• Air Warfare

  US Marine Corps aims to make drones as commonplace as rifles on the battlefield

  24th July 2026

  The USMC is transforming drones into standard equipment through major funding increases, standardised training, new doctrine and rapid battlefield adaptation, with nearly $820 million requested for UAS programmes in FY2027.

• Air Warfare

  AFA 2026: US Air Force examines uncrewed cargo aircraft for contested logistics

  17th September 2026

  The US Air Force is evaluating demonstrators for uncrewed cargo missions as it considers logistics requirements across the Pacific and other contested environments.

• Naval Warfare

  How the Hormuz mine threat exposes potential Baltic MCM shortfalls

  1st May 2026

  Ageing Baltic vessels and an absence of active minehunting vessel programmes in the region have been put under the spotlight in the recent conflict.

• Land Warfare

  “A new philosophy of defence”: ASELSAN sets out ambitions for the future

  14th November 2025

  In Conversation: Shephard’s Gerrard Cowan talks to ASELSAN CEO and President Ahmet Akyol about how the business has evolved and expanded over the past five decades, and its aim of becoming a top 30 global defence company by 2030.

• Air Warfare

  Further funding allocated for Eurofighter Typhoon ECRS Mk2 radar programme

  16th June 2025

  The latest tranche of funding from the UK government comes ahead of the radar's integration into Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from 2028.

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy expands non-standard acquisitions to rapidly field emerging technologies

  23rd June 2026

  The US Navy is increasing the use of OTA obligations to accelerate the procurement of seabed-subsea, littoral, expeditionary and uncrewed solutions.

• Defence Notes

  Teledyne FLIR adds GPS-denied 3D-mapping capabilities to its CBRN uncrewed platforms

  28th April 2026

  In a partnership with Emesent, Teledyne FLIR will equip its autonomous air, ground and detection systems with the Hovermap LiDAR payload in a move that highlights a broader market shift towards modular architectures, shared payloads and interoperability across platforms.

• Air Warfare

  NATO countries test Canadian-made, high-speed “cannibal” drone

  2nd June 2026

  INKAS Anuri CUAS drone has been built to engage consumer, commercial and modified first-person view enemy drones flying at speeds of up to 400 km/h.

• Air Warfare

  Paris Air Show 2025: Boeing confirms “very early infancy” C-17 Globemaster III production restart discussions as European market opportunity looms

  17th June 2025

  The discussion of the C-17 comes off the back of Boeing’s focus on a growing European demand for defence equipment amid a growing threat on the continent.

• Naval Warfare

  Hanwha wins Australian government approval to increase its stake in Austal

  12th December 2025

  The contract would mean the two shipbuilders can collaborate strategically and enhance shipbuilding capabilities in Western Australia.

• Naval Warfare

  Anduril’s $6.6bn wager on fixing America’s submarine bottleneck

  15th October 2026

  Anduril’s Arsenal-2 is a gamble on a brand-new yard and perfect timing, but with Virginia-class output stuck at 1.1 to 1.2 boats a year, it is a bet worth making.

• Land Warfare

  Eurosatory 2026: Robots rule as large and wheeled systems with articulated legs stand out

  17th June 2026

  Dozens of uncrewed ground vehicles have been on display at Eurosatory 2026, with particularly notable platforms including VisionWave's Varan and Patria's planned uncrewed TRACKX.

• Naval Warfare

  Kraken’s Royal Navy USV contract signals next step in crewed-uncrewed integration

  12th March 2026

  The UK Royal Navy’s rapid procurement of uncrewed platforms aligns with the force’s strategic shift towards a fleet better equipped to handle modern threats.

• Air Warfare

  Eurosatory 2026: The H160M’s agnostic approach to drones draws global interest

  16th June 2026

  As Airbus Helicopters advances its H160M Guépard programme towards targeted first delivery in late 2028 for the French Army, the platform’s “agnostic” approach to drone integration could offer a window into how Western militaries are rethinking the relationship between crewed rotorcraft and uncrewed systems.

• Air Warfare

  Airbus Helicopters sees defence portfolio’s “strong momentum” continue into 2026

  28th January 2026

  The aerospace company’s 2025 performance figures revealed significant orders from various European armed forces and a boost in demand for its uncrewed offerings.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Medium Range Missile Defence Systems: 20-90km range

  Medium Range Air Defence [Portugal]

  Background Portugal's Military Programming Law 2023-2034 includes a requirement for medium-range air defence. In order to facilitate this, Portugal has joined the European Sky Shield Initiative ...

• Medium Range Missile Defence Systems: 20-90km range

  GEM-T Missiles [Sweden]

  Background A coalition of European countries has signed a $5.6-billion contract to procure 1,000 Patriot Guidance Enhanced Missile (GEM-T) interceptors under the auspices of the NATO Support ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A330 MRTT (1-9) [NATO]

  Programme Background Following operations in Libya and extensive analyses by the European Defence Agency (EDA), it was agreed at the NATO Summit in 2012 that ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawks [Norway]

  Programme Background NH90 NFH cancellation  The Norwegian government announced the termination of the NH90 NFH helicopter contract for 14 NH90s with NHIndustries in June 2022. Seahawk Acquisition ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A330 MRTT Follow-On [NATO]

  Programme Background Following operations in Libya and extensive analyses by the European Defence Agency (EDA), it was agreed at the NATO Summit in 2012 that ...

