• Air Warfare

  Canada’s P-8A aircraft to receive L3Harris surveillance systems

  28th May 2025

  The Boeing P-8A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) are set to be delivered in 2026 with L3Harris’ WECAM MX-20 enhancing its capabilities to conduct maritime and land intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions in regions like the Arctic.

• Naval Warfare

  UK Royal Navy explores modular counter-drone capabilities for future hybrid fleet

  10th March 2026

  The UK MoD is scoping out systems to counter the growing threat of uncrewed aerial systems, with a focus on low-cost modularity and speed to field.

• Air Warfare

  Will Canada and Latin America seek new sources for combat aircraft?

  6th May 2025

  US-made combat aircraft are being passed over in favour of European types, as Latin America and Canada question their ageing fleet replacement choices.

• Air Warfare

  DSEI 2025: Deutsche Aircraft takes aim at special mission market with D328MR

  12th September 2025

  The company plans to offer its D328eco commercial aircraft as a multi-role variant, and spoke to Shephard at DSEI 2025 about its ambitions for the future.

• Air Warfare

  US Army cancels FTUAS and the MQ-1 Gray Eagle as part of the Army Transformation Initiative

  13th May 2025

  Last week, it was revealed that the US Army intended to cancel the long-running Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS). The revelation, no doubt part of the Army Transformation Initiative (ATI), came a week after the force highlighted that it would cancel the procurement of Gray Eagle aircraft.

• Air Warfare

  RTX Raytheon to surge production of AIM-9X Block II missiles by nearly 80% in three years

  5th June 2025

  Currently manufacturing 1,400 AIM-9X Block II missiles annually, Raytheon plans to reach the mark of 2,500 per year by September 2028.

• Land Warfare

  Kyiv works to replicate unmanned air success with ground vehicles

  8th August 2025

  The conflict in Ukraine has seen the country’s defence firms emerge as technological innovators in response to the Russian invasion of the country in 2022. The drone war in the air has been a significant development while the efforts on the ground have been less acknowledged.

• Air Warfare

  US approves $1.45 billion sale to UAE for CH-47 Chinooks and F-16 sustainment

  13th May 2025

  Both the possible sale for six Chinook helicopters and F-16 sustainment will bolster existing UAE fleets and the country’s position as a US partner and ally, according to the DSCA.

• Air Warfare

  Embraer affirms “limited” US tariff impact with 72% growth in defence revenues for Q1 2025

  6th May 2025

  The growth in Q1 2025 was supported by strong C-390 Millennium sales, according to the company’s CEO. Of the US$1.1 billion revenue increase, defence aircraft sales accounted for 13% of the total.

• Land Warfare

  GM Defense teams up with NP Aerospace for British Army vehicle requirement

  23rd June 2025

  The UK’s Land Mobility Programme (LMP) has three types of vehicles: medium protected, light protected and light mobility (LMV). US company GM Defense and the UK’s NP Aerospace have teamed up to make an offering for the latter. The LMP will replace more than a dozen vehicle types with as few as three or four models.

• Air Warfare

  Japan targets T-4 replacement ahead of GCAP as pressure mounts to modernise pilot training

  6th June 2025

  The JASDF has been looking to replace its T-4 jet fighters amid concerns over training capacity and pilot readiness for fifth-gen fighters.

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2025: Trials completed for new version of Tridon air defence gun

  10th September 2025

  Less than two years ago, Sweden’s BAE Systems Bofors announced it was developing a new 40mm short-range air defence system using internal research and development funding, calling it the Tridon Mk2.

• Air Warfare

  Next generation jammers ordered for Royal Australian Air Force and US Navy Growlers

  19th May 2025

  The order includes jammers for Australian EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft follows an order for deployment on US Navy Growlers in December last year and an announcement in March that full-rate production was near.

• Land Warfare

  Lockheed Martin builds first Saudi Arabian THAAD components

  12th May 2025

  The THAAD launcher was first procured by Saudi Arabia in 2017, with local production a key condition of the sale.

• Land Warfare

  Improved British Army Javelin launcher passes milestone as more missile orders placed

  27th May 2025

  Almost US$2 billon has been placed in orders for the Javelin anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) in the past 18 months with the British Army just announcing firing of its Lightweight Command Launch Unit (LWCLU) over an extended range.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, 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 ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A Joint Strike Fighter - USAF

  According to the US FY2021 budget document, Turkey's removal from the JSF program and transition to the alternate supply chain sources may challenge to achieve ...

• 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 - fixed-wing

  BQM-177A [US Navy]

  Background Previous Purchases The BQM-177A was designed for the USN and has been in service with the USN for many years. Indeed, in August 2022, Shephard reported ...

• 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

  Phoenix Ghost (Ukraine Aid) [US]

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

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, 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 ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawk (India)

  Programme Background On 25 February 2020, a letter of acceptance for 24 MH-60Rs, worth approximately $2.12 billion, was signed by India and the US in Delhi. ...

• 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 $990 million hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to provide “an ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, 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 ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  KC-46A (3-6) [Japan]

  On 30 October 2020, the US DoD announced that it awarded a $342 million contract to Boeing for two Japanese KC-46A tanker aircraft. Work will be performed ...

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 - fixed-wing, 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, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  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 - fixed-wing, 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 ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  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 ...