• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2025: MBDA introduces NLOS Akeron 120 MBT missile

  9th September 2025

  The no-line-of-sight (NLOS) missile is MBDA’s latest ammunition offering for main battle tanks (MBTs), with the company foreseeing an entry to market date window for Akeron within the next two years.

• Land Warfare

  What does Germany’s new tank joint venture mean for MGCS?

  16th July 2025

  Germany is Europe’s leading country for tank manufacture and until this month was committed to the Franco-German Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) which included tanks and other vehicles. Earlier this month, Germany and other European countries set up the Main ARmoured Tank of Europe (MARTE) project casting a shadow over the MGCS.

• Land Warfare

  New version of Altay tank to be delivered “soon” with Turkish engine for later iterations

  19th August 2025

  The first of the Altay T1 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) will have a South Korean power pack while later Altay T2s will be fitted with the locally made BMC BATU engine.

• Land Warfare

  IDEF 2025: Turkey’s MKE unveils electric armoured vehicles

  1st August 2025

  MKE’s move into the development of armoured vehicles and turret is a new line for MKE. The company is not only the largest contractor for small arms and ammunition in Tukey but are also prime contractor for artillery and tank barrels as well as the Bora 105mm towed howitzer.

• Land Warfare

  Europe looks to solve tank procurement challenges with upgraded and new platforms

  28th August 2025

  The UK government in 2019 reflected a common attitude towards main battle tanks (MBTs) across Western Europe as it moved to reduce its fleet from 227 Challenger 2 vehicles to 148, which would be upgraded under a plan that eventually produced the Challenger 3. Now, however, there is an increased interest in platforms new, upgraded and planned across the continent.

• Land Warfare

  IDEX 2025: Hyundai Rotem highlights advanced features of K2 MBT

  21st February 2025

  One of the few main battle tanks (MBT) displayed at IDEX 2025 was the latest Hyundai Rotem K2 MBT from South Korea, which has already secured its first export contract with Poland, with initial units delivered.

• Land Warfare

  Contract moves new Abrams tank forward in the face of cuts

  8th July 2025

  Several US Army vehicle programmes were axed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s plans to transform the US Army, as outlined in the Letter to the Force: Army Transformation Initiative document. However, the new generation Abrams M1E3 main battle tank (MBT) was singled out for survival. But what will it look like?

• Land Warfare

  Babcock secures £1.6 billion MoD contract extension to support British Army readiness

  26th March 2025

  The five-year contract extension will be applied to the existing 10-year DSG Service Provision and Transformation Contract.

• Air Warfare

  Paris Air Show 2025: Boeing confirms “very early infancy” C-17 Globemaster III production restart discussions as European market opportunity looms

  17th June 2025

  The discussion of the C-17 comes off the back of Boeing’s focus on a growing European demand for defence equipment amid a growing threat on the continent.

• Land Warfare

  Leopard MBT: Alpha beast gets a reboot (updated 2025)

  6th March 2025

  Leopard MBTs are German-made main battle tanks that have been in service since the Cold War and have undergone several upgrades to remain competitive in modern warfare. This article traces the history and development of the Leopard 1 and 2, its variants, its operational service and its future prospects.

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2025: First mobility trials completed for British Army Challenger 3 tanks

  11th September 2025

  The mobility trials saw the Challenger 3 main battle tank (MBT) tested at a variety of locations in the UK, covering a combined 760km across a variety of terrains including road and cross country.

• Land Warfare

  Italy aims for $26 billion vehicle investment and prepares for cyber defence

  3rd February 2025

  Italy’s Armoured Infantry Combat System (AICS) system began seven years ago in an effort to replace older vehicles such as M113s and the force is also looking to replace its C1 Ariete Main Battle Tanks (MBTs).

• Land Warfare

  Aselsan has started producing Akkor active protection system for Altay tank

  24th January 2025

  Akkor is an active protection system (APS) developed by Aselsan, equipped with both hard- and soft-kill functionalities. It provides protection against antitank missiles and rockets for armoured vehicles and is designed for Turkey’s Leopard and Altay tanks.

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2025: Leopard 1 offered extra kick with new power pack

  4th September 2025

  The new power pack from Germany’s Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft (FFG) is about 300kg lighter than the original system, consists of a more modern eight-cylinder diesel developing up to 1,080hp. It is being shown for the first time at DSEI.

• Land Warfare

  Europe’s next-generation tank crawls forward and adopts a proven process

  5th May 2025

  The Franco-German Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) is ambitious and is using a procurement system which has had some success in the continent’s aircraft purchasing processes with a separate company established and subsystems identified.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Tanks

  Peru T-55 MBT Replacement

  Programme Background Peru received 280 T-55 MBTs from the Soviet Union during the 1970s. Despite their age, these tanks continue to see service, alongside even ...

• Tanks

  MBT (Tunisia)

  Programme Background The Tunisian MoD has not disclosed any intention to modernise or replace its M60A3s, but an unconfirmed report published by Tactical Report in January ...

• Tanks

  New MBT [Spain]

  Programme Background One of the long-term needs identified in the Spanish Army's Force 2035 modernisation plan is a next-generation MBT. To this end, the Spanish ...

