• Defence Notes

  What capabilities could the US supply to Saudi Arabia under the $142 billion deal?

  14th May 2025

  Multiple questions involving the largest US Foreign Military Sale in history remain unanswered.

• Land Warfare

  Land Warfare Review 2024: Conflict in Europe and the Middle East dominate attention and power spending

  11th December 2024

  Political turbulence in the US and across the Atlantic could have huge implications for Ukraine in the coming months. In 2024, however, the land warfare domain saw spending increase in eastern and central Europe, the continent continue its preference for the CV90 and a global rise in the demand for missiles.

• Naval Warfare

  USSOUTHCOM in ‘desperate need’ for fleet assets says commander

  19th February 2025

  Adm Holsey also warned that were “zero Navy P-8 aircraft available due to being pulled to other theatres”.

• Land Warfare

  South Korea to develop long-range interceptor for Iron Dome by 2028

  21st January 2025

  Around US$329 million will be spent on the development of the interceptor which will work to protect national and military facilities from the threat of North Korean artillery.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  ideaForge unveils new UAVs at Aero India 2025

  12th February 2025

  India UAV supplier ideaForge has launched the Netra 5 and Switch V2 drones at Aero India 2025, boasting of enhanced endurance, AI-driven autonomy and improved operational capabilities.

• Land Warfare

  Nurol Makina sets up shop for the British Army’s Land Mobility Programme

  9th January 2025

  The British Army’s Land Mobility Programme (LMP) has struggled to make it to competition but there are hopes progress will be made this year.

• Land Warfare

  Lockheed Martin close to deploying JAGM in CUAS missions

  25th March 2025

  The company plans to conduct counter-drone demonstrations with JAGM this year.

• Land Warfare

  Extra punch to be added to THeMIS UGV as production set to increase

  29th January 2025

  Milrem Robotics is looking to improve the lethality of its Tracked Hybrid Modular Infantry System (THeMIS) uncrewed ground vehicle (UGV), ramp up production and add an integration with uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs).

• Air Warfare

  Europe will “struggle” to fill capability gaps left by US-Ukraine aid pause

  6th March 2025

  Europe’s capacity to fill the capability gaps created by the US pause on military aid to Ukraine is uncertain, according to analysts, but European defence industry leaders have stressed their readiness to meet demand.

• Land Warfare

  SpearUAV awarded contract worth up to $60 million for Viper 300 loitering munition

  16th December 2024

  In addition to this significant contract, SpearUAV announced deals for both offensive systems such as the Viper 300 and Viper 750 systems for naval use along with defensive systems such as Viper I (Interceptor).

• Air Warfare

  UK Royal Navy's upgraded Commando Merlin helicopters achieve full operating capability

  30th January 2025

  A total of 19 Mk3 and six Mk3a Commando Merlin helicopters have now been upgraded to the Mk4/4a standard, with the work overseen by the procurement arm of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), Leonardo and the Royal Navy (RN).

• Air Warfare

  UAVs for Ukraine: Europe is willing to spend

  4th March 2025

  Despite President Donald Trump’s suspension of military aid to Ukraine, Shephard Defence Insight data suggests that in relation to UAVs, Europe and its non-US NATO allies are more than willing to fill any spending vacuum and are already contributing more than twice as much as the US.

• Naval Warfare

  Steel cutting begins on Malaysian corvettes

  11th December 2024

  STM has begun building three corvettes for the Royal Malaysian Navy which are expected to be completed by mid-2028 at a programme cost of US$544 million.

• Naval Warfare

  US shipbuilding struggles to keep pace with China

  22nd January 2025

  The small production capacity of US shipyards has generated multiple delays in US Navy programmes.

• Land Warfare

  Hungary to start fielding KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle

  27th January 2025

  The Lynx infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) will provide a step change for the Hungarian Army and will replace Russian supplied BTR-80 8x8 series wheeled armoured personnel carriers (APC). The Lynx will take on both IFV and APC roles as it is a step change in firepower and provides a much higher level of protection.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Bayraktar TB2 (1-20) [UAE]

  Background UAE and Turkish relations Historically, the two nations were not aligned with one another. However, this situation has quickly turned around, with Emeriti's plans ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | Joint Strike Ship [South Korea]

  South Korea is reportedly seeking to acquire up to three Joint Strike Ships as part of its "Three Axis System". The Joint Strike Ship (JSS) is ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | Joint Strike Ship [South Korea]

  South Korea is reportedly seeking to acquire up to three Joint Strike Ships as part of its "Three Axis System". The Joint Strike Ship (JSS) is ...

• Loitering munitions

  Turkish Loitering Munitions [Albania]

  Programme Background "Considerable" Speaking on 10 October 2024, Albania's  Prime Minister Edi Rama stated that Türkiye would provide Albania with a "considerable" number of loitering munitions. A government ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  Hürkuş-C Advanced Armed Trainer (Turkey)

  The Hurjet-C development programme funding was included in the Hurkus-B procurement contract awarded by  the Turkish Undersecretariat for Defence Industries in December 2013.  The Hurjet will ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2 (21-120) [UAE]

  Programme Background UAE and Turkish relations Historically, the two nations were not aligned with one another. However, this situation has quickly turned around, with Emeriti's ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2 [Kuwait]

  Background Contract Award On 18 January 2023, Baykar announced signing a $370 million export contract with Kuwait for the Bayraktar TB2. According to the announcement, ...

