• Naval Warfare

  No easy options: Australia's navy faces complex surface fleet choices

  14th September 2023

  As part of Australia’s Defence Strategic Review (DSR), a report into the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN’s) future surface fleet force structure was directed to be completed separately. Shephard examines its likely outcomes and how Australia might balance capability with affordability

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Third order for German 2-in-1 drone for Ukraine

  1st June 2023

  On 31 May, Quantum Systems announced that the Ukrainian MoD had ordered 300 additional Vector drones under a third order that the German government is funding.

• Air Warfare

  Clear skies ahead: Royal Air Force Typhoons to receive advanced radar and EW upgrade

  5th July 2023

  The ECRS Mk2 radar brings advanced electronic warfare capabilities and potential weapon integration opportunities to the Royal Air Force's multi-mission fighter.

• Land Warfare

  NZ Army to more closely align with Australian Army via Plan ANZAC

  14th June 2023

  The New Zealand Army has decided to closely align itself and cooperate far more closely with its Australian counterpart.

• Defence Helicopter

  Paris Air Show: Bell to deliver virtual cockpit and prototype aircraft for US Army's FLRAA

  23rd June 2023

  With the protest procedure concluded for the US Army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft competition, Bell and the service have resumed work, focussing on the success of the programme.

• Air Warfare

  Bangladesh Army seeks family of UAVs

  7th June 2023

  The Bangladesh Army is seeking some commonality in a family of new UAVs that will serve for the next 15 years.

• Training

  Podcast: The evolving landscape of military simulation and training technologies

  25th April 2023

  This week on the Shephard Defence Podcast, we explore the evolution of military simulation and training technologies, including advancements in cloud computing, networked training, and the increasing use of simulation in response to changing military demands.

• Air Warfare

  Lockheed Martin F-35 deliveries at risk as TR-3 testing delays cause setbacks

  13th June 2023

  Newly produced F-35 fighter jets could be stored while awaiting the completion of a critical avionics upgrade validation by the Pentagon.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  IMDEX 2023: Flyby and Thales look to further Jackal development after successful missile firing

  4th May 2023

  Having successfully developed and successfully fired a Lightweight Multi-Role Missile (LMM) from the Jackal drone, Flyby Technology and Thales see the system as offering a cross-domain capability for the UK and others.

• Air Warfare

  Spanish NH90 helicopters to receive engine capable of flying with sustainable fuel

  18th May 2023

  The milestone marks an important step towards standardising SAF use in aircraft engines, contributing to short-term decarbonisation goals.

• Land Warfare

  Lockheed and Rheinmetall team up on bespoke rocket artillery system for Germany

  25th April 2023

  Lockheed Martin and Rheinmetall Defence have signed an MoU to collaborate on tailored solutions to provide Germany with a unique rocket artillery system.

• Air Warfare

  Updated: Sikorsky accepts FLRAA protest outcome, shifts focus to FARA competition

  19th April 2023

  Sikorsky has opted to take no further legal action over the US Government Accountability Office's rejection of its protest against Bell's V-280 Valor winning the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft competition.

• Training

  Indra begins delivery of fighting vehicle sim to Spanish Army

  17th May 2023

  The delivery of the combat vehicle training systems includes a first section simulator made up of four vehicle simulators to several Spanish Army bases.

• Training

  UK-led NATO battlegroup exercise demonstrates robust military power

  16th May 2023

  Exercise Spring Storm showcases the UK-led NATO Enhanced Forward Presence's robust military capabilities in a multinational exercise, bolstering defence and fostering collective security.

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy christens final Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship

  18th April 2023

  The US Navy, on 15 April, christened and launched the final Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), the future USS Cleveland.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  The Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  The Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Future Vertical Lift Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement The FVL-MS programme seeks to develop and acquire a family of systems, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, to replace rotary life aircraft utilised ...

• OPVs

  Kingston Class Replacement [Canada]

  Programme Background Requirements Under the second pillar of its shipbuilding strategy, Canada is seeking to procure an undisclosed number of small vessels (below 1000t). Part ...

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

  Large ULS-A / Aerial Logistics Connector (ALC) [USMC]

  Programme Background US Marine ULS-A programmes The US Marines are seeking a family of Unmanned Logistics Systems-Air (ULS-A), which will provide logistics and ground units with ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  KT-1B Woongbi - Indonesia

  The programme value is estimates as $30 million for the purchase of three KT-1B aircraft. The deliveries are planned to be completed in 2021. The KT-1B ...

