• Defence Helicopter

  Ukraine advances Mi-24PU2 upgrade

  31st May 2016

  Ukraine's Mi-24PU2 helicopter upgrade has entered into flight testing phase, according to Ukoboronprom, the holding company that controls a vast majority of the country's arms …

• Land Warfare

  Javelin sale option to Qatar

  30th May 2016

  The US State Department has approved a potential Foreign Military Sale of Javelin anti tank guided missiles and associated training, support and equipment to Qatar for …

• Land Warfare

  Thailand snaps up Chinese tanks

  30th May 2016

  The Royal Thai Army (RTA) has ordered 28 Norinco VT4 tanks from China to replace elderly M41s due to delays in Oplot-M deliveries from Ukraine. …

• Defence Helicopter

  Russia looks towards eastern outposts

  27th May 2016

  The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 27 May that personnel and equipment would be deployed to the Eastern Military District (MD), in a …

• Land Warfare

  T-90 MBT vs TOW ATGM in Syria

  27th May 2016

  The Syrian civil war has seen the use of a wide spectrum of modern Russian armaments, including the T-90 Main Battle Tank.  In the brutal …

• Defence Notes

  UK considers laser-equipped Phalanx

  26th May 2016

  The UK could test a Phalanx close-in weapon system equipped with a directed-energy weapon capability, with the first demonstrations potentially taking place in 2018. The …

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy accepts USS Zumwalt

  24th May 2016

  The US Navy has accepted the delivery of the future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), a guided missile destroyer and the lead ship of the Zumwalt …

• Naval Warfare

  US tests Aegis BMD Combat System

  23rd May 2016

  The US Navy’s USS John Paul Jones (DDG-53), an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, has successfully used Lockheed Martin’s Aegis Baseline 9 terminal engagement capability …

• Land Warfare

  Rheinmetall bags Oerlikon Skyguard upgrade order

  20th May 2016

  Rheinmetall Air Defence has been awarded a major modernisation order for the Oerlikon Skyguard air defence system of the Swiss armed forces, the company announced on …

• Naval Warfare

  SeaRAM completes test shots

  19th May 2016

  Test shots have been successfully fired by the SeaRAM anti-ship missile defence system during a series of demonstrations by the US Navy, Raytheon announced on …

• Land Warfare

  Indian LSV trials approach

  17th May 2016

  With the Indian Army looking to modernise its protected wheeled vehicle fleet, field trials for the future Light Specialist Vehicle (LSV) are to start soon, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  China reaps Middle East market

  16th May 2016

  Taking advantage of the United States reluctance to give approval for the export sales of armed unmanned aerial systems (UAS), even to friendly nations in …

• Land Warfare

  US Army tests Spider 1A (video)

  13th May 2016

  One aspect of the US Army’s ongoing Network Integration Evaluation (NIE) 16.2 involves limited user testing (LUT) for the Spider M7E1 Network Command Munition Increment …

• Land Warfare

  New tank calibres to increase lethality

  12th May 2016

  Rheinmetall is set to work on a path to upgrade the lethality of main battle tanks rather than begin work on a clean sheet design. …

• Digital Battlespace

  US Army starts NIE 16.2 exercise

  12th May 2016

  The US Army’s Brigade Modernization Command (BMC) has started the Network Integration Evaluation (NIE) 16.2 exercise at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico and Fort …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering munitions [Canada]

  Background Switchblade acquisition In February 2025, the Canadian government finalised a $67 million deal with AeroVironment (AV) to acquire the Switchblade 300 and Switchblade 600 ...

• 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, ...

• Long Range Missile Defence Systems: > 90km range

  Siper Block II [Turkey]

  Background Türkiye is procuring the SİPER Block II long-range air defence missile systems. The systems are intended to provide an effective defensive capability against air ...

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munitions (First Batch) [Japan]

  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 the ...

• Self-propelled rocket launchers

  HIMARS [Canada]

  Background The Canadian army does not currently operate any MLRS systems. Following the effectiveness of MLRS in Ukraine, many militaries have begun investing in their ...

• 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. ...

• Self-propelled rocket launchers

  K239 Chunmoo (Batch 2) [Estonia]

  Background Estonia currently operates the HIMARS as its primary MRLS. However, in an effort to expand its capabilities, as well as diversify its supply base, ...

• Long Range Missile Defence Systems: > 90km range

  Siper-1 (Steel Dome) [Turkey]

  Background The Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) and related companies signed a contract for the initial production of SİPER-1 and HİSAR systems. The systems will ...

• Loitering munitions

  Seth-X and Anubis [Germany]

  Background German-built, Ukraine-bound The Auterion Airlogix Joint Venture GmbH was established in February 2026 at the Munich Security Conference by the German company Auterion and ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

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, ...

• 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

  M-712 Copperhead

  The M-712 Copperhead is a 155mm artillery projectile that is guided to its target via a laser guidance system, making it more resistant to electronic ...

• 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 ...

• 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.

• 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.

• Military UAS - MALE

  Astore

  The Astore is a weaponised variant of Leonardo's Falco EVO drone. The drone's autonomous modes operate within the man-in-the-loop principle and can be fitted with ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Akinci

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

• 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 ...

• Air-to-surface missiles, Surface-to-surface missiles

  UMTAS/L-UMTAS

  Roketsan developed the imaging IR-guided Mızrak-U, also known as the UMTAS (Uzun Menzilli Tanksavar Sistemi, or Long-Range Anti-Tank System), and the laser-guided L-Mızrak-U (L-UMTAS) for ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• Ship-launched torpedoes

  Tork

  Aselsan TORK is an antitorpedo torpedo developed to destroy acoustic-homing, wire-guided, non-wire-guided, and wake-homing torpedoes launched against surface ships and submarines.  It approaches the torpedo ...