• Land Warfare

  Hundreds of Boxers with Puma turrets ordered for Dutch and German forces

  21st October 2025

  The order is for 270 vehicles, 222 of which are infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) known as Schakal (Jackal), which integrates the advanced Puma IFV RCT30 turret onto the Boxer chassis.

• Naval Warfare

  UK and Norway strengthen defence bond with maiden NSM launch

  30th September 2025

  The firing of the Naval Strike Missile from the Royal Navy’s HMS Somerset in Norway’s Arctic rocket range signals a growing collaboration between the UK and the Scandinavian nation.

• 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.

• Naval Warfare

  BAE Systems selected for multi-billion-dollar Norway ship order

  1st September 2025

  BAE Systems is leading the construction of eight Type 26 City-class anti-submarine frigates for the UK Royal Navy (RN) with the first of these expected to enter service in 2027. Norway’s selection of the type makes it the fourth to make the choice alongside Australia, Canada and the UK.

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2025: AM General has partner lined up for British Army vehicle programme

  15th September 2025

  AM General’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) A2 is in low-rate initial production and the company is looking for export orders, notably the UK’s Land Mobility Programme (LMP), to add to a recent approval for Canada to buy vehicles.

• Land Warfare

  2025 land market review: British Army woes, European heavy armour and US MBT progress

  18th December 2025

  The last year has seen several major procurements in the land market. Shephard’s Dr Peter Magill reviews the main trends and themes in land procurement of 2025.

• Air Warfare

  UK bets big on drone investment and boosts its drone deliveries to Ukraine tenfold

  4th June 2025

  The £4 billion domestic funding package will go towards the development of autonomous and uncrewed aerial systems and was announced in the wake of the publication of the UK Strategic Defence Review.

• Land Warfare

  The power of partnership: GDMS–UK deepens cooperation with the British Army

  25th June 2025

  In Conversation: Shephard's Gerrard Cowan talks to General Dynamics Mission Systems–United Kingdom’s Chris Burrows about how the company's UK TacCIS business is reshaping battlefield communications through sustained customer engagement, accelerated innovation and ecosystem collaboration.

• Air Warfare

  BAE Systems reveals new GCAP demonstrator design with plans to fly by 2027

  17th July 2025

  A key part in the trinational Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), this is the first crewed supersonic aircraft demonstrator to be built and developed in the UK in more than 40 years.

• Defence Notes

  Why small guns have been critical to layered CUAS architectures

  5th February 2026

  Multiple countries have been deploying small arms as the last line of drone defence due to their multiple operational and tactical advantages.

• Defence Notes

  Resilience, adaptiveness and collaboration vital for success in space (Studio)

  5th November 2025

  Speakers at the Defence In Space Conference (DISC) 2025 highlighted the critical and evolving role of space in national security, defence and the global economy.

• Air Warfare

  Lockheed Martin secures $12.5 billion Lot 18-19 F-35 production contract

  30th September 2025

  The contract modification will cover production for the F-35 aircraft for the US Air Force, US Marine Corps and US Navy and include foreign military sales customers and programme partners.

• Defence Notes

  Billions of pounds earmarked for new munitions factories and submarine expansion ahead of UK Strategic Defence Review

  2nd June 2025

  The UK’s Strategic Defence Review will call for ‘warfighting readiness’ and outline the threats the country will need to face and counter with modern defence equipment and technology.

• Air Warfare

  Further funding allocated for Eurofighter Typhoon ECRS Mk2 radar programme

  16th June 2025

  The latest tranche of funding from the UK government comes ahead of the radar's integration into Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from 2028.

• Air Warfare

  NATO needs to plug its drone gap to meet modern warfare requirements

  28th October 2025

  Despite shared goals, NATO’s counter-uncrewed aerial system efforts remain fragmented, with parallel initiatives lacking a unified doctrine or integrated deployment strategy.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H135 (UK)

  Programme BackgroundAirbus Helicopters UK announced on 2 February 2022 that it has won an order to provide five additional H135 twin-engine helicopters for the MoD. The ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Global Combat Air Programme [UK]

  Programme Background The next-generation platform concept is part of the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, which sought to deliver a Future Combat Air System ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing

  FPV & Attack Drones (Ukraine Aid) [UK & Norway]

  Background £450 million On 11 April 2025, the UK MoD announced a £450 million package for Ukraine, which included £350 million from the UK from this ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Fleet Solid Support (FSS) (1-3) [UK]

  Programme Background Requirement The 2015 Strategic Defence & Security Review (SDSR) highlighted the requirement for three Military Afloat Reach & Sustainability (MARS) Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Mobile Fires Platform [UK]

  Programme Background Post-Cold War Requirements Following the end of the Cold War, the UK operated a single 155mm artillery system, the AS90. The UK procured ...

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

  Magni-X (UK)

  Programme Background On 12 January 2022, Elbit Systems UK announced it had been awarded a contract from the UK MoD's Defence Equipment & Support's Future Capability ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Typhoon Tranche 3A - Qatar

  As a part of the agreement to sell Typhoon, the UK is establishing a ‘Joint Operations Squadron’ (to be known as 12 Squadron) with the ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  UK supplied Fast Inshore Attack Craft (FIAC) [Ukraine]

  Programme Background It was first reported in late September 2020 that the UK could provide eight Barzan-class fast attack craft to Ukraine. The platform has been ...

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

  AR3 (Ukraine Aid) [UK]

  Background £270 Million investment On 15 September 2025, the UK MoD noted that, since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the UK ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Multi-Role Vehicle (Protected) (MRV-P) Package 1 (UK)

  Programme Background Requirement The MRV-P programme was intended to procure replacements for a diverse fleet of 4x4 and 6x6 vehicles purchased during the wars in Iraq ...

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

  30,000 FPV Drones (Ukraine Aid) [UK]

  Programme Background IDCC On 9 January 2025, the UK MoD announced that 30,000 FPV drones would be sent to Ukraine after the awarding of £45 million ...

• Fighter - naval

  F-35B [United Kingdom]

  Programme Background The total cost of the currently funded programme as reported through the UK Major Projects Report is expected to be £10.5 billion ($13.5 ...

• Maritime patrol

  P-8A Poseidon [UK]

  Programme Background In July 2016, the UK government announced that it had ordered nine aircraft for service with the RAF. Under this frame, in January ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  CATV [UK]

  Programme Background CATV The CATV programme was initiated in 2019, when the UK, Germany, Netherlands and Sweden signed an MoU to share acquisition costs for ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  New Medium Helicopter (NMH) [UK]

  Programme Background NMH Market Interest Day On 11 November 2021, the MoD communicated the requirements of the £1 billion ($1.34 billion) New Medium Helicopter (NMH) ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: fixed-wing flight simulators

  UK MFTS

  The Military Flying Training System (MFTS) programme, is a private finance initiative involving the MoD and Ascent, a JV of Lockheed Martin and Babcock, which was ...

• Trainer

  Phenom 100

  Phenom 100 is a very light jet originally developed for single owner-pilot operation but later gained popularity as a jet trainer aircraft. The platform first ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  CAE 700MR

  The CAE 700MR FTD is a full mission simulator platform for military helicopter-specific flight and mission training. It is a fixed-base system based on CAE's ...

• Air: helicopter flight simulators

  UK MSHATF

  The Medium Support Helicopter Aircrew Training Facility (MSHATF) opened for training at RAF Benson, England in July 1999. It provides training services to personnel from ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  UK/ARC341 (ADRA)

  The Advanced Digital Radio Airborne (ADRA) provides a Bowman VHF radio capability to helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. It is fully compatible with the Bowman VHF ...

• Submarines: nuclear, attack

  SSN AUKUS

  The SSN-AUKUS will be the submarine design resulting from the AUKUS trilateral pact between Australia, the US and the UK. Expected to incorporate technology from ...

• Major networking projects

  Project Marshall

  The Joint Military Air Traffic Services project was initiated by the UK MoD in November 2005 to identify and evaluate options for the future delivery ...

• Air: fixed-wing flight simulators

  ASTOR FBFCT

  The Fixed Base Flight Crew Trainer (FBFCT) is a Level 5+ FTD for the UK RAF’s Airborne Standoff Radar (ASTOR) platform. The ASTOR FBFCT is ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  BvS10 Beowulf

  BAE Systems Hägglunds launched the BvS10 Beowulf articulated tracked ATV at the September 2015 DSEI exhibition in the UK. The Beowulf is an unarmoured variant ...

• Light UGVs

  T7

  The T7 is a multi-mission robotic system designed for military, police and hazardous missions. At DSEI 2017, the UK MoD awarded the Harris Corporation a ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  CAPSTONE

  CAPSTONE is a rotary-wing UAV manufactured by Certe Aerospace, which collaborates with various UK-based defence companies.  Described as a sovereign, scalable, air power capability, CAPSTONE performed ...

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

  Sparta

  Unveiled in mid-2025, the Sparta is a fixed-wing small UAV from Quantum Systems. It is a mothership that can host and launch smaller drones, such ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  ADR+ Bowman VHF/Centaur

  The ADR+ is the VHF vehicle and manpack radio member of the ADR family of VHF radios developed initially for the UK Bowman programme. The ...

• Air: chaff, flare and decoy systems

  Vicon 78

  Thales’ Vicon-78 is a lightweight countermeasures dispensing system. The system is featured in several integrated defence systems, and is capable of firing both chaff and ...

• Air-to-surface missiles

  Storm Shadow/SCALP EG

  The Storm Shadow is an air-launched cruise missile developed by France, Italy and the UK. It is known as the Storm Shadow in the UK ...