• Land Warfare

  August land forces roundup: movement in British Army vehicle requirement and major contracts land

  28th August 2026

  Hanwha Defense USA made major inroads into the US market this month, landing its first contract in the country, while Germany and The Netherlands signed up for more Boxer CRT30 8x8 infantry fighting vehicles. FNSS also unveiled a new amphibious uncrewed vehicle and Rheinmetall revealed details on a prototype 155mm/60-calibre artillery ordnance.

• Air Warfare

  AI mission-autonomy software integration and partnerships see progress across CCA efforts

  17th February 2026

  The successful integration of third-party mission autonomy in the US Air Force’s CCA programme and movement on Helsing’s Europa CA-1 timelines mark key milestones in the development of uncrewed aerial capabilities.

• Air Warfare

  US military plans multi-UAV trials with Northrop Grumman quantum-navigated Lumberjack

  8th October 2026

  An undisclosed US military branch is preparing to evaluate multiple Lumberjack Group 3 drones equipped with SandboxAQ’s AQNav magnetic-navigation system. Shephard spoke with Northrop Grumman and SandboxAQ to find out more.

• Land Warfare

  Dominating the spectrum: ASELSAN’s EW capabilities take center stage at MSPO 2026

  4th September 2026

  ASELSAN is showcasing its advanced electronic warfare (EW) capabilities at MSPO 2026, highlighting technologies designed to detect, analyse, disrupt and deceive threats across increasingly contested electromagnetic environments.

• Land Warfare

  Battle management C2 systems are driving the next phase of integrated air defence

  11th June 2026

  Battlefield and wider air defence C2 systems integrating a range of agnostic sensors have risen in prominence, from Turkey’s Aselsan developing Steel Dome to Northrop Grumman providing its own system to Poland and the US Army.

• Air Warfare

  Singapore Airshow 2026: Saab eyes “share” in future fighter market, targets 2027 CCA demo flight

  5th February 2026

  The Swedish government is expected to make a decision on the next steps of the Future Fighter System Concept programme by 2030, with the current second phase focusing on technology knowledge expansion and demonstration flights.

• Air Warfare

  Why the F-16 fighter jet remains a force to be reckoned with (updated 2026)

  28th January 2026

  The Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jet remains in the limelight more than 40 years after its first flight. Shephard sums up the latest developments and details everything you need to know about the aircraft in 2026.

• Air Warfare

  GKN Aerospace to fly new UAV demonstrator by 2027

  26th November 2025

  The company plans to develop a cost-effective jet-engine drone, going from concept to a flight-tested demonstrator in 18 months.

• Land Warfare

  World Defense Show 2026: Middle East remains focused on US equipment and local industry involvement

  10th February 2026

  Vehicle procurement in the Middle East continues to target big-ticket main battle tanks, with lighter platform purchases also potentially on the horizon including tactical, infantry fighting and armoured personnel carrier vehicles.

• Air Warfare

  British Army’s Project Nyx progress reflects MoD investment in autonomous system

  20th May 2026

  The UK MoD said it would narrow down the competitors from four to two later in the year, with those selected going on to develop the prototype drone that will operate as loyal wingman to the British Army’s Apache AH-64E helicopters.

• Air Warfare

  Spain moves ahead with transport, intelligence and training aircraft modernisation efforts

  6th January 2026

  Confirming its C295 order in late December, the Spanish Ministry of Defence also awarded Airbus with its Hurjet procurement contract and both Airbus and Indra with a contract to investigate a proposed Signals Intelligence aircraft solution by 2028.

• Air Warfare

  2025 UAV market review: $7.8 billion in new contracts signed as US leads spending

  17th December 2025

  Qatar and Indonesia followed the US’s high spending on new uncrewed aerial vehicle contracts across 2025, while MALE and micro drones and loitering munitions were particularly popular subcategories this year.

• Air Warfare

  FIA 2026: KAI showcases vision for crewed and uncrewed hybrid fighter formation

  23rd July 2026

  As Korea Aerospace Industries sets out its two-tiered, crewed-and-uncrewed hybrid future air formation, Defence Insight analyses how much it could cost to fulfil the ambition.

• Air Warfare

  Scaling for diverse fleet needs: How many CCA will be acquired per crewed aircraft?

  23rd February 2026

  There is currently no industry standard in the ratio of uncrewed to crewed aircraft. Because collaborative combat aircraft vary widely in capability and crewed-uncrewed teaming availability, while country-specific requirements vary, it is unlikely that a single CCA configuration will meet all operational needs.

• Air Warfare

  Ageing RQ-11 Raven fleets create a global replacement opportunity

  28th August 2026

  The RQ-11 Raven is being retired from service across most of its more than 30 operators. Defence Insight estimates that these Raven retirements open up a replacement market worth at least $576 million, but suppliers will have to act quickly and strike a balance between cost and capability to succeed.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - MALE

  Hermes 900 Replacement [Chile]

  Background Hermes 900 purchase According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), three Hermes 900 were ordered in 2011 and delivered in 2013.  Continued ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Aksungur [Turkish Air Force]

  Programme Background First Flight & Contract Award The platform's maiden flight was completed on 20 March 2019, and it was first publicly shown at IDEF ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Bayraktar TB3 [Turkish Army]

  Background Land Forces Command Delivery In late October 2024, Haluk Bayraktar, Baykar's CEO, stated that the Bayraktar TB3 had entered mass production and could be exported ...

