• Defence Notes

  US military aid to Ukraine reaches $1 billion

  2nd March 2022

  President Joe Biden has allocated an emergency $350 million in military aid for Ukraine against the ongoing Russian invasion, as a supplement to the more than $650 million in defensive assistance that the US provided to Ukraine in 2021.

• Land Warfare

  Russian armour failures imply enduring value of shoulder-fired missiles

  21st March 2022

  Shoulder-fired anti-tank and air defence weapons are proving their worth for Ukraine in its ongoing resistance against Russia – and these systems will remain in the spotlight whether through replenishing depleted stocks, finding new customers or increasing the capabilities of existing users.

• Defence Notes

  Russian equipment losses underline hardy Ukrainian resistance

  25th February 2022

  Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it has been met with a level of resistance powerful enough to destroy a wide range of equipment from helicopters and fighter jets to armoured vehicles.

• Air Warfare

  PACAF commander: China’s air force has limited interoperability with Russia

  17th March 2022

  While China continues to field multiple new aircraft types, the lack of military partners it can fight alongside nevertheless places Beijing at a disadvantage.

• Defence Notes

  Ukraine TB2 co-production deal strains Russian-Turkish relations

  17th February 2022

  The rise in popularity of the TB2 UAV among Russia’s neighbours may be leading the Kremlin to believe a ‘drone circle’ is being drawn around the country.

• Land Warfare

  Poland signs for Abrams

  5th April 2022

  Will the delivery of advanced US-made MBTs to Poland free up T-72M/M1s for donation to Ukraine?

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Germany bites the bullet and arms Heron TPs

  7th April 2022

  Long-standing political concerns over arming German-operated Heron TPs have been set aside, although the Bundestag retains the final say over using missile-equipped MALE UAVs.

• Land Warfare

  How to future-proof military connectivity against complex threats (Studio)

  13th May 2022

  The ongoing war in Ukraine has demonstrated the critical importance of tactical connectivity, particularly when operating against competent adversaries who can jam and disrupt communications, including Global Positioning System (GPS) signals.

• Defence Notes

  Post mortem of Afghan collapse apportions blame all around

  20th May 2022

  The fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban last year was spectacular, and a new American report has assigned blame and given reasons for it.

• Defence Notes

  MPs support UK defence spending increase and reversal of cuts

  10th March 2022

  The UK government is facing calls to rethink its defence spending strategy in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

• Land Warfare

  Ukraine looks abroad for S-300s

  16th March 2022

  Which countries, if any, could supply Ukraine with extra S-300 SAM systems?

• Defence Notes

  China’s defence budget continues to rebound

  8th March 2022

  COVID-19 caused a slowdown in spending growth for the PLA, but China seems to have put that behind it as it keeps the spigots of cash open.

• Air Warfare

  Where is the Russian Air Force? (Opinion)

  28th March 2022

  Despite its reputation, the Russian Air Force has failed to make significant advances in Ukraine — but the lessons that will be likely to emerge will be applicable to all.

• Land Warfare

  Sweden joins Common Armoured Vehicle System programme

  14th April 2022

  The CAVS programme includes significant levels of vehicle protection but the question remains of how to protect troops from modern anti-armour weapons remains.

• Defence Notes

  Ukraine invasion should prompt geostrategic rethink by outgunned and outnumbered UK (Opinion)

  25th February 2022

  The need for the UK to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine risks making the ‘Global Britain’ defence strategy appear a case study in hubris.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Akinci [Ukraine]

  Programme Background Two Export Contracts In January 2022, the Daily Sabah reported that Baykar had "recently" signed its first export contract for the Akinci. Haluk Bayraktar ...

• Tanks

  T-90S (Saudi Arabia)

  Programme Background.  The status of the Saudi Arabian T-90 deal is unclear, it is possible that these tanks may be purchased to replace stocks of ...

• Loitering munitions

  ZT-180 [Russia]

  Programme Background Claims On 23 February 2023, DER SPIEGEL reported that, according to information it had gathered, China and Russia were negotiating the purchase of 100 ZT-180 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Shahed-136 [Russia]

  Programme Background Iran's Involvement On 11 July 2022, according to US intelligence, Jake Sullivan, US National Security Advisor, announced during a statement that the Iranian ...

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

  Vector / Scorpion (Selected) [Ukraine]

  Programme Background 500 Systems Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Quantum-Systems has provided many drones to Ukraine. Over 400 units have been provided as aid ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Heavy Lift Helicopter [Philippines]

  Programme Background Procurement from Russia In November 2021, Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana confirmed that a contract had been signed to acquire 16 Mi-171 heavy ...

