• Air Warfare

  Lithuania air focus: Majority of $235.98 million drone investment to be spent before 2030

  4th May 2026

  Lithuania has committed significant funding towards expanding its UAV capabilities, with more than $54 million already spent and substantial additional investment planned through to 2029. Alongside domestic procurement, the country has also acquired various drones to support Ukraine.

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy to invest more than $700 million in laser-related R&D efforts in FY2026

  26th January 2026

  The US Navy’s acceleration of its laser weapon development initiatives reflects a decisive shift towards ultimately having a “laser on every ship” across tomorrow’s surface fleet.

• Naval Warfare

  Brazil’s naval ambitions now firmly anchored in Europe

  6th May 2026

  With the Tamandaré frigate commissioned and a second batch under negotiation, Brazil is leveraging European partnerships to position itself as South America’s premier maritime power without surrendering industrial sovereignty.

• 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

  First GCAP contract marks milestone for Edgewing, while UK waits on further funding

  8th April 2026

  The design and development contract is set to run until the end of June and will now enable the partnership to drive the programme forward as it targets its 2027 demonstrator date.

• Land Warfare

  US Army’s future autonomous launcher nears next phase with awards expected in August

  16th July 2026

  The Common Autonomous Multi-Domain Launcher (CAML) is the US Army’s main effort to provide an autonomous or optionally crewed missile launcher, with more details revealed at a CSIS webinar discussion this week.

• Air Warfare

  Maximise survivability with advanced electronic warfare (video)

  29th July 2026

  BAE Systems’ all-digital EW delivers 360-degree threat awareness in contested environments, boosts survivability, and cuts lifecycle costs.

• Naval Warfare

  New UK-Norway pact covers warship, missile and autonomous system collaboration

  5th December 2025

  The Lunna House Agreement represents multiple opportunities for cooperation between the two navies, and follows on from last year’s declaration of a joint strategic partnership between the countries.

• Land Warfare

  "The next industrial revolution": Pearson Engineering embraces autonomy and robotics

  1st September 2025

  In Conversation: Shephard’s Gerrard Cowan talks to Pearson Engineering group chief executive officer Ian Bell about how the company is turning to new technologies to provide critical protection and mobility for troops on the front line.

• Land Warfare

  “Timelines are measured in seconds”: tackling the UAS threat with dispersed defences

  17th July 2026

  Small uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) have transformed the battlespace, posing a complex threat across all domains. Militaries now need counter-UAS (CUAS) capabilities that defeat the danger while meeting demands around readiness, manoeuvrability and adaptability, according to Mike Spina, Director, Global Sales and Business Development for Targeting and Sensor Systems (TSS) at L3Harris Technologies.

• Land Warfare

  Estonia drops CV90 plan as it shifts towards uncrewed systems and firepower

  13th April 2026

  The country is scaling back its reliance on heavy battlefield equipment in favour of upgrading existing platforms and investing in firepower, mobility, unmanned systems and situational awareness.

• Land Warfare

  US Army moves towards calls for bids for medium UGV as competitors warm up

  26th March 2026

  The US Army’s Medium Modular Equipment Transport Trailer (M-METT) programme is planned to provide a platform between Increment II of Small Multipurpose Equipment Transport and the Palletized Load System.

• Land Warfare

  Precision on Demand: The New Age of Loitering Weapons (Podcast)

  10th October 2025

  Loitering munitions provide vital capabilities in the disrupted and unpredictable modern battlespace, from real-time ISR to a virtually “on demand” strike capability. Rafael is looking to the future of the technology, empowering systems to operate with increasing autonomy in hostile environments.

• Naval Warfare

  How the use of artificial intelligence will affect the US Coast Guard’s acquisitions

  25th November 2025

  The USCG is pursuing AI tools to improve the way the service conducts its procurement and fielding processes.

• Naval Warfare

  How the Golden Fleet will change the US Navy acquisition process

  24th February 2026

  The procurement of the future USN Golden Fleet is planned to be less bureaucratic than previous strategies, involving AI-enabled designs and scheduling tools to increase productivity and avoid delays.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - MALE

  Skyborg [USA]

  Background Programme Intention Skyborg was one of three USAF Vanguard programs outlined in the Air Force Science and Technology 2030 initiative. The program aimed to develop ...

• Military UAS - mini

  FPV Drones [Lithuania]

  Background Ukraine FPV Drones On 5 April 2024, the Lithuanian MoD announced it would purchase around 3,000 Lithuanian-made FPV drones to give to Ukraine to ...

• 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, ...

• Military UAS - mini

  FPV Drones [Moldova]

  Programme Background Lithuanian Drones Lithuania's Minister of National Defense, Laurynas Kasciunas, announced that Lithuanian-produced thermal night vision devices and FPV drones had begun being delivered to Moldova during ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - mini

  FPV Drones (Ukraine Aid) [Lithuania]

  Background 3000 FPV Drones On 5 April 2024, the Lithuanian MoD announced it would purchase around 3,000 Lithuanian-made FPV drones to give to Ukraine to support ...

