• Air Warfare

  NATO reveals details of C-UAS exercise

  4th October 2023

  Last month’s completion of NATO’s Technical Interoperability Exercise 2023 (TIE23) C-UAS exercise is expected to inform common standards and policy objectives.

• Naval Warfare

  Russia signs agreement for Black Sea naval base

  6th October 2023

  Abkhazia has offered Russia an alternative Black Sea base to ports in Crimea where it has faced attacks by Ukrainian forces, according to Russian state media.

• Defence Notes

  The centre of gravity of ‘Axis of Evil 2.0’ shifts eastwards (Opinion)

  14th September 2023

  Russia might be at the tip of the spear in terms of authoritarian aggression, but it has plenty of backers in the shape of countries like China, Iran and North Korea. Others, like India, try to duplicitously sit on the fence.

• Air Warfare

  India to add to Su-30MKI fleet with new order

  26th September 2023

  India will order a dozen extra Su-30 fighters from Russia, these to be assembled by HAL within India.

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2023: New US chassis for Archer

  19th October 2023

  Sweden has placed an order for 48 new Archers for delivery from 2025.

• Training

  Trilateral autonomous undersea warfare exercise tightens the bonds of AUKUS

  10th November 2023

  The Integrated Battle Problem 23-3 exercise brought together Australian, UK and US naval forces test to autonomous undersea warfare capabilities.

• Defence Notes

  Boom time has arrived for South Korean defence exports (Opinion)

  9th October 2023

  The Asian country to make the most spectacular and stellar success in terms of arms exports is none other than South Korea, a nation of 51.7 million citizens.

• Air Warfare

  Russia to start mass production of Scalpel loitering munition

  15th September 2023

  A Russian loitering munition developer has said it will begin mass production a loitering munition which is claimed to be much cheaper than the Lancet which has been widely used in Ukraine.

• Land Warfare

  Russia details new T-80 tank variant, reports plans for renewed production

  21st September 2023

  Russia has introduced an upgraded version of the T-80BVM main battle tank, designed for increased survivability based on combat experiences in Ukraine and aims to restart production of the type after a 20-year gap.

• Air Warfare

  Ukraine lessons: is bringing an attack helicopter to a missile fight too dangerous?

  15th September 2023

  According to multiple OSINT sources, Russian forces have lost possibly as many as 200 rotary-wing aircraft since February 2022. Some of these occurred in early high-profile operations, but most have been attrition casualties during the ongoing fighting. Shephard analyses the nature of these losses, and what lessons NATO attack helicopter operators should draw.

• Land Warfare

  Ukraine to receive SurveilSPIRE C-UAS systems from Germany

  6th October 2023

  A new order has been made for Ukraine to receive automated SurveilSPIRE C-UAS systems from Germany’s Rheinmetall and Estonia’s DefSecIntel.

• Land Warfare

  As the Ukraine war passes the 18-month mark, how are NATO’s factories meeting the artillery challenge?

  18th September 2023

  NATO is rapidly increasing its supply of equipment to Ukraine in a number of key areas including tube artillery and, crucially, its ammunition. Shephard analyses how the alliance's members are stepping up to this challenge after years of industrial neglect.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Ukraine approves artifiicial intelligence-enabled Saker drone for use in combat

  8th September 2023

  The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence has greenlit the Saker Scout drone complex, featuring advanced AI-driven target detection and engagement capabilities, for combat deployment.

• Land Warfare

  NATO tests robotic capabilities at multi-domain operations trials

  2nd November 2023

  The 2023 Next-Generation Communication Networks Technology event featured innovative technologies transforming the battlefield, including drones, ground-robotic systems and a robot dog.

• Defence Notes

  US Army seeks 'fundamental transformation' to face future threats

  25th September 2023

  ‘The army is really undergoing its most fundamental transformation in 40 years. We are moving away from the system that we designed in the 80s’, Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth has claimed,

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - MALE

  Akinci [Ukraine]

  Programme Background Two Export Contracts In January 2022, the Daily Sabah reported that Baykar had "recently" signed its first export contract for the Akinci. Haluk Bayraktar ...

• Loitering munitions

  Deep-strike, low-cost, loitering munition [Ukraine]

  Background 30,000 On 2 December 2024, Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov told Reuters that Ukraine was targeting the production of 30,000 deep-strike loitering munitions in 2025. Three ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Heavy Lift Helicopter [Philippines]

  Programme Background Procurement from Russia In November 2021, Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana confirmed that a contract had been signed to acquire 16 Mi-171 heavy ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Vector / Scorpion (Selected) [Ukraine]

  Programme Background 500 Systems Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Quantum-Systems has provided many drones to Ukraine. Over 400 units have been provided as aid ...

