• Naval Warfare

  Bulgarian OPV programme drifts along

  22nd July 2019

  The procurement of two new multipurpose OPVs for the Bulgarian Navy could be delayed again with the country’s MoD having still not presented its evaluation …

• Land Warfare

  Talisman Sabre 2019: Japan joins Australian landings for first time

  16th July 2019

  The force-on-force portion of Exercise Talisman Sabre 2019 kicked off on 16 July with the largest-scale Australian-led amphibious landing since World War II. A notable …

• Defence Helicopter

  Germany switches to private mode for heavy-lift helicopter competition

  2nd August 2019

  The German Federal Ministry of Defence (MoD) has privately handed RfP solicitations for its heavy-lift helicopter programme to Sikorsky and Boeing, Shephard can exclusively reveal.  The …

• Naval Warfare

  The future USS John F Kennedy comes together

  23rd July 2019

  The future USS John F Kennedy, the US Navy’s next aircraft carrier, has had its final major steel structural section installed by Huntington Ingalls’ Newport …

• Defence Helicopter

  India receives its first Apaches

  29th July 2019

  The first batch of four Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters reached Indian shores ahead of schedule on 27 July. They were airlifted into Hindan …

• Training

  Talisman Sabre 2019: Australian Army’s joint training evolves upwards

  15th July 2019

  Exercise Talisman Sabre 2019 is but one event of the Australian Army’s joint land collective two-year training calendar, the latter now known as the Joint Warfare …

• Special Operations

  US joint special ops identifies new technology needs

  30th July 2019

  USSOCOM’s Program Executive Office Special Operations Forces Warrior (PEO-SW) and Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) have identified a number of their emerging technology needs.  The …

• Naval Warfare

  Northrop Grumman receives AN/SPG-62 antenna reflector order

  31st July 2019

  General Dynamics Missions Systems will produce AN/SPG-62 antenna system parabolic radio frequency reflectors for the US Navy under a $16 million IDIQ contract awarded by …

• Defence Helicopter

  NH90 Sea Lion demo for German Navy

  19th July 2019

  The NH90 Sea Lion has completed a series of demonstrations for the German Navy, Airbus Helicopters announced on 18 July. The demonstrations covered search and …

• Digital Battlespace

  TruNet AR-2000​ demonstrated to US DoD

  2nd August 2019

  Collins Aerospace Systems has demonstrated the increased flexibility and bandwidth of its new TruNet AR-2000 two-channel, software-defined networking airborne radio to the US Department of …

• Land Warfare

  New Zealand picks up pace with vehicle replacements

  2nd August 2019

  The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) is buying a batch of 4x4 all-terrain vehicles (ATV), as well as forging ahead with plans to acquire more …

• Land Warfare

  Poland elects to upgrade T-72 tanks

  26th July 2019

  PGZ consortium and ZM Bumar-Łabędy are to refurbish and upgrade the Polish Army’s T-72 tanks under a contract with the Polish Ministry of Defence announced …

• Defence Helicopter

  Malaysia launches search for naval helicopters

  25th July 2019

  Malaysia issued a notice inviting tenders for maritime operations helicopters for the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) on 19 July. No details of the programme value …

• Naval Warfare

  GNYK submits final MKS 180 bid

  23rd July 2019

  The Schleswig-Holstein shipyard of German Naval Yards Kiel (GNYK) announced on 18 July that it had submitted its final offer for the construction of the German …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UMS Skeldar looks to improve UAS flight standards

  24th July 2019

  UMS Skeldar has partnered with Sweden’s Aviation Technical Training School in a bid to develop UAS standards for impending regulations coming into play towards the …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Sky Scout-X [Thailand]

  Programme Background At the Defence & Security (D&S;) 2019 show in Bangkok, RV Connex displayed a variant of this Sky Scout, the Sky Scout-X. This ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A400M [Türkiye]

  Turkey has become the second country to receive the new-generation A400M airlifter, with the first of ten aircraft handed over by Airbus Defence and Space ...

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

  DP18A [Thailand]

  Background 2023 According to Aero Technology Industry Company Limited (ATIL) officials, speaking to Janes at Defence & Security (D&S;) 2023 in Bangkok, the company was at ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow On

  Programme Background In March 2019, Airbus stated that it expected orders from the US Army for between 12 and 15 UH-72A helicopters. In March 2020, ...

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

  Anka-S (Saudi Arabia)

  Programme Background Desired Procurement Saudi Arabia has reportedly been in negotiations to procure six Anka UAVs since 2013. It has not been disclosed which Anka ...

• Trainer

  S-211 Replacement [Philippines]

  Programme Background Requirement The Philippines is looking at replacement options for its ageing fleet of S-211 trainer jets. The S-211s have been in operation with ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA)

  Programme Background Five prototypes will be manufactured for developmental tests. Indian Air Force will buy 36 AMCA Mark-I aircraft from 2029-30. The Mark-I configuration will ...

