• Land Warfare

  Raytheon UK team awarded US$2.7 billion British Army training contract

  10th July 2026

  The British Army’s Collective Training System 15-year contract is planned to provide soldiers with an integrated, digitally enabled system and transform how they train, prepare and adapt for future missions.

• Naval Warfare

  Germany sinks F126 frigate programme in favour of cheaper MEKO A-200

  25th June 2026

  On 24 June 2026, the German Ministry of Defence announced it was cancelling the F126 frigate programme in favour of procuring eight MEKO A-200 DEU frigates.

• Air Warfare

  Switzerland faces procurement shake-up with reduced F-35 buy and five-year Patriot delays

  9th March 2026

  The reduction in the number of planned F-35A aircraft from 36 to 30 by the Swiss government comes due to budget constraints, with no firm plans to fill the gap despite “negative consequences”.

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy to accelerate the replenishment of SM-6 stocks as demand continues to surge

  5th May 2026

  The Naval Sea Systems Command exercised a US$335 million modification to a contract with RTX Raytheon to support increasing the production of Standard Missiles 6 by 2030. Shephard spoke with the company president about how the company has scaled to meet demand.

• Air Warfare

  US Air Force prepares next stage of E-3 Sentry modernisation

  12th May 2026

  The USAF intends to conduct the second phase of the DRAGON programme from FY2026 to FY2030, while the future of the E3 replacement remains unknown.

• Land Warfare

  AI-enhanced combat radios: how to turn comms networks into an EW advantage

  11th May 2026

  Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming defence communications, boosting situational awareness and electronic warfare (EW) capabilities across the battlespace. Bittium’s new partnership with MarshallAI will significantly enhance networked technology, turning radios into cutting-edge sensors with a range of applications.

• Defence Notes

  US speeds up B61-13 nuclear bomb production as programme moves further ahead of schedule

  29th July 2026

  The US government plans to accelerate production even further after achieving key B61-13 milestones months ahead of schedule, as the programme advances amid growing US-China strategic competition.

• Air Warfare

  Franco-German alliance aims to resolve FCAS woes by end of April as dispute rolls on

  1st April 2026

  The disagreement between French-German industry continues as both governments work to keep the programme alive and on track to develop and deliver a sixth-generation fighter jet.

• Air Warfare

  India’s rotary-wing capability gap grows as IMRH programme delays persist

  16th September 2026

  With IMRH and DBMRH potentially years from service, India faces a widening rotary-wing capability gap that could drive further foreign purchases even as HAL and Safran build the foundations of an indigenous successor.

• Land Warfare

  Latvian drone interceptor units to enter service “within weeks”

  26th May 2026

  Latvia is one of the countries at the forefront of developing a counter uncrewed aerial system capability, drawing on its own industry to meet a geographical and geo-political circumstance that has seen drone incursions rise.

• Land Warfare

  Estonia builds Asia-Pacific links as it looks to scale defence industry capabilities

  12th February 2026

  Collaboration between Estonian defence companies and well-aligned firms in Asia-Pacific will form a key part of Tallinn’s ambitions to significantly grow its defence industrial base.

• Naval Warfare

  How could Rheinmetall’s GMF 140 fit with ongoing programmes in North America?

  14th September 2026

  With Canada committed to its River-class replacement and the USN pursuing a lower-cost frigate, Rheinmetall will need to demonstrate where the GMF 140 can fill a capability gap in the North American fleet.

• Naval Warfare

  As uncrewed naval systems advance, capabilities to counter them are emerging

  28th April 2026

  Research programmes and system procurement efforts to counter uncrewed surface and underwater vehicle threats are accelerating as naval drone uptake spreads.

• Naval Warfare

  How Canada is preparing the future River-class destroyers to endure uncrewed threats

  15th April 2026

  Designed in 2019, Canada's new River-class destroyers are planned to be handed over by the 2050s. The long procurement timeline has cast doubt on whether the platforms will be obsolete for tomorrow’s warfare.

• Defence Notes

  New opportunities for defence firms as EU steps up support for Ukraine

  11th February 2026

  The European Commission is looking for startups and other innovators to address challenges across the land, air and sea domains.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Light tanks

  Light Tank Programme (Tracked) [Philippines]

  Programme Background The decision to split the programme into a wheeled and a tracked element follows the belief of the Philippine Army that this will ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Combat Fighter Jet [Ireland]

  Background  In February 2025, the Irish Minister for Defence and Tánaiste Simon Harris highlighted Irelands need to procure a new combat fighter jet to combat airborne ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - mini

  Polish Drones (Ukraine Aid) [Sweden]

  Background Swedish Support Package On 31 March 2025, the Swedish Government presented its 19th and largest military support package to Ukraine to date, valued at almost SEK ...

• Loitering munitions

  IRIFI [Morocco]

  Methodology PGO and programme status Defence Insight has assigned this programme a PGO of 95%, since the bid has been selected.  Units required Since no ...

• Loitering munitions

  Sivrisinek (YIHA-III) [Azerbaijan]

  Background Development Two YIHA-III drones were seen during Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s inspection of drones in July 2024, prompting some publications to suspect that Azerbaijan ...

