• Defence Notes

  US reforms its defence acquisition system to focus on commercial capabilities

  21st August 2025

  This shift is planned to accelerate the procurement and fielding of capabilities. As part of this strategy, the US also intends modernise its regulations in an attempt to change its bureaucratic and risk-averse culture.

• Naval Warfare

  Has France quietly become Europe’s real naval power?

  8th April 2026

  The Marine nationale’s consistent deployments, healthy shipbuilding drumbeat and growing export portfolio are forcing a reassessment of where European naval capability now resides.

• Land Warfare

  US Army orders 86 Mack Defense M917A3 Heavy Dump Trucks

  7th October 2025

  The initial order was placed as part of the $222 million, five-year contract awarded to Mack Defense in June.

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2025: German RCH 155 gets tracks

  14th October 2025

  KNDS Deutschland has unveiled a tracked Boxer demonstrator integrating the RCH 155 turret, offering lower ground pressure, on-the-move firing and an ISO-container resupply solution as customers line up for mobility-focused artillery.

• Air Warfare

  Saab Gripen E/F: the multirole fighter that’s seeing a resurgence (updated 2026)

  14th April 2026

  The single-engine multirole fighter jet is seeing heightened demand with a sizeable orderbook and expanding export potential, as Shephard summarises the aircraft’s latest orders and developments.

• Land Warfare

  British Army fires Javelin from Boxer as Australia set for lightweight launchers

  20th August 2025

  Australia has received approval to buy Javelin Lightweight Command Launch Units (LwCLU) on the same day as the British Army announced the first firing from a Boxer armoured vehicle, a sign of the continuing interest in the weapon. Billons-of-dollars of Javelin missiles and systems have been ordered in the past two years.

• Air Warfare

  February Drone Digest: US manufacturers face the Gauntlet and find success abroad

  25th February 2026

  The US launched the Gauntlet test in February as part of its accelerated attack drone procurement effort while also exploring various naval capabilities that could lead to procurements down the line. Shield AI’s V-Bat, meanwhile, has been stirring up global interest.

• Air Warfare

  Spain air focus: Demand builds with $19.7 billion up for grabs in unawarded contracts

  29th January 2026

  Despite Spain’s modest GDP spend on defence, the country still has a range of fixed-wing and UAV programme requirements as yet unawarded, with a potential US$3.10 billion set to be spent over the next decade.

• Land Warfare

  Rheinmetall to supply another 1,388 vehicles to German Army

  6th August 2025

  Rheinmetall MAN has already delivered around 7,000 HX military trucks to the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) and the latest contract for 1,388 vehicles will be completed before the end of the year. Germany’s order reflects similar investments in other countries.

• Air Warfare

  Finland secures possible $1.07 billion AMRAAM deal with US State Department

  12th September 2025

  The Nordic country is set to bolster its defence capabilities after its foreign military sales request for AIM-120D-3 advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles (AMRAAMs) was approved.

• Air Warfare

  January Drone Digest: MALE, rotary-wing and loitering munition UAVs dominate early 2026

  27th January 2026

  The first month of 2026 has seen activity in the MALE, rotary-wing, and loitering munition UAV markets, with significant investments and commitments from Germany, Turkey, the UAE and the US. At the same time, questions over loitering munition performance in Ukraine highlight the growing scrutiny alongside rising demand.

• Defence Notes

  Details revealed on Germany’s big spending plans

  28th October 2025

  In May this year, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the government plans to position Germany as “Europe's strongest conventional army”. A new blueprint outlines how this is going to occur through massive investment.

• Naval Warfare

  Italy’s U212 Near Future Submarine production builds pace as upgrade plans mature

  21st April 2026

  Andrea Simone Pinna, OCCAR-EA combat system officer for the U212 NFS programme, outlined production progress, new capabilities and plans for the Italian Navy’s next-generation conventional submarine.

• Naval Warfare

  US Coast Guard orders 10 additional fast response cutters

  16th September 2025

  The USCG exercised a $507 million contract option for the acquisition of 10 extra fast response cutters. This new order will raise the total number of Sentinel-class vessels procured by the service from 67 to 77.

• Land Warfare

  IDEF 2025: Azerbaijan unveils special ops 4×4

  24th July 2025

  The vehicle is based on the Korean Light Tactical Vehicle (KLTV) which has been built in large numbers for the home and export markets.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Edge 130 [US]

  Programme Background First Order As reported by Shephard, In October 2024, the US Customs and Border Protection force submitted a $1.6 million order to acquire Edge ...

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

  MEUAS IV (US)

  Programme Background MEUAS History The first iteration of the MEUAS programme began in the early 2000s when the ScanEagle was acquired through the programme and ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Cobra II Armoured Tactical Vehicle - 2 (EGM-ZTA-2)

  Some of the Cobra IIs delivered to the SGD are armed with an Aselsan SARP RWS. Based on the value of the June 2016 contract ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  CV90 (Ukraine Aid) [Denmark & Sweden]

  Programme Background Following the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukraine was the recipient of a number of Western systems, many of which ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  CH-53K [U.S. Marine Corps]

  Programme Background The U.S. Marine Corps awarded Sikorsky a USD$10.855 billion contract covering up to 99 CH-53K helicopters. According to Lockheed Martin, this is the ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Secure Personnel Transport Vehicle [Colombia]

  Background Colombia is understood to have a requirement for as many as 100 APCs capable of carrying up to 20 troops and protecting their occupants ...

