• Air Warfare

  How the US Air Force is improving C2 and connectivity in contested logistics scenarios

  9th August 2023

  Preparing multi-capable airmen to perform various tasks in multiple contexts is a main USAF goal to improve logistics efforts.

• Digital Battlespace

  Rafael demonstrates BNET tactical communications for Romanian special forces

  13th July 2023

  Rafael showcased the capabilities of its BNET communications system to Romanian special forces in an effort to demonstrate real-time battle management and information gathering in complex operational environments.

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2023: BAE Systems readies new versions of Armored Multi Purpose Vehicle with European exports in mind

  13th September 2023

  BAE Systems is displaying the US Army's Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle at DSEI for the first time and is evolving new variants with an eye on the European M113 APC replacement market .

• Training

  Textron completes T-6C Texan II deliveries to Tunisia

  17th August 2023

  The eighth and last Beechcraft T-6C Texan II aircraft has arrived in support of Tunisian Air Force pilot training at No 13 Squadron at Sfax Air Base in Tunisia.

• Air Warfare

  Test flights begin of Israeli Oron CAEW aircraft

  29th August 2023

  Israel has begun test flights of its new Oron Conformal Airborne Early Warning (CAEW) ISR aircraft, the Israeli Ministry of Defence announced on 27 August.

• Land Warfare

  US Army receives first 20 IVAS headset prototypes from Microsoft

  3rd August 2023

  The IVAS embedded training tool provides soldiers with objective-based scenarios and battle drills through holographic and mixed-reality (MR) imagery.

• Naval Warfare

  DSEI 2023: Kongsberg Maritime unveils new Mission Bay Handling System

  14th September 2023

  Kongsberg Maritime unveiled its new Mission Bay Handling System at DSEI 2023 and has signed a contract to supply Kamewa waterjets for 17 Jurmo-class landing craft for the Finnish Navy.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Ukraine approves artifiicial intelligence-enabled Saker drone for use in combat

  8th September 2023

  The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence has greenlit the Saker Scout drone complex, featuring advanced AI-driven target detection and engagement capabilities, for combat deployment.

• Land Warfare

  Insight: Why the CV90 infantry fighting vehicle is making a clean sweep of Nordic markets

  19th September 2023

  Shephard Defence Insight explores the evolution of BAE Systems Hägglunds’ CV90 IFV from its inception in the late 1980s to the latest CV90 MkIV, detailing the order history and upgrade packages of its ten European customers.

• Air Warfare

  Teal Drones boosted by order for more by USAF Security Forces and ID certification from FAA

  23rd August 2023

  Teal Drones has had its order book for USAF Security Forces doubled, and its Teal 2 UAS has received Remote ID certification. The latter meaning the platform can provide identification and location information, a requirement for operation in US airspace from next month.

• Air Warfare

  Azerbaijan's integral role in Turkish TF-X Kaan fighter programme strengthens defence capabilities and strategic ties

  2nd August 2023

  'By involving Azerbaijan [in the TF-X Kaan programme], Türkiye can potentially share the financial burden of the project, leading to cost savings and economic advantages for both countries,' team lead for government contracting at Tusas Engine Industries tells Shephard.

• Naval Warfare

  Pakistan Navy renewal gathers pace as new OPV launched

  20th September 2023

  The launch of the first of a new pair of Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) for the Pakistan Navy (PN) on 12 September indicates an acceleration in the modernisation of the service as it introduces new ships into service.

• Air Warfare

  DSEI 2023: Leonardo UK bolsters Yeovil site in preparation for New Medium Helicopter programme

  15th September 2023

  'For us, it’s building helicopters, not just assembling. It’s not only about NMH but about enduring social value in terms of exports from the UK,' Leonardo UK told Shephard at DSEI 2023.

• Air Warfare

  Saab buys UK AI company BlueBear with drone swarms and crewed-uncrewed teaming in mind

  31st August 2023

  Saab has purchased UK AI company BlueBear which gives the Swedish company a substantial boost in the field of AI and swarming technology at a time when both areas are burgeoning and increasingly coming to the attention of militaries worldwide.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Integer Technologies completes at-sea testing of UUV digital twin prototype

  24th August 2023

  Integer Technologies has successfully completed at-sea testing of its UUV digital twin prototype, a DARPA SBIR Phase 2 project, aiming to improve undersea communication and decision-making for UUV missions.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Medium UGVs

  Medium Modular Equipment Transport Trailer (M-METT) [USA]

  Background Whilst there are many medium UGV programmes developing concepts for last-mile resupply problems, the US Army's M-METT programme aims to provide an uncrewed logistics ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-2 [Japan]

  Programme Background The UH-2 is a Japanese militarised version of Bell’s civilian 412EPX, with the two OEMs cooperating on this particular programme. The Acquisition, Technology ...

• Trainer

  T-6C [Thailand]

  Programme Background The contract is for 12 Beechcraft T-6C Texan II advanced military training aircraft, ground-based training systems for pilots and maintenance professionals, a mission ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Surion Marine Attack Helicopter [South Korea]

  Programme Background The ROKMC has planned to obtain 24 attack helicopters for the first time. When bidding opened in January 2019, there were five contenders: Bell ...

