• 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 …

• 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 …

• 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

  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 …

• 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, …

• 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 …

• Land Warfare

  Russia unveils a new counter-ATGM system

  14th March 2019

  Russian weapons system development specialist, TsNIItochmash has unveiled its latest armoured vehicle self-protection system. It was initially made to equip the 2S42 Lotos self-propelled gun …

• Naval Warfare

  Russia to commission two nuclear-powered submarines in 2019

  18th March 2019

  The Russian Navy is set to induct two newly-built nuclear-powered submarines in 2019, indicating that while Russia’s shipbuilding capability has declined it is still able …

• Digital Battlespace

  Russian military to take new rocket

  13th March 2019

  The new S-8OFP Broneboishtik air-launched rocket with an armour-penetrating/fragmentation warhead has been reported to have completed its exhaustive state testing effort in Russia. According to …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Russia to field a new target drone system

  15th March 2019

  The Russian MoD is set to launch in April the state flight testing of the new 9F6021 Adyutant aerial target system. Developed by Izhevsk-based Kupol, …

• Defence Notes

  Belgrade continues beefing up its MiG-29 fleet

  11th March 2019

  The Serbian MoD has taken over the ownership of four MiG-29 fighters donated by the government of Belorussia. The handover ceremony for the jets was …

• Defence Notes

  Trump seeks $33 billion hike in US DoD budget

  12th March 2019

  The US DoD would receive $718 billion in FY2020, a $33 billion or 5% increase from the FY2019 enacted level, under the Trump administration’s newly …

• Defence Notes

  Germany extends Saudi arms export freeze till end of March

  7th March 2019

  Germany on 6 March 2019 extended a temporary, disputed ban on arms exports to Saudi Arabia, but only until the end of the month.In October, …

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 ...

• Main battle 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]

  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 drones, ...

• 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 ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | Russian Aircraft Carrier Programme

  Russia currently has one aircraft which is nonoperational which the need for a new aircraft carrier at the heart of the Russian naval modernisation programme. ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | Russian Aircraft Carrier Programme

  Russia currently has one aircraft which is nonoperational which the need for a new aircraft carrier at the heart of the Russian naval modernisation programme. ...

• 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 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 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 - 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 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 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 ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Spartan SUT [Russia]

  Programme Background Despite international sanctions following the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Streit Group vehicles are believed to have continued to make their way into ...

• 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 ...

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, 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 ...

• 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

  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 ...

• 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.

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Artillery rockets

  9M55

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

• 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 ...

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

  Orion / Orion-E

  The Orion, sometimes called the Inokhodets, is the first Russian-manufactured MALE UAV that has been designed to carry out a wide variety of military surveillance applications. Russia has ...

• Guided munitions

  Kvitnyk/Kvitnik-E 152mm

  The development of the Kvitni 152mm guided artillery shell traces back to the early 2000s, with its first public revelation occurring in 2001. This high-precision ...