• Defence Notes

  Incoming Irish government backs plans for larger defence force

  17th January 2025

  It has been more than six weeks since the Irish general election. After long negotiations, a coalition of two of the three largest parties and independents has resulted in a Programme for Government (PfG) which will form the basis of a government almost guaranteed to be formed on 22 January.

• Training

  How terrain management capabilities can improve military training

  11th December 2024

  This type of tool provides more realistic training easing the incorporation of new scenarios that accurately represent the threats of the battlefield.

• Land Warfare

  Red Cat to begin Black Widow sUAS production in early 2025

  26th November 2024

  Red Cat, recently selected for the US Army’s ambitious SRR programme to supply warfighters with the next-generation Black Widow sUAS, will begin production on the uncrewed platform in early 2025.

• Land Warfare

  Land Warfare Review 2024: Conflict in Europe and the Middle East dominate attention and power spending

  11th December 2024

  Political turbulence in the US and across the Atlantic could have huge implications for Ukraine in the coming months. In 2024, however, the land warfare domain saw spending increase in eastern and central Europe, the continent continue its preference for the CV90 and a global rise in the demand for missiles.

• Naval Warfare

  Thales secures new order from Saudi Arabia for CAPTAS family of sonars

  8th October 2024

  Riyadh has placed an order for five CAPTAS-1 to equip the Avante 2200 corvettes built by Navantia. The French company has also been discussing the supply of the CAPTAS-4 Compact for the future FREMM-EVOs of the Italian Navy.

• Land Warfare

  UK fires Archer for first time in live-fire exercise

  22nd November 2024

  Exercise Dynamic Front 25 is part of a series of NATO exercises that will run until 26 November.

• Land Warfare

  US Army selects RTX Raytheon as supplier of a wireless power beaming technology

  14th November 2024

  The capability will work like wireless communication systems but will deliver energy wirelessly through the air instead of providing information.

• Land Warfare

  BAE Systems to continue work on active protection system for US Army

  20th November 2024

  BAE Systems Multi-Class Soft Kill System (MCSKS) countermeasure system has been designed to provide protection without the need for kinetic effort and will reduce the logistic chain required for protection.

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2024: US Army and University of Southern California to develop portable ship simulator

  3rd December 2024

  The solution will enable training soldiers for multi-domain operations.

• Land Warfare

  Czech Army set for more upgraded Leopards as part of an equipment swap with Ukraine

  11th December 2024

  The Czech Army is in the process of converting their 73rd Armoured Battalion from Soviet to German main battle tanks (MBTs).

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2024: US Army combines UAVs, AI and new tech to improve simulation capabilities

  2nd December 2024

  The service is working with USC ICT to integrate information capture by drones, AI and 3D Gaussian Splatting.

• Land Warfare

  Latest UK Army Warfighting Experiment urban exercise underway

  13th November 2024

  The series of exercises focuses on war fighting in the urban environment with the intention of aligning experimentation to tactical functions and integrating them all during a final experiment.

• Training

  British Army Strategic Training Partner bidders drop from seven to four

  7th November 2024

  Three of the bidding consortia have dropped out of the competition to become STP for the British Army Collective Training Service.

• Air Warfare

  Data Link Solutions awarded a deal worth up to $1 billion for tactical radio systems

  12th December 2024

  The deal announced on 11 December was an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract and the first task order of $116 million has already been awarded to provide terminals and spares, with follow-on production awards expected.

• Air Warfare

  Air Warfare Review 2024: Budget cuts and delays fail to dampen modernisation efforts in 2024

  10th December 2024

  From major platform upgrades, high-value contract wins and programme delays, Shephard reported on a mixed year for air warfare in 2024, as geopolitical tensions rose across Europe and the Middle East.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munitions [Spain]

  Programme Background Fuerza 35 Project This project is a Spanish Army initiative to create and maintain an effective force by forming flexible, cohesive operational organisations, highly ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Small UAS [Spain]

  The Spanish Army examined the Russo-Ukrainian War in early 2024 and incorporated many learnings into its Fuerza 35 Project, a restructuring and procurement modernisation initiative. ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Small UAS [Spain]

  The Spanish Army examined the Russo-Ukrainian War in early 2024 and incorporated many learnings into its Fuerza 35 Project, a restructuring and procurement modernisation initiative. ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Twister [Spain]

  Background Background Fuerza 35 Project This project is a Spanish Army initiative to create and maintain an effective force by forming flexible and cohesive operational ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  VCR (Batch 1) [Spain]

  Background Purpose The VCR programme is to replace several legacy wheeled and tracked vehicles currently in service with the Spanish Army, including the BMR-600 6x6, VEC-M1 ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  VCR (Batch 3) [Spain]

  Background Purpose The VCR programme is to replace several legacy wheeled and tracked vehicles currently in service with the Spanish Army, including the BMR-600 6x6, ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  VCR (Batch 2) [Spain]

  Background Purpose The VCR programme is to replace several legacy wheeled and tracked vehicles currently in service with the Spanish Army, including the BMR-600 6x6, ...

