• Digital Battlespace

  Airbus and Northrop Grumman partner for UK military satellite comms programme

  23rd October 2023

  A new collaboration between the US and European aviation giants will attempt to unite the space interests of US, UK and European partners via the UK's SKYNET programme.

• Air Warfare

  Romania boosts airlift capability with arrival of US C-130H-2 Hercules

  4th October 2023

  The strategic acquisition of C-130H Hercules represents a significant milestone in the ongoing collaboration between the US and Romania under the Foreign Military Sales programme.

• Training

  US assists Philippine Air Force ISR training

  22nd September 2023

  At the request of the Philippine government, the 505th Training Squadron located at Hurlburt Field, Florida sent a team of USAF Air Operations Center Formal Training Unit instructors to Villamor Air Base, Philippines.

• Naval Warfare

  Tender expected for new Dutch auxiliary ships

  5th October 2023

  The Royal Netherlands Navy has announced plans to replace its ageing auxiliary ships with a fleet of new vessels.

• Land Warfare

  The HF Renaissance – The Evolving Electronic Warfare Threats and the Need for Resilient Waveforms (Studio)

  14th September 2023

  Amid modern warfare’s complexity and electronic warfare threats, NATO and its allies are balancing legacy systems with new technologies. With the importance of resilient waveforms underscored, High Frequency (HF) technology has emerged as a robust solution, leading to an “HF renaissance”.

• Air Warfare

  Northrop Grumman awarded $705 million contract for USAF’s new strike missile capability

  26th September 2023

  The USAF has selected Northrop Grumman to develop and test the Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW), a new air-to-ground weapon system, for fifth-generation aircraft and beyond.

• Training

  China and Pakistan conclude Shaheen-X joint air exercises in Northwest China

  6th October 2023

  The joint exercises featured a range of advanced aircraft, with China contributing Shenyang J-16 fighters and Airborne Early Warning aircraft, while Pakistan showcased its recently acquired Chengdu J-10C and JF-17 jets.

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2023: Scorpion 81mm mortar comes to USA

  11th October 2023

  Spain’s NTGS has teamed with the US company Global Military Products (GMP) to market their mortar system to the US and other potential customers.

• Training

  Elbit UK’s Joint Fires Synthetic Trainer delivers nearly 5,000 training hours

  21st September 2023

  Elbit Systems UK’s Joint Fires Synthetic Trainer (JFST) has officially achieved Initial Operating Capability (IOC).

• Naval Warfare

  BAE offers Australia guided missile variant of Hunter-class frigate

  7th November 2023

  The Australian Defence Strategic Review has called for a mix of Tier 1 and Tier 2 surface combatants amid speculation that the SEA 5000 Hunter-class frigate project would be cut back to pay for a potential new class of corvette – but BAE has returned fire with a new offering that could change Australian decision-making.

• Air Warfare

  Croatia officially receives first Dassault Rafale fighter jet

  3rd October 2023

  The official handover of the first Dassault Rafale B jet is a key development in a deal involving 12 aircraft for Croatia. This marks the start of a transition from Croatia's Soviet-era MiG-21 fighters and legacy aircraft.

• Training

  Thailand inducts a dozen T-6C Texan II trainer aircraft

  26th September 2023

  Thailand's air force can now train pilots on a dozen T-6C Texan II trainers, most of which underwent final assembly in the country.

• Training

  NATO exercise sharpens explosive defeating skills in the face of increasing threats

  13th October 2023

  The exercise took place on land and in the marine environment using EOD UGVs, submarine AUVs and special diving equipment to improve and sharpen the skills of participants.

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2023: Curtiss-Wright introduces new advanced components for military solutions

  25th October 2023

  VPX3-1262 and VPX3-6826 are SOSA-aligned products and feature ruggedisation technology for deployment in harsh, challenging environments.

• Training

  HAL delivers India’s first LCA twin-seat trainer

  5th October 2023

  India has received the first twin-seat trainer version of the Tejas aircraft manufactured by HAL.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - micro

  EVO Max 4T [Ukraine]

  Programme Background Ukraine On 6 October 2023, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's Miniter of Digital Transformation, announced that the Army of Drones sent nearly 2,000 EVO Max ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Boxer IFV (Schakal) [Germany]

  Background The Boxer is currently in service with both Germany and the Netherlands, having entered service in 2009 and 2013, respectively.  In October 2025, the ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  AW101-Norway

  AgustaWestland is also providing initial support and training services, including spares at each of the operating bases and aircrew training. It will then provide performance ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  MD 530F -Kenya

  Crew transition training took place at the MD Helicopters headquarters in Mesa, Arizona, with field service support, armament, and gunnery training scheduled to occur at ...

• Trainer

  T-54A Multi-Engine Training System (METS) [USA]

  Programme Background Multi-Engine Training System is a USN programme to replace the ageing T-44C Pegasus fleet and modernize multi-engine aircraft training. Multi-Engine Training System provides ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Gray Eagle 25M (13-28) [US National Guard]

  Background Requirement In FY2021, the National Guard Association of the United States (NGUAS) announced that it was “critical” that it fielded the MQ-1C Gray Eagle Extended Range (ER). The ...

• Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

  Multi-Role Support Ship (MRSS) (3) [Malaysia]

  Programme Background Requirements The Royal Malaysian Navy are in the process of a fleet transformation plan known as the 15 to 5 Transformation Plan, which ...

• Submarines: conventional/attack

  Submarines Procurement [Malaysia]

  Programme Background Requirements In 2015, the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) issued the so-called 15 to 5 Transformation Plan, which envisioned the service to be standardised ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Gray Eagle 25M (1-12) [US National Guard]

  Background Requirement In FY2021, the National Guard Association of the United States (NGUAS) announced that it was “critical” that it fielded the MQ-1C Gray Eagle Extended ...

• ISR/special mission

  Shadow R1 [UK]

  Background The RAF is moving forward with an ambitious plan to transform its intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) force to enable greater interoperability ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Beyond Vision UAVs [Portugal]

  Background Contract award On 14 February 2023, Beyond Vision announced that it had been awarded a €600,375 contract for the acquisition of “6 Multirotor and ...

• CUAS - jammers

  Stationary C-UAS [Croatia]

  Background Croatia is procuring counter-UAS systems, covering stationary and mobile systems. The procurement of the systems is a response to growing security threats and the ...

• CUAS - hybrid effector systems

  Mobile C-UAS [Croatia]

  Background Croatia is procuring counter-UAS systems, covering stationary and mobile systems. The procurement of the systems is a response to growing security threats and the ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Boxer IFV (Schakal) [Netherlands]

  Background The Boxer is currently in service with both Germany and the Netherlands, having entered service in 2009 and 2013, respectively.  In October 2025, the ...

• Frigates

  Littoral Combat Ship Programme (8-12) [Malaysia]

  Programme Background Requirements At DSA 2024, the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) unveiled the RMN 15 to 5 Transformation Program Realignment. The original 15 to 5 ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Major networking projects

  ACT

  Allied Command Transformation (ACT) is leading at strategic command level the transformation of NATO’s military structure, forces, capabilities and doctrine. It is working to enhance ...

• Loitering munitions

  Trypillian SSG

  Manufactured by Trypillian, a British-Ukrainian start-up, the Trypillian SSG is an autonomous, deep-strike loitering munition, designed to operate in GNSS-denied environments.  Trypillian states that it is an asymmetric ...

• Light UGVs

  D-21-11

  Unveiled in January 2024, the D-21-11 is a 4x4 wheeled UGV from Brave1. The Ukrainian vehicle features a flatbed that can host various equipment, such ...

• Loitering munitions

  Backfire

  The Backfire is a Ukrainian fire-and-forget loitering munition. The catapult-launched system is GPS-guided, meaning it is resistant to radio-electronic interference. Reportedly, its lack of real-time ...

• Medium UGVs

  Ironclad

  The Ironclad is a Ukrainian 4x4 UGV developed by Roboneers, a technology incubator that solicits ideas and pairs them with potential investors. Fitted with a ShaBlya ...

• Ultra-light UGVs

  Ratel S

  The Ratel S, sometimes also called the Medoed or Honey Badger, is a Ukrainian kamikaze UGV that can be armed with a TM-62 anti-tank mine or two 82mm ...

• Military UAS - small

  Vampire

  The Vampire is a hexacopter drone developed by the Ukrainian company Skyfall. It can carry and drop various types of ammunition on the enemy. In ...

• Land: range systems and targets

  DRTS

  The Digital Range Training System (DRTS) was developed under a 2011 contract to provide an immersive training environment for US Army vehicle crews. Training includes ...

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  Live Training Systems-Range Instrumentation

  End-to-end, networked, live training communications systems providing live training range products, communications infrastructure and instrumented participant voice, video and data communications. These include range voice, ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Nomad (Group 4/5)

  In October 2025, Sikorsky unveiled the Nomad family of drones. The family can be scaled from a small Group 3 UAV to a Group 4/5 system with ...

• Air: fixed-wing flight simulators

  USN T-44C Training Services

  In late 2013, CAE USA received a contract to provide the USN with comprehensive T-44C aircrew training services at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas. CAE USA ...

• Data links

  CLIP

  Common Link Integration Processing (CLIP) is a software product that performs data transformation and processes protocols for dissimilar communications formats. It meets requirements for common ...

• Loitering munitions

  Mighty Hornet IV

  Unveiled in September 2025, the Mighty Hornet IV is a development of the MQM-178 target drone designed for attack missions. Kratos and the National Chung-Shan Institute ...

• Land: battle management systems

  Digital Battle Management System

  The Digital Battle Management System (BMS) is a single complete solution designed for sharing battalion-level land and air-land combat information. Digital BMS optimises real-time information ...

• Sea: weapon training, Military - USVs

  Sprite

  The Sprite is a USV developed by QinetiQ and designed for live-fire training exercises.