• Defence Notes

  Poll shows most French against weapons sales to Saudi

  26th March 2018

  Three out of four French people believe it is ‘unacceptable’ to sell military weapons to Saudi Arabia, according to a poll published on 26 March. …

• Land Warfare

  AUSA Global: Army moving out on high-energy laser development

  29th March 2018

  The US Army is moving forward with plans to field a 50 kW high-energy laser on a 8x8 Stryker vehicle in FY2023, if not quicker, and …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Continued investment proves less risky for Watchkeeper

  26th March 2018

  The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) remains committed to the troubled Watchkeeper project despite missing its full operating capability (FOC) one milestone in November 2017. It …

• Land Warfare

  Russia looks to networked combat helmet

  28th March 2018

  The Russian Ministry of Defence has announced plans to develop a networked helmet as part of its Ratnik combat gear programme. The helmet will be …

• Digital Battlespace

  RAF launches advanced video imaging satellite

  1st March 2018

  The UK Air Force has significantly advanced its satellite intelligence capabilities with the successful launch of the Carbonite-2 satellite terminal.  Providing the service with detailed …

• Land Warfare

  Japan creates Ground Component Command

  27th March 2018

  The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) established a new Ground Component Command on 27 March to unify its five existing armies: the Northern, Northeastern, Eastern, …

• Land Warfare

  DefExpo 2018: Is Indian artillery set to boom?

  12th April 2018

  Two locally developed artillery pieces – the ATAGS and Dhanush – participated in a live demonstration at the DefExpo 2018 exhibition in Chennai. Although they …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Insight: Unmanned uprising for the RAF

  28th March 2018

  As senior officials in the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) suggest that the balance between manned and unmanned platforms is shifting to the latter, a …

• Land Warfare

  AUSA Global: Army steps up timetable to link THAAD and Patriot

  2nd April 2018

  The US Army is accelerating plans to integrate the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) radar with the lower-tier Patriot system to better protect troops and assets from …

• Naval Warfare

  German Navy frigate begins in-port trials

  27th February 2018

  The German Navy’s third F125 class frigate, the Sachsen-Anhalt, has sailed for the first time from the shipyard in Hamburg, Thyssenkrupp announced on 22 February. …

• Defence Notes

  US general sees 'positive indicators' in Pakistan

  28th February 2018

  A top US general said on 27 February that he has started to see ‘positive indicators’ from the Pakistan military, weeks after President Donald Trump …

• Defence Notes

  Israel Army given shoot orders ahead of Gaza border protest

  28th March 2018

  Israeli Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Gadi Eisenkot has warned the army has been given authorisation to open fire ahead of mass protests on the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Choules conducts flight trials for CH-47F

  29th March 2018

  The Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN)  landing ship dock HMAS Choules has conducted first of class flight trials for the CH-47F Chinook helicopter, the RAN announced …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Singapore leverages unmanned and AI tech

  2nd March 2018

  The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) has begun live trials of more unmanned, data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) systems to overcome the island-state’s constraints and …

• Defence Notes

  Russian strikes kill 37 civilians in Ghouta

  23rd March 2018

  Russian air strikes killed 37 civilians in the Arbin area of the shrinking rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta near Damascus overnight, the Syrian Observatory for …

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 ...