• Naval Warfare

  First Type 31 frigate for UK Royal Navy rolls out of construction

  27th May 2025

  Named the HMS Venturer, this roll out marks a pivotal milestone as it moves from the construction phase to then undergo outfitting and systems integration ahead of sea trials.

• Air Warfare

  Philippines grows its S-70i fleet with 10 new deliveries

  17th January 2025

  The 10 helicopters delivered throughout 2024 make up part of a larger contract for 32 Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopters for the country.

• Air Warfare

  UK Royal Navy’s upgraded Commando Merlin helicopters achieve full operating capability

  30th January 2025

  A total of 19 Mk3 and six Mk3a Commando Merlin helicopters have now been upgraded to the Mk4/4a standard, with the work overseen by the procurement arm of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), Leonardo and the Royal Navy (RN).

• Air Warfare

  Airbus, Babcock and CAE partner for Poland helicopter training requirement

  19th May 2025

  Poland first issued a requirement for up to 24 helicopters and associated training systems in January 2024.

• Land Warfare

  QinetiQ to play pivotal role in US Army’s next-generation target acquisition system

  26th February 2025

  The Future Advanced Long-range Common Optical/Netted-fires Sensor (FALCONS) is a next-generation target acquisition system which is designed to provide enhanced all-weather target detection and identification at long range.

• Naval Warfare

  UK Royal Navy Type 31 frigate enters capability insertion period with Babcock

  11th April 2025

  The capability insertion phase will upgrade the navy's Type 31 frigates with modern systems in addition to those specified during its design phase.

• Naval Warfare

  Thales to support UK Royal Navy fleet communications for next 10 years

  12th February 2025

  A new deal gives Thales discretionary powers on equipment replacement in the UK Royal Navy (RN) for a decade, saving an estimated £30 million.

• Digital Battlespace

  Airbus launches final CSO observation satellite for French Armed Forces

  7th March 2025

  Airbus was awarded the Composante Spatiale Optique (CSO) contract at the end of 2010. This included an option for a third satellite, which was activated after Germany joined the programme in 2015.

• Land Warfare

  British Army defeats swarm with Thales radio frequency anti-drone system

  18th April 2025

  Developed by a Thales UK-led industry consortium, the demonstrator has been designed to explore the potential of radiofrequency weapons for the UK Armed Forces and is being trialled by the British Army.

• Land Warfare

  Viettel acts as dominant force in Vietnam’s military modernisation

  16th January 2025

  Vietnam defence manufacturer Viettel, traditionally known for radar and communications equipment, has been moving into new areas including kinetic weapons and loitering munitions.

• Land Warfare

  US Army to field first human-machine platoon in two years

  1st April 2025

  The Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office plans to deploy armoured and infantry platoon configurations around FY2027.

• Air Warfare

  UK delays E-7 Wedgetail initial operational capability to 2026

  7th May 2025

  The E-7 Wedgetail programme had been classified as ‘red’ in a previous UK government report, denoting that it would either not meet cost, timeline or capability targets.

• Defence Notes

  India greenlights $4.7 billion defence spend as post-war tensions simmer

  30th May 2025

  Precision strikes, drone warfare and shifting regional doctrine mark aftermath of four-day India-Pakistan conflict.

• Naval Warfare

  R&S to supply German Sachsen ships with Kora EW and communications systems

  22nd October 2024

  The Sachsen-class (F124) frigates were designed for enhanced air defence with stealth features with the first entering service in 2003. The class is now undergoing a substantial upgrade.

• Naval Warfare

  Joint Expeditionary Force launches AI protection net for undersea cables

  9th January 2025

  The UK-led system assesses potential threats before they result in undersea cable damage.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Anka-S (First Batch) [Turkey]

  Programme Background Orders In February 2018, TAI announced that it had delivered the first Anka-S UAVs to the Turkish Air Force. In late 2018, Savunmasanay ...

• Submarines: conventional, attack

  Isaac Peral Class (S-80A Plus) [Spain]

  Programme Background The S-80A SSK design for the Spanish Navy is based on the Franco-Spanish S-80 Scorpene design that both countries decided to cooperate on ...

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

  Anka-S [Chad]

  Programme Background Hurkus Trainer Aircraft On 10 July 2023, President General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno visited an air base to inspect the country's new Hurkus trainer ...

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

  Anka-S (Saudi Arabia)

  Programme Background Desired Procurement Saudi Arabia has reportedly been in negotiations to procure six Anka UAVs since 2013. It has not been disclosed which Anka ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  S-70i (Philippines)

  The Black Hawk is believed to have been the most expensive of the aircraft that had been shortlisted for the PAF project, others being the ...

• Landing craft and hovercraft

  EDA-S [France]

  Programme Background Following the announcement of the 14-ship contract, the DGA approved the design of the first two standard amphibious landing craft (EDA-S) in October 2019, ...

• Destroyers

  KDDX-S [South Korea]

  Programme Background Requirements During MADEX 2023, Naval News reported that there is an upcoming competition for new destroyers, namely the KDDX-S programme. According to the ...

