• Land Warfare

  Russia claims combat debut in Ukraine for Koalitsiya SPH

  21st July 2022

  Russian forces have reportedly employed the Koalitsiya SPH in Ukraine. If true, this marks the first combat use of the most modern and sophisticated artillery system in Moscow’s arsenal.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Fire Scout has a role to play in Indo-Pacific

  24th May 2022

  The MQ-8C Fire Scout rotary-wing UAV has been deployed to the Indo-Pacific region for the first time.

• Air Warfare

  KF-21 fighter performs maiden flight in South Korea

  20th July 2022

  South Korea's most expensive defence project ever achieved a milestone when the KF-21 fighter took to the air for the first time in July.

• Training

  Last Red Hawk test aircraft handed over as Saab shifts manufacturing to US

  21st June 2022

  The last T-7A Red Hawk development jet received its aft section from Sweden and was joined with the forward fuselage. All future subassembly production work will now take place at Saab’s new facility in Indiana.

• Training

  Danish T-17 to receive digital instruments upgrade

  20th June 2022

  The prototype T-17 was equipped with modern digital equipment with the purpose to future-proof the Danish Air Force’s current fleet.

• Land Warfare

  Poland advances plans for new armoured vehicles from South Korea

  8th August 2022

  Poland has released further details of its ambitious plans to stock up rapidly on new tanks and self-propelled howitzers of South Korean design, involving over 1,000 K2 MBTs and 600 K9 SPHs. Some will replace equipment supplied to Ukraine, but the bulk of production will be for expansion of the army.

• Defence Helicopter

  Airbus H145M successfully fires Spike ER2 missile

  2nd June 2022

  The first firing of the Rafael Spike ER2 anti-tank guided missile from an Airbus H145M medium helicopter follows months of integration and development of the weapon.

• Land Warfare

  Low artillery ammunition stockpiles threaten British Army readiness

  8th July 2022

  Low artillery ammunition reserves could be a pressing concern in the short term for the British Army, especially if it finds itself engaged in intense exchanges of fire similar to those seen in Ukraine.

• Land Warfare

  Sign of the times: Poland receives first Abrams M1A2 SEPv3 batch amid tank spending spree

  25th July 2022

  Poland has 250 M1A2 Abrams MBTs on order and the first batch of seven arrived in mid-July. A total of 116 M1A1 Abrams MBTs from surplus US stocks are also likely to be upgraded to the M1A2 SEPv3 standard.

• Land Warfare

  Indian Army desirous of missile-armed wheeled AFVs

  12th July 2022

  India wants to mount ATGMs on wheeled armoured vehicles, plus it continues to test an ATGM fired from a tank 120mm gun barrel.

• Land Warfare

  Bulgarian T-72M upgrade makes headway

  17th June 2022

  While much attention from the defence industry has focused on the Eurosatory 2022 exhibition in Paris, the smaller Hemus event in Bulgaria delivered its share of news earlier this month.

• Land Warfare

  Eurosatory 2022: SHORAD shortfall prompts new mobile concept from Diehl

  16th June 2022

  Sensor-to-shooter integration lies at the core of the vehicle-based IRIS-T-SLS Mk III mobile SHORAD system from Diehl, as displayed at Eurosatory 2022.

• Defence Notes

  Companies vie for JADC2 work

  4th July 2022

  USAF issues major five-year IDIQ contract to mature, demonstrate and spread the JADC2 capability across platforms and domains.

• Naval Warfare

  Incumbent loses out as Austal USA wins follow-on Offshore Patrol Cutter contract

  4th July 2022

  Austal will leverage its new steel shipbuilding facility to build up to 11 Heritage-class OPCs for the US Coast Guard.

• Training

  Is the British Army training for the right fight? (Opinion)

  22nd July 2022

  Analysts and experts will scrutinise the conflict in Ukraine for years to come, but the past few months have certainly been enough to highlight some of the gaps in the British Army’s capabilities. Are the lessons learned in the east being applied correctly?

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  MUM-T Drone [Thailand]

  Programme Background Roadmap In February 2024, the RTAF unveiled its White Paper 2024. Incorporating lessons from the Russo-Ukrainian War, the Israel-Hamas War, and other events ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Apache Adjacent UAVs [Australia]

  Background Requirement As reported by Shephard from the Australian International Airshow 2025, Australia requires a platform to support the manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) alongside the repoed 29 Apache AH-64E ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Air Launched Effect (ALE) [South Korea]

  Programme Background KF-21 Boramae Crewed Fighter The Republic of Korea's Air Force (ROKAF) plans to acquire the KF-21 Boramae fighter, replacing F-4E Phantom II and ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Air Launched Loyal Wingman [Japan]

  Programme Background Air-Launched Loyal Wingman As reported by Shephard, a 30 October 2020 contract awarded to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) meant the company would lead ...

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

  KF-21 Loyal Wingman [South Korea]

  Programme Background KF-21 Boramae Crewed Fighter The Republic of Korea’s Air Force (ROKAF) plans to acquire the KF-21 Boramae fighter, replacing F-4E Phantom II and F-5E/F fighters in the ...

