and ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  AN/ARC-231 Skyfire

  The AN/ARC-231 Skyfire is an airborne VHF/UHF/LOS and DAMA SATCOM system. This system supports US DoD requirements for airborne, multi-band, multi-mission, secure anti-jam voice, data ...

• Air-to-air missiles

  9M39 Igla-V

  The 9M39 Igla-V (‘needle’) is a Russian IR homing SAM adapted for helicopter use. It is an air-launched version of the Igla MANPADS, which the ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  Global Observer

  The AeroVironment Global Observer HALE UAV was a developmental HALE UAV designed for various civil, commercial and government applications.  Development of the platform began in 2007 ...

• Directed energy weapons

  CLWS

  Developed by Boeing, Compact Laser Weapon System (CLWS or CLaWS) is a medium-range, low-power laser C-UAS system. According to the reports, the CLWS prototype has ...

• Weapon sights for day use

  CompM4/M4s

  The US DoD has bought over one million Aimpoint sights since 1997. The US Army is now fielding the CompM4s as the latest version of ...

• Heavy machine guns

  M2HB

  US Ordnance is one of two US M2HB heavy machine gun manufacturers which has received multi-year contracts to supply weapons to the US DoD. The ...