• Hybrid effector systems

  Skyranger 30 [Germany]

  Background The SPD-led approach Since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany has been under consistent pressure to increase its defence spending. In the immediate ...

• Long Range Missile Defence Systems: > 90km range

  Long Range Air Defence [Brazil]

  Background Brazil is in the process of expanding its medium-range air defence capabilities and is known to be interested in acquiring a long-range air defence ...

• Loitering munitions

  K-LUCAS [South Korea]

  Background  Shahed influence Both the 2026 Iran War and the Russia-Ukraine War have demonstrated the effectiveness of deep-strike capabilities, such as the Shahed-136. As reported ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  RBS 70 NG [Czech Republic]

  Background The Czech Republic is acquiring the vehicle-mounted RBS 70 NG systems to increase the mobility and protection of its ground-based air-defence units. The systems ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Bayraktar Mini replacement [Qatar]

  Methodology PGO and programme status There has been no indication from Qatar that it seeks to replace its Bayraktar Mini UAV fleet; instead, this programme ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Naval UAV [Chile]

  Background Unsuccessful evaluations  In the early 2010s, the Chilean Navy reportedly tested the ScanEagle. However, the force’s requirements appeared to change, due to the organisation’s ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  Mistral SHORAD [Croatia]

  Background Croatia announced the procurement of the Mistral for the Croatian Armed Forces. The procurement followed Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the crash of a Tu-141 ...

• Medium Range Missile Defence Systems: 20-90km range

  Medium Range Air Defence [Portugal]

  Background Portugal's Military Programming Law 2023-2034 includes a requirement for medium-range air defence. In order to facilitate this, Portugal has joined the European Sky Shield Initiative ...

• Military UAS - small

  Small UAV [Peru]

  Background UAV FAP UAV FAP is a family of Peruvian UAVs that have been developed by the Peruvian Air Force and the Centre for Research ...

• Loitering munitions

  Jaser [Saudi Arabia]

  Methodology PGO and programme status Serb Advanced Industries confirmed in 2026 that the Jeser loitering munition was being produced for the Saudi Armed Forces, with multiple ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Anoa

  Pindad designed the 6x6 Anoa APC to meet the requirements of the Indonesian Army. Since the vehicle was publicly unveiled in November 2008, close to ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  Antasena

  Antasena is an X-18 tank boat developed as a joint collaboration between CMI Defence and PT Lundin. The fast craft has been designed to support ...

• Wheeled assault guns

  Badak

  A prototype of the 90mm-armed 6x6 Badak (Indonesian for rhinoceros) direct fire support vehicle was unveiled at IndoDefence in November 2014 by Pindad and partner ...

• Core systems: cameras and IR detectors, EO/IR systems

  NightConqueror CMI

  The NightConqueror Compact Modular Imager (CMI) is the main component of a variety of thermal imaging systems. It is used in stabilised imaging turrets for ...

• Light tanks

  Tulpar Light Tank

  Otokar unveiled its tracked Tulpar Light Tank, which mounts CMI's Cockerill 3105 turret on Otokar's Tulpar IFV chassis, at the June 2018 Eurosatory exhibition. The ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  BTR-3

  Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau produced the first 8x8 BTR-3-series amphibious APC in 2001. The series includes the BTR-3U, the BTR-3U Guardian (variant for ...

• Land: manned turrets

  Cockerill CPWS 25-30

  The remotely-operated Cockerill Protected Weapon Station (CPWS) can be armed with 25 mm or 30 mm guns from various manufacturers and can be integrated on 4x4, ...

• Wheeled assault guns

  ERC 90 NG

  The ERC 90 Sagaie 6x6 armoured vehicles were acquired by the French Army to provide a well-armed vehicle for its rapid reaction armoured units. Capitalising ...

• Frigates

  Drazki Class

  The Bulgarian Navy's three Drazki-class frigates began life as four Wielingen-class (Type E-71) frigates with the Belgian Navy. The ships underwent a major refurbishment and ...

• Light tanks

  K21-105 Light Tank

  At IDEX 2013, Doosan and John Cockerill Defense presented the K21-105 Light Tank concept which integrates the Cockerill 105mm-armed XC-8 turret on the Doosan K21 ...

• Major networking projects

  Missile Defence

  In 2010, NATO rolled out an initial capability to protect alliance forces against missile threats and is now examining options for protecting territory and populations. ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Commando Select

  The Commando Select 4x4 APC, built on knowledge gained from the M1117 Armored Security Vehicle’s ten years of combat theatre use by the US Army, ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6, MPVs - 4x4

  Jais MRAP

  The Jais 4x4 and 6x6 are Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles from the UAE's NIMR. Formally known as both the RG35 and N35, the Jais ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Anders Multirole Combat Platform

  The tracked WPB Anders multirole combat platform was designed to replace the BMP-1 IFV and other vehicles in Polish Army service. The Anders family is ...

• Land: RWS

  CPWS

  Building on the success of the Cockerill Protected Weapon Station (CPWS) 25-30, John Cockerill Defense introduced a new version of the CPWS at the June 2018 ...