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

  Long-Endurance UAV [US AFRICOM]

  Programme Background Ageing MQ-9A Reapers In November 2022, Shephard reported that GA-ASI would continue supporting contractor SMX with its MQ-9A after winning a $2.3 billion task ...

• Trainer

  T-4 Replacement [Japan]

  Programme Background The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) has been using the T-4 as an intermediate trainer jet since 1988, but now the Acquisition, Technology ...

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

  Sistema RPAS Táctico de Altas Prestaciones (SiRTAP) [Colombia]

  Background MoU In 2017, it was announced that Spain was jointly developing a MALE UAV with Colombia to meet the ISR requirement of both armed ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  S-70i (Philippines)

  The Black Hawk is believed to have been the most expensive of the aircraft that had been shortlisted for the PAF project, others being the ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-16V [Türkiye]

  Programme Background Requirement Turkish Air Force ordered 100 F-35A aircraft as a partner nation, however, the country was removed from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme ...

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

  Sistema RPAS Táctico de Altas Prestaciones (SiRTAP) [Serbia]

  Background MoU In 2017, it was announced that Spain was jointly developing an MALE UAV with Colombia to meet the ISR requirement of both armed ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  EDA-S [France]

  Programme Background Following the announcement of the 14-ship contract, the DGA approved the design of the first two standard amphibious landing craft (EDA-S) in October 2019, ...

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

  Camcopter Project (Thailand)

  Programme Background Batch One In November 2019, as reported by Shephard, Schiebel was awarded a TBH600 million ($18.76 million) contract from the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Naval guns

  Gökdeniz

  Gökdeniz, also known as Korkut-D, is a 35mm Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) developed by Turkish Aselsan. It was unveiled for the first time at IDEF ...

• Land: RWS

  D-RWS

  The Dual-RWS (D-RWS) is designed to be installed on the Republic of Korea Marine Corps' Korean Amphibious Assault Vehicle fleet. Weighing approximately 350kg, it is ...

• Transponders and IFF

  IFF Mk XIIA(S)

  Aselsan IFF Mk XIIA(S) is a Mode 5/S compatible long-range IFF interrogator. According to the manufacturer, it may be mounted to a standard 19-inch rack ...

• Air: fixed-wing flight simulators

  PC-21 FTD

  Airbus D&S; has technical responsibility for overall system integration and the geo-specific database within the consortium for the development and production of the Pilatus PC-21 ...

• Air: Integrated Defensive Systems

  AN/ALQ-213(V) DAC

  Terma’s AN/ALQ-213(V) electronic warfare management unit is used extensively on General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon series combat aircraft around the world. The AN/ALQ-213(V) is ...

• OPVs

  OPV 58 S

  The OPV 58 S is a versatile patrol vessel developed by the French company Piriou. The vessels have been designed primarily for surveillance, identification and ...

• Deployable/static missile systems

  Bavar 373

  The Bavar 373 is a medium/long range ground based air defence missile system developed by Iran. It is claimed to offer similar capabilities between S-300PMU2 ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  CMS (Vikrant-Class)

  The Combat Management System abroad INS Vikrant is developed by TATA Power's Strategic Engineering Division, the Indian MoD's Weapon and Electonic System Engineering Establishment and ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  Distributed and Networked Mission Training

  Airbus D&S; networks training systems to enable joint and distributed mission training across local and national boundaries, generating realistic and needs-oriented scenarios. The solution uses ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  BTR-MDM

  The BTR-MDM Rakushka is an amphibious tracked armoured vehicle developed by Kurganmashzavod to meet the Russian Airborne Forces' (VDV) need for a new air-droppable APC. ...

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

  Sky Scout-M

  Unveiled at the Defense & Security (D&S;) 2023 exhibition in Bangkok, the Sky Scout-M is a combat version of the Sky Scout from RV Connex.  ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  BTR-3

  Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau produced the first 8x8 BTR-3-series amphibious APC in 2001. The series includes the BTR-3U, the BTR-3U Guardian (variant for ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  TEagle Eye III

  Thailand’s state-owned Defence Technology Institute (DTI) unveiled the TEagle Eye III fixed-wing UAV in November 2015 at the country's Defence and Security (D&S;) exhibition. It ...

• Helicopter guns

  FN D-HMP 250

  The FN D-HMP (Digital Heavy Machine Gun Pod) 250 is a self-contained airborne weapon system armed with a .50 cal FN M3P heavy machine gun, ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar, Air: surveillance radar

  AN/APY-1/2

  The S-band AN/APY-1 radar is installed in a large rotodome above the fuselage of the Boeing KE-3A/E-3A/B Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft ...