• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Insight: European UAS industry approaches boom or bust tipping point

  9th April 2019

  As pressure mounts on European supranational agencies to follow through on repeated calls from industry to issue regulations befitting a new era of commercial unmanned …

• Digital Battlespace

  BAE Systems Australia opens HF laboratory

  22nd May 2019

  BAE Systems Australia has opened a new high frequency (HF) laboratory to develop new technologies to enhance the capabilities of Australia’s Jindalee Operational Radar Network …

• Digital Battlespace

  Saab unveils updated Sirius passive sensor

  20th May 2019

  Saab has unveiled an updated solution based on its Sirius suite of passive sensor systems for air, land and sea surveillance and signals intelligence gathering, …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Sonardyne tech for Cellula Robotics UUV

  16th May 2019

  Sonardyne’s navigation, positioning and communications technology will support a new, fuel cell-powered long-range unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) being designed by Cellula Robotics for the Canadian …

• Defence Helicopter

  Croatia's OH-58D Kiowa Warrior pilots train

  15th May 2019

  The second and third group of pilots in the helicopter squadron of the 93rd Air Base of the Croatian armed forces have undergone advanced training …

• Naval Warfare

  Japan requests SM-3 Block IB missiles

  12th April 2019

  The US State Department has made a determination approving a potential foreign military sale of Standard  Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IB missiles to Japan, the Defense …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  The future of DARPA's CODE

  19th April 2019

  The USDefense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has seen strong interest frommilitary and industrial operators in its Collaborative Operations in Denied Environment (CODE) autonomy system, …

• Land Warfare

  Romanian Piranha 5 completes live firing testing

  15th April 2019

  General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) has successfully completed live firing test of the Piranha 5 wheeled armoured vehicle for the Romanian Army, the company …

• Military Logistics

  BDA completes servicing of 150th Classic Hornet

  14th May 2019

  Boeing Defence Australia (BDA) has redelivered the 150th Classic Hornet aircraft to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) following the completion of deeper maintenance servicing, …

• Digital Battlespace

  Saab's Arexis jamming pod nears flight testing

  23rd May 2019

  Ahead of schedule the Saab electronic attack jamming pod for its Arexis electronic package is moving forward to flight tests this year after an original …

• Digital Battlespace

  Spanish Army's soldier modernisation efforts advance

  29th May 2019

  The Spanish Foot-Soldier System (SISCAP) soldier modernisation effort will shortly enter its test readiness review (TRR) phase, Shephard has learned.  It passed its critical design review (CDR) …

• Defence Notes

  Podcast: Quoting Shakespeare, IDEF coverage and Northrop Grumman’s autonomous design philosophy

  10th May 2019

  Welcome to Episode 16 of The Weekly Defence Podcast. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and more. Sign up to an early email alert of future podcasts here.

• Naval Warfare

  Opinion: China preposterously lays claim to Taiwan Strait

  15th May 2019

  Last month China grossly overstepped the mark by acerbically criticising a foreign warship passing through the Taiwan Strait, an international right of way that separates …

• Training

  ITEC 2019: eSim Games upgrades Austrian Leopard 2 tank simulator (video)

  15th May 2019

  Nils Hinrichsen, director of eSim Games talks to Shephard through the Leopard 2 gunnery simulator hardware and software upgrades for the Austrian Army, together with Diehl …

• Training

  ITEC 2019: CAE addresses pilot shortage (video)

  14th May 2019

  Marc-Olivier Sabourin, VP and general manager for CAE Defence and Security in Europe and Africa, discusses the current pilot training shortage and what CAE is …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A330 MRTT (1-9) [NATO]

  Programme Background Following operations in Libya and extensive analyses by the European Defence Agency (EDA), it was agreed at the NATO Summit in 2012 that ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  MH-60R Seahawks [Norway]

  Programme Background NH90 NFH cancellation  The Norwegian government announced the termination of the NH90 NFH helicopter contract for 14 NH90s with NHIndustries in June 2022. Seahawk Acquisition ...

• Transport/tanker aircraft

  A330 MRTT Follow-On [NATO]

  Programme Background Following operations in Libya and extensive analyses by the European Defence Agency (EDA), it was agreed at the NATO Summit in 2012 that ...

• Main battle tanks

  New MBT [Romania]

  Programme Background Requirement The Romanian Army's MBT fleet is composed of T-55 variants that are due to be retired in the mid-2020s. Although Romania's TR-85 ...

