• Air Warfare

  Paris Air Show 2025: Poland orders Apache targeting systems and will establish local support facility

  17th June 2025

  In 2024, Poland agreed to purchase 96 Boeing AH-64E Apache combat helicopters in a deal worth as much as US$12 billion. The deal included 97 AN/ASQ-170 modernised target acquisition and designation sight/AN/AAR-11 modernised pilot night vision sensors (M-TADS/PNVS).

• 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.

• Air Warfare

  What the retirement of the KC-10 Extender means for the US Air Force

  27th September 2024

  The tanker will be replaced by the KC-46A Pegasus, which is a more capable platform in terms of avionics, but with less payload capacity.

• Air Warfare

  Northrop Grumman notes $477 million loss as it manages higher B-21 programme costs

  24th April 2025

  In its Q1 earnings call, the company disclosed a US$477 million pretax loss related to the programme as it works to scale up.

• Air Warfare

  GA-ASI takes step towards developing European YFQ-42A Collaborative Combat Aircraft

  21st July 2025

  The US company will work with its European affiliate company, General Atomics Aerotec Systems (GA-ATS) to support manufacture the YFQ-42A.

• Air Warfare

  Lockheed Martin wants to “supercharge” F-35 after NGAD loss

  23rd April 2025

  The investment in technologies developed for Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) aircraft bid will now be applied to its F-35 and F-22 aircraft, according to Lockheed Martin CEO James Taiclet.

• Defence Notes

  Why the US military needs an “innovation intervention”

  11th July 2024

  Several issues in the Pentagon’s structure and the defence industrial base have been hampering the country's efforts to produce cutting-edge solutions.

• Defence Notes

  US companies invest in production capabilities to satisfy DoD’s hunger for cutting-edge capabilities

  18th October 2024

  BAE Systems, Booz Allen Hamilton and Lockheed Martin have been betting on new facilities and innovative manufacturing technologies to speed up the development of new solutions.

• Air Warfare

  Anduril expands footprint in South Korea

  12th August 2025

  The US firm has signed agreements with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HII) and Korean Air to develop defence products for the South Korean market as well as license existing Anduril products for use and export to the region.

• Air Warfare

  Portugal may snub F-35 fighter jets in the face of Trump administration “unpredictability”

  14th March 2025

  A change in the White House’s attitude towards NATO and its European allies may lead to Portugal opting for a non-US option to replace its ageing Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter fleet.

• Air Warfare

  Sikorsky signs $313 million maintenance contract for Australian Navy MH-60Rs

  3rd March 2025

  The extension of its partnership with the Royal Australian Navy comes as the latter is increasing its fleet size, anticipating 12 further aircraft to be delivered by 2036.

• Air Warfare

  Why the USAF's Sentinel ICBM faces multiple challenges

  31st July 2024

  Although it has survived the Nunn-McCurdy Review, the Sentinel ICBM programme must get Congressional support and extra resources to progress.

• Land Warfare

  Armies turn to armour and self-defence as support vehicles near the frontline

  4th July 2025

  Combat losses of support and logistics vehicles in recent conflicts have highlighted the need for greater protection and even self-defence capabilities. What options are available to turn a basic truck into a survivor on the battlefield?

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2025: Patria’s FAMOUS becomes TRACKX with production ready before end of 2027

  10th September 2025

  The first two Technology Test Beds (TTBs) have been completed and put through a series of company trials including sand, snow, swamp, forest and tarmac.

• Land Warfare

  The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle continues its success as the new variant rolls out

  20th March 2025

  The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) is becoming the dominant platform in its class as it replaces most of the massive US Army and US Marine Corps (USMC) fleets of HMMWV 4x4s, colloquially known as the Humvee. Shephard dives deep into the JLTV programme background and analyses the latest variants and contracts, including the controversial production switch to AM General and the continued contracts continuing to head Oshkosh's way.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Puma 3 AE (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Military Aid - $300 Million On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine to "bolster Urkaine's capacity ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV Oshkosh Contract (US Navy) [US]

  As of November 2020, the US DoD had signed 14 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all branches of ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1165 Special Ops HMMWV [USA]

  Programme Background The HHMWV or Humvee has been in US service since 1983. The M1165A1B3 is a special operations variant of the platform.  In 2015, the ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 300 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Presidential Drawdown (16 March 2022 & 13 April 2022) On 16 March 2022, President Biden announced $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine through ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A Joint Strike Fighter - USAF

  According to the US FY2021 budget document, Turkey's removal from the JSF program and transition to the alternate supply chain sources may challenge to achieve ...

