• Naval Warfare

  Indo Defence 2018: Countermeasure systems take the stage

  2nd November 2018

  Both Lacroix and Terma-Chemring will be showcasing countermeasure solutions at Indo Defence on the back of respective contract wins in Asia-Pacific and Europe. Firstly, ship …

• Defence Helicopter

  Japan delays Osprey introduction due to local resistance

  5th December 2018

  The Japanese MoD is delaying delivery of its first MV-22B Osprey tiltrotors because of opposition from local citizenry where the aircraft were supposed to be …

• Defence Notes

  EDEX 2018: Egypt eyes JF-17 Thunder Block 3s

  5th December 2018

  The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) is currently reviewing the progress of the PAC/Chengdu JF-17 Thunder.  At EDEX 2018 in Cairo, Shephard has learnt that representatives …

• Land Warfare

  Finland to procure fire control system upgrade kits

  29th November 2018

  The Finnish Defence Forces' Logistics Command has received a mandate from the Finnish Ministry of Defence (MoD) to conclude a contract with the US government …

• Defence Notes

  Ukraine holds military drills after Russia sea confrontation

  30th November 2018

  A Ukrainian general wearing camouflage and a bulletproof vest looks out from his Mi-8 helicopter flying over the Sea of Azov, the flashpoint of rising …

• Defence Helicopter

  UK MoD set to amend Apache AH Mk 1 contract

  12th December 2018

  The Apache delivery team, part of the UK MoD, is preparing to change an Apache AH Mk 1 integrated operational support (IOS) pricing period contract held …

• Digital Battlespace

  Rheinmetall, Rohde & Schwarz form RRS-MITCOS

  2nd November 2018

  Rheinmetall and Rohde & Schwarz have formed a new joint venture to meet the German military’s requirement for integrated operational and communications systems, Rheinmetall announced …

• Training

  NZ receives full complement of King Air trainers

  12th December 2018

  The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) received its fourth and final Beechcraft King Air 350i trainer aircraft last month. The aircraft belonging to 42 …

• Digital Battlespace

  South Korea sows seeds for Green Pine radars

  29th November 2018

  South Korea has decided to proceed with the acquisition of two Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Elta ELM-2080 Green Pine Block C early-warning radars on 27 …

• Naval Warfare

  Three designs enter UK Type 31e race ahead of end-2019 decision

  10th December 2018

  The UK’s restart of its Type 31e light frigate programme will be fought between three designs, after the government announced that Competitive Design Phase (CDP) …

• Land Warfare

  Lithuania's M577s upgraded

  4th December 2018

  Germany's Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft (FFG) has upgraded 22 M577 armoured personnel carriers for the Lithuanian armed forces, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence announced on 28 …

• Defence Notes

  Israel finalises sale of IMI Systems

  26th November 2018

  Israel has finalised the sale of state-owned IMI Systems, former maker of the Uzi submachine gun, to defence firm Elbit Systems for $495 million, Elbit …

• Defence Notes

  Opinion: The stakes rise in Pacific’s ‘Great Game’

  27th November 2018

  The South Pacific region is shaping up as a massive maritime chessboard upon which China and the US are beginning to manoeuvre with greater geopolitical …

• Military Logistics

  KC-390 receives ANAC type certification

  30th October 2018

  Embraer’s KC-390 military transport and aerial refuelling aircraft has received type certification from the Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC). The ANAC certificate completes a …

• Defence Notes

  China vexed by US Navy ships sailing through Taiwan Strait

  29th November 2018

  China expressed concern on 29 November after two US Navy ships sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the third such operation this year. ‘China will pay …

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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...