• Digital Battlespace

  EID to unveil new vehicle communication system at DSEI

  30th June 2025

  The Portuguese company’s naval communications system is in service across more than a dozen countries. It has turned to its home nation for support in developing a new vehicle based C2 system.

• Land Warfare

  Fischer KEYSTONE™ Hub: Enabling Next-Gen Command and Control

  6th October 2025

  KEYSTONE delivers modular soldier connectivity for NGC2 – customizable with Fischer Connectors’ online configurator.

• Naval Warfare

  Final US Navy Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship concludes acceptance testing

  24th June 2025

  After troubled progress with the Littoral Combat Ship programme, the US Navy plans to commission USS Pierre (LCS 38) this autumn.

• Naval Warfare

  Swedish navy moves to final phase of Blekinge-class sub production with new Saab order

  14th October 2025

  Saab Kockums was initially awarded the contract to build two A26 submarines for the Royal Swedish Navy in 2015, but the programme has faced delays and escalating costs.

• Air Warfare

  US Marines seek suppliers for 10,000 low-cost sUAS with first delivery targeted for April

  13th January 2026

  The US Marine Corps is looking for vendors capable of quickly delivering off-the-shelf drones. The small uncrewed aerial systems are expected to carry diverse types of payloads.

• Land Warfare

  K9 rolls on as Egypt unveils systems, Australia fires and Vietnam and Norway place orders

  4th December 2025

  Hanwha Aerospace’s tracked K9 Thunder 155mm/52-calibre self-propelled howitzer has had notable success in the market over the past few years in Europe and Asia, with Poland alone ordering 316 systems.

• Naval Warfare

  Chinese icebreaker sailing in the US Arctic mobilises the US Coast Guard’s assets

  29th July 2025

  The growing presence of Beijing’s vessels in the Arctic has been challenging the US, while the Coast Guard still struggles with ageing platforms and delayed acquisition programmes.

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2025: Hanwha Aerospace reveals new wheeled artillery system

  20th October 2025

  The aerospace company showed a model of its new mobile howitzer at AUSA in Washington, where a representative told Shephard more about its design.

• Land Warfare

  Boeing’s IFPC Inc 2 Second Interceptor proposal includes “a novel all-up-round solution”

  17th March 2025

  The company’s proposal was recently selected by the US Army to progress Indirect Fires Protection Capability Increment 2 Second Interceptor competition.

• Land Warfare

  Elbit bets on local content for US howitzer bid as it faces off against popular systems

  30th December 2025

  The Israeli company hopes that producing its Sigma artillery system wholly in the US will help it win a key US Army contract, but it will be up against the popular CAESAR Mk II wheeled weapon and the K9 tracked.

• Land Warfare

  Will we see a rise in MBT alternatives in future armoured warfare?

  25th November 2025

  In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of militaries procuring alternative vehicles to the traditional tank. The spread of these vehicles appears to be driven by the ever-increasing cost of MBTs and the changing nature of the modern battlefield.

• Air Warfare

  FCAS programme to launch Phase 2 by mid-2026, say French officials

  22nd May 2025

  Developed by France, Spain and Germany, the European 6th-generation combat air programme is progressing apace with new milestones expected by next year after delays to the programme.

• Land Warfare

  US Army orders 86 Mack Defense M917A3 Heavy Dump Trucks

  7th October 2025

  The initial order was placed as part of the $222 million, five-year contract awarded to Mack Defense in June.

• Air Warfare

  Airbus Helicopters is deepening its European reach as NATO orders climb

  16th February 2026

  Airbus has delivered more than 2,000 helicopters to nations across Europe, and continues to solidify its position at the heart of the region’s defence industrial base.

• Land Warfare

  IDEF 2025: Ukraine presents two wheeled armoured fighting vehicles

  23rd July 2025

  The smaller vehicle is based on the commercial Toyota Land Cruiser 79 chassis and the larger vehicle has a gross vehicle weight of 18t of which includes 4t of payload.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• 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 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  HH-60W - Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH)

  According to the FY2021 Base funding, the HH-60W helicopter unit cost is $43.2 million. The HH-60W will be capable of employment day or night, in ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2 [Pakistan]

  Programme Background Requirement Following a 2019 skirmish with India, Pakistan placed newfound importance on EW and ISR, primarily due to the significant advantage gained during that ...

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

  Long-Range Drones [Norway]

  Background Andøya Ambition On 3 April 2023, the Norwegian MoD released a statement confirming its plans for Andøya, the northernmost island in its Vesterålen archipelago. In addition to ...

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

  Multidomian Micro Drones [USSOCOM]

  Background Special Notice On 14 November 2024, a Special Notice was released that informed the industry that the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) was looking for ...

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

  MQ-9B SkyGuardian [Denmark]

  Programme Background Arctic Capability Package In February 2021, Denmark published the Arctic Capability package, a commitment to invest in new technologies, particularly uncrewed systems, to improve ...

