• Land Warfare

  Swiss Army still awaits new artillery contract to replace M109 howitzers

  6th March 2026

  More than a year after selecting the KNDS Artillery Gun Module mounted on the Piranha IV 8x8 as its next artillery system, Switzerland is still awaiting the contract that will deliver the guns.

• Air Warfare

  European firms express interest in filling NATO airborne early warning replacement needs

  19th November 2025

  The comments from both Saab and Airbus on their potential to fulfil the airborne early warning and control requirement come after NATO countries shelved plans to procure six E-7 Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft.

• Air Warfare

  Spain moves ahead with transport, intelligence and training aircraft modernisation efforts

  6th January 2026

  Confirming its C295 order in late December, the Spanish Ministry of Defence also awarded Airbus with its Hurjet procurement contract and both Airbus and Indra with a contract to investigate a proposed Signals Intelligence aircraft solution by 2028.

• Land Warfare

  EOS improving Slinger CUAS role as industry pushes forward

  28th October 2025

  EOS Defence Systems officially launched its Slinger anti-drone system in 2023. The system features a remote weapon station, visual sensors and a Northrop Grumman 30mm cannon with specially designed ammunition, combined with EOS’s stabilisation and pointing technology.

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy confirms Q2 FY2026 contract award for Tomahawk Block V modernisation

  3rd October 2025

  The agreement with Raytheon will comprise the acquisition and delivery of maritime seeker suite technologies and processing capabilities for 35 to 96 missiles.

• Digital Battlespace

  AUSA 2025: Persistent Systems to complete its largest order by year’s end

  15th October 2025

  Persistent Systems received its largest ever single order for its MPU5 devices and other systems earlier this month and has already delivered the 50 units to the US Army’s 4th Infantry Division.

• Land Warfare

  Lockheed Martin to look further afield for GMARS rocket system opportunities

  11th December 2025

  The HX truck is already in use in many NATO and allied countries around the world as a logistics vehicle and carrier for high-value systems, including missile firing weapons, so its use for the Global Mobile Artillery Rocket System makes logistical sense.

• Defence Notes

  Modular and attritable equipment must be a priority: US military

  18th September 2025

  Senior officers and representatives from the US Army, US Air Force and US Navy emphasised the need to expedite acquisition projects for systems and platforms that are more modular. They also highlighted that the loss of equipment is acceptable.

• Land Warfare

  Malaysian Army vehicle renewal slowed by politics, scandal and economic strain

  6th May 2026

  Despite political and economic headwinds, companies are positioning themselves for current and upcoming Malaysian Army requirements. Shephard spoke with some of them at DSA 2026.

• Land Warfare

  British Army’s Project Stokes 120mm mortar bids due in March 2026

  18th February 2026

  Project Stokes could see a new 120mm mortar capability enter British service, with domestic production and international partnerships central to competing bids.

• Naval Warfare

  How the US Government plans to put the US Navy’s shipbuilding programmes back on track

  20th June 2025

  In an attempt to reduce delays in shipbuilding efforts, the US government, lawmakers and the Navy are betting big on further investments in the national defence industry and public shipyards. Reviewing and reformulating ongoing initiatives and business practices will also be form part of the effort.

• Air Warfare

  Dubai Airshow 2025: Boeing emphasises uncrewed teaming capability plans for F-15EX

  17th November 2025

  The F-15EX is being promoted by the manufacturer as an ideal platform to pair with uncrewed systems.

• Naval Warfare

  Shipbuilders’ group warns US failing to tap full naval industry capacity

  3rd June 2025

  The Amphibious Warship Industrial Base Coalition has pointed out that issues related to bureaucracy, prerequisites and predictability have been limiting the involvement of smaller shipyards in military acquisition programmes in the US.

• Naval Warfare

  Ukraine war drives ‘minimum deployable capability’ doctrine in uncrewed systems development

  9th June 2026

  Ukraine’s battlefield has rewritten the rules of uncrewed systems development. For Syos Aerospace, real-time operator feedback, lean serial production and a system-of-systems philosophy are central to its operating model.

• Air Warfare

  Brazil air focus: Army set to dominate country’s $631.67 million UAV market from 2028

  11th May 2026

  The Brazilian Army is forecast to spend $279.15 million on UAVs from 2026, exceeding the Brazilian Navy’s $227.51 million forecast spend, although the naval force was an earlier adopter of the capability.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - small

  Puma 3 AE (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Military Aid - $300 Million On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine to "bolster Urkaine's capacity ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1165 Special Ops HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HHMWV, or Humvee, has been in US service since 1983. The M1165A1B3 is a special operations variant of the platform.  In 2015, the US ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 300 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background Presidential Drawdown (16 March 2022 & 13 April 2022) On 16 March 2022, President Biden announced $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine through ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 600 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background $300 Million USAI (1 April 2022) On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine following ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank [US]

  Programme Background As IAI stated in a 19 January 2023 press release, it had been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract by the Irregular Warfare Technical Support ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Puma LE [Kosovo]

  Background Contract Award On 21 January 2022, the US Department of Defence (DoD) announced that AeroVironment had been awarded an $11.01 million firm-fixed contract for Puma ...

