• Digital Battlespace

  Smartshooter seeks US military interest in remote control fire control stations

  30th June 2023

  Smartshooter has unveiled a remotely controlled fire control system (FCS) integrated with radar and is looking for US DoD interest.

• Air Warfare

  XTEND aims to expand UAS footprint in US and the app store

  30th June 2023

  Israeli UAS developer XTEND will open a production facility in Florida to meet demand from DoD clients and also has signed a partnership with software development company SightX

• Land Warfare

  UK plays host to inaugural AUKUS Pillar 2 AI and autonomy trial

  26th May 2023

  While for most part AUKUS is about submarines, under its Advanced Capabilities Pillar, known as Pillar 2, the UK, US and Australia are collaborating on other leading-edge technologies.

• Naval Warfare

  UPDATED: Damen and Thales to deliver ASW frigates for Belgium and Netherlands

  5th July 2023

  Damen and Thales have signed contracts to design, build, and deliver four new anti-submarine warfare (ASW) frigates for Belgium and the Netherlands.

• Air Warfare

  BAE Systems FalconWorks air R&D division takes flight

  11th July 2023

  BAE Systems FalconWorks division's ambitious mission is to shape the future of aviation by pushing boundaries and delivering groundbreaking solutions for the UK and international customers.

• Defence Notes

  What's new in the updated version of the US Marines Force Design 2030

  9th June 2023

  The most recent Force Design 2030 document introduces adjustments in terms of capabilities, doctrine, structure and training focusing on improving readiness.

• Digital Battlespace

  L3Harris, Amazon team up to advance battlespace networking

  1st June 2023

  L3Harris Technologies has announced an agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to demonstrate networking and sensor fusion capabilities across a distributed battlespace. The two companies …

• Land Warfare

  EDA begins study into adaptive materials for armoured vehicle camouflage

  28th June 2023

  Six European Defence Agency member states are joining efforts under the ASCALS project to develop new solutions and application processes to better conceal combat vehicles on the battlefield.

• Land Warfare

  Leonardo launches new turrets for land and naval platforms

  7th June 2023

  At SeaFuture 2023 in La Spezia, Italy, Leonardo launched two new turrets for land and naval applications.

• Air Warfare

  Indonesia orders GM400α radars to enhance its patchy air surveillance

  23rd June 2023

  Indonesia has inked a long-awaited deal for multiple air surveillance radars that will close gaps in the military's ability to monitor aircraft movements.

• Defence Notes

  How the UK is approaching the use of AI in weapon systems

  4th May 2023

  British lawmakers have been analysing how to safely and reliably deploy AI technology as well as their impact on the nature of armed conflicts.

• Defence Notes

  How commercial technologies are helping the Pentagon combat cyber threats

  1st June 2023

  The DoD is focused on the use of AI, ML and trusted commercial autonomy as well as cyber and telecom solutions to be combined with the government’s assets.

• Air Warfare

  Trillium imaging payloads selected for British Army's Stalker VXE30 drone fleet

  24th May 2023

  Trillium Engineering's HD55 series payloads will equip the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works Stalker VXE30 ISR UAS supplied to the British Army under the UK MoD's Project Tiquila effort.

• Digital Battlespace

  Controp showcases electro-optical and artificial intelligence tech at IMDEX

  3rd May 2023

  At IMDEX Asia 2023, Controp showcased advanced electro-optical (EO) and artificial intelligence (AI) technology for maritime, coastal surveillance and counter-UAS applications.

• Air Warfare

  Insight: Is the Bayraktar TB2 UAV living up to expectations?

  15th September 2023

  Sold to well over 20 countries and combat-proven in Nagorno-Karabakh, Ukraine and elsewhere, the Bayraktar TB2 has been an export success for its Turkish manufacturer. Shephard Defence Insight analyses the aircraft's design and capabilities and reviews in depth who is buying it and why.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Light attack, Trainer

  IA-63 Pampa III -(Follow-On) [Argentina]

  Programme Background After the previous procurement of six AI-63 Pampa III aircraft from 2018 and 2019 agreements, Argentina was left with a further need for 34 aircraft. ...

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

  V-Bat [Netherlands]

  Background Contract Award On 9 July 2025, Shield AI announced that the Netherlands MoD had acquired eight V-Bat, specifically the V-Bat 400, aircraft to enhance the maritime intelligence, surveillance ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  V-Bat 128 (Brazil)

  Programme Background On 7 February 2022, Sheild AI announced on its website that it had signed a contract with VSK Tactical which included the 'purchase of [the] V-Bat ...

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

  V-Bat [India]

  Background Make In India The ‘Make In India’ is an initiative by the Indian government to grow the domestic manufacturing industry. In the defence context, ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Group Unmanned Isr DronE (GUIDE) [Netherlands]

  Background Competition On 14 March 2025, the Netherlands announced a competition on the EU tendering website for the future procurement of 514 UAVs for intelligence, surveillance, ...