• Loitering munitions

  Seth-X and Anubis (Ukraine aid) [Germany]

  Background German-built, Ukraine-bound The Auterion Airlogix Joint Venture GmbH was established in February 2026 at the Munich Security Conference by the German company Auterion and ...

• Loitering munitions

  Seth-X and Anubis [Germany]

  Background German-built, Ukraine-bound The Auterion Airlogix Joint Venture GmbH was established in February 2026 at the Munich Security Conference by the German company Auterion and ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  IA-63 Pampa III (Follow-On) [Argentina]

  Programme Background After the previous procurement of six AI-63 Pampa III aircraft from 2018 and 2019 agreements, Argentina was left with a further need for 34 aircraft. ...

• Military UAS - small

  Penguin [Ukraine]

  Background Long-Standing Deal Red Wire announced in September 2025 that its wholly owned subsidiary, Edge Autonomy, had delivered additional aircraft from its Penguin uncrewed aerial system ...

• Military UAS - small

  Shield AI UAVs [Saudi Arabia]

  Background Reported talks Reporting from the World Defence Show (WDS) 2026, the Middle East Eye (MEE) noted that, according to two sources, Saudi Arabia was ...

• Military UAS - small

  Penguin C VTOL [Croatia]

  Background Announcment Redwire Corporation announced on 12 November 2025 that its wholly owned subsidiary, Edge Autonomy, had been contracted to deliver the Penguin C VTOL ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  KF-21 Loyal Wingman [South Korea]

  Background KF-21 Boramae Crewed Fighter The Republic of Korea’s Air Force (ROKAF) plans to acquire the KF-21 Boramae fighter, replacing F-4E Phantom II and F-5E/F fighters in the ROKAF. ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  X-Bat [Poland]

  Background Polish involvement Speaking in June 2026, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that Shield AI offered Poland a role in the X-Bat programme, with the ...

• Self-propelled guns

  Mobile Tactical Cannon [USA]

  Background The US Army began using the M777 in 1995. Since then, it has served as a field artillery piece providing fire support for American ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Group Unmanned Isr DronE (GUIDE) [Netherlands]

  Background Competition On 14 March 2025, the Netherlands announced a competition on the EU tendering website for the future procurement of 514 UAVs for intelligence, surveillance, ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Loitering munitions

  Viper 10

  The Viper 10 is a rotary-wing first-person view (FPV) drone from Baltic Viper. The loitering munition quadcopter has a 4kg payload, a reinforced communication system, and ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  Hivemind

  Developed by Shield AI, Hivemind is an ecosystem of tightly integrated AI software tools and interfaces that leverages several factors to deliver  intelligent and resilient autonomy ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Netra 5

  Launched at Aero India 2025, the Netra 5 is a rotary-wing UAV manufactured by ideaForge. It can host a 900g EO/IR camera and drop a ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - mini

  GA-10FPV-AI

  The GA-10FPV-AI is a Lithuanian FPV quadcopter drone manufactured by Granta Autonomy. The drone can carry a 3kg payload and operate in GNSS-denied environments. In September 2024, Granta Autonomy ...

• Military - USVs

  Liberty Class USV

  The Liberty is an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) designed by Blue Water Autonomy in partnership with Damen. The vessel operates with level four autonomy and ...

• Military UAS - micro

  TETTRON TM-450

  The Tettron TM-450 is a micro rotary-wing UAV manufactured by Thunder Tiger. The primary mission of the drone is to provide short-range reconnaissance (SRR), particularly ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  INTeACT

  Developed by BAE Systems, INTeACT is a next-generation combat management system for surface vessels with a dedicated software development kit (SDK). Notably, it includes AI-powered ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  Lattice

  Unveiled by Anduril in 2023, Lattice for Mission Autonomy is a hardware-agnostic, end-to-end software platform that enables teams of diverse robotic assets to collaborate under ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  Sea Dagger

  The Sea Dagger is a conceptual, optionally-crewed commando insertion craft (CIC) developed by Leidos. Leidos unveiled the design at DSEI 2025.  It was designed to ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  UAS Concept 1

  In July 2022, BAE Systems revealed two UAV concepts. The UAS Concept 1 is described as a small, versatile aircraft designed to augment existing forces ...

• Military - USVs

  Romulus

  The Romulus is an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) designed by Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII).  According to HII, the Romulus USV was designed as a force ...

• Military - USVs

  Cipher

  Cipher is an Autonomous Surface Vessel (ASV) designed by Saronic Technologies. It is intended for the movement of critical systems or cargo and, according to the ...

• Loitering munitions

  FWD-LM01

  The FWD-LM01 is a loitering munition unveiled by Flying Wedge Defence & Aerospace at the Paris Air Show 2025. The manufacturer states the drone is built for ...

• Military UAS - small

  Jump 20-X

  Unveiled at IDEX 2025, the Jump 20-X is an advancement of AeroVironment (AV)’s Jump 20 UAV. It is a small (Group 3), fixed-wing, VTOL-capable aircraft ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Nova 2

  The Nova 2 is a rotary-wing UAV designed by Sheild AI. The platform features Level 5 autonomy, allowing it to autonomously traverse complex domains without an operator's ...