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

  SkyRanger R70 (Ukraine Aid) [Canada]

  Programme Background On 19 February 2024, the Canadian Defence Minister, Bill Blair, announced that the country would donate more than 800 SkyRanger R70 UAVs to ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  T-150 (Ukraine Aid) [UK]

  Programme Background Virtual Address On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. On 3 May 2022, the UK's Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, virtually addressed the Ukrainian ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Black Hornet 3 (Ukraine Aid) [UK & Norway]

  Programme Background Russo-Ukraine War Since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, UAVs have proved vital to the country's defence. Consequently, as in this programme, the ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Quantix Recon (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background April Meeting In mid-April, just shy of two months after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, the Ambassador and the Defence Attaché at the Embassy of Ukraine met ...

• Tanks

  Leopard 2A8 [Germany]

  Programme Background Germany has operated the domestically produced Krauss-Maffei Wegmann Leopard 2 since its inception in the 1970s. Spanning now eight versions, the Leopard 2A8 is the ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | E-7 Wedgetail - UK (Second Order)

  The UK MoD signed a £1.51 billion ($1.98 billion) deal to purchase five E-7 Wedgetail aircraft from Boeing for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in ...

• Data links

  Data links | E-7 Wedgetail - UK (Second Order)

  The UK MoD signed a £1.51 billion ($1.98 billion) deal to purchase five E-7 Wedgetail aircraft from Boeing for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | E-7 Wedgetail - UK (Second Order)

  The UK MoD signed a £1.51 billion ($1.98 billion) deal to purchase five E-7 Wedgetail aircraft from Boeing for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | E-7 Wedgetail - UK (Second Order)

  The UK MoD signed a £1.51 billion ($1.98 billion) deal to purchase five E-7 Wedgetail aircraft from Boeing for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Tanks

  T-80UD

  The 125mm-armed T-80UD MBT is a variant of the T-80 which was in production in Ukraine when the Soviet Union broke up in 1991. An ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Supercam S350/S350F

  The Supercam S350/S350F is a mini fixed-wing that Supercam Unmanned Systems Group manufactures. The Russian UAV features a modular design and has been primarily designed ...

• Transport

  An-140

  The An-140 is a light turboprop military transport aircraft developed from the An-140 regional airliner, which first flew in September 1997. It is designed to ...

• Loitering munitions

  AQV 100 Scalpel

  The AQV 100 Scalpel, or AQV-100, is a low-cost loitering munition manufactured by One Way Aerospace.  The drone is operated using a first-person view and ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Mini 2

  The Mini 2 is a micro rotary-wing drone from DJI. It features a 3-axis gimbaled 12MP camera for photographs and 4k/30fps for video capture. Shephard believes ...

• Air: sonar systems

  VGS-3

  The VGS-3 is a dipping sonar for the Ka-27/Ka-28 helicopter developed by the State Enterprise Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Hydrodevices.

• Loitering munitions

  Shahed-136

  The Shahed-136 is an Iranian loitering munition. The aircraft has a delta-wing configuration and is launched through a Rocket-Assist Take-off (RATO) method. Russia operates the platform and ...

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

  Orlan-10/10E

  Developed by the Russia-based Special Technology Center, the Orlan-10 is a medium-range UAS with many variants, such as the 10E, an export version introduced in 2017. The ...

• Fighter - ground attack

  Su-25

  The Su-25 (NATO reporting name Frogfoot) is a single-seat ground attack aircraft developed for close combat air support missions. Production of the Su-25 began in ...

• Fighter - air superiority

  MiG-29

  The MiG-29 (NATO reporting name Fulcrum) is an air superiority fighter aircraft designed to engage air targets in any weather, day and night.  The production ...

• Land: coastal surveillance radars

  Predel-E

  The Predel-E is a coastal surveillance radar produced by Russian manufacturer Concern Morinformsystem-Agat JSC. The system is intended as an over-the-horizon surveillance system, designed to ...

• Artillery rockets

  9M55

  9M55 is a family of 300 mm artillery rockets developed for the BM-30 Uragan MLRS developed by the USSR.

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

  Matrice 300 RTK

  The Matrice 300 RTK is a rotary-wing UAV manufactured by DJI. Despite being primarily aimed at industrial applications, militaries utilise it for ISR tasks.  In ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  SURA HMTDS

  SURA is a helmet-mounted display system produced in Ukraine. Notably, it offers off-boresight acquisition capability to pilots and can cue the aircraft's sensor systems using ...

• Transport

  An-22

  The largest transport aircraft of the time, the An-22 Antei (NATO reporting name Cock) is a heavy military transport aircraft developed by Antonov in the ...