• Main battle tanks

  New MBT [Romania]

  Programme Background Requirement The Romanian Army's MBT fleet is composed of T-55 variants that are due to be retired in the mid-2020s. Although Romania's TR-85 ...

• Military UAS - small

  Penguin C VTOL [Croatia]

  Background Announcment Redwire Corporation announced on 12 November 2025 that its wholly owned subsidiary, Edge Autonomy, had been contracted to deliver the Penguin C VTOL ...

• Man-portable missile systems

  Mistral SHORAD [Hungary]

  Background Hungary is a member of the common procurement programme for MISTRAL 3 ground-based air defence systems for protection against air threats. The project's framework ...

• Main battle tanks

  M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 [Romania]

  Programme Background Requirement The Romanian Army's MBT fleet is composed of T-55 variants that are due to be retired in the mid-2020s. Although Romania's TR-85 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  EU next generation rotorcraft technologies project (ENGRT) - [Italy]

  Background ENGRT phase I EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) was announced in early 2022 and the project contract was awarded in December 2022. Phase I ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  EU next generation rotorcraft technologies project (ENGRT) [Greece]

  Background EU next generation rotorcraft technologies project (ENGRT) EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) was announced in early 2022 and the project contract was awarded in ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Bayraktar TB2 [Kuwait]

  Background Contract Award On 18 January 2023, Baykar announced signing a $370 million export contract with Kuwait for the Bayraktar TB2. According to the announcement, ...

• Main battle tanks

  Leopard 2A8 [Netherlands]

  Background The Leopard 2A8, the latest in the Leopard family, was selected by the Royal Dutch Army as per announcements in September 2024.  Given the ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  UAV Tactical Level [Norway]

  Background Request for Information (RfI) In September 2022, the Norwegian Defence Material Agency (NDMA) launched a request for information in preparation for a possible procurement ...

• AEW&C

  Alliance Future Surveillance and Control (1-10) [NATO]

  Background NATO’s E-3A AWACS fleet is set to retire in 2035, after 50 years of service. To plan for the required follow-on capability, NATO's Alliance ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Land: air defence radar

  APIS

  APIS is a passive high-resolution primary radar system developed by Indra. It is the first passive system in the world capable of offering images using ...

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  AE50R

  The AE50R is an aviation gasoline single rotary engine with an output of 40.4kW. The engine is certified according to European Aviation Safety Agency Part ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  LOTUS

  The LOTUS, Low Observable Tactical Unnamed System, is a tactical UAV especially designed for border patrol ISR operations.  The development of the project is funded by ...

• Helicopter engines

  Arriel 2H

  Safran Helicopter Engines received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) engine type certification for its Arriel 2H engine, installed in the Avicopter AC312E, in April 2018. ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  AR5

  First announced in October 2012, the AR5 is a MALE UAS designed for SAR, surveillance and maritime patrol missions. The AR5 can be flown manually or commanded ...

• Trainer

  Gabriel-TP

  Gabriel-TP is a low-wing, two-seat tandem trainer aircraft aimed at both military and civilian customers. It is certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in ...

• Air: NVGs

  PNL-3M Orlik

  PNL-3M are high-performance, lightweight, passive stereoscopic NVGs for helicopter crew members. Certification by European Aviation Safety Agency also enables civilian use. The device can be ...

• Military UAS - small

  Capa-X

  The Capa-X, or U050, is a VTOL-capable fixed-wing drone from Survey Copter, a subsidiary of Airbus. The drone has been linked with France’s Système de Drone Tactique Léger ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  Standard 3

  Jointly developed by ATR and Thales, The Standard 3 avionics suite has been specifically designed for ATR-600 aircraft. It offers the pilot user-friendly interface, along ...

• CUAS - jammers

  DroneGun

  DroneGun enables controlled management of an adversarial UAS, causing no damage to the UAV or surrounding area. It either forces the drone to perform a ...

• Directed energy weapons

  Tryzub Laser

  Ukraine's Tryzub (Trident) laser was revealed during the European Defence Industry: Prospects for Cooperation with the Ukrainian Defence Industry conference in 2025. Video footage from ...

• Military - USVs

  NOMARS

  The No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) is a US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) effort to develop a first-of-its-kind large uncrewed surface vessel.

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  Trident 100TD2

  The Trident 100TD2 is a compression-ignition engine that is capable of operating on various types of heavy fuel. It is claimed to offer up to ...

• Space: radar systems

  ESA Sentinel-1

  Sentinel-1 is a planned constellation of four satellites with two already in orbit and two on order. They carry a payload of a C-band SAR ...

• Air: chaff/flare/decoy systems

  Sky Buzzer

  Hensoldt’s Sky Buzzer is a towed anti-radar decoy originally developed by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS). The system is designed to protect ...