• Land Warfare

  UK agrees parallel development and production process for British Army Challenger 3

  23rd January 2026

  In a bid to accelerate delivery of the British Army’s Challenger 3 main battle tank, which has just carried out its first crewed firings with the latest Rheinmetall 120mm L55A1 smoothbore gun, the UK has opted for an unconventional approach.

• Land Warfare

  Rheinmetall looks to international partners as its sales grow

  6th November 2025

  Rheinmetall has been riding high for several years as countries look to buy artillery and budgets boom.

• Land Warfare

  Rheinmetall signs $521 million agreement for ammunition as it plans factory in Latvia

  30th September 2025

  Rheinmetall has been increasing its production capacity since 2022 and aims to be able to produce up to 1.5 million 155mm artillery shells annually by 2027.

• Land Warfare

  Land forces review: Tanks, trucks and IFVs dominate but woes remain for Ajax

  29th January 2026

  This year has begun with main battle tanks taking the lead while orders for large logistics and support vehicles continued from last year. Additionally, two of the British Army’s most significant contracted vehicle programmes, Ajax reconnaissance vehicle and Challenger 3 tank, continued to make news in January.

• Land Warfare

  Rheinmetall and KNDS tank tie-up narrows trans-European options

  18th December 2025

  The French and German governments signed an agreement in June 2018 to cooperate on the development of a new main battle tank under the Main Ground Combat System programme but the effort has struggled. This new agreement may damage it further.

• Land Warfare

  DOK-ING presents CUAS MV-8 armed with Valhalla Mangart 25 turret

  30th October 2025

  The partnership between Croatia’s DOK-ING and Slovenia’s Valhalla Turrets reflects an effort to combine ground robots and with improved capabilities and new roles and follows Rheinmetall presenting its Ox with Dispatch charging docks from Valinor.

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2025: First mobility trials completed for British Army Challenger 3 tanks

  11th September 2025

  The mobility trials saw the Challenger 3 main battle tank (MBT) tested at a variety of locations in the UK, covering a combined 760km across a variety of terrains including road and cross country.

• Land Warfare

  Hundreds of Boxers with Puma turrets ordered for Dutch and German forces

  21st October 2025

  The order is for 270 vehicles, 222 of which are infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) known as Schakal (Jackal), which integrates the advanced Puma IFV RCT30 turret onto the Boxer chassis.

• Defence Notes

  Details revealed on Germany’s big spending plans

  28th October 2025

  In May this year, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the government plans to position Germany as “Europe's strongest conventional army”. A new blueprint outlines how this is going to occur through massive investment.

• Land Warfare

  EOS improving Slinger CUAS role as industry pushes forward

  28th October 2025

  EOS Defence Systems officially launched its Slinger anti-drone system in 2023. The system features a remote weapon station, visual sensors and a Northrop Grumman 30mm cannon with specially designed ammunition, combined with EOS’s stabilisation and pointing technology.

• Land Warfare

  Next-generation gun set to boost US Army combat vehicle capabilities

  8th January 2026

  The 50mm main weapon on the XM30 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle currently being competed for by industry will offer a step-change in firepower and targeting over the in-service M2 Bradley.

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2025: Skyranger air defence system gets tracks

  9th September 2025

  The Skyranger is in service with Austria, Denmark and Germany in the 30mm variant on wheeled vehicles, while Ukraine is receiving the system fitted to the Leopard 1 tank chassis, but this is the first sight of the 35mm on a tracked vehicle.

• Land Warfare

  Land forces review: British Army vehicle programme stalls and company results land

  26th November 2025

  In the first monthly review of land forces stories, the Shephard team looks back to evaluate the major news events that have impacted the sector. The UK’s Land Mobility Programme was notable but another setback occurred when a market industry day was scrapped.

• Land Warfare

  Rolls-Royce to lead powertrain development for MGCS in important step for the programme

  13th March 2026

  The move signals significant progress for the delayed Franco-German Main Ground Combat System programme with first powerpack prototypes set to be tested before the end of the decade.

• Land Warfare

  Drone wars: countries are looking for answers but do companies have the solutions?

  18th March 2026

  Manufacturers are speeding up their counter-drone development efforts as countries increasingly focus on procurements to provide battlefield and national protection.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Fuchs 2 Local Assembly

  The Fuchs 2 will replace a variety of legacy APCs currently in service with the Algerian Army including the Panhard M3 VTT, the BTR-60 and ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Korsak Reconnaissance Vehicle [Germany]

  Programme Background According to the BAAINBw, the Korsak must at a minimum meet these criteria: - Platform: Piranha V 6×6 with improved off-road capability and amphibious ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  6x6 APC [Germany]

  Programme Background Bidders and Suppliers As no programme has been officially announced, all bidders and suppliers are speculative at this time. Patria 6x6 Common Armoured ...

• Main battle tanks

  Skyranger 35 (Leopard 1) [Ukraine]

  Programme Background Rheinmetall previously provided Ukraine with Skyranger 35s; however, these were mounted on truck chassis. The logic behind providing Ukraine with Skyranger 35 on ...

