• Land Warfare

  Poland signs US$6.7 billion deal for more K2 tanks and aims for new industrial capability

  4th August 2025

  The Polish Government sees the latest contract as a big step towards an indigenous capability while also further transitioning from Russian-designed tanks to NATO compliant force.

• Naval Warfare

  Newest Arleigh Burke Flight III destroyer launched and ready for fitting

  27th March 2025

  DDG 129, which will become the USS Jeremiah Denton on commissioning, was moved to dry dock to begin its technical fitting and testing.

• Air Warfare

  UK MoD “getting a grip” of budgets as three UK air programmes slip into the red

  23rd January 2025

  The E-7 Wedgetail, Future Combat Air System and the Protector programmes were highlighted as items of concern from a recently published UK Infrastructure and Projects Authority report.

• Naval Warfare

  Is South Korea finally being taken seriously for Western submarine programmes?

  2nd December 2025

  South Korean shipbuilders are beginning to make their mark beyond Asia, competing for major North American and European submarine programmes and becoming serious contenders on a global scale.

• Naval Warfare

  Latest Virginia-class submarine, USS Iowa, commissioned

  8th April 2025

  SSN-797 was commissioned as USS Iowa, the first Virginia-class submarine of the second Trump administration. It was described as “just the beginning” of a revitalisation of US naval shipbuilding by Secretary of the Navy John Phelan.

• Air Warfare

  Royal Thai Air Force moves forward with Gripen E/F selection

  4th June 2025

  The deal has a Phase 1 budget of US$596 million for the acquisition of four Gripen E/F aircraft, according to the RTAF.

• Air Warfare

  US Air Force pushes back T-7A production to 2026

  21st January 2025

  The US Air Force (USAF) and Boeing have agreed to adjust parts of the T-7A Red Hawk acquisition, with four more test T-7As being acquired to help improve manufacturing readiness and boost testing capacity.

• Air Warfare

  Just Released: New UAS Technology Report now available to read

  28th April 2025

  Autonomous advantage: Unlocking the potential of VTOL UAS in the battlefield resupply role

• Air Warfare

  F-35 capability boost could come in next three years, says Lockheed CEO

  3rd June 2025

  Lockheed had previously spoken of ‘supercharging’ its F-35, using technology developed for its unsuccessful NGAD bid, while broader work on delivering its TR-3 aircraft to customers continues.

• Naval Warfare

  UK Royal Navy Type 31 frigate enters capability insertion period with Babcock

  11th April 2025

  The capability insertion phase will upgrade the navy's Type 31 frigates with modern systems in addition to those specified during its design phase.

• Naval Warfare

  How the Force Design 2028 will impact US Coast Guard acquisitions

  24th April 2025

  The FD 2028 strategy intends to reduce the bureaucracy in procurement processes while speeding up the field of assets.

• Land Warfare

  Serbia pushes new and improved weapons to showcase native capabilities

  7th October 2025

  Last month’s Partner 2025 exhibition in Belgrade, Serbia was seen as a chance for local companies to grab the spotlight. New systems, anti-tank weapons and turrets were displayed as well as programme progress updates.

• Naval Warfare

  Interview: DSTA collaborates with Leonardo, Thales and Safran for naval C-UAS

  25th April 2025

  In an exclusive interview with Shephard, DSTA chief Ng Chad-son outlines how the agency is reshaping defence tech development through deeper collaboration with industry partners, from AI-enhanced radar to smart naval munitions.

• Land Warfare

  Technology transfer: how well does it work?

  21st April 2025

  Technology transfer is trumpeted by many companies as a way to tap into new markets, win contracts and expand supply and manufacturing capability. It is often used in the area of armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) and these requirements are a way to see how – and if – they work.

• Land Warfare

  British soldiers successfully complete anti-drone EW test firing

  2nd January 2025

  The system beams radio waves to disrupt or damage the critical electronic components of enemy vehicles causing them to stop in their tracks or fall out of the sky. It has been described as costing only £0.10 (US$0.12) per shot.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | Invincible Class (Type 218SG) (5-6) [Singapore]

  In March 2025, the Singapore Ministry of Defence (Mindef) announced it would acquire two more submarines to complement its four Type 218SG Invincible-class submarines. Speaking to ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | Invincible Class (Type 218SG) (5-6) [Singapore]

  In March 2025, the Singapore Ministry of Defence (Mindef) announced it would acquire two more submarines to complement its four Type 218SG Invincible-class submarines. Speaking to ...

• Loitering munitions

  Small-Sized Suicide Drones [South Korea]

  Programme Background Drone Ambition As reported by Shephard, South Korea has ambitions to possess a large arsenal of drones. In May 2024, the presidential office ...

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

  Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial Resupply System (JTAARS) / Medium ULS-A [USA]

  Background US Marine ULS-A programmes The US Marines are seeking a family of Unmanned Logistics Systems-Air (ULS-A), which will provide logistics and ground units with their ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Type 707 (1-2) [Germany]

  Programme Background Requirements The German Navy approved an acquisition to start replacing the two ageing Rhön-class (Type 704) class single-hulled tankers, which were constructed in the ...

