• Land Warfare

  Finding the balance between armour and air defence as UAVs proliferate

  11th May 2026

  While the growing drone threat has sharpened the focus on air defence solutions, Dr Peter Magill looks at why protected mobility remains crucial.

• Air Warfare

  V-22 Osprey safety upgrade moves towards wider fleet installation under $35.5 million deal

  18th September 2026

  Bell Boeing will supply 73 additional ODSSHI kits as NAVAIR prepares to introduce predictive drive-system monitoring across US and Japanese V-22 fleets.

• Air Warfare

  US Navy moves EA-18G Growler Block II electronic-attack upgrade into full-rate production

  15th September 2026

  A US$184.25 million contract for Next Generation Electronic Attack Units advances the Growler’s modernisation as the US Navy confronts ageing systems, parts shortages and obsolescence.

• Land Warfare

  “Creating a decision advantage”: how C-UAS is evolving to reduce the operator burden

  1st September 2026

  In Conversation… Speaking to Shephard’s Gerrard Cowan, Dr Brian Shand, Director – Advanced Concepts & Technology at L3Harris, explains how, as operators face growing numbers of low-cost drones, C-UAS providers must focus on reducing operator workload, transforming fragmented sensor data into effective decision-making.

• Land Warfare

  Team Grenadier aims for success with the British Army’s LMV programme

  7th September 2026

  Team Grenadier has unveiled the latest variant of its Grenadier 4x4, which it hopes will win the Light Mobility Vehicle segment of the army’s Land Mobility Programme.

• Land Warfare

  Still no clarity on the future of the British Army’s new wheeled artillery system

  13th November 2025

  The UK donated its AS90 155mm/39cal tracked self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine ahead of planned retirement and bought Archer platforms to fill the gap. Eventually RCH 155s were ordered but the procurement effort remains under a cloud.

• Air Warfare

  Singapore Airshow 2026: Saab eyes “share” in future fighter market, targets 2027 CCA demo flight

  5th February 2026

  The Swedish government is expected to make a decision on the next steps of the Future Fighter System Concept programme by 2030, with the current second phase focusing on technology knowledge expansion and demonstration flights.

• Land Warfare

  February land forces roundup: ST Engineering and Russia lift the lid on new platforms

  27th February 2026

  This month we saw a major presence from Turkish, Russian and Chinese companies at the World Defense Show with new vehicles from major suppliers, while elsewhere there were evolving mortar programmes and artillery modernisation efforts.

• Air Warfare

  DSEI 2025: MBDA unveils Crossbow – a new deep strike one-way effector

  8th September 2025

  The One-Way Effector (Heavy) (OWE(H)) was designed over seven months, with the company currently in discussions to field demonstrations of the product by Q4 2025.

• Naval Warfare

  “We must end the mentality of ever larger platforms”: Why USVs are scaling

  30th April 2026

  Multiple USV programme milestones announced last week, aligned with a reinforcement of the Royal Navy’s vision for a hybrid fleet, point to innovation-led ambition but also to a structural calculation with resource ceilings that neither London nor Washington can ignore.

• Air Warfare

  BAE Systems’ UK Combat Air Demonstrator closes in on final assembly

  26th June 2026

  The first render for the demonstrator was unveiled in July 2025, with BAE Systems now aiming for the start of final assembly by the end of 2026 to prepare the aircraft for first flight by 2027.

• Air Warfare

  How defence sovereignty is driving middle power jet programmes

  25th May 2026

  While moving away from US-made equipment towards home-grown options is a rising preference for some countries, there are multiple hurdles to overcome to compete with the US’s expansive global footprint and dominance.

• Air Warfare

  Dubai Airshow 2025: Boeing emphasises uncrewed teaming capability plans for F-15EX

  17th November 2025

  The F-15EX is being promoted by the manufacturer as an ideal platform to pair with uncrewed systems.

• Air Warfare

  Rapid APKWS integration sparks “strong” demand from Typhoon customers

  24th June 2026

  The recent operational use and success of the APKWS laser-guidance kit on the UK RAF's Typhoons has driven demand from other Eurofighter customers for integration of the system on their own combat aircraft fleet, according to BAE Systems.

• Defence Notes

  How Canada plans to “seize” the opportunity to increase investments in defence

  25th September 2025

  The Canadian Department of National Defence has been increasing efforts to accelerate the acquisition of new equipment and modernise its in-service inventory.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - micro

  eBee Vision [US]

  Background Multiple orders In November 2025, the US Army acquired three eBee Vision systems to enhance training operations at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Germany. A ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | Invincible Class (Type 218SG) (5-6) [Singapore]

  In March 2025, the Singapore Ministry of Defence (Mindef) announced it would acquire two more submarines to complement its four Type 218SG Invincible-class submarines. Speaking to ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | Invincible Class (Type 218SG) (5-6) [Singapore]

  In March 2025, the Singapore Ministry of Defence (Mindef) announced it would acquire two more submarines to complement its four Type 218SG Invincible-class submarines. Speaking to ...

