Land Warfare

Upgraded MLRS set for Finland after US State Department approves $395 million deal

2nd August 2023

The US State Department has approved the potential sale of a M270A2 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) upgrade to Finland, enhancing the country's capability and strengthening NATO alliance. The estimated cost is $395 million.

Defence Notes

Rheinmetall buys Expal Systems to expand ammunition production to meet booming orders

1st August 2023

Rheinmetall has finalised its acquisition of Expal Systems, significantly boosting its ammunition production capacity and strengthening Rheinmetall's position as a NATO supplier and enhancing its product portfolio.

Land Warfare

US DoD announces additional weapons and support for Ukraine

26th July 2023

The US DoD has authorised $400 million more in security assistance for Ukraine, including air defence munitions, artillery, armoured vehicles and anti-armour weapons, in support of operations against Russian forces.

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 ...

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 ...

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 - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

Matrice 300 RTK

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

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 ...