• Defence Notes

  Erdogan worried by world powers' 'arm wrestling' on Syria

  12th April 2018

  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on 12 April said Turkey was worried by the ‘arm wrestling’ of world powers over Syria, as tensions soared between …

• Defence Notes

  US not ruling out military action in Syria

  9th April 2018

  US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on 9 April pointed toward Russia's role in a suspected poison gas attack on the Syrian rebel-held town of Douma, …

• Defence Helicopter

  DefExpo 2018: Boeing helicopter deliveries on track for India

  12th April 2018

  The first of 22 Boeing AH-64E Apaches for the Indian Air Force (IAF) entered the production line at the company’s Mesa facility in the US …

• Digital Battlespace

  German Army looks to 'smart' weapon sights

  20th April 2018

  The German Army is preparing to evaluate Elbit Systems’ SmartSight digital weapon sight as it considers how the technology could support dismounted close combat troops …

• Digital Battlespace

  Insight: Deciphering China’s AI militarisation

  9th April 2018

  Even with Beijing’s recent announcement that artificial intelligence (AI) will rewrite the very nature of a revolution in military affairs (RMA), China faces as many …

• Land Warfare

  Sig Sauer comes out on top for Denmark's new pistol

  16th April 2018

  Denmark has selected the 9x19mm Sig Sauer P320 X-Carry as its new pistol after an evaluation of four shortlisted designs. The P320 will be fielded …

• Digital Battlespace

  Curtiss-Wright to provide mission computers to Thales

  13th April 2018

  Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions has received a contract from Thales UK for its commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) Packaged COTS (PCOTS) mission computers, the company announced on 10 April. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Two Pilot Project activities complete

  27th February 2018

  Two research activities, SPIDER and EuroSWARM, part of the Pilot Project on defence research, have completed successfully, the European Defence Agency (EDA) announced on 23 …

• Special Operations

  Afghanistan graduates additional women operators

  17th April 2018

  Afghan Special Security Forces (ASSF) have taken a further step towards full incorporation of women into its ranks with the General Directorate of Police Special …

• Naval Warfare

  US approves licence for Taiwan submarine plan

  8th April 2018

  Washington has agreed to allow US defence contractors help Taiwan construct its own submarines, Taipei said, welcoming the breakthrough in long-standing ambitions to build up …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Aquabotix unveils SwarmDiver micro USV/UUV

  12th April 2018

  UUV Aquabotix has introduced SwarmDiver, a micro USV and UUV designed to operate in a swarm, the company announced on 9 April. Multiple SwarmDivers can …

• Land Warfare

  Hungary, Czech Republic sign small arms licence

  4th April 2018

  The Hungarian Ministry of Defence's MoD ARZENÁL has signed a $123 million licence agreement with Czech firearms producer Ceská Zbrojovka Export to manufacture small arms for …

• Land Warfare

  DSA 2018: Kaplan MT seeks Indonesian qualification

  17th April 2018

  The Kaplan MT medium tank, a joint design between Turkish firm FNSS and Indonesian company PT Pindad, is set to undergo qualification tests in Indonesia, …

• Defence Notes

  US consults partners ahead of Syria withdrawal

  7th April 2018

  The US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said 6 April that the military is talking with Kurdish partners and others in Syria to resolve questions over …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Autonomous resupply effort concludes phase one

  12th April 2018

  The Defence Science Technology Laboratory (Dstl) has concluded phase one of its Autonomous Last Mile Resupply programme, QinetiQ announced on 9 April. The programme challenged …

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 ...