• Land Warfare

  Canada unveils plans for mobile artillery

  27th May 2025

  Canada did deploy the US M109 155mm/39 cal tracked self-propelled artillery system as its only mobile weapon for many years but these were finally declared surplus in 2005.

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2025: Rheinmetall adds Lockheed Martin missile punch to Fuchs vehicle

  9th September 2025

  The combination of the Rheinmetall platform with Lockheed Martin missiles is seen as the bringing together of mature systems to provide a capability in the medium term, but trials could be as long as 12 months away.

• Land Warfare

  Active vehicle protection comes to the forefront as Trophy and Iron Fist secure contracts

  16th February 2026

  Experience on the battlefield is accelerating the adoption of active protection systems as technologies continue to evolve to reflect shifting global defence needs.

• Land Warfare

  Rheinmetall looks to international partners as its sales grow

  6th November 2025

  Rheinmetall has been riding high for several years as countries look to buy artillery and budgets boom.

• Naval Warfare

  Ireland releases maritime strategy as it looks to new naval bases and stronger partnerships

  27th February 2026

  Ireland has a maritime area ten times the size of its land mass but has a limited naval capacity and faces an ongoing threat to critical underwater infrastructure. A new strategy is looking to address the challenge.

• Land Warfare

  The year ahead: Major trends and forecasts for the land domain in 2026

  8th January 2026

  2025 was a busy year for the land domain and 2026 looks set to be just as big. Shephard’s Dr Peter Magill analyses some of the major trends we are likely to see in the year ahead.

• Land Warfare

  Sweden seeks US HIMARS missile system to expand long-range strike capability

  13th March 2026

  The proposed $920 million deal would provide Sweden with a step up from its existing tube artillery and align the country with other northern European nations that have selected the HIMARS platform.

• Land Warfare

  German rearmament – three potential scenarios

  5th September 2025

  With the possibility of a massive increase in German defence spending on the horizon, Shephard analyses what such a boost could mean for the Bundeswehr’s procurement of new armoured vehicles.

• Defence Notes

  Rheinmetall sales up by almost a quarter on wave of German spending

  8th August 2025

  Germany’s Rheinmetall released its 1H 2025 results on 7 August, continuing the strong growth of recent years. A particular highlight of the result’s presentation was the Skyranger air defence system for which the company is predicting sales of about US$8.2 billion from the German Government before the end of the year.

• Land Warfare

  Large 10×10 vehicles go in search of a role

  2nd July 2025

  Wheeled vehicles ranging in size from 4×4 to 8×8 provide high-speed at a good level of mobility compared to tracked. However, tracked can be larger and have a higher level of mobility in marginal terrain with a smaller turning circle. What are the possibilities for a 10×10?

• Defence Notes

  Canada set to look away from its neighbour and across the Atlantic for partners

  5th December 2025

  While non-EU UK struggles to join the Security Action for Europe initiative, which provides loans for defence programmes, Canada has become the first country outside Europe to get access – and did so for a nominal fee.

• Land Warfare

  New armoured vehicles appear in Vietnam’s 80th anniversary parade

  8th September 2025

  Marking eight decades since Vietnam gained its independence, the Vietnam People’s Army used the procession to showcase two new vehicles.

• Land Warfare

  World Defense Show 2026: Hanwha increases Middle East presence and reveals Tigon 6x6 sale

  13th February 2026

  Shephard sat down with Hanwha Middle East and Africa president Sung Il at World Defense Show 2026 to hear about the company’s plans for the region and how it plans to use local industry success to win deals.

• Land Warfare

  What does Germany’s new tank joint venture mean for MGCS?

  16th July 2025

  Germany is Europe’s leading country for tank manufacture and until this month was committed to the Franco-German Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) which included tanks and other vehicles. Earlier this month, Germany and other European countries set up the Main ARmoured Tank of Europe (MARTE) project casting a shadow over the MGCS.

• Land Warfare

  Beyond Survivability: How Active Protection Systems Are Empowering Commanders (Podcast)

  20th August 2025

  As threats diversify and intensify, APS are proving essential not just for vehicle protection but also for enhancing operational freedom, effectiveness and mission success in contested environments.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Boxer (JSFT) [Germany]

  Programme Background The German Army has a requirement for a heavy armoured vehicle platform to supplement the lighter Fennek in service with its JFSTs. Unlike ...

