• Land Warfare

  ACV deals emerge unscathed from Force Design 2030

  27th April 2020

  The USMC Force Design 2030 blueprint, which intends to reduce the number of amphibious vehicle companies from six to four, does not affect agreements with …

• Special Operations

  Dutch lift lid on Takuba plans

  7th May 2020

  The Netherlands’ Special Operations Command (NLD SOCOM) has disclosed to Shephard its planned contribution to Task Force Takuba - a European Combined Joint Special Operations …

• Defence Notes

  Germany's new law will allow faster defence procurement

  15th April 2020

  The German Armed Forces are counting on a new ally to help them overcome problems in buying urgently needed military equipment: the 'Law on Accelerated …

• Defence Helicopter

  First UK AH-64E Apache to arrive six months late

  14th May 2020

  The first of 50 UK-remanufactured AH-64E V6 Apache Guardian attack helicopters will arrive six months later than expected, Shephard has learned.   'A change in the development' …

• Digital Battlespace

  DARPA awards machine learning analytics contract to BAE Systems

  22nd April 2020

  BAE Systems has been awarded a new contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop machine learning analytics services as part of …

• Naval Warfare

  UK industrial prosperity key to Type 31 programme

  1st May 2020

  Strengthening the UK’s domestic maritime industry is a ‘key consideration’ of the supplier contract awards being determined by Babcock as part of the Type 31 …

• Defence Notes

  Finland bars defence officials after drawing HX consultant red line

  22nd April 2020

  A select number of former high-ranking military and political officials have been excluded from making direct contact, or acting in a negotiating capacity, with Finland’s …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Loyal Wingman takes up position

  5th May 2020

  Boeing has handed over the first prototype of a Loyal Wingman large multirole UAV to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), with the first flight expected …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  FTUAS competitors take heart from US Army adjustments

  29th April 2020

  The US Army has approved Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) competitors to video test flights and associated acceptance procedures of their respective systems, as an alternative …

• Naval Warfare

  COVID-19 prompts Poland to reassess naval plans

  30th April 2020

  The Polish MoD will have to reshape its Technical Modernization Plan and re-evaluate some of its procurement goals, due to the economic crisis that is …

• Land Warfare

  US M88A2 HERCULES to get AI upgrades

  24th March 2020

  Raytheon and Uptake have joined together to develop AI software for predictive maintenance of the BAE Systems M88A2 HERCULES in use by the US Marines. …

• Naval Warfare

  Audacious sets out for home base

  7th April 2020

  HMS Audacious, the fourth of seven Astute-class nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) for the Royal Navy, departed the BAE Systems facility at Barrow-in-Furness on 6 April, en route to …

• Land Warfare

  New OMFV plan seeks five-way contest to replace Bradley

  20th April 2020

  The US Army has unveiled details of its new competition for developing an Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV), including plans to entice foreign industry participation …

• Naval Warfare

  Latest pieces fit into the Type 31 frigate jigsaw

  29th April 2020

  The award by Babcock of the second batch of supply chain contracts for the Royal Navy’s planned Type 31 frigates has provided additional details and insight into …

• Defence Notes

  Virus left Q1 performance unaffected, says BAE Systems

  3rd April 2020

  BAE Systems has claimed there was ‘no material impact’ on its financial performance as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in Q1 2020. Although …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - MALE

  Skyborg [USA]

  Background Programme Intention Skyborg was one of three USAF Vanguard programs outlined in the Air Force Science and Technology 2030 initiative. The program aimed to develop ...

• Military UAS - mini

  FPV Drones [Lithuania]

  Background Ukraine FPV Drones On 5 April 2024, the Lithuanian MoD announced it would purchase around 3,000 Lithuanian-made FPV drones to give to Ukraine to ...

• Military UAS - small

  V-Bat [India]

  Background Make In India The ‘Make In India’ is an initiative by the Indian government to grow the domestic manufacturing industry. In the defence context, ...

• Military UAS - mini

  FPV Drones [Moldova]

  Programme Background Lithuanian Drones Lithuania's Minister of National Defense, Laurynas Kasciunas, announced that Lithuanian-produced thermal night vision devices and FPV drones had begun being delivered to Moldova during ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - mini

  FPV Drones (Ukraine Aid) [Lithuania]

  Background 3000 FPV Drones On 5 April 2024, the Lithuanian MoD announced it would purchase around 3,000 Lithuanian-made FPV drones to give to Ukraine to support ...

• Loitering munitions

  Seth-X and Anubis (Ukraine aid) [Germany]

  Background German-built, Ukraine-bound The Auterion Airlogix Joint Venture GmbH was established in February 2026 at the Munich Security Conference by the German company Auterion and ...

