• Naval Warfare

  US Navy to accelerate the replenishment of SM-6 stocks as demand continues to surge

  5th May 2026

  The Naval Sea Systems Command exercised a US$335 million modification to a contract with RTX Raytheon to support increasing the production of Standard Missiles 6 by 2030. Shephard spoke with the company president about how the company has scaled to meet demand.

• Land Warfare

  Raytheon unveils land version of the Next Generation Jammer

  20th April 2026

  The ground-based NGJ is designed to work as an “invisible shield” to protect land structures and assets. Shephard spoke with Raytheon to find out more.

• Naval Warfare

  Industrial teams prepare roadmap for Indonesia aircraft carrier transformation

  6th October 2026

  Fincantieri and PT PAL have agreed on a framework to modernise the former Giuseppe Garibaldi, with drones, communications and broader Italian–Indonesian industrial ties involved.

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy’s $76.6bn award provides stability for submarine production

  5th August 2026

  The US Department of War’s US$76.6 billion Columbia-and Virginia-class submarine contract gives industry demand certainty as Washington seeks to rebuild its shipbuilding base.

• Naval Warfare

  What the rise of interoperability between Western allies means for defence procurement

  16th March 2026

  Major naval initiatives including the European Patrol Corvette programmes and Norway’s UK partnership-focused purchase of Type 26 frigates point to the growing interest in the advantages of commonality across allied navies.

• Naval Warfare

  “We must end the mentality of ever larger platforms”: Why USVs are scaling

  30th April 2026

  Multiple USV programme milestones announced last week, aligned with a reinforcement of the Royal Navy’s vision for a hybrid fleet, point to innovation-led ambition but also to a structural calculation with resource ceilings that neither London nor Washington can ignore.

• Air Warfare

  India’s rotary-wing capability gap grows as IMRH programme delays persist

  16th September 2026

  With IMRH and DBMRH potentially years from service, India faces a widening rotary-wing capability gap that could drive further foreign purchases even as HAL and Safran build the foundations of an indigenous successor.

• Naval Warfare

  Naval Group’s Barracuda bid could deepen Franco-Greek naval alignment

  9th April 2026

  As the Hellenic Navy looks to replace its ageing submarines with a next-generation fleet, other likely contenders for the programme include TKMS, Saab, Fincantieri, Navantia and Hanwha Ocean.

• Naval Warfare

  Singapore expands maritime presence with future-ready Sentinel OPV

  1st October 2026

  Singapore is building space for uncrewed systems and future technologies into its new Sentinel-class OPVs, reflecting a wider move towards adaptable vessels capable of maintaining persistent maritime presence.

• Naval Warfare

  Australian industry programme builds pipeline for Virginia-class sustainment

  11th September 2026

  Australian businesses can now bid to support Virginia-class submarine sustainment in Western Australia, as momentum around the Henderson Defence Precinct also builds.

• Naval Warfare

  Asia-Pacific emerges as the largest export market for US-made USVs

  12th August 2026

  Asian customers have placed one of the largest known international purchases of US-built uncrewed surface vessels, highlighting accelerating regional demand for autonomous maritime capabilities and distributed naval operations.

• Naval Warfare

  Could the USCG icebreaker requirement open the door for more inland shipbuilding?

  13th April 2026

  The formation of a Great Lakes shipbuilding alliance could prompt a shift in how the US approaches naval and coast guard construction. But can distributed inland shipyards ease the country’s shipbuilding capacity?

• Naval Warfare

  Finland’s naval sector eyes growth opportunities in NATO era

  15th July 2026

  Finland’s naval industrial base is expanding as NATO membership, Baltic Sea security concerns and proximity to Russia push shipbuilders and equipment makers to capture new roles.

• Naval Warfare

  UK ‘Hybrid Navy’ steps up as Norway cooperation reinforces Arctic strategy

  13th February 2026

  As Russia commits billions to new warships and stealth submarines, the UK is reshaping its strategy with expanded troop deployments, shared frigate fleets and a shift towards uncrewed platforms.

• Naval Warfare

  Armada 2050: can Spain deliver its naval transformation?

  26th August 2026

  Spain’s naval modernisation drive is moving from concept to contracts, with RfIs and RfPs expected before the end of the decade, despite second-batch frigate and submarine numbers remaining undecided.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Frigates

  Constellation Class - FFG(X) (3-10) [USA]

  Programme Background The FFG (X) programme was first announced with a Request for Information (RFI) released by the US Navy in July 2017 with a ...

• Frigates

  Constellation Class - FFG (1-2) [USN]

  Programme Background The FFG (X) programme was first announced with a Request for Information (RFI) released by the US Navy in July 2017 with a ...

• Frigates

  Constellation Class frigate procurement [Greece]

  Background Requirements The Hellenic Navy (HN) seeks to modernize its Fleet by 2032 with second-hand and newly built ships. The main goal is to replace ...

• Frigates

  FF(X) Frigate [USN]

  Programme Background The FFG(X) programme was first announced with a Request for Information (RFI) released by the US Navy in July 2017 with a plan for ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  AD(X) Destroyer Tenders [USN]

  Programme Background At Surface Navy 2026, General Dynamics NASSCO unveiled an internally developed concept, pitching a AD(X) Destroyer Tender to the USN. The destroyer tender ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Medium Landing Ship (1-10) [USMC]

  Background Development As part of the US Marine Corps' future force structure, it is developing a new platform under the Medium Lading Ship programme (LSM) ...

