• Land Warfare

  Lithuania increases ground capability and spending in a high-threat environment

  9th January 2026

  It has been more than two decades since Lithuania joined the EU and NATO, which followed the country’s independence from the USSR almost 15 years before that. The country is now in the shadow of the Russia-Ukraine war with air incursions from Russian ally Belarus.

• Land Warfare

  Land Rover retirement schedule puts pressure on British Army vehicle plans

  23rd March 2026

  The British Army’s plans to replace thousands of vehicles have been troubled with resets, delays and change. It is possible, however, that genuine progress is being achieved on two of the three segments in the programme.

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2025: First mobility trials completed for British Army Challenger 3 tanks

  11th September 2025

  The mobility trials saw the Challenger 3 main battle tank (MBT) tested at a variety of locations in the UK, covering a combined 760km across a variety of terrains including road and cross country.

• Land Warfare

  BAE Systems Hägglunds’ CV90120 medium tank takes shape

  5th November 2025

  The new vehicle will be based on the CV90 Mk IV chassis and turret, and will be armed with a Rheinmetall 120mm L44A1 low recoil smoothbore gun.

• Naval Warfare

  MBDA-led DragonFire’s latest trials move the LDEW system closer to UK navy integration

  21st November 2025

  The DragonFire lines up with other European laser-directed energy weapons being developed in collaboration with MBDA.

• Land Warfare

  Active vehicle protection comes to the forefront as Trophy and Iron Fist secure contracts

  16th February 2026

  Experience on the battlefield is accelerating the adoption of active protection systems as technologies continue to evolve to reflect shifting global defence needs.

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2025: Skyranger air defence system gets tracks

  9th September 2025

  The Skyranger is in service with Austria, Denmark and Germany in the 30mm variant on wheeled vehicles, while Ukraine is receiving the system fitted to the Leopard 1 tank chassis, but this is the first sight of the 35mm on a tracked vehicle.

• Land Warfare

  How and why Europe is replenishing tube artillery in the drone warfare era

  21st April 2026

  Modern conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine war have exposed gaps in Western artillery, with European militaries increasingly looking to invest in longer-range systems with a focus on logistics and resilience.

• Land Warfare

  Elbit bets on local content for US howitzer bid as it faces off against popular systems

  30th December 2025

  The Israeli company hopes that producing its Sigma artillery system wholly in the US will help it win a key US Army contract, but it will be up against the popular CAESAR Mk II wheeled weapon and the K9 tracked.

• Land Warfare

  The year ahead: Major trends and forecasts for the land domain in 2026

  8th January 2026

  2025 was a busy year for the land domain and 2026 looks set to be just as big. Shephard’s Dr Peter Magill analyses some of the major trends we are likely to see in the year ahead.

• Land Warfare

  Why Middle Eastern markets demand bespoke AFV solutions

  6th March 2026

  In this expert analysis, Christopher Foss looks at how armoured vehicle suppliers to the Middle East are increasingly tailoring platforms for the region’s specific operational requirements.

• Land Warfare

  New agreement signed and another order for CV90s

  24th November 2025

  More than 1,800 BAE Systems Hägglunds CV90 armoured personnel carriers/infantry fighting vehicles have been ordered by European countries, with some looking at the platform as an option for a light tank.

• Air Warfare

  PGZ and Anduril to work on Polish variant of Barracuda-500M missile

  28th October 2025

  The memorandum of understanding signed also included a wider strategic plan to co-develop autonomous air systems for the Polish Armed Forces.

• Defence Notes

  Canada set to look away from its neighbour and across the Atlantic for partners

  5th December 2025

  While non-EU UK struggles to join the Security Action for Europe initiative, which provides loans for defence programmes, Canada has become the first country outside Europe to get access – and did so for a nominal fee.

• Land Warfare

  Europe looks to solve tank procurement challenges with upgraded and new platforms

  28th August 2025

  The UK government in 2019 reflected a common attitude towards main battle tanks (MBTs) across Western Europe as it moved to reduce its fleet from 227 Challenger 2 vehicles to 148, which would be upgraded under a plan that eventually produced the Challenger 3. Now, however, there is an increased interest in platforms new, upgraded and planned across the continent.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Fuchs 2 Local Assembly

  The Fuchs 2 will replace a variety of legacy APCs currently in service with the Algerian Army including the Panhard M3 VTT, the BTR-60 and ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  6x6 APC [Germany]

  Background Bids and suppliers As no programme has been officially announced, all bidders and suppliers are speculative at this time. Patria 6x6 Common Armoured Vehicle ...

• Main battle tanks

  Skyranger 35 (Leopard 1) [Ukraine]

  Programme Background Rheinmetall previously provided Ukraine with Skyranger 35s; however, these were mounted on truck chassis. The logic behind providing Ukraine with Skyranger 35 on ...

• Loitering munitions

  FV-014 [Germany]

  Background Testing models Between April 2023 and April 2025, the German Army acquired various loitering munitions to further assess their suitability for the German Armed Forces. A spokesperson ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  KF41 Lynx [Ukraine]

  Programme Background Following the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, Ukraine has sought to acquire a range of different Western platforms to replace its older Soviet ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  KF41 Lynx (Ukraine Aid) [Germany]

  Background Ukraine first expressed an interest in acquiring the KF41 Lynx in 2023.  This was followed by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Rheinmetall ...