• Fighter - naval

  F-35B STOVL - US Navy

  The JSF programme will develop and field a family of aircraft that meets the needs of the US DoD and US allies with the F-35A ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  JLTV Oshkosh Contract [US Air Force]

  As of November 2020, the US DoD had signed 14 contracts with Oshkosh Defense covering the delivery of approximately 17,731 JLTVs to all branches of ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank [US]

  Programme Background As IAI stated in a 19 January 2023 press release, it had been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract by the Irregular Warfare Technical Support ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A [US Navy]

  Background Previous Purchases The BQM-177A was designed for the USN and has been in service with the USN for many years. Indeed, in August 2022, Shephard reported ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 600 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background $300 Million USAI (1 April 2022) On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine following ...

• Fighter - naval

  F-35C Carrier Variant

  The US Navy is planning to order 130 F-35Cs between FY2026 and FY2030 under the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. The purchase is estimated be ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Presidential Drawdown (21 April 2022) Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, on 21 April 2022, President Biden announced an $800 ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Puma LE [Kosovo]

  Background Contract Award On 21 January 2022, the US Department of Defence (DoD) announced that AeroVironment had been awarded an $11.01 million firm-fixed contract for Puma ...

• Loitering munitions

  ALTIUS-600M (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background On 24 February 2023, the US DoD announced that the Biden Administration had released an additional aid package under the Ukraine Security Assistance ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Unmanned Systems Directed Requirement (LUS DR) [US Army]

  Programme Background DoD Contract On 27 August 2024, the US DoD announced that AeroVironment had been awarded a ceiling $990 million hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to provide ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Pistols

  M9

  M9 is the US DoD designation for the military-specification 9mm Beretta 92FS, selected in 1985 to replace the 45cal M1911A1 in US service. Sales to ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  Igla/SA-18

  The 9K38 Igla (US DoD designation SA-18, NATO reporting name Grouse ) IR-homing MANPADS was developed by KBM and entered service in 1983 to meet the requirements ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank

  Point Blank Weapon System is a hand-launched electro-optical VTOL-capable loitering munition developed by Isreal Aerospace Industries (IAI). IAI has been awarded a contract by the US ...

• Air: aerial targets, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A/i

  The BQM-177A subsonic aerial target (SSAT) was designed for the USN, and the BQM-177i is the export variant. The BQM-177 provides realistic threat emulation for ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  BAT-850

  Pathfinder's BAT-850 VSAT is a carbon fibre, tri-band terminal with auto-acquisition capability. Suitable for flyaway (case-based) and vehicle-mounted applications, it is in service with the ...

• Autonomous GPADS

  Airborne Systems has developed a family of smart systems ranging in payload capacity from 90-4,536kg. Utilising the technology developed and used in ram-air canopies, Guided ...

• Crew-served grenade launchers

  Striker 40/MK47

  General Dynamics is systems integrator for the Striker 40 (MK47 AGL in US service). The complete system comprises the weapon, AN/PWG-1 Lightweight Video Sight and ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  URC-300

  The URC-300 is a software-defined radio designed for line-of-sight, ground-to-air communications in particular. Introduced in 2020, it adheres to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards as well ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  ScanEagle 3

  Insitu unveiled the ScanEagle 3 at the Xponential exhibition in Denver in May 2018. The platform has twice the payload capacity of its ScanEagle predecessor ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Banshee Tactical Radio

  Developed by Fenix Group, the Banshee Tactical Radio (BTR) is a communications system that uses 4G/LTE connectivity to provide secure mesh networking capability on the ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  AN/ARC-231 Skyfire

  The AN/ARC-231 Skyfire is an airborne VHF/UHF/LOS and DAMA SATCOM system. This system supports US DoD requirements for airborne, multi-band, multi-mission, secure anti-jam voice, data ...

• Air-to-air missiles

  9M39 Igla-V

  The 9M39 Igla-V (‘needle’) is a Russian IR homing SAM adapted for helicopter use. It is an air-launched version of the Igla MANPADS, which the ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Global Observer

  The AeroVironment Global Observer HALE UAV was a developmental HALE UAV designed for various civil, commercial and government applications.  Development of the platform began in 2007 ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  CLWS

  Developed by Boeing, Compact Laser Weapon System (CLWS or CLaWS) is a medium-range, low-power laser C-UAS system. According to the reports, the CLWS prototype has ...

• Data links, Land: Radio and SATCOM, UAS: communication systems

  QNT-200

  The Collins QNT-200 is a dual-channel software-defined radio (SDR) designed for size, weight and power-constrained platforms. Using IP-based mesh networks, it offers high-bandwidth mobile networking ...