• Naval Warfare

  Naval artificial intelligence demonstrated in new applications in Paris

  9th July 2024

  The prevalence of AI-enabled solutions from startups and major defence company at this year’s Eurosatory highlighted both the potential benefits and trust-related challenges associated with its adoption.

• Digital Battlespace

  How Israel is using space to spot missile threats from Iran

  2nd May 2024

  A former Israeli space head has recommended that the Israeli Air and Space Arm operate small satellites in swarms to provide the country’s armed forces with region-wide surveillance.

• Land Warfare

  Laser Precision: The Key to Countering the Rising UAS Threat (Studio)

  12th June 2024

  The rise of drones in warfare is revolutionising the battlefield, introducing new threats that require innovative countermeasures. Lasers, with their advantages of precision and efficiency, are at the forefront of this technological defence.

• Training

  How the US Air Force plans to use artificial intelligence to train pilots

  26th June 2024

  AI can accelerate instruction for flying officer and improve their training in several ways.

• Air Warfare

  Long-range radar handed over to US Missile Defence Agency

  3rd May 2024

  Lockheed Martin delivered 10 antenna panels for its Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) to Clear, Alaska in 2020. The system will be used by the Missile Defence Agency (MDA) as part of its layered defence strategy against ballistic missiles.

• Land Warfare

  BAE Systems Hagglunds’ latest CV90 IFV on show in Paris

  17th June 2024

  The newest member of the CV90 family of vehicles features a new turret and more internal space for crews.

• Air Warfare

  Space domain “has never been more critical” to US security, says US chief of space operations

  12th April 2024

  The increasing relevance of space in warfare scenarios and the proliferation of threats have been pushing the US Space Force towards modernising and investing in new capabilities.

• Air Warfare

  Congress plans to provide the US Air Force with an additional $1 billion for procuring aircraft

  15th June 2024

  Extra funds will go to several programmes including the F-35. The House Appropriations Committee also prohibited the US Air Force from divesting U-2 and F-15 C/D fleet.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Eurodrone offers boost to European defence industry

  15th June 2024

  Joint European project to create MALE UAV has led to major job generation and offered a significant supply chain boost to the continent’s defence industry.

• Air Warfare

  Heron TP flies over Germany for the first time

  15th May 2024

  The Heron TP is a multi-role, advanced, long-range MALE UAS. It is faster, larger and higher flying than the Heron Mk 1 on which it is based and has been equipped with automatic taxi-takeoff and landing systems, satellite communication for extended range and fully redundant avionics.

• Naval Warfare

  US supplies latest vessel to strengthen Caribbean and Central American security

  29th May 2024

  A US Navy Rear Admiral highlighted the importance of the US working closely with allies in its own backyard as Louisiana shipbuilder delivers latest patrol vessel to partner nation.

• Naval Warfare

  Is the US Navy’s new DDG(X) destroyer facing cancellation?

  6th June 2024

  The projected costs for the DDG(X) destroyer project are spiralling, its technologies need to be matured and the USN has more pressing priorities. If the programme begins to repeat some of the mistakes made on previous major surface combatant procurements then DDG(X) is likely to face the axe.

• Digital Battlespace

  First South Korean 425 Project observation satellite launched

  8th April 2024

  In 2015, South Korea named a consortium of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Hanwha Systems, along with Thales Alenia Space providing the SAR payload derived from its HE-R1000 product, as preferred bidder to develop new Korea 425 Project reconnaissance satellites.

• Digital Battlespace

  Spectra Group’s GENSS tactical radio to debut at SOF Week

  2nd May 2024

  GENSS (next GENeration SlingShot) is a tactical radio communications system developed by the Spectra Group with a modular, open-architecture solution that can be adapted for air, land and sea applications.

• Digital Battlespace

  How commercial tech is reshaping military requirements

  24th May 2024

  Non-military drones, robotics, VR, AR, SATCOM and cyber tech will play a crucial part in future warfare.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - tactical

  ISTAR UAV (1-2) [Canada]

  Background Contrant Award As reported by Shephard in September 2025, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) purchased Class 2 UAVs, classed as tactical platforms in NATO taxonomy, ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  ISTAR UAV (3-6) [Canada]

  Background Contrant award As reported by Shephard in September 2025, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) purchased Class 2 UAVs, classed as tactical platforms in NATO taxonomy, ...

• 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 ...

• Destroyers

  Arleigh Burke Flight III (DDG 140 - DDG 149) [USN]

  Programme Background Timeline Flight III is the last of the four flights being built for the USN, with the first ship beginning construction in 2018 ...

