• Defence Notes

  Rheinmetall vehicle sales almost double as European companies see continued growth

  8th May 2025

  Results for Q1 2025 have been strong across the board for many defence companies in Europe with forward-looking statements and predictions for the full year also looking good.

• Naval Warfare

  The Philippines strengthens maritime defences amid rising tensions in South China Sea

  28th April 2025

  The Philippine Navy is fast-tracking its maritime modernisation with new warships, unmanned platforms, and international shipbuilding partnerships to bolster its regional deterrence posture.

• Land Warfare

  FNSS wins Turkish vehicle order which could be worth more than $7.5 billion

  25th February 2025

  The initial order is for 25 Pars Alpha armoured vehicles in 8x8 configuration but the Turkish Land Forces (TLF) is planning to acquire more than 2,000 vehicles and additional orders are expected.

• Air Warfare

  MBDA backs British startup to continue development on heavy-lift drone

  29th April 2025

  The investment will bring together the Hybrid Drones and MBDA to enable the former to further develop its Hydra 400 UAV, previously showcased by the British Army.

• Naval Warfare

  Avalon 2025: Kongsberg confirms its first Australian missile factory

  31st March 2025

  The deal, which has been planned since August 2024, is part of an ongoing attempt to bolster Australia’s defences against the potential of Chinese aggression.

• 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.

• Air Warfare

  IDEX 2025: GIDS aims to set the loitering munition market ablaze

  19th February 2025

  At IDEX 2025, Global Industrial Defence Solutions (GIDS) unveiled the Blaze family of loitering munitions: the Blaze-25, Blaze-50 and Blaze-75.

• Air Warfare

  Taurus KEPD 350E missile sees upgrade for German armed forces

  4th April 2025

  Taurus Systems, a joint venture between MBDA Germany and Saab, was awarded a $161 million 10-year contract in January 2025 to modernise the Taurus 350 missile.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  SOF Week 2025: PDW unveils attritable FPV drone for SOF operations at scale

  7th May 2025

  PDW has revealed its Attritable Multirotor First Person View drone at SOF Week 2025, offering special operations forces a low-cost, rapidly deployable platform for strike and ISR missions, inspired by battlefield lessons from Ukraine.

• Land Warfare

  BAE Systems takes another step towards restarting M777 howitzer production

  16th April 2025

  The M777 155mm lightweight howitzer is in service with more than six countries and has been heavily used in Ukraine. The latest contract is part of an effort to restart the manufacture of M777 towed howitzers.

• Land Warfare

  Italy aims for $26 billion vehicle investment and prepares for cyber defence

  3rd February 2025

  Italy’s Armoured Infantry Combat System (AICS) system began seven years ago in an effort to replace older vehicles such as M113s and the force is also looking to replace its C1 Ariete Main Battle Tanks (MBTs).

• Naval Warfare

  South Korean shipbuilders showcase export ambitions amid ongoing KDDX delays

  12th June 2025

  Hyundai and Hanwha recently unveiled advanced frigate and submarine designs while South Korea eyes new export markets and resolves internal rivalries

• Land Warfare

  IDEX 2025: Shifting sands – the Middle East’s defence landscape in flux (video)

  13th February 2025

  As Western influence wanes, Middle Eastern countries are leveraging defence modernisation to assert regional dominance, while global players such as China and Turkey seize new market opportunities. Sam Hart, Senior Land Analyst at Shephard Group, offers insights into how these developments are reshaping the region’s defence landscape.

• Air Warfare

  F-15EX and shipbuilding win big in proposed $150 billion US defence funding boost

  1st May 2025

  The legislation outlined additional budget to enhance air, land and naval platforms, including next-generation air and uncrewed naval programmes.

• Air Warfare

  Turkey’s Baykar strengthens European links with Leonardo and Piaggio Aerospace deals

  3rd February 2025

  Recent collaborations with Italian aerospace and defence firms have bolstered Baykar’s links throughout Europe and strengthened its credibility as an important player on the continental stage.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | Joint Strike Ship [South Korea]

  South Korea is reportedly seeking to acquire up to three Joint Strike Ships as part of its "Three Axis System". The Joint Strike Ship (JSS) is ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | Joint Strike Ship [South Korea]

  South Korea is reportedly seeking to acquire up to three Joint Strike Ships as part of its "Three Axis System". The Joint Strike Ship (JSS) is ...

• Loitering munitions

  Turkish Loitering Munitions [Albania]

  Programme Background "Considerable" Speaking on 10 October 2024, Albania's  Prime Minister Edi Rama stated that Türkiye would provide Albania with a "considerable" number of loitering munitions. A government ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  Hürkuş-C Advanced Armed Trainer (Turkey)

  The Hurjet-C development programme funding was included in the Hurkus-B procurement contract awarded by  the Turkish Undersecretariat for Defence Industries in December 2013.  The Hurjet will ...

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering munitions [Canada]

  Background Switchblade acquisition In February 2025, the Canadian government finalised a $67 million deal with AeroVironment (AV) to acquire the Switchblade 300 and Switchblade 600 ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Bayraktar TB2 [Kuwait]

  Background Contract Award On 18 January 2023, Baykar announced signing a $370 million export contract with Kuwait for the Bayraktar TB2. According to the announcement, ...

