• Digital Battlespace

  US Army awards MAG Aerospace and L3Harris contract for enhanced ISR aircraft

  24th August 2023

  The US Army has selected MAG Aerospace and L3Harris to deliver two enhanced ISR aircraft for the Army’s Theater-Level, High-Altitude Expeditionary Next Airborne ISR-Radar (ATHENA-R) programme, providing high-altitude intelligence capabilities to meet global requirements.

• Naval Warfare

  Keel laid for USS Tang

  17th August 2023

  The keel was laid for the 32nd Virginia-class submarine USS Tang on 17 August, a Block V variant of the type and the third boat with this name for the USN.

• Air Warfare

  Honeywell urges Pratt & Whitney to share F-35 engine data or risk costly maintenance and reduced reliability

  21st September 2023

  'We're getting into a zone where [the engine and the cooling] are going to be out of phase with each other... which means you're going to have to take the [F-35] jet down twice for overhaul and replacement of systems,' Honeywell official tells Shephard.

• Naval Warfare

  Turkish patrol vessels to get new remote weapon station

  28th July 2023

  Unirobotics showcased the Trakon Targan remote-controlled weapon system for naval vessels, equipped with versatile armament options and advanced electro optics, at the IDEF defence expo.

• Air Warfare

  A welcome observer? Workshare wrangles loom as Belgium joins SCAF future fighter effort

  12th September 2023

  Of the three major Western next-generation fighter programmes, the (arguably) French-led SCAF has received the least attention in English-speaking media. As Belgium gains observer status on the programme, what will this mean for the workshare arrangements between France, Germany and Spain?

• Naval Warfare

  Fleet support vessels are approved for the Indian Navy

  22nd August 2023

  India is set to proceed with the construction of five indigenously built replenishment vessels.

• Air Warfare

  UAVs at TADTE 2023 highlight Taiwan’s defence aspirations

  17th September 2023

  Taiwan revealed several new UAVs at TADTE 2023, including a follow-on loitering munition.

• Naval Warfare

  New Turkish naval mines will be able to distinguish between friend and foe

  9th August 2023

  The Malaman smart bottom mine and Uça guided smart bomb will use acoustic, magnetic and pressure sensors to detect and classify targets.

• Training

  DSEI 2023: Boeing and Red 6 partnership first to achieve successful AR integration on aircraft

  14th September 2023

  The partnership between Boeing and Red 6 has resulted in the successful flight testing of AR technology in a TA-4JA tactical aircraft, with plans to extend testing to the T-7 Red Hawk advanced trainer.

• Air Warfare

  PLA shows off new UCAV, while CH-5 achieves sale to Iraq

  27th September 2023

  China's aerospace industry continues to develop and sell advanced UAVs both at home and on the international market and has displayed UCAVs at the China Helicopter Exhibition in Tianjin.

• Defence Notes

  Miilux produces submarine-grade steel in Turkiye, revolutionising national SSK projects

  2nd August 2023

  A Turkish plant has produced the country's first submarine-grade heat-treated steel, meaning that national submarine programmes will no longer be reliant on import for this raw material.

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2023: Hanwha highlights UK industrial benefits of K9 Thunder British Army artillery bid

  13th September 2023

  Hanwha. which is offering the K9A2 self-propelled artillery system for the British Army's Mobile Fires Platform (MFP) requirement, is offering to bring additional R&D and upgrade work to the UK if it wins the contest.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DSEI 2023: UMS Skeldar and Marshall unveil containerised deployment system for V-200 UAS

  11th September 2023

  UMS Skeldar and Marshall Land Systems are unveiling the Battlefield Deployable Uncrewed Aerial System (BDUAS) at DSEI, a complete package for transporting, maintaining and controlling a Skeldar V-200 UAV.

• Air Warfare

  Test flights begin of Israeli Oron CAEW aircraft

  29th August 2023

  Israel has begun test flights of its new Oron Conformal Airborne Early Warning (CAEW) ISR aircraft, the Israeli Ministry of Defence announced on 27 August.

• Land Warfare

  Turkish air-portable howitzer targets exports as local production line rolls on

  16th August 2023

  Turkey’s MKEK has set its sights on export opportunities for its 105mm Boran Air Portable Light Towed Howitzer (APLTH) now that it is in production for the home market.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Fighter - air superiority, Fighter - multirole

  Kaan [Indonesia]

  Programme Background Witnessed by President Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia and Turkish Aerospace signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at InfoDefence 2025 in Jakarta for 48 Kaan fighters. ...

• Fighter - multirole

  TF-X Kaan Next Generation Fighter [Turkey]

  Background Requirement Geopolitical factors have spurred aircraft development in Türkiye. With its removal from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter project following the Russian S-400 air ...