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munitions [Japan]

  Programme Background Appreciation of Loitering Munitions After years of not operating loitering munitions and armed UAVs, Japan's position towards them has changed. Belatedly, the MoD realised ...

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

  Akinci [UAE]

  Programme Background Surprise Delivery Baykar, in a statement of its 2024 achievements, stated that it had delivered two Akinci UAVs to the UAE, one in ...

• Fighter - multirole

  JF-17 [Azerbaijan]

  Programme Background Requirement In October 2019, Turkish media sources reported that at least two Azeri pilots travelled to Pakistan to receive training in JF-17 aircraft. ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2 (Qatar)

  Programme Background In 2018 at DIMDEX, it was revealed that Qatar had bought six Bayraktar TB2 UAVs from Turkey. The deal also included three ground control stations, ...

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

  MQ-9B SeaGuardian [Morocco]

  Background 2020-2030 Morocco-US Agreement In October 2020, officials from the Trump administration visited Morocco, and both nations signed a military and security cooperation agreement. According ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  L-39NG Senegal

  The aircraft will feature five hard-points, two external fuel tanks with 350 lt capacity, Mk 81 and Mk 82 bombs, guided and unguided rockets, single ...

• Main battle tanks

  Altay MBT (Batch 1) [Turkey]

  Programme Background The Altay will replace legacy M48 and M60 MBTs still in service with the Turkish Army. The $3.971 billion contract awarded to BMC in November ...

• Main battle tanks

  Altay MBT (Future Batches) [Turkey]

  Programme Background The Altay will replace legacy M48 and M60 MBTs still in service with the Turkish Army. The $3.971 billion contract awarded to BMC ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: aerial targets, Loitering munitions

  Simsek

  The Simsek (Şimşek), or Lightning, is a high-speed target drone system that enables autonomous high-speed and low-altitude threat stimulation of aircraft and missiles for air-to-air, ...

• Guided munitions

  MAM-L

  The Roketsan Smart Micro Munition (MAM-L) is designed to be used for taking down heavily armoured vehicles,  by all classes of UAVs and light attack aircraft. The ...

• Artillery rockets

  TRG-230

  TRG-230 is a 230 mm GNSS/INS guided artillery rocket developed by the Turkish ROKETSAN as the medium-range guided artillery rocket for the firm’s universal MLRS ...

• Guided munitions

  SMKB (Smart-MK-Bomb)

  The Smart-MK-Bomb, or the SMKB, is a precision guidance kit developed by Mectron and designed to turn Mk 82 and Mk 83 bombs into guided munitions.

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

  Aksungur

  The Aksungur is a twin-engined MALE UAS manufactured by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) for the Turkish Armed Forces. TAI completed the platform's maiden flight on 20 March ...

• Artillery rockets

  TRG-300 Block I

  TRG-300 is a 300 mm artillery rocket developed by Turkish ROKETSAN, serving as the heavy rocket in the TRG family of guided artillery missiles.

• Artillery rockets

  TRG/TRLG-122

  The TRG-122 is a Turkish 122mm family of guided artillery rockets developed by ROKETSAN for the T-122 Sakarya and other MLRS platforms. The family includes ...

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

  Akinci

  The Akinci is a HALE UCAV manufactured by Baykar. Sometimes known as Uçan Balık, the UAV can be fitted with a range of ISR or ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Multirole Heavy Combat Helicopter

  The Multirole Heavy Combat Helicopter is an attack helicopter being developed by Turkish Aerospace to meet the operational requirements of the Turkish Armed Forces, including air-to-ground ...

• Self-propelled mortars

  2S34 Chosta

  The 2S34 Chosta is an upgraded version of the 122mm 2S1 tracked SPH that replaces the original 2A31 ordnance with the 120mm 2A80-1 mortar-gun, an ...

• EO/IR systems

  StormCaster-DX

  Unveiled at Modern Day Marine 2022, the Teledyne FLIR StormCaster-DX is a multi-role, low-SWaP laser target designator (LTD) payload designed to affect the STANAG-compliant terminal ...

• Air-to-surface missiles

  BARQ

  The BARQ, known as Lighting in Urdu, is a laser-guided air-to-surface missile developed by Pakistan's Global Industrial & Defence Solutions (GIDS). Weighing 47.5kg at launch, the ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  Ares 150 SAT

  The Ares 150 SAT is a tactical patrol and guided-missile fast attack craft designed and developed by the Turkish manufacturer Ares Shipyard. The boats are ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  9M331

  The 9M331 is a short-range, surface-to-air missile designed to engage aircraft, helicopters, UAVs, and guided munitions and is the primary missile for the 9K331 Tor ...

• Loitering munitions

  Merkut

  The Merkut, or Merküt, is a first-person view (FPV) style loitering munition system developed by Titra Teknoloji A.Ş. It features a fragmentation warhead that distributes ...