• Military UAS - small

  Cargo UAV (Turkey)

  Programme Background Inception & Requirment Turkey's Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) initiated a programme to procure VTOL-capable cargo drones in June 2018. These were planned for ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Bayraktar TB2 (Turkey)

  Programme Background  Selection The Turkish Armed Forces are purchasing large numbers of UAVs from Turkey's domestic defence industry to perform ISTAR missions and provide troops ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Aksungur [Turkish Navy]

  Programme Background First Flight & Contract Award The platform's maiden flight was completed on 20 March 2019, and it was first publicly shown at IDEF ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-S (1-3) [Malaysia]

  Background Inception Malaysia's desire to acquire a MALE UAV dates back to 2009, when it announced it would be the first country in the region ...

• Military UAS - small

  Baha [Turkiye]

  Background Induction The Turkish Land Forces Command inducted an unknown quantity of Baha aircraft into service, the Turkish Ministry of National Defence announced on 25 ...

• Military UAS - small

  Songar (Turkey)

  Programme Background Requirement The Turkish MoND was considering adopting several micro and mini UAVs to equip the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF). One of the systems ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Akinci [Indonesia]

  Background Naval ambition The Indonesian Navy Admiral Muhammad Ali announced an initiative to purchase Turkish UCAVs as part of a broader strategy to enhance and develop ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Akinci [Turkey]

  Programme Unveiling and testing Unveiled at TEKOFEST Istanbul Aviation, Space and Technology Festival in September 2019, the Akinci completed its first flight in December 2019. In June 2021, ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Bayraktar TB3 [Turkish Navy]

  Background Anadolu Class LHD The Anadolu-class LHD consists of one Multipurpose Amphibious Assault Ship (LHD) being built for the Turkish Navy, TCG Anadolu. The vessel was ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-3 [Turkey]

  Background Order Announcement Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) General Manager Mehmet Demiroğlu, in a statement at SAHA Istanbul's SAHA Chat program in January 2026, stated that, ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-S [Kazakhstan]

  Background Promoting Products In 2018, Shephard reported that TAI had made another effort to promote its products to Kazakhstan. Three years before a contract was ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Bayraktar TB2 [UK]

  Background Rumours In mid-October 2022, Mustafa Varank, Turkey’s minister of industry, revealed to CNN Turk that the UK was interested in Turkish armed drones. The ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  PD170

  The PD170 is a turbodiesel engine initially developed to meet the engine requirement of Turkish Aerospace Industries' indigenous Anka UAV. Development began in December 2012 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Kargi

  The Kargi is an in-development loitering munition that Lentatek has developed in collaboration with the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBITAK), Aselsan and Turkish Aerospace ...

• UAS: flight control systems, UAS: Integrated systems - uncrewed

  UAV Flight Control Computer

  The UAV Flight Control Computer is being developed by the Turkish Defence manufacturer Meteksan Savunma Sanayi for remotely controlling uncrewed operations. It comprises a Central ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Aksungur

  The Aksungur is a twin-engined MALE UAS manufactured by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) for the Turkish Armed Forces. TAI completed the platform's maiden flight on 20 March ...

• Military UAS - small

  Bulut

  Launched in early 2025, the Bulut is a VTOL-capable small UAV from Havelsan. A development of the Baha, the drone is equipped with an electro-optical (EO), infrared, ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  Sungur

  The Sungur missile is a Turkish-developed, short-range air defence system designed to protect mobile and stationary units against aerial threats such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), ...

• Artillery rockets

  TRG/TRLG-122

  The TRG-122 is a Turkish 122mm family of guided artillery rockets developed by ROKETSAN for the T-122 Sakarya and other MLRS platforms. The family includes ...

• Military UAS - tactical

  Efe

  Efe is a lightweight, fixed-wing UAV designed for target acquisition. The platform was launched in 2006. 

• Military UAS - MALE

  Anka (Family)

  The ANKA is a family of medium-altitude, long-endurance UAVs developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ, formerly TAI). The four variants are ANKA-A, ANKA-B, ANKA-S and ...

• Trainer

  Hurkus

  Turkey’s Undersecretariat for Defence Industries signed an agreement with Turkish Aerospace Industries in March 2006 for the Hurkus Turkish Basic Training Aircraft development programme. Three ...

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  AI-450

  The AI-450 is a Ukrainian engine developed by Ivachenko-Progress, with Motor Sich acting as the production partner to supply parts and components. The turboprop engine ...

• Air: UAS radar

  OKIS Automatic Take-off and Landing System

  The OKIS Automatic Take-off and Landing System by Turkish Meteksan Defence Inc. is a radar-based system designed for the automatic take-off and landing processes of ...

• CUAS - hybrid effector systems

  İhtar

  The İhtar is an anti-drone system manufactured by Aselsan. It is designed to counter mini and micro-UAS threats in urban and rural environments. It detects and tracks ...

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  PD-222ST

  The PD-222ST is a turbodiesel engine manufactured by Turkish Engine Industries (TEI). The engine is an upgraded, single turbo version of the PD-170; the PD-222ST is ...

• Loitering munitions

  Alpagu

  The Alpagu is a fixed-wing loitering munition developed by STM. The loitering munition comes in several variants, has been designed for lightness and portability, and is ...