• Defence Notes

  Canada extends Iraq, Ukraine military training missions

  19th March 2019

  Canada's defence and foreign ministers jointly announced on 18 March 2019 the extensions of military training missions in Iraq and Ukraine. Both had been slated …

• Defence Notes

  Stoltenberg confirms Georgia 'will join NATO'

  25th March 2019

  NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has reiterated the bloc's commitment to grant the former Soviet Republic of Georgia eventual membership, despite Moscow's fierce opposition. He …

• Defence Notes

  Russia beefing up its Su-25SM3 fleet

  4th April 2019

  The Russian MoD has released a tender with a selected supplier to upgrade Su-25 attack aircraft to the significantly enhanced Su-25SM3 standard for day/night operations, …

• Naval Warfare

  First Improved Kilo for the Russian Pacific Fleet launched

  31st March 2019

  The Admiralteyskye Verfy shipyard near St Petersburg, Russia, launched the first Project 636.3 Improved Kilo-class diesel-electric attack submarine for the Russian Pacific Fleet on 28 …

• Special Operations

  NATO holds SOF Commander’s Conference

  2nd April 2019

  The latest NATO Special Operations Forces Commander’s Conference was hosted by the Irish Defence Forces’ Army Ranger Wing (ARW) in Dublin between 25-27 March.Organized by …

• Defence Notes

  NATO confirms plans for US military storage in Poland

  26th March 2019

  NATO on 23 March 2019 confirmed it plans a storage facility for US military equipment in Poland, as the alliance steps up its defences in …

• Land Warfare

  Myanmar gets ready for BTR-4 production

  13th March 2019

  Myanmar and Ukraine have created a JV for the former to assemble BTR-4U 8x8 armoured vehicles and 2S1U Gvozdika tracked SPHs, although both governments remain …

• Defence Notes

  Germany adds six months to Saudi arms export ban

  29th March 2019

  German Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government on 28 March 2019 extended by six months an embargo on weapons exports to Saudi Arabia, instituted last October …

• Digital Battlespace

  India's ASAT test reflects space race

  1st April 2019

  India’s Mission Shakti, an anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test carried out on 27 March by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), makes it the fourth …

• Naval Warfare

  Submarine contracts highlight importance of forward planning

  28th March 2019

  If the fiscal focus for March 2019 in the US began with the Trump administration’s FY2020 budget request, attention as the days slide towards April …

• Defence Notes

  Joint NATO drills kick off in Georgia

  18th March 2019

  Georgian and NATO forces launched joint military exercises on 18 March 2019 as part of the ex-Soviet country's bid to win membership in the 29-nation …

• Defence Notes

  Asia-Pacific dominates global defence spending

  14th March 2019

  Asia-Pacific nations figure prominently on the recently released list of top defence importers from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Indeed, the region is …

• Naval Warfare

  India to lease second Akula sub from Russia

  8th March 2019

  The Indian government reached a more than $3 billion agreement with Russia on 7 March regarding the lease of a third nuclear-powered attack submarine. However, …

• Defence Notes

  Modi declares India 'space superpower' as satellite downed by missile

  28th March 2019

  India said it had destroyed a low-orbiting satellite in a missile test that proved the nation was among the world's most advanced space powers. In …

• Land Warfare

  Asia predicted to be largest AFV market in 2019-29 period

  21st March 2019

  In its ‘Complete Market Report and Forecast on Armoured Vehicles 2019-29’ that was published earlier this month, Shephard Plus predicts that countries in the Asia-Pacific …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, 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 ...

• Tanks

  T-90S (Saudi Arabia)

  Programme Background.  The status of the Saudi Arabian T-90 deal is unclear, it is possible that these tanks may be purchased to replace stocks of ...

• Loitering munitions

  ZT-180 [Russia]

  Programme Background Claims On 23 February 2023, DER SPIEGEL reported that, according to information it had gathered, China and Russia were negotiating the purchase of 100 ZT-180 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Shahed-136 [Russia]

  Programme Background Iran's Involvement On 11 July 2022, according to US intelligence, Jake Sullivan, US National Security Advisor, announced during a statement that the Iranian ...

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

  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 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, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  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 UAS - rotary-wing, 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, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  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 - fixed-wing, 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 ...

• Tanks

  Leopard 2A8 [Germany]

  Programme 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 ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | E-7 Wedgetail - UK (Second Order)

  The UK MoD signed a £1.51 billion ($1.98 billion) deal to purchase five E-7 Wedgetail aircraft from Boeing for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in ...

• Data links

  Data links | E-7 Wedgetail - UK (Second Order)

  The UK MoD signed a £1.51 billion ($1.98 billion) deal to purchase five E-7 Wedgetail aircraft from Boeing for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | E-7 Wedgetail - UK (Second Order)

  The UK MoD signed a £1.51 billion ($1.98 billion) deal to purchase five E-7 Wedgetail aircraft from Boeing for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | E-7 Wedgetail - UK (Second Order)

  The UK MoD signed a £1.51 billion ($1.98 billion) deal to purchase five E-7 Wedgetail aircraft from Boeing for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Supercam S350/S350F

  The Supercam S350/S350F is a mini fixed-wing that Supercam Unmanned Systems Group manufactures. The Russian UAV features a modular design and has been primarily designed ...

• 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 ...

• 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, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  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 ...

• 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-136

  The Shahed-136 is an Iranian loitering munition. The aircraft has a delta-wing configuration and is launched through a Rocket-Assist Take-off (RATO) method. Russia operates the platform and ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 USSR.

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

  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 ...

• Transport

  An-22

  The largest transport aircraft of the time, the An-22 Antei (NATO reporting name Cock) is a heavy military transport aircraft developed by Antonov in the ...