• Defence Notes

  Rheinmetall vehicle sales almost double as European companies see continued growth

  8th May 2025

  Results for Q1 2025 have been strong across the board for many defence companies in Europe with forward-looking statements and predictions for the full year also looking good.

• Air Warfare

  How satcom is shaping the future of fast, accurate warfare (podcast)

  22nd October 2025

  "Speed is the key advantage and accuracy is the key outcome": Amazon Kuiper Government Solutions’ Rick Freeman talks to Shephard’s Georgia Lewis about how space-as-a-service is transforming defence connectivity and access to satellite capabilities.

• Land Warfare

  Extra punch to be added to THeMIS UGV as production set to increase

  29th January 2025

  Milrem Robotics is looking to improve the lethality of its Tracked Hybrid Modular Infantry System (THeMIS) uncrewed ground vehicle (UGV), ramp up production and add an integration with uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs).

• Land Warfare

  Otokar moves forward on Alpar UGV

  27th November 2024

  Otokar plans to make Alpar fully autonomous with a minimum of external assistance, as well as interfacing with other crewed and uncrewed systems on the battlefield.

• Land Warfare

  US Army orders 103 Mack Defense trucks

  27th January 2025

  The first Mack Defense M917A3 Heavy Dump Trucks (HDTs) were delivered to the US Army in September 2020 after an order was placed in 2018.

• Land Warfare

  Unlocking the potential of Light Forces in modern warfare (Studio)

  4th December 2025

  The Ukraine conflict has highlighted the strategic importance of “Light Forces” – rapidly deployable dispersed units, able to conduct an expanding range of mission sets. What technologies and equipment are needed to ensure their success in combat?

• Air Warfare

  IDEX 2025: GIDS aims to set the loitering munition market ablaze

  19th February 2025

  At IDEX 2025, Global Industrial Defence Solutions (GIDS) unveiled the Blaze family of loitering munitions: the Blaze-25, Blaze-50 and Blaze-75.

• Land Warfare

  Aselsan has started producing Akkor active protection system for Altay tank

  24th January 2025

  Akkor is an active protection system (APS) developed by Aselsan, equipped with both hard- and soft-kill functionalities. It provides protection against antitank missiles and rockets for armoured vehicles and is designed for Turkey’s Leopard and Altay tanks.

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2025: Likely spending boosts outlined this year turn spotlight on show

  4th September 2025

  A surge in budgeted and planned defence spending across European NATO countries in the past year has come in the face of the war in Ukraine and demands from the Trump administration that the countries take on more of the load. This is likely to be reflected in what can be expected from DSEI.

• Land Warfare

  India unveils new air surveillance radars at Aero India 2025

  16th February 2025

  Of the various types unveiled, one serves as an early-warning system, designed to detect stealth aircraft, while the second detects aerial targets and the third, protects mobile army units – all providing an extra-layer of threat detection for the Indian Armed Forces.

• Land Warfare

  Patria unveils new 155mm artillery system with Ukraine war in mind

  21st March 2025

  The war in Ukraine has shown the need for howitzers with a rapid deploy, fire and move capability, the ‘shoot and scoot’ concept, and Patria’s newest self-propelled system, ARVE, acknowledges that.

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2025: Versatile 8×8 vehicles taste success as new versions rolled out

  8th September 2025

  From protected mobility, infantry fighting and reconnaissance to armoured personnel carrier, armoured vehicles and amphibious assault, the 8×8 vehicle is a jack-of-all-trades. In theory, it allows a single vehicle type to fulfil varied roles while providing commonality, and the European market and vehicle types are growing rapidly.

• Naval Warfare

  Admiral Franchetti acknowledges importance of XLUUVs on Orca visit

  9th December 2024

  The US chief of naval operations made the comments on a visit to Boeing’s Orca XLUUV.

• Land Warfare

  Engineering and design mean smaller vehicles can be tank killers but is it a good idea?

  29th September 2025

  The eulogy for the dedicated tank hunter or buster appears to have been written with most armies putting them out to retirement in the face of alternatives like longer-range missiles or uncrewed aerial systems (UAS). However, arming infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) or armoured personnel carriers (APCs) with medium-range missiles seems to indicate some kind of tank killer is required.

• Naval Warfare

  Germany and Finland suspect “hybrid sabotage” of undersea infrastructure

  20th November 2024

  Without naming a culprit, the defence ministers of both nations expressed concern about “deliberate” severing of undersea internet cables.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6, APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  New Generation Light Armoured Vehicles - Wheeled [Türkiye - Future Orders]

  Programme Background The NGLAV is an umbrella programme that will be composed of three phases and 2962 units of tracked and wheeled vehicles. Phase I ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Fixed-Wing VTOL UAV (Malaysia)

  Programme Background Tender Issued As reported by Shephard, on 18 June 2021, Malaysia issued a tender for fixed-wing hybrid VTOL UAVs.  Requirement The tender stated that Malaysia required ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6, APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  New Generation Light Armoured Vehicles - Wheeled [Türkiye - Batch I]

  Programme Background The NGLAV is an umbrella programme that will be composed of three phases and 2962 units of tracked and wheeled vehicles. Phase I ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  8x8 IFV [Greece]