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

  MQ-9B SkyGuardian - Forecasted Units (Belgium)

  Programme Background Strategic Vision 2030  In 2016, the Belgian MoD published its Strategic Vision 2030 report. In this, it highlighted the need for MALE reconnaissance drones ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Fleet Solid Support (FSS) (1-3) [UK]

  Programme Background Requirement The 2015 Strategic Defence & Security Review (SDSR) highlighted the requirement for three Military Afloat Reach & Sustainability (MARS) Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ...

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

  MQ-9B SkyGuardian (Belgium)

  Programme Background Contract On 26 March 2019, the US State Department announced that it had approved a possible FMS of four MQ-9B SkyGuardians for an estimated cost ...

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

  Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) [Canada]

  Programme Background Programme Inception The Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) Joint Unmanned Surveillance and Target Acquisition System (JUSTAS) project was established to procure a UAS for ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  AH-64E - Kuwait

  Programme Background According to the US State Department, the proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  T-X / T-7A Red Hawk [USAF]

  Programme Background Goal The T-X programme aims to acquire a two-seat jet trainer aircraft to replace its Northrop Grumman T-38 Talon. The programme could be worth ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  CH-47F Chinook-UAE

  The proposed deal also includes air worthiness support; spare and repair parts; communications equipment; personnel training and training equipment; site surveys; tool and test equipment; ground ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Micro VTOL [USMC]

  Programme Background Force Design 2030 The USMC Force Design 2030 is a modernisation effort to create a lighter, more agile maritime force. The update to ...

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | Kingston Class Replacement [Canada]

  Under the second pillar of its shipbuilding strategy, Ottawa is seeking a replacement for its Kingston-class OPVs. The programme is still in the very early stages of project ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Helicopter engines

  T900

  The Improved Turbine Engine Program is the US Army's effort to build a 50% more powerful and 25% more fuel-efficient engine for its Black Hawk ...

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

  V-247 Vigilant

  The V-247 Vigilant is a tiltrotor UAV from Bell. Officially introduced in 2016, it features an open modular architecture and can host several payloads. These include ...

• Helicopter engines

  T901

  The Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP) is the US Army's effort to build a 50% more powerful and 25% more fuel-efficient engine for its Black ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  AVX JMR

  AVX Aircraft proposed a compound helicopter with coaxial rotors, small wings and dual ducted-fan propulsors for the US Army’s JMR-TD FVL programme. In April 2015, ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  S-97 Raider

  The S-97 Raider helicopter is based on the five-year, company-funded X2 Technology Demonstrator project. Like the X2, the S-97 Raider will feature twin coaxial, counter-rotating ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  SB-1 Defiant

  The SB-1 Defiant is a JMR-TD aircraft. Sikorsky and Boeing announced in February 2013 that they would submit a joint proposal to build a demonstrator ...

• Military helicopters - multirole, Tiltrotors

  TR36TD

  Karem Aircraft was one of four contenders for the US Army's JMR-TD, which is a precursor to the FVL project that will replace the UH-60 ...

• SARAH

  Flying-Cam’s Special Aerial Response Automatic Helicopter (SARAH) has been designed for applications such as LIDAR, photogrammetry and surveying. Features include five flight modes, dual GPS antenna, ...

• ISR/special mission

  E-4B Nightwatch

  Developed by Boeing based on the 747-200 airliner, the E-4B Nightwatch is a special mission aircraft used as the US National Airborne Operations Centre and is ...

• Sea: tactical training

  Proteus Surface Warship CTT

  In addition to the generic Proteus Action Speed Tactical Trainer (ASTT), Kongsberg can also provide Command Team Trainers (CTT) tailored to the specific needs of ...

• SARAH 4.0

  Flying-Cam’s Special Aerial Response Automatic Helicopter (SARAH) 4.0 has been designed for applications such as LIDAR, photogrammetry and surveying. Features include dual GPS antenna, RIEGL LIDAR, ...

• Subsystems: visual

  VTTS

  The Virtual Reality Team Training System (VTTS) allows team members to interact together in one common virtual world. Every trainee uses a workstation consisting of ...

• Tiltrotors

  V-280 Valor

  Bell Helicopter Textron is developing the V-280 Valor tiltrotor for the JMR-TD FVL project. The US Army announced in August 2014 that Bell would be ...

• Major networking projects

  Project Marshall

  The Joint Military Air Traffic Services project was initiated by the UK MoD in November 2005 to identify and evaluate options for the future delivery ...

• Sea: tactical training

  SCTT

  The Submarine Combat Team Trainer (SCTT) prepares the submarine combat information centre team for its duties with the aid of simulated combat situations and environmental ...