• Defence Notes

  NATO membership brings new dawn for North Macedonia

  22nd April 2020

  On 27 March, North Macedonia became the 30th member of NATO after Spain became the final country to ratify the treaty accepting the small Balkan nation. In …

• Naval Warfare

  Russia tests Tsirkon hypersonic missile in Barents Sea

  28th February 2020

  The Russian Navy frigate Admiral Gorshkov has test-fired the Tsirkon hypersonic missile for the first time in the Barents Sea, TASS reported on 27 February. …

• Land Warfare

  Kazakhstan signs agreement for SARP-Dual RCWS

  20th April 2020

  Aselsan announced on 20 April that it had signed a new contract with Kazakhstan to supply its SARP-DualAdvanced Remote Controlled Stabilized Weapon Station (RCWS). The …

• Special Operations

  Israeli anti-tunnel expertise attracts US interest

  6th May 2020

  Israel is continuing to offer US security authorities the benefit of its military experience in detecting subterranean tunnels dug by terrorists, Shephard has learned. The …

• Land Warfare

  Russia boosts missile defence with S-350 systems

  21st April 2020

  Russia’s Aerospace Force and Navy are set to receive additional self-propelled S-350 'Vityaz' missile defence systems which the Defence Ministry’s Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper reports will …

• Defence Notes

  Rosoboronexport unaffected by COVID-19 pandemic

  17th April 2020

  Rosoboronexport has not suspended any of its activities as the coronavirus outbreak gradually grows in Russia, according to a 16 April statement. The company has …

• Defence Helicopter

  Boeing delivers 500th AH-64E Apache

  16th April 2020

  Boeing confirmed on 16 April that it has delivered its 500th AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopter, which is used by the US Army and other militaries …

• Air Warfare

  Norway and US continue solid fuel ramjet tech partnership

  21st April 2020

  The Department of Defense (DoD) and the Norwegian Ministry of Defence will continue with the Tactical High-speed Offensive Ramjet for Extended Range (THOR-ER) programme for …

• Land Warfare

  Indian Army seeks 8x8 armoured vehicles

  17th March 2020

  Just two weeks are left for Indian vendors to submit responses to an Indian Army requirement for nearly 200 8x8 armoured vehicles. The ‘Buy Indian’ …

• Defence Notes

  Production resumes at Boeing’s Philadelphia sites

  21st April 2020

  Boeing restarted ‘essential’ production at its Ridley Township facilities near Philadelphia on 20 April after being closed since 3 April. The CH-47D Chinook, V-22 Osprey (pictured) …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Parrot to produce SRR prototypes for US Army

  16th April 2020

  Parrot Drones has passed another milestone in the US Short Range Reconnaissance UAV programme. As part of its preparation for the final stage of the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Parrot to produce SRR prototypes for US Army

  16th April 2020

  Parrot Drones has passed another milestone in the US Short Range Reconnaissance UAV programme. As part of its preparation for the final stage of the …

• Land Warfare

  Bushmaster goes Dutch with new order

  28th April 2020

  Thales Australia has been awarded a contract to manufacture six Bushmaster 4x4 vehicles for the Royal Netherlands Army. This order includes five custom-designed medical evacuation …

• Naval Warfare

  Taiwan to quarantine 700 sailors after Palau visit

  21st April 2020

  The Taiwanese Navy is placing 700 of its sailors into quarantine after 24 of them tested positive for coronavirus following a visit to the Pacific …

• Defence Helicopter

  Progress Arsenyev Aviation continues helicopter production

  20th April 2020

  Progress Arsenyev Aviation Company, a subsidiary of Russian Helicopters Holding, is continuing production of its aircraft despite the growing number of confirmed COVID-19 coronavirus cases …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  BMPT Terminator

  Despite having earlier rejected the BMPT vehicle, the Russian MoD tested BMPT prototypes in Syria, where the vehicles performed well in combat conditions. This culminated ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | E-2D Advanced Hawkeye [Taiwan]

  According to a Taiwanese national newspaper, the Central News Agency, the Republic of China is planning to purchase six E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft to replace ...

• Data links

  Data links | E-2D Advanced Hawkeye [Taiwan]

  According to a Taiwanese national newspaper, the Central News Agency, the Republic of China is planning to purchase six E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft to replace ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | E-2D Advanced Hawkeye [Taiwan]

  According to a Taiwanese national newspaper, the Central News Agency, the Republic of China is planning to purchase six E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft to replace ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | E-2D Advanced Hawkeye [Taiwan]

  According to a Taiwanese national newspaper, the Central News Agency, the Republic of China is planning to purchase six E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft to replace ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Aksungur [Kyrgyzstan]

  Programme Background In January 2023, Daiyrbek Orunbekov, the Central Asian country's Presidential Press Service head, stated that Kyrgyzstan had bought "modern military equipment such as ...