• Loitering munitions

  Small-Sized Suicide Drones [South Korea]

  Programme Background Drone Ambition As reported by Shephard, South Korea has ambitions to possess a large arsenal of drones. In May 2024, the presidential office ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  Next-Generation Air-Refueling System (NGAS) [USA]

  Background The U.S. Air Force originally planned the KC-Y programme as a follow-on acquisition of an estimated 179 tankers to bridge the gap between the delayed ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Switch V2 [India]

  Background June 2025 In June 2025, India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced the signing of 13 contracts under the Emergency Procurement (EP) mechanism. The procurements, ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  Wolf 2 (Batch 1) [Germany]

  Background The Wolf 2 was designed by Mercedes-Benz to replace the German Bundeswehr's ageing fleet of Wolf utility vehicles. The Bundeswehr is currently replacing its Wolf ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Type 707 (1-2) [Germany]

  Programme Background Requirements The German Navy approved an acquisition to start replacing the two ageing Rhön-class (Type 704) class single-hulled tankers, which were constructed in the ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  Wolf 2 (Batch 2) [Germany]

  Background The Wolf 2 was designed by Mercedes-Benz to replace the German Bundeswehr's ageing fleet of Wolf utility vehicles. The Bundeswehr is currently replacing its Wolf ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | Indonesian Interim Readiness Submarine Class (IRSC) Programme

  Following the sinking of KRI Nanggala in April 2021, the Indonesia Ministry of Finance (MoF) has granted approval to obtain up to $600 million in foreign loans ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | Indonesian Interim Readiness Submarine Class (IRSC) Programme

  Following the sinking of KRI Nanggala in April 2021, the Indonesia Ministry of Finance (MoF) has granted approval to obtain up to $600 million in foreign loans ...

• AEW&C

  GlobalEye [Canada]

  Background Canada and Sweden have been strengthening ties, particularly in defence, as middle powers continue to diversify their relationships due to increasingly strained relations with ...

• AEW&C

  E-7 Wedgetail (737) [UK]

  Programme Background Seeking to replace its six ageing Boeing E-3 Sentry AEW&C;, the British Royal Air Force awarded Boeing a £1.89 billion contract in 2019 covering the ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Puma IFV (Batch 1) [Germany]

  Background The Puma tracked IFV was developed by PSM, a joint venture between KMW and Rheinmetall, to replace the German Army's legacy Marder IFVs. In ...

• Corvettes

  Ada Class Corvettes (1-2) [Ukraine]

  Programme Background Timeline In October 2020, the MoD of Ukraine and the President of the Turkish Defence Industries signed a memorandum of understanding. This outlined ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Guided munitions

  LG-155

  Unveiled for the first time at Saha Expo 2024, the LG-155 is a 155 mm artillery round developed by Roketsan. This laser-guided projectile is engineered ...

• Directed energy weapons

  Oerlikon Laser Gun

  Rheinmetall showcased the applications for its High Energy Laser (HEL) guns for the first time at IDEX 2015 in Abu Dhabi. The Oerlikon Laser Gun ...

• Directed energy weapons

  Locust

  BlueHalo's Locust is a laser weapon system. The system delivers a complete kill chain, providing a layered and broadband detection capability that is coupled with electronic ...

• Light machine guns

  LSAT LMG

  Textron Systems Unmanned Systems is developing and maturing a Lightweight Small Arms Technologies (LSAT) family of weapons and ammunition with the US Army that fires ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - mini

  Attritable Multirotor First Person View (AM-FPV)

  Unveiled in May 2025, the Attritable Multirotor First Person View (AM-FPV) is a low-cost, rapidly deployable platform for strike and ISR missions, inspired by battlefield lessons from ...

• Land: COMINT and ELINT systems

  MEWS

  The Modular Electronic Warfare System (MEWS) is a land COMINT sensor that was jointly developed by L3 TRL and Qinetiq. Utilising L3 TRL compact receiver ...

• Land: fire control systems

  Oerlikon Skymaster

  Oerlikon Skymaster is the command and control unit of Rheinmetall's Skynex air defence system. The Skymaster is intended to support tactical and operational level air ...

• Land: air defence radar

  X-TAR 3D

  The X-Band Tactical Acquisition Radar 3D (X-TAR 3D) air surveillance and acquisition radar is the newest member of Rheinmetall’s X-TAR family. The fully coherent phased-array ...

• Land: COMINT and ELINT systems

  Smartscan- MEWS

  MEWS (Modular Electronic Warfare System) is a software-driven spectrum surveillance system covering two megahertz to three gigahertz. It is designed to detect, collect and geolocate ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  CM32/33/34 Yunpao

  The CM32 Yunpao (Cloud Leopard) family of 8x8 armoured vehicles has been developed to meet the requirements of the Republic of China Army to replace ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  SBTS

  The Shore-Based Sonar Training System (SBTS), launched in 2016, incorporates technology from the Model 997 Hull/Bow-Mounted Sonar Model 980 ALOFTS system to help support sonar ...

• Subsystems: visual

  Apogée 7

  Apogée 7 is an integrated COTS-based image generation system. It provides functions enhancing overall fixed- or rotary-wing simulation efficiency, image quality and supports large-area realistic ...

• Land: handheld NV devices

  NVS 7 Binocular Series

  Based on the NVS 7-3AG NVG, the NVS 7 Binocular Series uses Gen III auto-gated NV technology and is suitable for defence, marine and SAR ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lumberjack

  The Lumberjack is a one-way attack drone from  Northrop Grumman. The company describes the aircraft as a force multiplier. The drone follows an open systems architecture, ...

• Land: handheld NV devices

  Jaguar

  MKU's Jaguar 14 monoculars and Jaguar 7 binoculars have Gen III technology with military-grade Schott lenses. An automatic bright light cut-off sensor provides protection from ...