• Military UAS - mini

  AKILA [Spain]

  Background Contract award In October 2025, the Spanish Procurement Directorate of the Logistics Support Command of the Air and Space Force publicly issued a framework ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H175M [Spain]

  Programme Background On 18 December 2025, the Spanish Directorate General for Armament and Material (DGAM) of the Ministry of Defence confirmed the procurement of 100 helicopters ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  RQ-1 Predator [UAE]

  Methodology PGO and programme status The programme is believed to be completed, and therefore has been assigned a PGO of 100%. Unit cost Air & ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) (Increment 2) [USAF]

  Background Increment 1 In January 2024, during the first increment of the USAF’s CCA effort, the USAF awarded contracts to Anduril, Boeing, General Atomics (GA-ASI), ...

• Transport

  A400M (Kazakhstan)

  Programme Background In September 2021, it was announced that Kazakhstan ordered two Airbus A400M aircraft. According to Michael Schoellhorn, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space, ‘The A400M ...

• Trainer

  PC-7 MKX [France]

  Development Babcock is set to supply the French Air and Space Force with 22 PC-7 MKX aircraft and 12 training stimulators for a total programme ...

• Transport

  C295W (Philippines)

  Programme Background The Philippines Air Force (PAF) has ordered three C295W in addition to the four C295M already in service. All the aircraft will be ...

• 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 - MALE

  Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) [Netherlands]

  Background Dutch and American collaboration On 16 October 2025, the Dutch MoD announced a Letter of Intent (LOI) had been signed to join the USAF’s ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton [NATO]

  Background NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum During the July 2026 NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum in Ankara, Türkiye, NATO announced that Denmark, Finland, Germany and Norway ...

• Military UAS - mini

  VTOL-Capable Group 2 UAV [USA]

  Background Request for Information (RFI) In March 2026, the USAF issued an RFI seeking a VTOL-capable UAV capable of operating in austere environments to support ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• UAS: communication systems

  Airborne Broadband SATCOM

  ViaSat’s airborne SATCOM services offer worldwide access and a range of service levels, providing connectivity and performance options tailored to meet a variety of needs. ...

• Data links

  MIDS-LVT(2)

  ViaSat provides MIDS-LVT(2) terminals for Link 16 communications to ground-based platforms. MIDS-LVT(2) is designed to simplify installation in ground stations. This includes US Army PATRIOT ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MIDS JTRS

  The MIDS JTRS is a four-channel radio designed to run the Link 16 waveform and up to three additional communication protocols, including the Airborne Networking ...

• Major networking projects

  Mobile SATCOM System

  ViaSat airborne broadband services provide beyond-line-of-sight mobile communications support to capacity-driven applications worldwide: over 2,500MHz of bandwidth, global Ku band with Ka overlays, DoD Gateway ...

• Data links

  MIDS-LVT(1) (ViaSat)

  MIDS-LVT(1) adds Link 16 communications to airborne and maritime platforms. It provides all operational modes of the Link 16 waveform, and implements the required MIDS ...

• 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 ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MD-1366 EBEM

  The US government selected the MD-1366 Enhanced Bandwidth Efficient Modem (EBEM) from ViaSat to set the DoD standard for high-speed, high-performance,flexibility and compatibility in a ...

• Naval: Radio and SATCOM

  RT-1829

  RT-1829(P)/S is a shipboard UHF SATCOM terminal. The equipment is Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC) and NSA certified, and it has a ready Integrated Waveform ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  GAT-5518 Global Aero Terminal

  The GAT-5518 enables broadband in-flight connectivity services for commercial and government users on Viasat’s high-capacity satellite network. Capable of operating on the full ITU Ka-band ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  KG-255 X

  The NSA-certified ViaSat KG-255X combines Type 1 High Assurance Internet Protocol Encryptor (HAIPE) with the latest cyber defence technologies and visualisation software to allow secure ...

• Air: mission management systems

  SISP

  The Single Integrated Space Picture (SISP) provides net-centric C2 capabilities for space, says Lockheed Martin. It is a suite of applications and data designed to ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Hawkeye III Lite

  L3Harris' Hawkeye III Lite is a Tri-band VSAT terminal that provides high-speed data communications for Internet, VPN and video transmission. Compatible with multiple modems and ...

• Data links

  STT KOR-24

  The STT KOR-24 is a dual-channel radio with Link 16 support. Dismounted warfighters and disadvantaged nodes can use the Small Tactical Terminal (STT) for merged air ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  KG-250XS

  Delivering 20Mb/s (aggregate) speeds, the ViaSat KG-250XS is a Type 1 inline network encryptor (INE) designed for telecommuting, flyaway kits, small UAVs and other dismounted ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  GAT-5510 Global Aero Terminal

  The Global Aero Terminal 5510 (GAT-5510) is part of Viasat’s next-gen Ka-band terminals. It supports broadband in-flight connectivity for both military and civilian aircraft on Viasat’s ...