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

  Shield AI UAVs [Saudi Arabia]

  Background Reported Talks Reporting from the World Defence Show (WDS) 2026, the Middle East Eye (MEE) noted that, according to two sources, Saudi Arabia was ...

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

  Ship-Bourne VTOL UAV [Singapore]

  Background Multi-Role Combat Vessel  The Republic of Singapore Navy will retire its six Victory-class corvettes and replace them with a new platform, the Multi-Role Combat ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Embarked VTOL UAV [South Korea]

  Background VTOL Development In January 2024, South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced that it would commence development of a VTOL-capable rotary-wing UAV to be ...

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

  Air Launched Effect (ALE) [South Korea]

  Programme Background KF-21 Boramae Crewed Fighter The Republic of Korea's Air Force (ROKAF) plans to acquire the KF-21 Boramae fighter, replacing F-4E Phantom II and ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  V-Bat [USN]

  Background Core Requirement Fundamentally, the USN requires a UAV that can be flown from its ships in austere environments without dedicated launch or recovery equipment.  ...

• Loitering munitions

  Drone Dominance Program (DDP) [US]

  Background Drone Dominance Program (DDP) As part of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Army Transformation Initiative (ATI), he published a July 2025 document outlining the DPP. He called ...

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

  KF-21 Loyal Wingman [South Korea]

  Background KF-21 Boramae Crewed Fighter The Republic of Korea’s Air Force (ROKAF) plans to acquire the KF-21 Boramae fighter, replacing F-4E Phantom II and F-5E/F fighters in the ROKAF. ...

• 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 ...

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

  V-Bat [Armenia]

  Background Announcment On 9 February 2026, in a press release from the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan and JD Vance, US vice-president, ...

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

  Anka-3 [Turkey]

  Background Order Announcement Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) General Manager Mehmet Demiroğlu, in a statement at SAHA Istanbul's SAHA Chat program in January 2026, stated that, ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Land: vehicle surveillance/target acquisition systems

  TKN-AI

  TKN-AI is a commander’s periscope intended for guiding a vehicle, and battlefield observation and target acquisition by day and night. It is compatible with T-62, ...

• Fixed wing aircraft engines

  AI-20M

  The Ivchenko AI-20 is a Soviet turboprop engine developed in the 1950s. Although the engines were originally designed for civil cargo aircraft servicing medium- and ...

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  AI-450

  The AI-450 is a Ukrainian engine developed by Ivachenko-Progress, with Motor Sich acting as the production partner to supply parts and components. The turboprop engine ...

• Fixed wing aircraft engines

  АI-24

  The Ivchenko AI-24 turboprop aircraft engine was initially designed and manufactured in the late-1950s. Manufacturing was later moved to Motor Sich, a Ukraine based manufacturer ...

• Fixed wing aircraft engines

  AI-222-25

  Manufactured by Ukraine’s Motor Sich, the AI-222 is a high thrust-to-weight ratio turbofan engine family developed to power Russian Air Force advanced trainers and light ...

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

  X-Bat

  The X-Bat is an AI-piloted, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) uncrewed fighter jet designed for expeditionary and maritime operations in contested environments. Unveiled by Shield AI ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  Hivemind

  Developed by Shield AI, Hivemind is an ecosystem of tightly integrated AI software tools and interfaces that leverages several factors to deliver  intelligent and resilient autonomy ...

• Transport

  An-32

  The An-32 (NATO reporting name Cline) is a light military transport aircraft that can be operated in hot temperatures (up to 50°C) and from mountain ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  GA-10FPV-AI

  The GA-10FPV-AI is a Lithuanian FPV quadcopter drone manufactured by Granta Autonomy. The drone can carry a 3kg payload and operate in GNSS-denied environments. In September 2024, Granta Autonomy ...

• Subsystems: software

  DI-Guy

  DI-Guy is an AI, scenario and SDK for real-time human visualisation, simulation and artificial intelligence. DI-Guy has thousands of realistic ready-to-use characters and motions. It ...

• Loitering munitions

  Viper 10

  The Viper 10 is a rotary-wing first-person view (FPV) drone from Baltic Viper. The loitering munition quadcopter has a 4kg payload, a reinforced communication system, and ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Scorpio 1000

  Described as an outdoor precision striker, the Scorpio 1000 is a rotary-wing quadcopter from XTEND.  It has advanced AI auto-targeting that enables precise flight without ...

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

  Gogol-M

  The Gogol-M is a Ukrainian fixed-wing drone carrier, or mothership, from Strategy Force Solutions. The system can deliver two first-person view (FPV)-type attack drones to hit precision ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Sonora

  Sonora is a micro rotary-wing UAV manufactured by Harmattan AI. It is a cost-effective, training-focused UAV built to simulate ISR operations. In June 2025, France acquired 1,000 Sonora ...

• EO/IR systems

  Rex Mini Mk II

  The Rex Mini Mk2 is a sub-900g EO/IR sensor from Atmolab. It has a day camera with a 10x optical zoom, a high-resolution thermal camera, ...