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

  Anka-S [El Salvador]

  Programme Background As reported by InfoDefensa in September 2023, The Salvadoran Air Force (FAS) is considering purchasing the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) Anka-S and T625 Gokbey medium ...

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

  Anka-S (Second Batch) [Turkey]

  Programme Background First Batch Based on comments by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and Turkish media in 2018, Shephard believes that Türkiye acquired 26 Anka-S drones ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Camcopter S-100 [Greece]

  Programme Background Trails A 2 August 2021 Schiebel press release announced the company had demonstrated the Camcopter S-100's capabilities to the Hellenic Navy. The UAV was ...

• Submarines: conventional, attack

  Isaac Peral Class (S-80A Plus) (5-6)/S-80 Flight II [Spain]

  Programme Background Requirements In February 2024, during a conference organised by El Confidencial, Admiral Ricardo Hernandez, Head of Logistic Support, stated that one of the ...

• Data links

  Data links | S-211 Replacement [Philippines]

  The Philippines is looking at replacement options for its ageing fleet of S-211 trainer jets. The S-211s have been in operation with the Philippines since ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Air: Helmet-mounted displays | S-211 Replacement [Philippines]

  The Philippines is looking at replacement options for its ageing fleet of S-211 trainer jets. The S-211s have been in operation with the Philippines since ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | S-211 Replacement [Philippines]

  The Philippines is looking at replacement options for its ageing fleet of S-211 trainer jets. The S-211s have been in operation with the Philippines since ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | S-211 Replacement [Philippines]

  The Philippines is looking at replacement options for its ageing fleet of S-211 trainer jets. The S-211s have been in operation with the Philippines since ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Data links

  S-band TDMA Airborne Data Link

  Multiple-participant airborne S-band TDMA data link with up to 400 slots/s. Transmission rate is up to 625Kb/s. As an example, a data link built for ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  R&S M3TR

  The R&S; M3TR SDR family is a family of digital radios. The core of the integrated communications system is the lightweight R&S; MR3000 H/U manpack ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Camcopter S-300

  The Camcopter S-300 is a larger variant of the S-100 manufactured by Schiebel. The VTOL-capable UAV is intended for ISR missions, partially those in the maritime ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM, UAS: communication systems

  R&S SDAR

  The R&S; SDAR is a software-defined airborne radio that extends the R&S; M3AR airborne radio family. The R&S; SDAR offers secure broadband voice and data ...

• Corvettes

  Saar S-80

  The S-80 is a multirole corvette developed by Israel Shipyard and based on the S-72 platform. The S-80, showcased for the first time at Euronaval ...

• Submarines: conventional, attack

  Isaac Peral Class (S-80A Plus)

  Spain’s S-80A or Isaac Peral-class SSKs are being built to replace the Spanish Navy’s existing Agosta 90B-class SSKs that were designed in the 1970s and ...

• Data links

  TIGDL-II

  Tactical Interoperable Ground Data Link (TIGDL)-II is described as a transportable TDL surface terminal that supports military operations by providing a full duplex ground capability ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  48N6E2

  The 48N6E2 is the second generation of the 48N6 surface-to-air missile (SAM). It is designed to target low-altitude jets and tactical ballistic missiles. It has ...

• Medium Range Missile Defence Systems: 20-90km range

  S-125-2A Pechora-2A (SA-26)

  Almaz-Antey offers the S-125-2A Pechora-2A (NATO designation SA-26) upgrade package for the S-125 Pechora (US/NATO designation SA-3 Goa) static and towed medium-range SAM system that first entered ...

• Subsystems: software

  M&S Suite

  M&S; Suite is a comprehensive and integrated range of modelling and simulation (M&S;) software tools designed to help speed up application development and reduce integration ...

• Long Range Missile Defence Systems: > 90km range, Self-propelled missile systems

  S-400 Triumf (SA-21 Growler)

  The S-400 Triumf (NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler) long-range air defence system, previously known as the S-300PMU-3, was developed by the Almaz Central Design Bureau ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  KG-350

  The KG-350 is an encryptor for network communications. The product was granted Type 1 certification by the US National Security Agency (NSA) on 27 July ...

• Transponders and IFF

  IFF Mk XIIA(S)

  Aselsan IFF Mk XIIA(S) is a Mode 5/S compatible long-range IFF interrogator. According to the manufacturer, it may be mounted to a standard 19-inch rack ...

• Air: Electronic Attack - Jamming

  President-S

  Ekran’s President-S is a Directional Infrared Countermeasures (DIRCM) designed to equip fixed-wing and rotary aircraft. The President-S is an export version of the firm’s L-370 ...

• Medium Range Missile Defence Systems: 20-90km range, Self-propelled missile systems

  S-350 Vityaz (SA-X-28)

  The S-350 Vityaz, NATO reporting name SA-X-28, is a medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed by Almaz-Antey to replace ageing systems like the S-300PS and ...