• Wheeled assault guns

  VBC Cav-MSR [Brazil]

  Programme background Purpose The Brazilian Army's mechanised cavalry regiments are believed to operate approximately 400 EE-9 Cascavel 6x6 fire support vehicles manufactured by the now-defunct ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Boxer (MIV) [UK]

  Programme Background History The UK MoD announced in March 2018 that it would re-join the Boxer programme and pursue a sole-source acquisition of the 8x8 ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Boxer (Vilkas) (Batch 2) [Lithuania]

  Programme Background  Lithuania's Boxers are manufactured by the ARTEC production lines in Germany and the Netherlands. KMW is responsible for producing 56 of the vehicles ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  6x6 APC [Germany]

  Programme Background Bidders and Suppliers As no programme has been officially announced, all bidders and suppliers are speculative at this time. Patria 6x6 Common Armoured ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Pandur II Replacement [Czech Republic]

  Programme Background  The Czech Republic currently operates 127 Pandur II IFVs, 107 of which were manufactured locally by Tatra between 2009 and 2013, with the remaining ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  AMVxp [Slovenia]

  Programme Background Requirement Slovenian defence policy requires the establishment of an armoured battalion (SrBBSk) and a combat reconnaissance battalion (SrBIB) to support the country's NATO commitments. Under its ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Boxer (Vilkas) (Batch 3) [Lithuania]

  Programme Background  Lithuania's Boxers are manufactured by the ARTEC production lines in Germany and the Netherlands. KMW is responsible for producing 56 of the vehicles ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  8x8 IFV [Qatar]

  Programme Background Qatar requires a new 8x8 armoured vehicle platform to replace a range of legacy wheeled and tracked armoured vehicles currently in service with ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Boxer (Vilkas) (Batch 1) [Lithuania]

  Programme Background Lithuania's Boxers are manufactured by the ARTEC production lines in Germany and the Netherlands. KMW is responsible for producing 56 of the vehicles ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Boxer [Slovenia]

  Programme Background Requirement As part of its broader military modernisation plans outlined in its Medium-Term Defense Plan 2018-2023, the Slovenian MoD identified a requirement for ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Land 400 Phase 2 - Boxer CRV [Australia]

  Programme Background History The Land 400 Phase 2 programme will procure a replacement for the ASLAV, a derivative of the General Dynamics Land Systems Light Armoured Vehicle ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  8x8 IFV [Greece]

  Programme Background The Greek Army is believed to operate a vast inventory of tracked APCs numbering more than 2,600 vehicles. This consists of legacy Cold ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Pacha Kuyuchix (New 8x8 Armoured Vehicle) [Peru]

  Programme Background The Peruvian Army is reliant upon a range of ageing 4x4 APCs, including the UR-416, Type 6614 and Type 6616, all of which ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Boxer A2 (Second Batch)

  Programme BackgroundRheinmetall announced that deliveries of the second batch of 131 Boxers had been completed in June 2021.In addition to these standard Boxers, the German ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Boxer Tracked

  At Eurosatory 2022, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) has unveiled a tracked version of the 8x8 Boxer armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) with an increased gross vehicle weight and ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  STR-50

  The STR-50 is a rotary-wing UAV manufactured by Stromkind.  Little is known about the platform. It was seen displayed on top of a Boxer 8x8 ...

• Land: RWS

  RT60

  The RT60 is the largest, heaviest member of Kongsberg's family of Remote Turret (RT) systems, all of which are based on a common technology. Designed ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Boxer

  ARTEC produces the 8x8 Boxer, a JV between KNDS, Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles and Rheinmetall Military Vehicles Nederland, to meet the requirements of several militaries ...

• Land: RWS

  FLW 200

  The FLW 200 was developed by KMW to meet a German Army requirement for a heavy RWS. Designed with a modular architecture, it is capable ...

• Self-propelled guns

  Hanwha 8x8 SPH 155

  Hanwha Aerospace announced a new developmental 155mm SPH based on an 8x8 chassis in July 2024. Building on the success of its K9 Thunder armoured ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Terrex 3

  The Terrex 3 is the latest member of the Terrex 8x8 IFVs developed by ST Kinetics and is a highly protected variant. Designed using the ...

• Land: RWS

  Mangart 300

  The Mangart 300 unmanned turret is being developed by a consortium of seven Slovenian companies led by Valhalla Turrets. Armed with a Northrop Grumman XM813 ...

• Land: RWS

  M151 Protector (RS4)

  Originally developed in 1997, the Protector family of remote weapons stations is best known for its extensive service with the US Army, which adopted the ...

• Land: vehicle simulators

  Egress Trainer

  The KMW Egress Trainer provides crew members with the opportunity to experience vehicle roll-over conditions, rehearse and physically execute the steps necessary to survive a ...

• Land: RWS

  R400S Mk2 Dual

  The R400S Mk2 Dual is a variant of the R400S Mk2 which can be configured as a single or a dual RWS.  In single weapon ...

• Main battle tanks

  EMBT

  KNDS (KMW + NEXTER Defense Systems) presented its first joint product, the EMBT (European Main Battle Tank) demonstrator, at the June 2018 Eurosatory defence exhibition. The EMBT mounts ...

• Self-propelled guns

  Artillery Gun Module (AGM)

  The Artillery Gun Module (AGM) was developed as a private venture by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, now KNDS, to provide a lightweight and fully automated artillery system ...

• Land: manned turrets

  Lance

  The Lance Modular Turret System, designed to equip tracked and wheeled IFVs, was introduced by Rheinmetall in 2008. Lance is available either in a two-person ...

• Land: RWS

  M153 Protector (CROWS II/RS4)

  The M153 Protector leverages and improves upon the technology developed for the M151 Protector RWS. Like its predecessor, it is capable of accommodating a wide ...