• Transport

  Additional transport aircraft [Turkey]

  Background Requirement The Turkish Air Force (TurAF) operates a transport fleet including CN-235, C-130B/E, and A-400M aircraft. According to media sources, these airframes have rapidly ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-B [Türkiye]

  Programme Background TAI announced in November 2019 that it had delivered a total of 22 Anka-B UAVs to the Turkish Navy. Two large contracts contributing ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Hermes 900 Replacement [Chile]

  Background Hermes 900 purchase According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), three Hermes 900 were ordered in 2011 and delivered in 2013.  Continued ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-S (4-6) [Malaysia]

  Background First three drones Following years of exploring MALE UAVs and a few failed efforts, the RMAF clarified it wanted to acquire the three MALE ...

• Trainer

  Hurjet (1-17) [Turkey]

  Background Platform development The Turkish Executive Committee of Defence Industry (SSIK) has officially given the green light to mass production of the Hürjet trainer and ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Fifth-generation fighter [Egypt]

  Background Requirement It is believed that due to the continued Israeli procurement of the F-35I fifth-generation fighter, and ongoing geopolitical tensions in the region, that ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-S (1-3) [Malaysia]

  Background Inception Malaysia's desire to acquire a MALE UAV dates back to 2009, when it announced it would be the first country in the region ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-S (Second Batch) [Turkey]

  Programme Background First Batch Based on comments by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and Turkish media in 2018, Shephard believes that Türkiye acquired 26 Anka-S drones ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-3 [Turkey]

  Background Order Announcement Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) General Manager Mehmet Demiroğlu, in a statement at SAHA Istanbul's SAHA Chat program in January 2026, stated that, ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  FLIT-LCA [Malaysia]

  Programme Background Malaysia released an RfI in early January 2019 seeking light combat aircraft capable of some air-to-air and full air-to-ground missions. The requirement is ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  T129B [Philippines]

  Programme Background On 31 August 2019, it was announced that the Philippines National Defence Acquisition Decision Memorandum continues with the T-129 procurement. However, on 30 April ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Aksungur [Algeria]

  Programme Background Algerian media outlets reported in early October 2022 that the Algerian Air Force had acquired six Aksungur UAVs from Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI). Forecast Methodology ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  T129B - Forecast [Philippines]

  Programme Background The Philippines has been waiting some time for T129s from Turkish Aerospace. The type was selected in November 2018, but it was not ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Trainer

  Hurjet

  The Hurjet is an advanced jet trainer being codeveloped by Turkish Aerospace Industries and the Kingdom of Spain in collaboration with Sierra Nevada Cooperation to meet the ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  T70

  The T70i is a 10t utility helicopter in a military configuration that is suitable for CSAR and offshore operations. The platform is currently under development ...

• Fighter - air superiority, Fighter - multirole

  Kaan

  Kaan (previously called TF-X and MMU) is a fifth-generation stealth-twin engine air superiority fighter jet in development by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), and BAE Systems as its subcontractor. The ...

• Air: aerial targets

  Turna

  The Turna is a high-speed target drone system that was indigenously designed and produced by Turkish Aerospace Industries and entered the inventory of the Turkish armed ...

• Subsystems: visual

  Medallion-6000

  The Medallion-6000 series is the latest member of the CAE Medallion image generator family. It combines the feature set and image quality of previous Medallion ...

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  PD170

  The PD170 is a turbodiesel engine initially developed to meet the engine requirement of Turkish Aerospace Industries' indigenous Anka UAV. Development began in December 2012 ...

• Helicopter engines

  CTS800

  The CTS800, the result of the LHTEC partnership between Honeywell and Rolls-Royce, provides power across a range of military and civil aircraft, including several versions ...

• Loitering munitions

  Kargi

  The Kargi is an in-development loitering munition that Lentatek has developed in collaboration with the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBITAK), Aselsan and Turkish Aerospace ...

• 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 ...

• Trainer

  Hurkus

  Turkey’s Undersecretariat for Defence Industries signed an agreement with Turkish Aerospace Industries in March 2006 for the Hurkus Turkish Basic Training Aircraft development programme. Three ...

• 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 ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-3

  The Anka-3 MIUS, or Anka-III, is a developmental low-observable flying wing UCAV from Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI). The UCAV has been designed to work alongside Turkey's TF-X fighters ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Rotary Wing Cargo UAV

  Displayed at Paris Air Show 2023, the Rotary Wing Cargo UAV is a cargo-carrying and ISR drone manufactured by Turkish Aerospace (TAI). Powered by a ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  AW129

  The AW129 Mangusta (Mongoose, service designation) is a tandem two-seat, twin-engine attack helicopter originally developed for the Italian Army and subsequently developed into a multirole combat ...

• Helicopter engines

  TS1400

  The TS1400 turboshaft engine is designed to power the T625 multirole helicopter developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries. The project started on 7 February 2017 under the ...