• Main battle tanks

  T-14 Armata [Russia]

  Programme Background The first contract for 132 Armatas was signed by the Russian MoD in 2015. This will comprise sufficient T-14, T-15 heavy IFV and ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Eurodrone (Forecast) [Japan]

  Programme Background Japan's Application The Letter of Approval (LOA) for observer status in the programme was presented to the Japanese Ambassador to Germany, Hidenao Yanagi, by Joachim ...

• Main battle tanks

  T-14 Armata (Contracted)

  Programme Background The first contract for 132 Armatas was signed by the Russian MoD in 2015. This will comprise sufficient T-14, T-15 heavy IFV and ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  T-15 Armata [Russia]

  Programme Background The first contract for 132 Armatas was signed by the Russian MoD in 2015. This will comprise sufficient T-14, T-15 heavy IFV and ...

• Main battle tanks

  T-90M Proryv (New-Build)

  The first contract for the T-90M was disclosed in August 2017. Comprising 30 tanks in total, it covered the upgrade of 20 T-90As to T-90M ...

• Military UAS - mini

  SA2 & SA7 [New Zealand]

  Background Uncrewed Range As reported by Shephard, in February 2026, Syos Aerospace announced that it had been contracted by the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) to ...

• Military UAS - mini

  X10D (Base defence) [USAF]

  Background Contract award On 8 April 2026, Skydio announced that it had been awarded a $9 million contract by the US Air Forces Central (USAFCENT), the air component ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  T-15 Armata (Contracted)

  Programme Background The first contract for 132 Armatas was signed by the Russian MoD in 2015. This will comprise sufficient T-14, T-15 heavy IFV and ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  EBRC Jaguar [Luxembourg]

  Background Luxembourg currently operates a small military of just over 1,000 personnel. Despite its small size, Luxembourg has contributed troops to both NATO and EU missions in ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Main battle tanks

  BMPT

  UVZ developed the BMPT Fire Support Combat Vehicle, nicknamed Terminator by the company, after studying the Russian Army's performance during the Chechen War. Designed to ...

• Land: air defence radar

  Protivnik-GE

  The Protivnik-GE is a mobile 3D surveillance radar distributed by Russian supplier Rosoboronexport and is currently used by the Russian Armed Forces and the Egyptian ...

• Land: COMINT and ELINT systems

  Borisoglebsk-2

  The vehicle-mounted Borisoglebsk-2 EW system performs frequency scanning for hostile RF emissions. Produced by JSC Sozvezdie, it can perform both electronic surveillance and RF suppression. ...

• CUAS - hybrid effector systems

  İhtar

  The İhtar is an anti-drone system manufactured by Aselsan. It is designed to counter mini and micro-UAS threats in urban and rural environments. It detects and tracks ...

• Self-propelled rocket launchers

  TOS-2 Tosochka

  Russia unveiled the TOS-2 Tosochka MLRS at the 2020 Victory Day Parade. Like its TOS-1A predecessor, it is intended to neutralise and suppress enemy positions ...

• Self-propelled guns

  PLC-161

  The PLC-161 (also known as PLC161) is a 4x4 truck-mounted 122 mm self-propelled howitzer that was first identified in July 2020. Few specific details concerning ...

• Land: Electronic Attack - Jamming

  Palantin

  The Russian Army’s United Instrument Manufacturing Corporation Palantin is a truck-mounted COMINT and communications jamming (COMJAM) system. Official information released by Russia’s MoD states that ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Gnat

  The Gnat is a medium-altitude, long-endurance, multi-mission UAS that has been produced in several different variants. Although originally intended for export customers, the platform was ...

• Long Range Missile Defence Systems: > 90km range

  S-400 Triumf (SA-21 Growler)

  The S-400 Triumf (NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler) long-range air defence system, previously known as the S-300PMU-3, was developed by the Almaz Central Design Bureau ...

• Major networking projects

  SITCEN

  The Situation Centre (SITCEN) is the central agency for providing situational awareness within NATO HQ. It is responsible for receiving, exchanging and disseminating political, economic ...

• Land: battle management systems

  ASOC

  Under a contract awarded to Lockheed Martin by the USAF Electronic Systems Center in May 1997, the company is providing Air Sovereignty Operations Centers (ASOCs) ...

• Land: manned turrets

  B05Ya01 Berezhok

  KBP Tula developed the B05Ya01 Berezhok turret (also referred to as a 'combat module') to provide an upgrade option for the legacy Soviet BMP-1 and BMP-2 ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Kamaz-53949 Taifun-K

  The Kamaz-53949 Taifun-K (Typhoon-K) is a 4x4 MRAP vehicle manufactured in Russia by Remdiesel, a subsidiary of Kamaz.  Originally developed in 2010 as a private ...

• Land: battle management systems

  Command View C4I

  In operation with many of the world’s military forces, Command View is designed to access and integrate different sources of data and present it to ...

• Surface-to-surface missiles

  Iskander-M/E/K

  The Iskander-M (NATO reporting name: SS-26 'Stone') is a short-range ballistic missile. It was the second attempt by Russia to replace the Skud after its ...