• Land Warfare

  April land forces roundup: Munitions and long-range fires drive procurement momentum

  1st May 2026

  The demand for long-range fires continues alongside the drive to increase artillery shell manufacture and the procurement of new artillery weapons.

• Land Warfare

  DOK-ING presents CUAS MV-8 armed with Valhalla Mangart 25 turret

  30th October 2025

  The partnership between Croatia’s DOK-ING and Slovenia’s Valhalla Turrets reflects an effort to combine ground robots and with improved capabilities and new roles and follows Rheinmetall presenting its Ox with Dispatch charging docks from Valinor.

• Air Warfare

  Sikorsky unveils new Nomad VTOL drone family

  7th October 2025

  The tailsitting vertical take-off and landing drones are designed to be scalable with Group 3 to Group 4 variants, with each one focused on meeting US Army reconnaissance requirements.

• Air Warfare

  UK’s New Medium Helicopter deal finalisation on horizon, alludes Leonardo CEO

  26th February 2026

  A potential announcement within days could end speculation around the UK Ministry of Defence’s procurement direction for the NMH programme.

• Land Warfare

  US Precision Strike Missile makes combat debut in Operation Epic Fury

  4th March 2026

  CENTCOM confirmed that PrSMs have been deployed in the offensive against Iran, bringing what it called “an unrivalled deep strike capability”.

• Air Warfare

  BAE Systems' UK Combat Air Demonstrator closes in on final assembly

  26th June 2026

  The first render for the demonstrator was unveiled in July 2025, with BAE Systems now aiming for the start of final assembly by the end of 2026 to prepare the aircraft for first flight by 2027.

• 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

  February land forces roundup: ST Engineering and Russia lift the lid on new platforms

  27th February 2026

  This month we saw a major presence from Turkish, Russian and Chinese companies at the World Defense Show with new vehicles from major suppliers, while elsewhere there were evolving mortar programmes and artillery modernisation efforts.

• 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

  Franco-German alliance aims to resolve FCAS woes by end of April as dispute rolls on

  1st April 2026

  The disagreement between French-German industry continues as both governments work to keep the programme alive and on track to develop and deliver a sixth-generation fighter jet.

• Air Warfare

  Optimism remains for GCAP and FCAS future despite programme stumbling blocks

  22nd May 2026

  Both sixth-generation combat aircraft programmes are still awaiting major key decisions from respective governments with regards to funding or future direction, but industry and governmental officials remain optimistic of progress going forward.

• 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

  US Air Force seeks capabilities to improve C3 for aircraft fleet and warfighters

  17th March 2026

  The USAF published RFIs for enhancing its C3 capabilities after losing, in Operation Epic Fury, four aircraft in non-confrontational, unclear situations that could have been related to command, control and communication failures.

• Air Warfare

  The growing importance of the Blue UAS Cleared List

  21st October 2025

  Inclusion on the Defense Innovation Unit’s Blue UAS Cleared List is set to become ever more crucial for uncrewed aerial vehicle manufacturers due to the access it gives to the US market, which is set to expand significantly over the next 10 years.

• Air Warfare

  Pentagon confirms it will continue with the acquisition of E-7 Wedgetails for US Air Force

  15th May 2026

  The Pentagon has sent an amendment to the Office of Management and Budget, according to Pete Hegseth, including funds for the procurement of E-7 Wedgetails in FY2027.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  V-Bat 128 [Brazil]

  Background Contract award On 7 February 2022, Shield AI announced on its website that it had, on 21 January 2021, signed a contract with VSK Tactical, through ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  RQ-4 Global Hawk [South Korea]

  Background Requirments Seoul required UAS assets to help monitor its neighbour to the north and, increasingly, Chinese activities in waters and in the air near ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  V-Bat [India]

  Background Make In India The ‘Make In India’ is an initiative by the Indian government to grow the domestic manufacturing industry. In the defence context, ...

• ISR/special mission

  ISTAR Aircraft [South Korea]

  Programme Background 2018 - Issue of RfI The South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) stated that Seoul planned to procure additional aircraft to minimise potential surveillance ...

• AEW&C

  GlobalEye (1-3) [UAE]

  Programme Background The GlobalEye is a modification of Bombardier's Global 6000 jet aircraft fitted with the S-band Erieye Extended Range (ER) radar and mission system ...

• ISR/special mission

  Pegasus SIGINT Aircraft (1-3) [Germany]

  Programme Background Requirement The Pegasus (Persistent German Airborne Surveillance System) project aims to fulfil a SIGINT capability which has been missing in the German Armed ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | MVX Programme [Finland]

  Seeking to replace its two ageing Dornier 228 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA), the Finnish Border Guard commenced its MVX program in 2019. The programme, which was ...