• Main battle tanks

  Leopard 2A8 [Croatia]

  Programme Background Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Croatia became the latest in a string of Eastern/Central European countries to bolster its ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  FALKE (2022-2023) [Germany]

  Background Inception In November 2022, the German Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) published details on its desire to award a ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Vector / Scorpion (Contracted) [Ukraine]

  Programme Background Previous Orders & Donations On 29 March 2022, the US Embassy in Warsaw announced that Quantum Systems had donated an unknown quantity of ...

• Transport

  C295 [Angola]

  Programme Background Requirement Angola's transport capability is mainly provided by Soviet-origin An-12, An-30, An-72/74, Il-76 and the Xian MA-60 from China. According to AIN Online, Angola ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  CV90 [Ukraine]

  Programme Background Announced at the NATO Defense Ministers’ Meeting in Brussels in June 2023, Ukraine formally signed a Joint Declaration on Cooperation in the Procurement and Operation ...

• Main battle tanks

  Leopard 2A8 [Netherlands]

  Programme Background Bidders and Suppliers The Leopard 2A8, the latest in the Leopard family, was selected by the Royal Dutch Army as per announcements in ...

• Maritime patrol

  C295 MPA [Angola]

  Programme Background Requirement Angola uses a mix of Dornier Do-28s, A-29s and EMB-312 Tucanos for maritime surveillance duties. The country's dedicated maritime patrol capability was ...

• Main battle tanks

  T-90S/SK (Forecast) (Vietnam)

  Shephard estimates that Vietnam may have a requirement for up to 200 T-90S/SK MBTs to modernise its tank fleet. Minus the 64 that were already ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Enok LAPV [Romania]

  Programme Background Following the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Romania has embarked upon a rapid modernisation of its armed forces. This has included orders for ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Land: battlefield and ground surveillance radar, Land: coastal surveillance radars

  CHR

  The Compact Hemispheric Radar (CHR) is a family of sensors used in active protection systems for land vehicles manufactured by RADA Electronic Industries in Israel. The ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  Erieye

  The S-band Erieye is a long-range airborne early warning and control radarthat detects and automatically tracks air and surface targets across a largearea. The radar has ...

• Sea: naval surveillance radar

  Pozitiv-ME1.2

  The Pozitiv-ME1.2 is a three-dimensional naval surveillance radar manufactured in Russia. It is designed to search, detect, and track air and surface targets. According to ...

• Counter-UAS systems, Land: air defence radar, Land: battlefield and ground surveillance radar, Sea: naval surveillance radar

  pMHR

  The Portable Multi-Mission Hemispheric Radar (pMHR) is the smallest in the family of MHRs manufactured by Israeli company RADA Electronic Industries. The radar provides hostile ...

• Land: air defence radar, Land: battlefield and ground surveillance radar, Sea: coastal surveillance radar, Sea: naval surveillance radar

  ieMHR

  The ieMHR radar is a three-dimensional pulse-doppler radar previously manufactured by Israeli company RADA Electronic Industries and is currently produced by Leonardo. It is designed ...

• Maritime patrol

  340 MSA

  The Saab 340 MSA incorporates a mission management system connected to onboard sensors for all-weather monitoring of large maritime areas. The aircraft is equipped with automatic ...

• Land: C2 simulators

  C2 Training

  Saab provides doctrinal-based simulation that enables trainees to dynamically execute plans and orders from their own C2 system. Commander and staff can perceive and comprehend ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Mildef Tarantula

  The Tarantula is a High Mobility Armoured Vehicles from Malaysian defence manufacturer Mildef International Technologies.  First revealed in February 2021, the Tarantula has already received orders from ...

• Main battle tanks

  VT2

  The 125mm-armed VT2 tracked MBT, which was unveiled at DSA 2012, is the export version of the People's Liberation Army Type 96A. As of early ...

• Land: battlefield and ground surveillance radar, Land: coastal surveillance radars

  Three-Dimensional Perimeter Surveillance Radars

  The Three-Dimensional Perimeter Surveillance radars are hemispheric surveillance radars manufactured by RADA in Israel. They provide border and perimeter surveillance through detection, classification and tracking ...

• Land: battle management systems

  MFoCS

  Mounted Family of Computing Systems (MFoCS) is a modular family which is designed to integrate existing FBCB2, future JBC-P and WIN-T capability into a modular ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Maatla 4x4

  Paramount's Maatla 4x4 is a Light Protected Vehicle (LPV) aimed at the African off-road armoured vehicle market. Announced at the African Aerospace and Defence Expo (AAD 2022) in ...

• Data links

  Link Y Mk2

  Thales Link Y Mk2 is used to securely exchange tactical data and orders via a self-managing, adaptive radio network between multiple military platforms. Designed for ...

• Main battle tanks

  Yatagan

  The Yatagan tank, sometimes referred to as the T-84-120, is an improved T-84 armed with a NATO-standard 120mm smoothbore gun developed by KMDB for the ...

• Light UGVs

  SUGV

  The Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle (SUGV) was previously known as the 310 SUGV and is designed for dismounted EOD missions, but it can also be used ...