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

  KUS-FT (South Korea)

  Programme Background Requirement The ROKA had identified a need for tactical UAVs that can be employed at the divisional level to carry out ISTAR missions ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  FPV Drones [Israel]

  Background Reported Programme According to the Globes media outlet, reporting in March 2025, the Ministry of Defense Department of Production and Procurement was publishing the ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2 [Croatia]

  Background Contract Award As reported by Shephard in November 2024, Croatia's government approved the purchase of six Bayraktar TB2 drones, a training package in Türkiye, a command-and-control centre, ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  RQ-4 Global Hawk [South Korea]

  Background Requirments Seoul required UAS assets to help monitor its neighbour to the north and, increasingly, Chinese activities in waters and in the air near ...

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

  KUS-FS [South Korea]

  Programme Background Inception The Aerospace Division of Korean Air (KAL-ASD) commenced developing the MUAV in 2008 in response to a ROKAF requirement for a MALE UAV ...

• Loitering munitions

  Long Range One-way Platforms [US]

  Solicitation In October 2024, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) released a solicitation for long-range, one-way platforms. The DIU noted recent conflicts highlighted the asymmetric impact of low-cost, ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  RQ-4 Global Hawk [Japan]

  Background Selection and contract award In 2015, Northrop Grumman’s RQ-4 Global Hawk UAS and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft were selected by Japan ...

• Wheeled assault guns

  Type 16 Mobile Combat Vehicle [Japan]

  Programme Background The Type 16 Manoeuvre Combat Vehicle (MCV), formerly known as the Mobile Combat Vehicle, was developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) to meet ...

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

  Eurodrone (Forecast) [Czechia]

  Programme Background Eurodrone Programme For context, the European MALE RPAS, or Eurodrone, is a quad-nation effort from some of Europe's most prominent defence manufacturers to ...

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

  Eurodrone (Forecast) [Japan]

  Programme Background Japan's Application The Letter of Approval (LOA) for observer status in the programme was presented to the Japanese Ambassador to Germany, Hidenao Yanagi, by Joachim ...

• ISR/special mission

  ISTAR Aircraft - India

  Programme Background New Delhi has a long standing requirement for ISTAR aircraft to increase the IAF's capability to track mobile ground targets, map natural disaster areas, ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Land: COMINT and ELINT systems

  GenCOM Defense Ground

  GenCOM Defense Ground provides an automatic multi-layered situational awareness picture to the decision-maker, based on external signal data (metadata) gathered in real time. Integrating with ...

• Major networking projects

  DCGS

  The Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) is the Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office plan for the integrated architecture of all ground and surface computing and communications ...

• EO/IR systems

  CM262

  Manfuaucted by AVT Australia, the CM262 is a ground-based imaging system combining four sensor configurations into a compact and ruggedised system for C-UAS and ISR ...

• Land: air defence radar

  KRONOS Power Shield Land

  This system is an L-band digital AESA anti-TBM radar. It is the land-based version of the naval KRONOS Power Shield, also known as KRONOS Ground ...

• AEW&C

  P600 AEW&C

  In June 2019, Embraer and IAI/Elta signed a cooperation agreement aimed at developing an AEW&C; aircraft based on the business jet Praetor 600, namely the ...

• Land: battle management systems

  AMDWS

  AMDWS (Air and Missile Defense Work Station), is a collaborative battlespace awareness information management system developed by Northrop Grumman to meet the requirements of the ...

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

  Initial Maneuver - SHORAD

  Unveiled at AUSA 2019, Initial Maneuver Short Range Air Defense (IM-SHORAD) is a multipurpose platform, based on the Stryker IFV, which moves and maneuvers in ...

• Land: battle management systems

  FAAD/C-RAM C2

  The Forward Area Air Defense (FAAD) Command and Control (C2) system was developed by Northrop Grumman to provide command and control (C2) for the US Army ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Airborne Launching and Attack System (AirLAS)

  The Airborne Launching and Attack System (AirLAS) is a system that pairs Diehl Defence's IRIS-T air-to-air missile with a reusable carrier UAV developed by POLARIS. The companies ...

• Data links

  Universal Link System

  Developed by Scytalys, the Universal Link System (ULS) is a modular, scalable multi data link processor. It supports all NATO and US standard data links ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  MIM-72 Chaparral

  The MIM-72 Chaparral is a short-range, low-altitude, surface-to-air missile produced for the M48 Chaparral fire unit. It was produced as a replacement for the cancelled MIM-46 Mauler ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-67

  The AN/APG-67 is a multi-mode, pulse-Doppler X-band radar designed for the Northrop F-20 Tigershark. It provides both air-to-air and air-to-surface capabilities, including look-up/look-down detection, tracking, ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  Dzhigit

  Dzhigit is a two-barrel, pedestal air defence missile launcher intended for single or salvo launches of Igla family surface-to-air missiles. Developed in the 1990s, the Dzhigit ...

• Cannons, Naval guns

  M230LF Chain Gun

  The M230LF is a 30mm chain-driven autocannon developed by Northrop Grumman. It is a more capable version of the M230 cannon used on the Apache ...

• Land: battle management systems

  Delta Situational Awareness System

  The Delta Situational Awareness System is a cloud-based ISTAR and battle management platform with planning, communication and fire control capabilities according to NATO standards. Developed ...