• Frigates

  FREMM Frigates [Morocco]

  Background It was first reported by local Italian media that Morocco has been in talks with Fincantieri for the potential acquisition of two FREMM frigates ...

• Frigates

  Littoral Combat Ships [Egypt]

  Requirements The Egyptian Navy is in the process of replacing four O. Perry-class frigates, two Knox-class frigates and two Descubierta-class corvettes. Although the O. Perry-class ...

• Frigates

  Fridtjof Nansen Frigates Replacement (1-5) [Norway]

  Programme Background Requirements The Royal Norwegian Navy has four Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates. Five were originally built and delivered, but one sank in November 2018. Shephard forecasts that the ...

• Frigates

  Constellation Class - FFG(X) (11-20)

  Programme Background Timeline The FFG (X) programme was first announced with a Request for Information (RFI) released by the US Navy in July 2017 with ...

• Frigates

  Second-hand frigate requirement [Bahrain]

  Background Requirements The second-hand vessel to succeed the RBNS Sabha would need to be at least of the generation of frigates that followed the Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates, ...

• Frigates

  F110 frigates [Egypt]

  Background Timeline In December 2022, Sky News Arabia reported that Egypt was interested in procuring Littoral Combat Ships from the USN. However, since then, no further announcements ...

• Frigates

  Littoral Combat Ship (LCS)

  Programme Background The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) programme was developed in 2003 as a cheap and fast way to increase the size of the fleet ...

• Frigates

  Stop-Gap Frigate Procurement [Greece]

  Programme Background The Hellenic Navy is acquiring up to four new Frigates. This major equipment programme is the most discussed equipment issue on the Greek ...

• Frigates

  FREMM EVO (11-12) [Italy]

  Background Requirements As of October 2022, the Italian Navy operates a fleet of eight FREMM frigates, split equally between anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and General Purpose ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Frigates

  Constellation Class (FFG)

  The USN has selected Fincantieri Marinette Marine to build up to ten frigates under the FFG(X) next-generation future guided-missile frigate programme. The new Constellation-class will replace ...

• Frigates

  Australian Light Frigate

  During Indo Pacific 2023, Gibbs & Cox Australia unveiled the Australian Light Frigate design. Based on the new frigates being built for Taiwan and the USN ...

• Frigates

  FF(X) Frigate

  The FF(X) frigate is a vessel derived from Huntington Ingalls Industries' (HHI) National Security Cutter (NSC). It was designed in response to the cancellation of ...

• Sea: sonar systems

  Captas-4 Sonar 2087

  Captas-4 is a low-frequency active and passive variable depth sonar for platforms heavier than 3,000 tons. The Captas-4 is part of Thales' family of Captas ...

• Sea: naval surveillance radar

  SPY-6(V)3

  The SPY-6(V)3 Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (EASR) is a fixed-face surveillance radar manufactured by Raytheon. The system is designed to defend against cruise missiles, anti-surface ...

• Naval: Radio and SATCOM

  SURFSAT-L

  Produced by Thales, SURFSAT-L is a SATCOM terminal designed for medium to large surface vessels. According to the manufacturer, it is designed to achieve a ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  SM-2 Block IIIC/Block IIICU

  The SM-2 Block IIIC and Block IIICU are medium-range, surface-to-air missiles with active radio frequency seekers. Both missiles are modifications to legacy SM-2 Block III/IIIA/IIIB ...

• Frigates

  Zulfiquar Class (F-22P/Sword Class)

  Pakistan’s Zulfiquar-class frigates are also known as the F-22P or Sword-class; they are a modernised version of China’s Type 053H3 frigate. The ships are built ...

• Frigates

  Jose Rizal Class (HDF-2600)

  The Jose Rizal-class frigates for the Philippine Navy (PN) are being built to the HDF-2600 design by Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries at its shipyard ...

• Sea: naval fire control radar

  AN/SPY-1 air search radar

  Aegis isan integrated missile guidance system used on USN and allied ships to performanti-air and ballistic missile defence missions. The S-band phased-array AN/SPY-1D(V) radar acquires ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems, Sea: fire control systems

  Aegis Weapon System

  Aegis Weapon System is an integrated missile guidance system used on USN and allied ships to perform anti-air and ballistic missile defence missions.  The S-band phased-array ...

• Sea: sonar systems

  AN/SQR-19

  The AN/SQR-19 is a Tactical Towed Array Sonar (TACTAS) produced by Lockheed Martin. The sonar is designed to detect and classify both submarines and surface vessels ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  AN/SQQ-89

  The AN/SQQ-89 is an ASW combat system incorporates and processes all the sonar information and LAMPS sensor data. Manufactured by Lockheed Martin, there are currently ...

• Frigates

  Bergamini Class (FREMM)

  The Bergamini-class frigates for the Italian Navy are based on the Franco-Italian, European, multipurpose frigate design FREMM (European multi-mission Frigate/Fregata europea multi-missione). For Italy, the ...

• Data links

  Network Tactical Common Data Link

  Developed by BAE Systems, the Network Tactical Common Data Link (NTCDL) is a multi-link CDL system being produced for the US Navy. NTCDL provides the ...