• Main battle tanks

  M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 [Romania]

  Programme Background Requirement The Romanian Army's MBT fleet is composed of T-55 variants that are due to be retired in the mid-2020s. Although Romania's TR-85 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) - (Greece)

  Programme Background EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) was announced in early 2022 and the project contract was awarded ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, 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 ...

• Maritime patrol

  MAWS/PATMAR [France]

  Programme Background In 2017, Germany and France announced that they would be working towards developing an MPA to replace their current fleets in service. The ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) - (Italy)

  Programme Background EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) EU Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies Project (ENGRT) was announced in early 2022 and the project contract was awarded ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Bayraktar TB2 [Kuwait]

  Background Contract Award On 18 January 2023, Baykar announced signing a $370 million export contract with Kuwait for the Bayraktar TB2. According to the announcement, ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton - Germany (Cancelled)

  Programme Background Germany requested to buy four MQ-4C Triton HALE UAVs from Northrop Grumman. On 5 April 2018, the US State Department announced that it ...

• Main battle tanks

  Leopard 2A8 [Netherlands]

  Programme Background Bidders and Suppliers The Leopard 2A8, the latest in the Leopard family, was selected by the Royal Dutch Army as per announcements in ...

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

  UAV Tactical Level [Norway]

  Background Request for Information (RfI) In September 2022, the Norwegian Defence Material Agency (NDMA) launched a request for information in preparation for a possible procurement ...

• Corvettes

  European Patrol Corvette (EPC) [France]

  Programme Background Requirements The European Patrol Corvette (EPC) is one of the new PESCO (Permanent Structured Cooperation on Defence and Security) projects. PESCO was established ...

• Corvettes

  European Patrol Corvette (EPC) [Italy]

  Programme Background Requirements The 2021-2023 Documento Programmatico Pluriennale (DPP) - a multi-year defence planning document from the Italian MoD - includes a plan to acquire eight "Patrol Ships", ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Land: air defence radar

  APIS

  APIS is a passive high-resolution primary radar system developed by Indra. It is the first passive system in the world capable of offering images using ...

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  AE50R

  The AE50R is an aviation gasoline single rotary engine with an output of 40.4kW. The engine is certified according to European Aviation Safety Agency Part ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  LOTUS

  The LOTUS, Low Observable Tactical Unnamed System, is a tactical UAV especially designed for border patrol ISR operations.  The development of the project is funded by ...

• Helicopter engines

  Arriel 2H

  Safran Helicopter Engines received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) engine type certification for its Arriel 2H engine, installed in the Avicopter AC312E, in April 2018. ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  AR5

  First announced in October 2012, the AR5 is a MALE UAS designed for SAR, surveillance and maritime patrol missions. The AR5 can be flown manually or commanded ...

• Air: NVGs

  PNL-3M Orlik

  PNL-3M are high-performance, lightweight, passive stereoscopic NVGs for helicopter crew members. Certification by European Aviation Safety Agency also enables civilian use. The device can be ...

• Trainer

  Gabriel-TP

  Gabriel-TP is a low-wing, two-seat tandem trainer aircraft aimed at both military and civilian customers. It is certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in ...

• Loitering munitions

  Akeron RCH 170

  Unveiled in April 2025, the Akeron RCH 170 is a fixed-wing loitering munition from MBDA. Similar in design to the Switchblade 300, the catapult launched system ...

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

  Capa-X

  The Capa-X is a VTOL-capable fixed-wing drone from Survey Copter, a subsidiary of Airbus. The drone has been linked with France's Système de Drone Tactique Léger (SDTL) ...

• Laser-directed energy weapons

  Tryzub Laser

  Ukraine's Tryzub (Trident) laser was revealed during the European Defence Industry: Prospects for Cooperation with the Ukrainian Defence Industry conference in 2025. Video footage from ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  Standard 3

  Jointly developed by ATR and Thales, The Standard 3 avionics suite has been specifically designed for ATR-600 aircraft. It offers the pilot user-friendly interface, along ...

• Loitering munitions

  Akeron RCX 50

  Unveiled in April 2025, the Akeron RCX 50 is a rotary-wing loitering munition from MBDA.  According to reports, the RCX 50 is designed to support ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  DroneGun

  DroneGun enables controlled management of an adversarial UAS, causing no damage to the UAV or surrounding area. It either forces the drone to perform a ...

• Military - USVs

  NOMARS

  The No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) is a US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) effort to develop a first-of-its-kind large uncrewed surface vessel.

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  Trident 100TD2

  The Trident 100TD2 is a compression-ignition engine that is capable of operating on various types of heavy fuel. It is claimed to offer up to ...