• Trainer

  Hawk 127 Replacement (Future Lead-In Fighter Training System- Project Air 6002 PH1) [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirements The RAAF is seeking a future solution that provides a ‘relevant, adaptable, affordable and safe LIFTS out to 2050’ for training pilots ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Camcopter S-300 [South Korea]

  Programme Background Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) On 18 January 2023, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Northop Grumman at a ...

• Tanks

  T-90M Proryv (New-Build)

  The first contract for the T-90M was disclosed in August 2017. Comprising 30 tanks in total, it covered the upgrade of 20 T-90As to T-90M ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Kaori-X [South Korea]

  Programme Background Kaori-X South Korea's Ministry of National Defense revealed on 23 December 2021 that the indigenous Kaori-X presently under development would combine with future KF-21 Boramae fighters as ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  T-15 Armata (Forecast)

  Programme Background The first contract for 132 Armatas was signed by the Russian MoD in 2015. This will comprise sufficient T-14, T-15 heavy IFV and ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  T-15 Armata (Contracted)

  Programme Background The first contract for 132 Armatas was signed by the Russian MoD in 2015. This will comprise sufficient T-14, T-15 heavy IFV and ...

• Tanks

  Iraq T-90S MBT (First Batch)

  Programme Background Iraq has reportedly been interested in acquiring Russian equipment such as the T-90S MBT as far back as 2012, but the signing of ...

• Tanks

  T-14 Armata (Contracted)

  Programme Background The first contract for 132 Armatas was signed by the Russian MoD in 2015. This will comprise sufficient T-14, T-15 heavy IFV and ...

• Tanks

  T-14 Armata (Forecast)

  Programme Background The first contract for 132 Armatas was signed by the Russian MoD in 2015. This will comprise sufficient T-14, T-15 heavy IFV and ...

• Trainer

  T-4 Replacement [Japan]

  Programme Background The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) has been using the T-4 as an intermediate trainer jet since 1988, but now the Acquisition, Technology ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  MUM-T

  The Military Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) is a UAS in development by Korean Aerospace Industries. Showcased at Seoul ADEX 2021, the MUM-T can be launched from the ...

• Loitering munitions, Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Air Launched Effect (ALE)

  The Air-Launched Effect (ALE) is an in-development uncrewed platform from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). Shown at IDEX 2023, it is set to come in two variants, one ...

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

  Demogorgon

  In late October 2021, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) awarded Kratos Unnamed Systems Division an initial $17.68 million 12-month cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to develop an Off-Board Sensing ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Arrow

  The Arrow is a supersonic prototype UAV developed by Singapore-based Kelley Aerospace. According to the manufacturer, the 16.8t prototype will be operated as a conventional UAV, ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Uncrewed Checkmate

  At the Dubai Airshow 2021, United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), the parent company of Checkmate manufacturer Sukhoi Design Bureau, announced its intention to manufacture an uncrewed version of ...

• Loitering munitions

  Hornet IV

  Unveiled in September 2025, the Hornet IV is a development of the MQM-178 target drone designed for attack missions. Kratos and the National Chung-Shan Institute ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Koios

  Manufactured by Callen-Lenz, the Koios is a small-UAS available in both a VTOL and non-VTOL variant.  Designed for the civil and military market, as standard, ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Defender

  The Defender is a jet-powered uncrewed escort aircraft built by GA-ASI. The primary goal of the UAV is to protect high-value airborne assets, such as refuelling ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Rotor Blown Wing

  In March 2025, Sikorsky unveiled an as-yet-unnamed tail sitter small UAV, referred to as the Rotor Blown Wing. The UAV can transition between helicopter and ...

• Land: handheld NV devices, Land: handheld day observation, surveillance and targeting systems, Weapon sights for night use (image intensifiers)

  MUM-14

  The Multi-Use Mini-Monocular (MUM-14) is a modular, passive NVD designed to maintain situation awareness in a range of low-light conditions, utilising a single Gen III ...

• Data links

  Micro TMA

  Thales Micro TMA is a high-rate datalink designed for uncrewed platforms and video streaming applications from aircraft. It provides command and control functions as well ...

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

  UCAV

  Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) is developing an as-yet-unmanned UCAV to potentially operate alongside the Republic of Korea Air Force's (ROKAF) KF-21 Boramae fighter aircraft. The six-tonne drone is characterised ...

• Air: aerial targets

  BQM-34 Firebee

  The BQM-34 Firebee is an uncrewed aerial target system that the USAF and USN have used for more than 50 years. The primary mission of ...

• Military - USVs

  Marlin

  Marlin is a Turkish uncrewed surface vessel (USV) equipped with electronic warfare and other equipment that has been used on exercises with the Turkish Navy.

• Light attack, Trainer

  FA-50

  Based on the T/TA-50 trainer/light attack aircraft, the FA-50 is further developed and upgraded with a tactical data link, precision-guided munitions, and a self-protection subsystem. ...