• Loitering munitions

  Long Range One-way Platforms [US]

  Solicitation In October 2024, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) released a solicitation for long-range, one-way platforms. The DIU noted recent conflicts highlighted the asymmetric impact of low-cost, ...

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

  V-Bat 128 [Canada]

  Programme Background Requirement Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) was seeking a platform for the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) that would significantly expand its surveillance range ...

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

  Mini Intelligence Drone System (SMDR) [France]

  Background Requirement The French Army identified a need for a new tactical UAS to replace the Drac, which entered service in 2008. The Mini Reconnaissance ...

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

  M Solar-X [Thailand]

  Programme Background Roadmap In February 2024, the RTAF unveiled its White Paper 2024. Incorporating lessons from the Russo-Ukrainian War, the Israel-Hamas War, and other events ...

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

  Seeker 400 - First Batch (UAE)

  Programme Background The UAE has a long history of transactions with Denel Dynamics. The country has been purchasing various Seeker systems from as far back ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  NH90 NFH-Italy

  Programme Background  The Italian Navy has taken delivery of its first NH90 NFH helicopter in Full Operational Capability (or Step B) configuration in November 2013. ...

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

  CH-4 (First Batch) [Pakistan]

  Programme Background First Batch According to the Pakistan Exim Trade Info website, five aircraft were delivered to the country on 15 January 2021. According to a ...

• Loitering munitions

  Medium-Range Loitering Munition with LEO Satellite Data Link [South Korea]

  Background New Project In April 2025, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) announced a new project titled “Development of Medium-Range ...

• Military UAS - small

  Small UAV (Bulgaria)

  Programme Background The Bulgarian Army wants to procure UAVs to enhance the organic tactical ISR capabilities of its ground forces. According to Bulgarian media, a ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

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

  Caihong

  The Caihong (Rainbow), also known as the Cai Hong or CH, is a solar-powered HALE platform designed for near-space flight. It is suitable for military ...

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

  Morning Star

  Aviation Industry Corporation of China’s Morning Star is a quasi-satellite, near-space, solar-powered platform. It is designed for both military and civilian applications, including reconnaissance, navigation ...

• FL-3

  The FL-3 is a planned solar-powered, long-endurance, near-space platform with an 85,300ft ceiling. Speculated future uses include communication, ground observation, meteorological monitoring and operation as ...

• ISR/special mission, Maritime patrol

  A320neo M3A

  Currently under development by Airbus, the A320 M3A is the Maritime Patrol version of the civilian A320neo aircraft. The aircraft can be fitted with a wide ...

• Space: radar systems

  SARah

  SARah is the planned follow-on system for the SAR-Lupe radar satellite constellation operated by the German Armed Forces. In 2013, it was announced that OHB ...

• Major networking projects

  EAC

  The NATO Communications and Information Agency awarded ACTIA Sodielec a contract in June 2013 to provide NATO with an Extended Advanced SATCOM Network Monitoring and ...

• Space: radar systems

  ESA Sentinel-1

  Sentinel-1 is a planned constellation of four satellites with two already in orbit and two on order. They carry a payload of a C-band SAR ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Vocality Pro Series

  The Pro Series includes the V25, V50, V150 and V20. These are designed to be used in a central communications hub or as part of ...

• Air: COMINT and ELINT systems

  FlyingFish Maritime

  The FlyingFish Maritime SIGINT system is one of several derivatives of the FlyingFish Airborne Satellite Monitoring System developed by Horizon Technologies. Designed to be mounted ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing

  S-70UAS U-Hawk

  Unveiled at AUSA 2025, the S-70UAS U-Hawk is an uncrewed version of Sikorsky’s crewed UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter.  It will act as a delivery aircraft for medium-sized uncrewed ground vehicles ...

• Air: COMINT and ELINT systems

  FlyingFish

  FlyingFish is an Airborne Satellite Monitoring System designed to detect and intercept SATCOM from airborne ISR platforms. As a passive system, it cannot be detected ...

• Guided munitions

  GP155B

  The GP155B is a 155mm artillery round developed by Norinco. The GP155B integrates satellite-based guidance systems that are compatible with both the Chinese Beidou Navigation ...

• Data links

  Space CDL

  The Space Common Data Link (CDL) system provides a wideband data link capability adaptable to a variety of space-based applications. It consists of separate transmitter ...

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

  ULTRA

  The Unmanned Long-endurance Tactical Reconnaissance Aircraft (ULTRA) is a fixed-wing drone from DZYNE Technologies.  It is described as a long-endurance, GPS-harded intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platform with full ...

• Naval: COMINT and ELINT systems

  FlyingFish Naval

  The FlyingFish Naval SIGINT system is one of several derivatives of the FlyingFish Airborne Satellite Monitoring System (ASMS) developed by Horizon Technologies. Whereas the original ...