• Tanks

  New MBT [Belgium]

  Programme Background Belgium formally retired its MBT capability in 2014, when it took the last of its 132 KMW Leopard 1A5BE MBTs out of service. ...

• 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 ...

• Tanks

  PETEF - MBT

  The Colombian Army has evaluated several offers for MBT platforms in the past, though none of these have progressed to the formal contract stage. For ...

• 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 ...

• Tanks

  C1 Ariete Replacement [Italy]

  Programme Background Background Following nearly 20 years of service within the Italian Army, the C1 Ariete MBT is due for an upgrade or replacement. Suffering ...

• Tanks

  MBT (Egypt)

  Programme Background The Egyptian Army operates a vast number of MBTs, including 1,130 General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) M1A1 Abrams assembled in fits and starts between 1984 ...

• Tanks

  Botswana K2 MBT

  Programme Background The only indication that the Botswana Ground Force was considering the acquisition of the K2 MBT came from a report in Botswana's The ...

• Tanks

  Saudi Arabia New MBT

  Programme Background Between 1993 and 1994, 315 M1A2 Abrams MBTs were delivered to Saudi Arabia as part of a US$1.5 billion deal with the US. ...

• Tanks

  Leclerc Upgrade (UAE)

  Programme Background The UAE MoD has not disclosed any intention to modernise or replace its Leclerc MBTs, but an unconfirmed report published by the Asian Defence ...

• Tanks

  VT4 Haider (Pakistan)

  Programme Background Pakistan appears to have commenced its programme to acquire a new military off-the-shelf MBT in 2015, when several MBT designs were tested under ...

• Tanks

  New MBT (Oman)

  One platform that is known to have been under consideration for this requirement is the Hyundai Rotem K2 Black Panther MBT. It is understood that ...

• Tanks

  Wilk

  Programme Background The Wilk programme was included in the Polish MoDs Technical Modernisation Plan of the Polish Armed Forces for 2021-2035. It was primarily aimed ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Tanks

  MBT-2000

  Norinco originally developed the Type 90-II for China's People's Liberation Army (PLA), but when it was not selected by the PLA, it continued to develop and ...

• Land: vehicle simulators

  MBT-S

  The DynaSim Main Battle Tank Simulator (MBT-S) is a medium-fidelity training system for crews and platoon/company commanders. It provides interoperable simultaneous tactical training of multiple ...

• Tanks

  Al-Khalid/Al-Khalid-I

  In 1990, China and Pakistan agreed to jointly develop a new MBT which would be manufactured by HIT for the Pakistan Army.  The Al-Khalid is ...

• Tanks

  Type 100 Tank

  Officially unveiled at the September 2025 V-Day parade, the Type 100 Tank is claimed by China to be a fourth-generation Main Battle Tank (MBT), making ...

• Land: vehicle surveillance/target acquisition systems

  GPTTS

  Deployed on the Korean K1 MBT, the Gunner’s Primary Tank Thermal Sight (GPTTS) is an integrated FCS that combines direct-view optics, a Gen I 120-channel ...

• Land: vehicle surveillance/target acquisition systems

  ELRF M1/LRFD M1

  The ELRF M1 eyesafe laser range finder (LRF) and the LRFD M1 LRF/designator both bolt onto the gunner’s primary sight on the M1 Abrams MBT. ...

• Land: battlefield and ground surveillance radar

  P-200 Credo-1

  The P-200 Credo-1 is a tripod-mounted, pulse-Doppler ground/coastal surveillance radar capable of detecting and tracking a variety of targets. This includes people, vehicles, ships and ...

• Tanks

  VT4 (MBT-3000)

  The 125mm-armed VT4, also known as the MBT-3000, is the latest MBT developed and manufactured by Norinco. Displayed internationally for the first time at Eurosatory in ...

• Tanks

  KF51 Panther

  Rheinmetall unveiled the KF51 Panther at Eurosatory 2022. The MBT uses Leopard 2 components in its bare chassis but with a brand new turret. Its main armament is the ...

• Tanks

  EMBT

  KNDS (KMW + NEXTER Defense Systems) presented its first joint product, the EMBT (European Main Battle Tank) demonstrator, at the June 2018 Eurosatory defence exhibition. The EMBT mounts ...

• Land: battlefield and ground surveillance radar

  RATAC-S

  The Radar d’Aide au Tir d’Artillerie de Campagne (RATAC-S) is a multipurpose radar designed to detect, locate and classify ground targets or low-flying aircraft at ...

• Tanks

  Leopard 2 Next Generation

  Aselsan unveiled its Leopard 2 Next Generation (NG) MBT upgrade proposal for the Turkish Land Forces Command’s fleet of almost 300 Leopard 2A4s at Turkey’s ...

• Tanks

  Type 74

  The Type 74 MBT was developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) to replace the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force's (JGSDF) Type 61 MBT. Equipped with thicker ...

• Tanks

  CV90120-T

  BAE Systems developed the CV90120-T as a private venture to provide customers with a vehicle that combines the firepower of a 120mm-armed MBT with the ...

• Self-propelled guns

  Arjun Catapult Mk II

  India's Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) publicly unveiled the Arjun Catapult Mk II at Defexpo India in February 2014. The Arjun Catapult is ...