• Long Range Missile Defence Systems: > 90km range

  Siper Block II [Turkey]

  Background Türkiye is procuring the SİPER Block II long-range air defence missile systems. The systems are intended to provide an effective defensive capability against air ...

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munitions (First Batch) [Japan]

  Background Appreciation of Loitering Munitions After years of not operating loitering munitions and armed UAVs, Japan’s position towards them has changed. Belatedly, the MoD realised the ...

• Self-propelled rocket launchers

  HIMARS [Canada]

  Background The Canadian army does not currently operate any MLRS systems. Following the effectiveness of MLRS in Ukraine, many militaries have begun investing in their ...

• Fighter - multirole

  JF-17 [Azerbaijan]

  Programme Background Requirement In October 2019, Turkish media sources reported that at least two Azeri pilots travelled to Pakistan to receive training in JF-17 aircraft. ...

• Self-propelled rocket launchers

  K239 Chunmoo (Batch 2) [Estonia]

  Background Estonia currently operates the HIMARS as its primary MRLS. However, in an effort to expand its capabilities, as well as diversify its supply base, ...

• Long Range Missile Defence Systems: > 90km range

  Siper-1 (Steel Dome) [Turkey]

  Background The Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) and related companies signed a contract for the initial production of SİPER-1 and HİSAR systems. The systems will ...

• Loitering munitions

  Seth-X and Anubis [Germany]

  Background German-built, Ukraine-bound The Auterion Airlogix Joint Venture GmbH was established in February 2026 at the Munich Security Conference by the German company Auterion and ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-9B SeaGuardian [Morocco]

  Background 2020-2030 Morocco-US Agreement In October 2020, officials from the Trump administration visited Morocco, and both nations signed a military and security cooperation agreement. According ...

• Main battle tanks

  Altay MBT (Batch 1) [Turkey]

  Programme Background The Altay will replace legacy M48 and M60 MBTs still in service with the Turkish Army. The $3.971 billion contract awarded to BMC in November ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: aerial targets, Loitering munitions

  Simsek

  The Simsek (Şimşek), or Lightning, is a high-speed target drone system that enables autonomous high-speed and low-altitude threat stimulation of aircraft and missiles for air-to-air, ...

• Artillery rockets

  TRG-230

  TRG-230 is a 230 mm GNSS/INS guided artillery rocket developed by the Turkish ROKETSAN as the medium-range guided artillery rocket for the firm’s universal MLRS ...

• Guided munitions

  M-712 Copperhead

  The M-712 Copperhead is a 155mm artillery projectile that is guided to its target via a laser guidance system, making it more resistant to electronic ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Aksungur

  The Aksungur is a twin-engined MALE UAS manufactured by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) for the Turkish Armed Forces. TAI completed the platform's maiden flight on 20 March ...

• Guided munitions

  SMKB (Smart-MK-Bomb)

  The Smart-MK-Bomb, or the SMKB, is a precision guidance kit developed by Mectron and designed to turn Mk 82 and Mk 83 bombs into guided munitions.

• Artillery rockets

  TRG-300 Block I

  TRG-300 is a 300 mm artillery rocket developed by Turkish ROKETSAN, serving as the heavy rocket in the TRG family of guided artillery missiles.

• Military UAS - MALE

  Astore

  The Astore is a weaponised variant of Leonardo's Falco EVO drone. The drone's autonomous modes operate within the man-in-the-loop principle and can be fitted with ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Akinci

  The Akinci is a MALE UCAV manufactured by Baykar. Sometimes known as Uçan Balık, the UAV can be fitted with a range of ISR or ...

• Artillery rockets

  TRG/TRLG-122

  The TRG-122 is a Turkish 122mm family of guided artillery rockets developed by ROKETSAN for the T-122 Sakarya and other MLRS platforms. The family includes ...

• Air-to-surface missiles, Surface-to-surface missiles

  UMTAS/L-UMTAS

  Roketsan developed the imaging IR-guided Mızrak-U, also known as the UMTAS (Uzun Menzilli Tanksavar Sistemi, or Long-Range Anti-Tank System), and the laser-guided L-Mızrak-U (L-UMTAS) for ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Multirole Heavy Combat Helicopter

  The Multirole Heavy Combat Helicopter is an attack helicopter being developed by Turkish Aerospace to meet the operational requirements of the Turkish Armed Forces, including air-to-ground ...

• Self-propelled mortars

  2S34 Chosta

  The 2S34 Chosta is an upgraded version of the 122mm 2S1 tracked SPH that replaces the original 2A31 ordnance with the 120mm 2A80-1 mortar-gun, an ...

• EO/IR systems

  StormCaster-DX

  Unveiled at Modern Day Marine 2022, the Teledyne FLIR StormCaster-DX is a multi-role, low-SWaP laser target designator (LTD) payload designed to affect the STANAG-compliant terminal ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  Ares 150 SAT

  The Ares 150 SAT is a tactical patrol and guided-missile fast attack craft designed and developed by the Turkish manufacturer Ares Shipyard. The boats are ...

• Ship-launched torpedoes

  Tork

  Aselsan TORK is an antitorpedo torpedo developed to destroy acoustic-homing, wire-guided, non-wire-guided, and wake-homing torpedoes launched against surface ships and submarines.  It approaches the torpedo ...