• Main battle tanks

  Leopard 2A4 [Czech Republic]

  Programme Background  The Czech Republic currently operates a small fleet of T-72s, which, while undergoing upgrades and life extension programmes, are increasingly obsolete. In October ...

• Medium UGVs

  Mission Master SP [US]

  Background Rheinmetall began working with the USMC in 2022, which has tested various Rheinmetall UGVs. This contract for 12 Mission Master SPs, will see the ...

• Loitering munitions

  Virtus [Germany]

  Background Testing models Between April 2023 and April 2025, the German Army acquired various loitering munitions further to assess their suitability for the German Armed Forces. A ...

• Loitering munitions

  HX-2 [Germany]

  Background Testing models Between April 2023 and April 2025, the German Army acquired various loitering munitions further to assess their suitability for the German Armed Forces. A spokesperson ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  Ermine (Ukraine Aid) [Netherlands]

  Background Since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Western governments have sought to provide as much assistance as possible to the Ukrainian government. ...

• Hybrid effector systems

  SkyRanger 30 [Hungary]

  Background Hungary is developing a Lynx KF41-based Skyranger 30 mobile air-defence vehicle. The programme forms part of the European Sky Shield Initiative and the vehicle ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Land 400 Phase 2 - Boxer CRV [Australia]

  Programme Background History The Land 400 Phase 2 programme will procure a replacement for the ASLAV, a derivative of the General Dynamics Land Systems Light Armoured Vehicle ...

• Medium UGVs

  Mission Master [Norway]

  Programme Background Developed by Rheinmetall Canada in 2021, the Mission Master XT is designed to tackle ice and snow, as well as sandy, rocky and ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Army Armoured Combat System (A2CS) [Italy]

  Background The Italian Army has identified a requirement for new tracked IFVs to equip its armoured and mechanised brigades. These new vehicles will replace 200 ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Fuchs 2

  Rheinmetall developed the Fuchs 2 6x6 between 2001 and 2005 with the international market in mind. Based on the Fuchs 1, the new vehicle has ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Fuchs 1

  Spanning now 8 variants, the Fuchs 1 is the German Army's longstanding wheeled armoured personnel carrier. The army received 1,125 Fuchs, with most delivered between 1979-86. ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Survivor R

  The Survivor R 4x4, unveiled at Eurosatory in June 2014, was jointly developed by Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles and Achleitner. Based on a comprehensively militarised ...

• Land: RWS

  Fieldranger Dual

  The Fieldranger Dual is one of the larger systems in the Rheinmetall Fieldranger series of RWS. Designed to carry two weapons simultaneously, the Fieldranger Dual ...

• Land: Integrated Defensive Systems

  AVePS

  The AVePS (Active Vehicle Protection System) has been designed for the protection of armoured vehicles against shoulder-fired antitank rockets and guided missiles. Approaching projectiles are ...

• Land: RWS

  RLS 609

  The RLS 609 is a family of RWS that has been designed by Rheinmetall Defence and Kongsberg Protech Systems.  The RWS include the 609 L ...

• Military vehicle engines

  MTU 6V 199

  The MTU 6V 199 is a six cylinder turbocharged diesel engine, designed to power medium military vehicles. The engine is available in a TE20 and ...

• Land: manned turrets

  E8

  The E8 is a manned turret operated by a crew of one that is designed for APCs and IFVs. It is able to combat ground ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  Fixed Wing Flight Simulators

  Rheinmetall has developed fixed-wing simulators for the Typhoon, MiG-29, Tornado, A320 and A400M. Rheinmetall is responsible for full mission simulators and cockpit procedure trainers for ...

• Main battle tanks

  KF51 Panther

  Rheinmetall unveiled the KF51 Panther at Eurosatory 2022. The MBT uses Leopard 2 components in its bare chassis but with a brand new turret. Its main armament is the ...

• Land: battle management systems

  Rheinmetall C2 Software

  Rheinmetall C2 Software support the air defence decision making process by filtering, correlating and processing data from all sensors, providing the operator with one comprehensive ...

• Unguided Tank Ammunition

  DM98

  The 120mm x 570 target practice-tracer (TP-T) round is a high-explosive (HE) training munition produced by Rheinmetall. It can be fired from any new or ...

• Land: RWS

  Nanuk Russian

  Rheinmetall Canada's Nanuk RWS family includes this variant for non-NATO weapons, which combines full stabilisation, long-range day/night all-weather sights and a versatile weapon cradle that ...

• Land: RWS

  Qimek Russian

  Rheinmetall's Qimek single-weapon RWS family includes a variant for non-NATO weapons, which combines full stabilisation, long-range day/night all-weather sights and a versatile weapon cradle for ...

• LTVs - 4x4

  Ermine Quad

  The Ermine Quad is a 4x4 manufactured by Rheinmetall as part of the Ermine family. It is designed for rapid patrol duties as well as hit ...