• Military UAS - micro

  X10D [Spain]

  Background Contract award On 27 May 2024, the Spanish Head of Economic Affairs of the Logistics Support Command issued a pre-tender announcement regarding the purchase ...

• Wheeled assault guns

  B1 Centauro Replacement [Spain]

  Background The Spanish Army entered the B1 Centauro into service between 2000 and 2006. Manufactured by the Italian Iveco and Oto Melara consortium CIO, the B1 ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Vector [Spain]

  Background Two tenders On 4 May 2025, Quantum Systems announced it had won two tenders from the Spanish Armed Forces to supply two different UAVs. According ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  VAMTAC ST5 (Batch 4) [Spain]

  Background The decision to acquire these vehicles comes within the wider context of the Spanish government announcing a significant increase in defence spending in order ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  VAMTAC ST5 (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) [Spain]

  Background The VAMTAC ST5 is already in Spanish service with the Spanish Army, Navy, and Air Force in various configurations. In June 2025, the Spanish ...

• 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 ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  VAMTAC ST5 (Batch 3) [Spain]

  Background The decision to acquire these vehicles comes within the wider context of the Spanish government announcing a significant increase in defence spending in order ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  VAMTAC ST5 (Batch 2) [Spain]

  Background The decision to acquire these vehicles comes within the wider context of the Spanish government announcing a significant increase in defence spending in order ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Heavy UGVs

  Valkyrie

  The Valkyrie is a 6x6 UGV developed by the Spanish company SASCorp. It was unveiled for the first time at FINDEF 2021. The platform has reportedly ...

• Towed guns

  SIAC 155mm/52cal

  The SIAC 155mm/52cal towed howitzer is the latest derivative of the 155mm/52cal APU SBT howitzer originally developed by GDELS-SBS in the 1990s to meet a ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  Lantrek VMTT

  The Landtrek VMTT is an LTV developed by Spain's Iturri to provide logistical and support functions. The Spanish Army became the debut customer in July ...

• Land: RWS

  Guardian 2.0

  The Guardian 2.0 RWS is an upgraded version of Escribano's Guardian RWS in service with the Spanish Army, which offers improved sensors and better stabilisation. ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  ASCOD Common Base Platform

  GDELS unveiled a new variant of its tracked ASCOD (Austrian Spanish Cooperative Development) IFV based on the new Common Base Platform (CBP) at the June ...

• Land: vehicle simulators

  Leopard 2E Simulators

  Indra was prime contractor for the Spanish Army Leopard 2E Tank Simulation Programme, which involved 23 devices across driving, turret and platoon simulators with networking ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  VCR Dragon

  Having received a $2 billion order from the Spanish Army, the General Dynamics European Land Systems VCR Dragon 8x8 IFV is swiftly replacing the ageing BMR-600 6x6 ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Alcotán

  The Alcotán is a lightweight, hand-launched platform. Designed by USOL, the system features an aerial platform, autopilot and GCS. It is suitable for both civil ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  Neton

  The 4x4 Neton Ultrafast Tactical Vehicle is manufactured by Spanish firm Einsa. It is an all-terrain, highly mobile and air-transportable SF platform. Following an evaluation ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  BMR-600

  The BMR-600 "Pegaso"  is a wheeled fully-amphibious 6x6 APC which began development in 1972. It was originally designed by Santa Barbara Sistemas which is now ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  ASCOD

  The Austrian Spanish Cooperative Development (ASCOD) I/CFV was developed to meet the joint requirements of the Austrian and Spanish armies for a medium-weight armoured vehicle ...

• Loitering munitions

  Q-SLAM-40

  The QLM-40, or Q-SLAM-40, is a multi-purpose loitering munition manufactured by Arquimea. It is launched from a pneumatic launcher, powered by an electric motor and contains an ISR payload ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Fulmar X

  The Fulmar X is a Thales UAV designed to carry out high-quality ISTAR missions for civil and military applications. A complete system comprises two UAVs, launch and recovery ...

• Individual assault/anti-tank weapons

  Alcotan-100

  The Alcotan-100 is a recoilless, shoulder-launched, antitank rocket launcher developed to meet a Spanish Army requirement, entering service in 2008. In 2014, the Peruvian Army ...

• Light machine guns

  MG4

  The 5.56mm MG4 has been in German Army service since 2005 and sold to at least five export customers, including the Spanish Army. The MG4 ...