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

  Switch V2 [India]

  Background June 2025 In June 2025, India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced the signing of 13 contracts under the Emergency Procurement (EP) mechanism. The procurements, ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  Wolf 2 [Germany]

  Programme Background The Wolf 2 was designed by Mercedes-Benz to replace the German Bundeswehr's ageing fleet of Wolf utility vehicles. The Bundeswehr is currently replacing its ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | Indonesian Interim Readiness Submarine Class (IRSC) Programme

  Following the sinking of KRI Nanggala in April 2021, the Indonesia Ministry of Finance (MoF) has granted approval to obtain up to $600 million in foreign loans ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | Indonesian Interim Readiness Submarine Class (IRSC) Programme

  Following the sinking of KRI Nanggala in April 2021, the Indonesia Ministry of Finance (MoF) has granted approval to obtain up to $600 million in foreign loans ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  F-5E/F Adversary Trainer US Navy

  The F-5N is a single seat, dual engine supersonic land based fighter. It is designed to a service life of 9000 flight hours. The aircraft ...

• AEW&C

  E-7 Wedgetail (737) - UK

  Programme Background Seeking to replace its six ageing Boeing E-3 Sentry AEW&C;, the British Royal Air Force awarded Boeing a £1.89 billion contract in 2019 covering the ...

• Corvettes

  Ada Class Corvettes (1-2) [Ukraine]

  Programme Background Timeline In October 2020, the MoD of Ukraine and the President of the Turkish Defence Industries signed a memorandum of understanding. This outlined ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  CH-47F (Australia)

  Programme Background The government of Australia has requested to buy four CH-47F cargo helicopters with unique modifications: eight T55-GA-714A aircraft turbine engines, five AN/AAR-57 common ...

• AEW&C

  E-7 Wedgetail (Second Order) [U.K.]

  Programme Background Seeking to replace its six ageing Boeing E-3 Sentry AEW&C;, the British Royal Air Force awarded Boeing a £1.89 billion contract in 2019 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Nagastra-1 (Second Batch) [India]

  Background Emergency Procurements In June 2025, India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced the signing of 13 contracts under the Emergency Procurement (EP) mechanism. The procurements, which ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Guided munitions

  LG-155

  Unveiled for the first time at Saha Expo 2024, the LG-155 is a 155 mm artillery round developed by Roketsan. This laser-guided projectile is engineered ...

• Deployable/static missile systems

  Oerlikon Laser Gun

  Rheinmetall showcased the applications for its High Energy Laser (HEL) guns for the first time at IDEX 2015 in Abu Dhabi. The Oerlikon Laser Gun ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  Locust

  BlueHalo's Locust is a laser weapon system. The system delivers a complete kill chain, providing a layered and broadband detection capability that is coupled with electronic ...

• Light machine guns

  LSAT LMG

  Textron Systems Unmanned Systems is developing and maturing a Lightweight Small Arms Technologies (LSAT) family of weapons and ammunition with the US Army that fires ...

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

  Attritable Multirotor First Person View (AM-FPV)

  Unveiled in May 2025, the Attritable Multirotor First Person View (AM-FPV) is a low-cost, rapidly deployable platform for strike and ISR missions, inspired by battlefield lessons from ...

• Land: COMINT and ELINT systems

  MEWS

  The Modular Electronic Warfare System (MEWS) is a land COMINT sensor that was jointly developed by L3 TRL and Qinetiq. Utilising L3 TRL compact receiver ...

• Land: fire control systems

  Oerlikon Skymaster

  Oerlikon Skymaster is the command and control unit of Rheinmetall's Skynex air defence system. The Skymaster is intended to support tactical and operational level air ...

• Land: air defence radar

  X-TAR 3D

  The X-Band Tactical Acquisition Radar 3D (X-TAR 3D) air surveillance and acquisition radar is the newest member of Rheinmetall’s X-TAR family. The fully coherent phased-array ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lumberjack

  The Lumberjack is a one-way attack drone from  Northrop Grumman. The company describes it as a force multiplier.  The drone follows an open systems architecture, ...

• Land: COMINT and ELINT systems

  Smartscan- MEWS

  MEWS (Modular Electronic Warfare System) is a software-driven spectrum surveillance system covering two megahertz to three gigahertz. It is designed to detect, collect and geolocate ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  CM32/33/34 Yunpao

  The CM32 Yunpao (Cloud Leopard) family of 8x8 armoured vehicles has been developed to meet the requirements of the Republic of China Army to replace ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  SBTS

  The Shore-Based Sonar Training System (SBTS), launched in 2016, incorporates technology from the Model 997 Hull/Bow-Mounted Sonar Model 980 ALOFTS system to help support sonar ...

• Subsystems: visual

  Apogée 7

  Apogée 7 is an integrated COTS-based image generation system. It provides functions enhancing overall fixed- or rotary-wing simulation efficiency, image quality and supports large-area realistic ...

• Land: handheld NV devices

  NVS 7 Binocular Series

  Based on the NVS 7-3AG NVG, the NVS 7 Binocular Series uses Gen III auto-gated NV technology and is suitable for defence, marine and SAR ...

• Land: handheld NV devices

  Jaguar

  MKU's Jaguar 14 monoculars and Jaguar 7 binoculars have Gen III technology with military-grade Schott lenses. An automatic bright light cut-off sensor provides protection from ...