  Programme Background The Greek Army is believed to operate a vast inventory of tracked APCs numbering more than 2,600 vehicles. This consists of legacy Cold ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Pars Scout 8x8 ÖMTTZ

  Programme Background The SSB first outlined its requirement for special purpose vehicles around 2010, but the decision to formally launch the ÖMTTZ programme did not come ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  High Mobility Reconnaissance Vehicle [India]

  Programme Background Aiming to boost mobility and enhance Recce and Command elements, the Indian Army is seeking 91 High Mobility Reconnaissance Vehicles (HMRV). Prioritising mobility and protection ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Iraq 8x8 Armoured Vehicle

  Programme Background It is important to note that there has been no official confirmation that Iraq is currently running a programme to procure 8x8 armoured ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  8x8 APC (Pakistan)

  Programme Background Since few details concerning this 8x8 requirement have been released by the Pakistan MoD, the values in this forecast are based upon informed ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Lazar 3 (Turkmenistan)

  Programme Background Though it inherited a large number of BTR-60s, BTR-70s and BTR-80s from the Soviet Union, Turkmenistan's army lacks a modern 8x8 armoured vehicle offering ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  UAE Rosomak 8x8 (Options)

  Prior to the imposition of the Finnish ban on arms exports to the UAE, Patria had also offered the AMV and AMV28A platform to the ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6, APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Otaman (Ukrainian Marine Corps)

  Programme Background Practika first unveiled the Otaman family of 6x6 and 8x8 armoured vehicles in late 2016. These were developed to meet the requirements of ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS): Switchblade [US]

  Background DoD Contract On 27 August 2024, the US DoD announced that AeroVironment had been awarded a ceiling $990 million hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to provide “an ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  AH-64E Apache [Indian Army]

  Programme Background It is a hybrid procurement, as was the 2015 Air Force one (see separate entry), employing both a direct commercial sale with Boeing ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Pacha Kuyuchix (New 8x8 Armoured Vehicle) [Peru - Forecast]

  entry.Programme Background The Peruvian Army is reliant upon a range of ageing 4x4 APCs, including the UR-416, Type 6614 and Type 6616, all of which ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6, APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Piranha I Replacement [Chile]

  Programme Background Chile has operated the Piranha I armoured vehicle platform for more than 40 years. During the early 1980s between 100 and 200 Piranha ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Genesis

  The Genesis 8x8 armoured vehicle was unveiled by FFG in September 2020. Featuring a full hybrid electric powertrain, it is intended to demonstrate technology that ...

• 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 ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6, APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Alligator

  The Alligator vehicle family, available in both 6x6 and 8x8 configurations, is the culmination of the development work BAE Systems undertook for the Swedish Army’s ...

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

  Hybrid Tiger

  Manufactured by the Naval Research Laboratory, the Hybrid Tiger is an electric UAV. As its name suggests, the platform features a hybrid power generation unit. ...

• Heavy UGVs

  Phantom

  Debuted in 2016, the Phantom was a Ukrainian UGV manufactured by Ukroboronprom and its affiliate SpetsTechnoExport. Powered by a 30kW hybrid engine and in a 6x6 ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Arma II 8x8

  The Arma II 8x8 is an upgraded version of Otokar's Arma 8x8 wheeled armoured vehicle. First unveiled in 2023, the Arma II 8x8 is intended ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Daghan

  The Daghan is a hybrid armoured vehicle being designed by MKE. At IDEF 2025 MKE unveiled two prototypes of the Daghan equipped with hybrid electric drives.

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Pars Alpha 8x8

  Unveiled at the World Defense Show 2024 in Riyadh, the Pars Alpha is the latest 8x8 Armoured Vehicle from Turkish manufacturer FNSS. Featuring improvements on ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Pars IV 8x8

  The Pars IV 8x8 is being developed by FNSS to compete for the Turkish Army's New Generation - Wheeled Armoured Vehicle programme. Designed to offer ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Pars Scout 8x8

  The Pars Scout 8x8 was developed alongside the Pars Scout 6x6 to meet a requirement from the Turkish Land Forces Command for a Special Purpose Tactical Wheeled ...

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

  Skylark 3 Hybrid

  The Skylark 3 Hybrid is a UAV manufactured by Elbit Systems.  Unlike the Skylark 3, which is fitted with an electric motor, the Skylark 3 Hybrid ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  StrykerX

  Unveiled at AUSA 2022, the StrykerX from General Dynamics Land Systems is the technology demonstrator for the next-generation Stryker vehicle family. Featuring a hybrid diesel-electric power ...

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

  Hydra 400

  The Hydra 400 is a British cargo-carrying drone from Hydra Drones. Displayed at DSEI 2023, the UAV has four configurations: a fully electric variant, a 2-jet ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Arma 8x8 NG

  The Arma 8x8 NG, an improved variant of the Arma 8x8 and 6x6 platform, is an amphibious armoured combat vehicle produced by Otokar in Turkey. First ...

• Trucks and utility vehicles - 4x4, Trucks and utility vehicles - 6x6, Trucks and utility vehicles - 8x8

  Kerax Family

  The Kerax family consists of off-road trucks available in 4x4, 6x6, and 8x8 configurations, designed to meet the specific requirements of armed forces while utilizing ...