• Loitering munitions

  Seth-X and Anubis [Germany]

  Background German-built, Ukraine-bound The Auterion Airlogix Joint Venture GmbH was established in February 2026 at the Munich Security Conference by the German company Auterion and ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  IA-63 Pampa III (Follow-On) [Argentina]

  Programme Background After the previous procurement of six AI-63 Pampa III aircraft from 2018 and 2019 agreements, Argentina was left with a further need for 34 aircraft. ...

• Military UAS - small

  Penguin [Ukraine]

  Background Long-Standing Deal Red Wire announced in September 2025 that its wholly owned subsidiary, Edge Autonomy, had delivered additional aircraft from its Penguin uncrewed aerial system ...

• Military UAS - small

  Shield AI UAVs [Saudi Arabia]

  Background Reported talks Reporting from the World Defence Show (WDS) 2026, the Middle East Eye (MEE) noted that, according to two sources, Saudi Arabia was ...

• Military UAS - small

  Penguin C VTOL [Croatia]

  Background Announcment Redwire Corporation announced on 12 November 2025 that its wholly owned subsidiary, Edge Autonomy, had been contracted to deliver the Penguin C VTOL ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  KF-21 Loyal Wingman [South Korea]

  Background KF-21 Boramae Crewed Fighter The Republic of Korea’s Air Force (ROKAF) plans to acquire the KF-21 Boramae fighter, replacing F-4E Phantom II and F-5E/F fighters in the ROKAF. ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  X-Bat [Poland]

  Background Polish involvement Speaking in June 2026, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that Shield AI offered Poland a role in the X-Bat programme, with the ...

• Self-propelled guns

  Mobile Tactical Cannon [USA]

  Background The US Army began using the M777 in 1995. Since then, it has served as a field artillery piece providing fire support for American ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Group Unmanned Isr DronE (GUIDE) [Netherlands]

  Background Competition On 14 March 2025, the Netherlands announced a competition on the EU tendering website for the future procurement of 514 UAVs for intelligence, surveillance, ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Loitering munitions

  Viper 10

  The Viper 10 is a rotary-wing first-person view (FPV) drone from Baltic Viper. The loitering munition quadcopter has a 4kg payload, a reinforced communication system, and ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  Hivemind

  Developed by Shield AI, Hivemind is an ecosystem of tightly integrated AI software tools and interfaces that leverages several factors to deliver  intelligent and resilient autonomy ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Netra 5

  Launched at Aero India 2025, the Netra 5 is a rotary-wing UAV manufactured by ideaForge. It can host a 900g EO/IR camera and drop a ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - mini

  GA-10FPV-AI

  The GA-10FPV-AI is a Lithuanian FPV quadcopter drone manufactured by Granta Autonomy. The drone can carry a 3kg payload and operate in GNSS-denied environments. In September 2024, Granta Autonomy ...

• Military - USVs

  Liberty Class USV

  The Liberty is an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) designed by Blue Water Autonomy in partnership with Damen. The vessel operates with level four autonomy and ...

• Military UAS - micro

  TETTRON TM-450

  The Tettron TM-450 is a micro rotary-wing UAV manufactured by Thunder Tiger. The primary mission of the drone is to provide short-range reconnaissance (SRR), particularly ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  INTeACT

  Developed by BAE Systems, INTeACT is a next-generation combat management system for surface vessels with a dedicated software development kit (SDK). Notably, it includes AI-powered ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  Lattice

  Unveiled by Anduril in 2023, Lattice for Mission Autonomy is a hardware-agnostic, end-to-end software platform that enables teams of diverse robotic assets to collaborate under ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  Sea Dagger

  The Sea Dagger is a conceptual, optionally-crewed commando insertion craft (CIC) developed by Leidos. Leidos unveiled the design at DSEI 2025.  It was designed to ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  UAS Concept 1

  In July 2022, BAE Systems revealed two UAV concepts. The UAS Concept 1 is described as a small, versatile aircraft designed to augment existing forces ...

• Military - USVs

  Romulus

  The Romulus is an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) designed by Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII).  According to HII, the Romulus USV was designed as a force ...

• Military - USVs

  Cipher

  Cipher is an Autonomous Surface Vessel (ASV) designed by Saronic Technologies. It is intended for the movement of critical systems or cargo and, according to the ...

• Loitering munitions

  FWD-LM01

  The FWD-LM01 is a loitering munition unveiled by Flying Wedge Defence & Aerospace at the Paris Air Show 2025. The manufacturer states the drone is built for ...

• Military UAS - small

  Jump 20-X

  Unveiled at IDEX 2025, the Jump 20-X is an advancement of AeroVironment (AV)’s Jump 20 UAV. It is a small (Group 3), fixed-wing, VTOL-capable aircraft ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Nova 2

  The Nova 2 is a rotary-wing UAV designed by Sheild AI. The platform features Level 5 autonomy, allowing it to autonomously traverse complex domains without an operator's ...