• Military UAS - mini

  SkyRanger R70 (Ukraine Aid) [Canada]

  Programme Background On 19 February 2024, the Canadian Defence Minister, Bill Blair, announced that the country would donate more than 800 SkyRanger R70 UAVs to ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Ka-226T- Air Force [India]

  Programme Background India had operated a diverse and antiquated fleet of helicopters to support its high-altitude operations along contested borders with China and Pakistan. Reducing ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Ka-226T - Army [India]

  Programme Background India had operated a diverse and antiquated fleet of helicopters to support its high-altitude operations along contested borders with China and Pakistan. Reducing ...

• Military UAS - small

  T-150 (Ukraine Aid) [UK]

  Programme Background Virtual Address On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. On 3 May 2022, the UK's Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, virtually addressed the Ukrainian ...

• Military UAS - micro

  Black Hornet 3 (Ukraine Aid) [UK & Norway]

  Programme Background Russo-Ukraine War Since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, UAVs have proved vital to the country's defence. Consequently, as in this programme, the ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Quantix Recon (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background April Meeting In mid-April, just shy of two months after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, the Ambassador and the Defence Attaché at the Embassy of Ukraine met ...

• Main battle tanks

  Merkava Mk3 [Cyprus]

  Programme Background Following the announced donation of 41 T-80U/UK tanks to Ukraine, Cyprus is actively seeking a replacement MBT for its Armed Forces. Cyprus offered ...

• Long Range Missile Defence Systems: > 90km range

  S-400 [India]

  Background India is modernising its air defence by procuring  S-400 LRSAM systems (Triumf Missile System), which are planned to be used by the Air Force.  The fifth system ...

• Main battle tanks

  Leopard 2A8 [Germany]

  Background Germany has operated the domestically produced Krauss-Maffei Wegmann Leopard 2 since its inception in the 1970s. Spanning now eight versions, the Leopard 2A8 is the latest ...

• Corvettes

  Ada Class Corvettes (1-2) [Ukraine]

  Background Timeline In October 2020, the MoD of Ukraine and the President of the Turkish Defence Industries signed a memorandum of understanding. This outlined intentions ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Next Generation Fighter Aircraft (Vietnam)

  Programme Background Requirement The Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) operates an ageing fleet of Su-22 aircraft as well as Su-27s and Su-30s. According to expert commentary, ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Main battle tanks

  T-80UD

  The 125mm-armed T-80UD MBT is a variant of the T-80 which was in production in Ukraine when the Soviet Union broke up in 1991. An ...

• Loitering munitions

  AQV 100 Scalpel

  The AQV 100 Scalpel, or AQV-100, is a low-cost loitering munition manufactured by One Way Aerospace.  The drone is operated using a first-person view and ...

• Military UAS - micro

  Mini 2

  The Mini 2 is a micro rotary-wing drone from DJI. It features a 3-axis gimbaled 12MP camera for photographs and 4k/30fps for video capture. Shephard believes ...

• Transport

  An-140

  The An-140 is a light turboprop military transport aircraft developed from the An-140 regional airliner, which first flew in September 1997. It is designed to ...

• Air: sonar systems

  VGS-3

  The VGS-3 is a dipping sonar for the Ka-27/Ka-28 helicopter developed by the State Enterprise Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Hydrodevices.

• Loitering munitions

  Shahed-236

  The Shahed-236, or MC 236, is a successor to the Shahed-126. It is a loitering munition designed in Iran. The drone was presented to Russia in ...

• Fighter - air superiority

  MiG-29

  The MiG-29 (NATO reporting name Fulcrum) is an air superiority fighter aircraft designed to engage air targets in any weather, day and night.  The production ...

• Loitering munitions

  FP-5 Flamingo

  The FP-5 Flamingo is a ground-launched UAV system/cruise missile developed and manufactured by Fire Point. The system is designed to engage ground targets and is ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Orlan-10/10E

  Developed by the Russia-based Special Technology Center, the Orlan-10 is a medium-range UAS with many variants, such as the 10E, an export version introduced in 2017. The ...

• Fighter - ground attack

  Su-25

  The Su-25 (NATO reporting name Frogfoot) is a single-seat ground attack aircraft developed for close combat air support missions. Production of the Su-25 began in ...

• Air-to-surface missiles

  Kh-59/Kh-59E

  The Kh-59, designated by NATO as the AS-13 "Kingbolt," is a TV command-guided air-launched cruise missile. It has been offered on the export market as Kh-59E.

• Land: coastal surveillance radars

  Predel-E

  The Predel-E is a coastal surveillance radar produced by Russian manufacturer Concern Morinformsystem-Agat JSC. The system is intended as an over-the-horizon surveillance system, designed to ...

• Artillery rockets

  9M55

  9M55 is a family of 300 mm artillery rockets developed for the BM-30 Uragan MLRS developed by the Soviet Union.

• Military UAS - mini

  Matrice 300 RTK

  The Matrice 300 RTK is a rotary-wing UAV manufactured by DJI. Despite being primarily aimed at industrial applications, militaries utilise it for ISR tasks.  In ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  SURA HMTDS

  SURA is a helmet-mounted display system produced in Ukraine. Notably, it offers off-boresight acquisition capability to pilots and can cue the aircraft's sensor systems using ...