• Loitering munitions

  FV-014 [Germany]

  Background Testing Models Between April 2023 and April 2025, the German Army acquired various loitering munitions further to assess their suitability for the German Armed Forces. A spokesperson ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  KF41 Lynx [Ukraine]

  Programme Background Following the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, Ukraine has sought to acquire a range of different Western platforms to replace its older Soviet ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  KF41 Lynx (Ukraine Aid) [Germany]

  Programme Background Ukraine first expressed an interest in acquiring the KF41 Lynx in 2023.  This was followed by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ...

• Main battle tanks

  Leopard 2A4 [Czech Republic]

  Programme Background  The Czech Republic currently operates a small fleet of T-72s, which, while undergoing upgrades and life extension programmes, are increasingly obsolete. In October ...

• Loitering munitions

  Virtus [Germany]

  Background Testing Models Between April 2023 and April 2025, the German Army acquired various loitering munitions to further assess their suitability for the German Armed Forces. A ...

• Loitering munitions

  HX-2 [Germany]

  Background Testing Models Between April 2023 and April 2025, the German Army acquired various loitering munitions to further assess their suitability for the German Armed Forces. A spokesperson ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  Ermine (Ukraine Aid) [Netherlands]

  Programme Background Since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Western governments have sought to provide as much assistance as possible to the Ukrainian ...

• Medium UGVs

  Mission Master [Norway]

  Programme Background Developed by Rheinmetall Canada in 2021, the Mission Master XT is designed to tackle ice and snow, as well as sandy, rocky and ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  IFV Replacement [Romania]

  Programme Background In service as a chassis since 1982 and in its current form since 1991, the Romanian MLI-84M tracked IFV is expected to go ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Land 400 Phase 2 - Boxer CRV [Australia]

  Programme Background History The Land 400 Phase 2 programme will procure a replacement for the ASLAV, a derivative of the General Dynamics Land Systems Light Armoured Vehicle ...

• Main battle tanks

  KF51 Panther EVO [Hungary]

  Programme Background Hungary is currently undergoing a significant investment in its armed forces. As part of this effort, it has established a strong relationship with Rheinmetall, ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Fuchs 2

  Rheinmetall developed the Fuchs 2 6x6 between 2001 and 2005 with the international market in mind. Based on the Fuchs 1, the new vehicle has ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Fuchs 1

  Spanning now 8 variants, the Fuchs 1 is the German Army's longstanding wheeled armoured personnel carrier. The army received 1,125 Fuchs, with most delivered between 1979-86. ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Survivor R

  The Survivor R 4x4, unveiled at Eurosatory in June 2014, was jointly developed by Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles and Achleitner. Based on a comprehensively militarised ...

• Land: RWS

  Fieldranger Dual

  The Fieldranger Dual is one of the larger systems in the Rheinmetall Fieldranger series of RWS. Designed to carry two weapons simultaneously, the Fieldranger Dual ...

• Land: Integrated Defensive Systems

  AVePS

  The AVePS (Active Vehicle Protection System) has been designed for the protection of armoured vehicles against shoulder-fired antitank rockets and guided missiles. Approaching projectiles are ...

• Land: RWS

  RLS 609

  The RLS 609 is a family of RWS that has been designed by Rheinmetall Defence and Kongsberg Protech Systems.  The RWS include the 609 L ...

• Military vehicle engines

  MTU 6V 199

  The MTU 6V 199 is a six cylinder turbocharged diesel engine, designed to power medium military vehicles. The engine is available in a TE20 and ...

• Land: manned turrets

  E8

  The E8 is a manned turret operated by a crew of one that is designed for APCs and IFVs. It is able to combat ground ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  Fixed Wing Flight Simulators

  Rheinmetall has developed fixed-wing simulators for the Typhoon, MiG-29, Tornado, A320 and A400M. Rheinmetall is responsible for full mission simulators and cockpit procedure trainers for ...

• Main battle tanks

  KF51 Panther

  Rheinmetall unveiled the KF51 Panther at Eurosatory 2022. The MBT uses Leopard 2 components in its bare chassis but with a brand new turret. Its main armament is the ...

• Land: battle management systems

  Rheinmetall C2 Software

  Rheinmetall C2 Software support the air defence decision making process by filtering, correlating and processing data from all sensors, providing the operator with one comprehensive ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  DM98

  The 120mm x 570 target practice-tracer (TP-T) round is a high-explosive (HE) training munition produced by Rheinmetall. It can be fired from any new or ...

• Land: RWS

  Qimek Russian

  Rheinmetall's Qimek single-weapon RWS family includes a variant for non-NATO weapons, which combines full stabilisation, long-range day/night all-weather sights and a versatile weapon cradle for ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  Ermine Quad

  The Ermine Quad is a 4x4 manufactured by Rheinmetall as part of the Ermine family. It is designed for rapid patrol duties as well as hit ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  Ermine Buggy

  The Ermine Buggy is a 4x4 manufactured by Rheinmetall as part of the Ermine family. It is designed for silent patrol duties and to function as ...