• Data links

  Data links | MVX Programme [Finland]

  Seeking to replace its two ageing Dornier 228 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA), the Finnish Border Guard commenced its MVX program in 2019. The programme, which was ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | MVX Programme [Finland]

  Seeking to replace its two ageing Dornier 228 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA), the Finnish Border Guard commenced its MVX program in 2019. The programme, which was ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | MVX Programme [Finland]

  Seeking to replace its two ageing Dornier 228 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA), the Finnish Border Guard commenced its MVX program in 2019. The programme, which was ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Xtender [US]

  Programme Background Previous Procurement In early 2021, the US Department of Defence awarded a contract to XTEND for the platform in partnership with Isreal's MoD. ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | GlobalEye [Canada]

  In February 2026, the Canadian AI company Cohere signed a new partnership with Saab for integration of Artificial Intelligence technologies onto the Global Eye AEW&C; ...

• Data links

  Data links | GlobalEye [Canada]

  In February 2026, the Canadian AI company Cohere signed a new partnership with Saab for integration of Artificial Intelligence technologies onto the Global Eye AEW&C; ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | GlobalEye [Canada]

  In February 2026, the Canadian AI company Cohere signed a new partnership with Saab for integration of Artificial Intelligence technologies onto the Global Eye AEW&C; ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | GlobalEye [Canada]

  In February 2026, the Canadian AI company Cohere signed a new partnership with Saab for integration of Artificial Intelligence technologies onto the Global Eye AEW&C; ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Heavy UGVs

  WOLF-X

  The WOLF-X is a wheeled 8x8 Robotic Combat Vehicle developed by HDT Global in partnership with McQ and BAE Land & Armament Systems. In September 2023, as ...

• Trainer

  HJT-36 Sitara

  Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) designed and developed the subsonic HJT-36 Sitara single-engine aircraft to meet the requirements of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  RQ-4 Global Hawk

  The Global Hawk is a HALE UAV manufactured by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI). Primarily designed to carry ISTAR payloads, the platform has accumulated more ...

• Deployable/static missile systems

  Khordad-3

  Khordad-3 is a long-range air defence missile system in service with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force of Iran.  The system was unveiled ...

• Heavy UGVs

  Robotics Technology Demonstrator

  BAE Systems unveiled its Robotics Technology Demonstrator (RTD) at the AUSA exhibition in 2019. Designed to meet the requirements of the US Army's Robotic Combat ...

• EO/IR systems

  MS-177 (series)

  The MS-177 is an EO/IR sensor designed to enhance the strategic ISR capabilities of the US military's RQ-4 Global Hawk UAS over land and maritime ...

• Short Range Missile Defence Systems: 0 to 20 km range

  Initial Maneuver - SHORAD

  Unveiled at AUSA 2019, Initial Maneuver Short Range Air Defense (IM-SHORAD) is a multipurpose platform, based on the Stryker IFV, which moves and maneuvers in ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV)

  BAE Systems' Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) was developed in response to a US Army requirement for a platform to replace the ageing M113 APCs in ...

• Data links

  GSNC

  Global Secure Network Connection (GSNC) provides a global data communications solution for military aircraft, including bomber, refuelling and transport aircraft. The GSNC system uses Iridium ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Bradley NG/RB301

  BAE Systems introduced the Bradley Next Generation (NG) at AUSA 2016 to showcase a cost-effective option for extending the M2 Bradley's service life into the 2030s. Centred around ...

• Heavy UGVs

  Ripsaw M5

  The Ripsaw M5 has been developed to meet the requirements of the US Army's Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) programme for a family of new UGVs. ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Fang

  Fang is a first-person view (FPV) UAS for precision strike roles. The drone is aimed to launch in Q2 2025. Developed by Red Cat, the drone ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  Golden Eagle HS

  The Golden Eagle HS (Heavy Strike) is a rotary-wing UAV that can be armed with Rafael's powerful Spike SR and LR2 missiles, providing ground troops with anti-armour ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  H125M

  The H125M, formerly the AS550 C3e Fennec, is a military version of the civil H125. The helicopter platform is manufactured by Airbus Helicopters, through the manufacturer's ...

• Loitering munitions

  L-Spike 4X

  The L-Spike 4X is a loitering munition first displayed by Rafael US at AUSA 2025.  iI will be offered with two primary warhead configurations: Tandem HEAT ...