Land Warfare

Slovakia receives two donated MANTIS air defence systems

26th October 2023

The MANTIS air defence system has been designed to protect vital structures and was developed to protect the camps where Bundeswehr troops were stationed in Afghanistan.

Land Warfare

The US Government approves the sale of long-range artillery and rocket systems to Latvia

25th October 2023

Under the Foreign Military Sale (FMS) approved by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) Latvia could receive M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and M30A2 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS).

Defence Notes

Rheinmetall joins in Ukrainian JV on the support and manufacture of military vehicles

24th October 2023

Germany’s Rheinmetall will provide further support to Ukraine, on top of billions-of-dollars worth of munitions, by taking a majority stake in a military vehicles company.

Training

UK provides engineering training for Ukraine to protect critical infrastructure

23rd October 2023

The training program has been designed to improve Ukraine's capacity to plan the defence of vital infrastructure and safeguard civilian lives.

Defence Notes

Research paper points to a Russian ‘ghost navy’ providing logistical support

19th October 2023

Russia has been using commercial vessels to move military equipment to avoid controls, according to a report from NATO Defense College and RUSI.

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

Akinci (Ukraine)

Programme Background Two Export Contracts In January 2022, the Daily Sabah reported that Baykar had "recently" signed its first export contract for the Akinci. Haluk Bayraktar ...

Tanks

T-90S (Saudi Arabia)

Programme Background.  The status of the Saudi Arabian T-90 deal is unclear, it is possible that these tanks may be purchased to replace stocks of ...

Loitering munitions

Shahed-136 [Russia]

Programme Background Iran's Involvement On 11 July 2022, according to US intelligence, Jake Sullivan, US National Security Advisor, announced during a statement that the Iranian ...

Loitering munitions

ZT-180 [Russia]

Programme Background Claims On 23 February 2023, DER SPIEGEL reported that, according to information it had gathered, China and Russia were negotiating the purchase of 100 ZT-180 ...

Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

T-150 (Ukraine)

Programme Background Virtual Address On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. On 3 May 2022, the UK's Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, virtually addressed the Ukrainian ...

Tanks

Leopard 2A8+ (Germany)

Programme Background Germany has operated the domestically produced Krauss-Maffei Wegmann Leopard 2 since its inception in the 1970s. Spanning now eight versions, the Leopard 2A8 is the ...

Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

Black Hornet 3 (Ukraine Aid) [UK & Norway]

Programme Background Russo-Ukraine War Since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, UAVs have proved vital to the country's defence. Consequently, as in this programme, the ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

Quantix Recon (Ukraine)

Programme Background April Meeting In mid-April, just shy of two months after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, the Ambassador and the Defence Attaché at the Embassy of Ukraine met ...

Tanks

Merkava Mk3 (Cyprus)

Programme Background Following the announced donation of 41 T-80U/UK tanks to Ukraine, Cyprus is actively seeking a replacement MBT for its Armed Forces. Cyprus offered ...

Frigates

Admiral Gorshkov Class (Project 22350) (1 - 8)

Programme Background The Admiral Gorshkov-class is to consist of between 15 to 20 stealth frigates being built the Severnaya Verf shipyard in St. Petersburg for ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

Bayraktar TB2 (Latvia)

Programme Background Factory Visit On 7 June 2021, Baykar's official Twitter account announced that the Latvian Minister of Defence, Artis Pabrikis, had visited the Baykar ...

Frigates

Admiral Gorshkov Class (Project 22350) (9 – 20)

Programme BackgroundThe Admiral Gorshkov class is to consist of between 15 to 20 stealth frigates being built the Severnaya Verf shipyard in St. Petersburg for ...

Frigates

Admiral Grigorovich Class (Project 11356M)

Although the Russian Navy are focusing their efforts on corvettes due to the difficulties in constructing larger vessels, they are still attempting to bring some ...

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 - scout/light attack

Light Combat Helicopter (India - Air Force)

Programme Background Requirement India's requirement for light attack helicopters capable of operating at high altitudes became apparent during the 1999 Kargil War. Originally planned to reach ...

Tanks

T-80UD

The 125mm-armed T-80UD MBT is a variant of the T-80 which was in production in Ukraine when the Soviet Union broke up in 1991. An ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

Supercam S350/S350F

The Supercam S350/S350F is a mini fixed-wing that Supercam Unmanned Systems Group manufactures. The Russian UAV features a modular design and has been primarily designed ...

Transport

An-140

The An-140 is a light turboprop military transport aircraft developed from the An-140 regional airliner, which first flew in September 1997. It is designed to ...

Loitering munitions

AQV 100 Scalpel

The AQV 100 Scalpel, or AQV-100, is a low-cost loitering munition manufactured by One Way Aerospace.  The drone is operated using a first-person view and ...

Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

Mini 2

The Mini 2 is a micro rotary-wing drone from DJI. It features a 3-axis gimbaled 12MP camera for photographs and 4k/30fps for video capture. Shephard believes ...

Loitering munitions

Shahed-136

The Shahed-136 is a loitering munition manufactured by Iran. The aircraft follows a delta-wing configuration and is launched through a Rocket-Assisted Take-Off (RATO) method, with the rocket being ...

Fighter - ground attack

Su-25

The Su-25 (NATO reporting name Frogfoot) is a single-seat ground attack aircraft developed for close combat air support missions. Production of the Su-25 began in ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

Orlan-10/10E

Developed by the Russia-based Special Technology Center, the Orlan-10 is a medium-range UAS with many variants, such as the 10E, an export version introduced in 2017. The ...

Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

Matrice 300 RTK

The Matrice 300 RTK is a rotary-wing UAV manufactured by DJI. Despite being primarily aimed at industrial applications, militaries utilise it for ISR tasks.  In ...

Fighter - air superiority

MiG-29

The MiG-29 (NATO reporting name Fulcrum) is an air superiority fighter aircraft designed to engage air targets in any weather, day and night.  The production ...

Transport

An-22

The largest transport aircraft of the time, the An-22 Antei (NATO reporting name Cock) is a heavy military transport aircraft developed by Antonov in the ...

Transport

An-148

Developed by Antonov, the An-148 is intended for passenger, mixed cargo-passenger and cargo transport operations for both military and civilian roles. Its maiden flight took ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

Shahed-149 / Gaza

The Gaza, or the Shahed-149, is a HALE UCAV manufactured in Iran. Unveiled on 21 May 2021 by Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolution ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

Eleron T-16

The Eleron T-16, or Valdai, is a small fixed-wing Russian drone.  Multiple media outlets in August 2023 reported that the first Russian Eleron T-16 had ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

Zala 421-16E2

The Zala 421-16E2 is a fixed-wing UAV designed for ship- or land-based reconnaissance and surveillance, real-time target acquisition and bomb damage assessment.  The flying-wing platform ...