Market update
“Capital follows confidence” as defence courts private money
24th September 2026
Outside investment and the direction in which venture money flows may reveal what defence will buy years before formal programmes begin.
Read the latest uncrewed systems news from our team of expert journalists and analysts, giving you the 'so what' behind the latest headlines.
24th September 2026
Outside investment and the direction in which venture money flows may reveal what defence will buy years before formal programmes begin.
24th September 2026
Dassault’s latest Rafale trials join Gripen E and F-16 testing as developers explore how artificial intelligence could support and control combat aircraft.
At DSEI 2025, Red Cat outlines its expansion from UAVs into uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), positioning itself as a multi-domain defence provider spanning land, sea, and air.
Learn about the portfolio of sensors and effectors for the complete counter-UAS mission at Raytheon, an RTX business.
23rd September 2026
The Department of National Defence expects initial contracts to deliver thousands of uncrewed systems, but has yet to establish the quantities, capability mix or deadline behind Ottawa’s promised tenfold expansion.
23rd September 2026
Quantum Systems has launched into the maritime domain with Seavex and Subvex, aiming to close a Baltic Sea ISR gap opened by infrastructure sabotage.
23rd September 2026
The company told Shephard that Ukraine is operating modified Protector weapon stations originally supplied for armoured vehicles, with human operators authorising engagements from hundreds of kilometres away.
17th September 2026
The US Air Force is evaluating demonstrators for uncrewed cargo missions as it considers logistics requirements across the Pacific and other contested environments.
17th September 2026
Australia’s mine countermeasure capability remains in flux as the Huon-class nears retirement, but accelerated investment in autonomous systems is opening a path for industry.
16th September 2026
Between 2026 and 2032, almost a quarter of EU aircraft spending is expected to come from Germany. While crewed programmes seek modernisation and replacement, uncrewed opportunities look to introduce entirely new capabilities, with both high...
16th September 2026
European counter-drone developers are securing early orders in the Middle East while slow domestic acquisition processes threaten to redirect production capacity, expertise and investment away from Europe.
16th September 2026
At its technology summit in London, attended by Shephard, Thales UK examined the importance of speed to delivery, the growing focus on cross-domain capabilities and how procurement reform could be crucial for future battlefield advantage.
15th September 2026
Two new uncrewed aircraft concepts target very different US military requirements, from massed long-range strike to autonomous logistics. Shephard spoke with executives from Swarm Aero, Textron Aviation and Merlin Labs at this year's AFA Ai...
14th September 2026
While the headlines remain dominated by the use of drones for combat operations in Ukraine and other conflicts, there are emerging use cases where the technology could usefully feed back into areas and missions outside the war zone.
10th September 2026
The bilateral agreement between the UK and Estonia comes as both countries explore how dispersed troops, drones, digital targeting, anti-tank weapons and increasingly long-range fires can complement the combat mass traditionally provided by...
9th September 2026
Japan’s FY2027 defence budget backs stand-off strike, a 17-aircraft MQ-9B buy and a declared bid to lead the world in uncrewed maritime assets, alongside new frigates, submarines and support ships.
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