• Loitering munitions

  ALTIUS-600M (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background On 24 February 2023, the US DoD announced that the Biden Administration had released an additional aid package under the Ukraine Security Assistance ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1152A1B2/M1165A1B3 HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HMMWV has been in US service since the 1980s. Despite the introduction of newer platforms, the US DoD continues to utilise the platform ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  M1165A1B3 HMMWV [USA]

  Background The HMMWV has been in US service since the 1980s. Despite the introduction of newer platforms, the US DoD continues to utilise the platform ...

• Loitering munitions

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Background Presidential Drawdown Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, on 21 April 2022, President Biden announced an $800 million Presidential Drawdown security ...

• Military UAS - small

  Puma 2 AE [Estonia]

  Programme Background The US DoD announced that it had awarded AeroVironment an $8.868 million firm-fixed-price contract to supply an undisclosed number of RQ-20B Puma AE ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS): Switchblade [US]

  Background DoD contract On 27 August 2024, the US DoD announced that AeroVironment had been awarded a ceiling of $990 million hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  ACV-30 PRTV [USA]

  Background The Armoured Combat Vehicle (ACV) programme is intended to provide a replacement for the USMC's fleet of Amphibious Assault Vehicle 7 (AAV7) tracked vehicles. ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  XQ-58A Valkyrie [USMC]

  Programme Background Contract Award On 30 December 2022, the US DoD announced that it had awarded Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems a $15.52 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  TH-73 Advanced Helicopter Training System (AHTS) (TH-57 Replacement)

  Programme Background Contenders for the competition included the Leonardo single engine TH-119 – a military variant of the AW119Kx – and Bell’s newly upgraded single ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Pistols

  M9

  M9 is the US DoD designation for the military-specification 9mm Beretta 92FS, selected in 1985 to replace the 45cal M1911A1 in US service. Sales to ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  Igla/SA-18

  The 9K38 Igla (US DoD designation SA-18, NATO reporting name Grouse ) IR-homing MANPADS was developed by KBM and entered service in 1983 to meet the requirements ...

• Loitering munitions

  Point Blank

  Point Blank Weapon System is a hand-launched electro-optical VTOL-capable loitering munition developed by Isreal Aerospace Industries (IAI). IAI has been awarded a contract by the US ...

• Military UAS - small

  ScanEagle 3

  Insitu unveiled the ScanEagle 3 at the Xponential exhibition in Denver in May 2018. The platform has twice the payload capacity of its ScanEagle predecessor ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  BAT-850

  Pathfinder's BAT-850 VSAT is a carbon fibre, tri-band terminal with auto-acquisition capability. Suitable for flyaway (case-based) and vehicle-mounted applications, it is in service with the ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  URC-300

  The URC-300 is a software-defined radio designed for line-of-sight, ground-to-air communications in particular. Introduced in 2020, it adheres to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards as well ...

• Air: aerial targets

  BQM-177A/i

  The BQM-177A subsonic aerial target (SSAT) was designed for the USN, and the BQM-177i is the export variant. The BQM-177 provides realistic threat emulation for ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Banshee Tactical Radio

  Developed by Fenix Group, the Banshee Tactical Radio (BTR) is a communications system that uses 4G/LTE connectivity to provide secure mesh networking capability on the ...

• Crew-served grenade launchers

  Striker 40/MK47

  General Dynamics is systems integrator for the Striker 40 (MK47 AGL in US service). The complete system comprises the weapon, AN/PWG-1 Lightweight Video Sight and ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  AN/ARC-231 Skyfire

  The AN/ARC-231 Skyfire is an airborne VHF/UHF/LOS and DAMA SATCOM system. This system supports US DoD requirements for airborne, multi-band, multi-mission, secure anti-jam voice, data ...

• Air-to-air missiles

  9M39 Igla-V

  The 9M39 Igla-V (‘needle’) is a Russian IR homing SAM adapted for helicopter use. It is an air-launched version of the Igla MANPADS, which the ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  Global Observer

  The AeroVironment Global Observer HALE UAV was a developmental HALE UAV designed for various civil, commercial and government applications.  Development of the platform began in 2007 ...

• Directed energy weapons

  CLWS

  Developed by Boeing, Compact Laser Weapon System (CLWS or CLaWS) is a medium-range, low-power laser C-UAS system. According to the reports, the CLWS prototype has ...

• Weapon sights for day use

  CompM4/M4s

  The US DoD has bought over one million Aimpoint sights since 1997. The US Army is now fielding the CompM4s as the latest version of ...

• Heavy machine guns

  M2HB

  US Ordnance is one of two US M2HB heavy machine gun manufacturers which has received multi-year contracts to supply weapons to the US DoD. The ...