• Uncrewed Vehicles

  ESEN Gördes demonstrates S-100 UAS navigation system

  25th July 2023

  The ESEN GöRDES vision based navigation system was successfully demonstrated on the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 UAS, showcasing its capability to operate in GPS-denied environments and offering a jam and spoofing resilient platform.

• Land Warfare

  Fischer Panda UK unveils APU produced for Ajax vehicles

  12th September 2023

  Fischer Panda UK demonstrated its AGT 8000 PVM-NE auxiliary power unit (APU) for the first time at DSEI 2023. It was developed and contracted for the Ajax armoured fighting vehicle family, as an alternative to the originally sourced APU from Rolls-Royce.

• Training

  Exclusive: Full list of British Army $1 billion collective training programme bidders revealed

  23rd November 2023

  Internal documents obtained by Shephard have revealed a covert line up of companies, including Elbit Systems, joining the competition for the British Army Collective Training System (ACTS, previously known as CTTP).

• Air Warfare

  US Air Force strategic programmes to be affected by budgetary uncertainty

  15th November 2023

  The operation under continuing resolutions can impact the schedule of several US Air Force efforts including the B-21, AMRAAM and C3BM.

• Land Warfare

  BvS 10 all-terrain weapon platform bares its teeth at DSEI 2023

  14th September 2023

  BAE Systems is touting the high-mobility weapon-carrying capabilities of the BvS 10, showcasing an example of the tracked all-terrain vehicle fitted with Moog's Flexible Mission Platform at DSEI 2023.

• Air Warfare

  Austria to install pilot breath monitor on Typhoon fighter jets to provide hypoxia warning

  1st September 2023

  Insta has collaborated with the Austrian Air Force to equip its Eurofighter Typhoons with the IPBAM hypoxia early warning system, improving pilot safety.

• Land Warfare

  South Korea displays L-SAM at Seoul ADEX for first time

  17th October 2023

  Worried by the proliferation of new North Korean missile types, South Korea is going all out to improve its Korea Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system.

• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop Grumman achieves design milestone for US Pacific missile tracking

  5th June 2023

  The company's Relay Ground Station-Asia for the US Naval Information Warfare Center, to be stationed in Guam, has passed its preliminary design review.

• Land Warfare

  USMC experiments with Mission Master UGVs in Australia

  6th August 2023

  The USMC trialled Mission Master UGVs during the recent Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023 in Australia.

• Air Warfare

  Aeronautics and CRFS collaborate to integrate RF technology on Aerostar UAV

  21st July 2023

  Aeronautics and CRFS have successfully integrated RF technology into the Aerostar UAV range, enhancing its SIGINT/ELINT capabilities.

• Air Warfare

  Insight: How will the US Navy keep its EA-18G Growler EW aircraft flying until 2046?

  14th September 2023

  The carrier-based EA-18G Growler entered service in 2010 and is intended to remain in service until 2046. Shephard Defence Insight analyses the key operational technologies on the aircraft and the upgrade path needed to keep it flying and effective for another two decades.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Updated: Türkiye unveils Ulaq Kama, an armed expendable USV

  28th July 2023

  Ares Shipyard and Meteksan Defence showcase Ulaq Kama, an armed expendable USV featuring explosive payload and ISR capabilities. The vessel's swift production hints at its potential role in asymmetric warfare, with graphics resembling Ukrainian systems.

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2023: BAE Systems readies new versions of Armored Multi Purpose Vehicle with European exports in mind

  13th September 2023

  BAE Systems is displaying the US Army's Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle at DSEI for the first time and is evolving new variants with an eye on the European M113 APC replacement market .

• Land Warfare

  Nothing Goes Unseen: Raytheon’s LTAMDS Radar Enhances Situational Awareness Amidst Increasing Aerial Threats (Studio)

  13th November 2023

  Never before have air defenders contended with such complex, rapid and varied threats in the air environment. Raytheon’s LTAMDS radar is the system they need for this ever-changing threatscape.

• Naval Warfare

  How the Canadian Surface Combatant programme can recover from COVID-19 delays

  23rd August 2023

  The Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) is working with Irving Shipyard to manage the lingering impact of COVID-19 on the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) project.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Loitering munitions

  Long Range One-way Platforms [US]

  Solicitation In October 2024, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) released a solicitation for long-range, one-way platforms. The DIU noted recent conflicts highlighted the asymmetric impact of low-cost, ...

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

  DTIF GUARD (Ireland)

  Programme Background The Problem As stated by the project's website, Ireland is the "softest target in EU for smugglers" due to its 3171km of coastline, ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Seeker 400 - First Batch (UAE)

  Programme Background The UAE has a long history of transactions with Denel Dynamics. The country has been purchasing various Seeker systems from as far back ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  NH90 NFH-Italy

  Programme Background  The Italian Navy has taken delivery of its first NH90 NFH helicopter in Full Operational Capability (or Step B) configuration in November 2013. ...

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

  CH-4 (First Batch) [Pakistan]

  Programme Background First Batch According to the Pakistan Exim Trade Info website, five aircraft were delivered to the country on 15 January 2021. According to a ...

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

  Micro UAV (Argentina)

  Programme Background Tender The EA and MoD in April 2021 announced Public Tender 0090/2021 (UOC: 84/135) which saw the General Directorate of Material begin the process ...

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

  CH-4 (Second Batch) [Pakistan]

  Programme Background First Batch According to the Pakistan Exim Trade Info website, five aircraft were delivered to the country on 15 January 2021. According to ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  HH-60W - Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH)

  According to the FY2021 Base funding, the HH-60W helicopter unit cost is $43.2 million. The HH-60W will be capable of employment day or night, in ...

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

  Bayraktar TB2 [Pakistan]

  Programme Background Requirement Following a 2019 skirmish with India, Pakistan placed newfound importance on EW and ISR, primarily due to the significant advantage gained during that ...

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

  Wing Loong II (Pakistan)

  Programme Background Negotiations On 6 October 2018, the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) announced it would acquire 48 Wing Loong II UAVs in a social media post. ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Seeker 400 - Second Batch (UAE)

  Programme Background The UAE has a long history of transactions with Denel Dynamics. The country has been purchasing various Seeker systems from as far back ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-60M Black Hawk (Second Contact) [Croatia]

  Programme Background Western Technology With the help of the US, Croatia has attempted to improve its military technology, replacing Soviet equipment, such as the Mi-8/Mi-17. ...

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

  MQ-9A Reaper [Spain]

  Programme Background First Contract The US State Department approved a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of MQ-9 Block 5 aircraft and associated parts, equipment, and logistical ...

• Reconnaissance/patrol vehicles

  VBMT Rec Multirole Armoured Reconnaissance Vehicle

  Technical Requirements The Brazilian Army released two documents outlining the technical and operational requirements for the VBMT Rec in early 2020. These elucidate a number ...

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

  Long-Endurance UAV [US AFRICOM]

  Programme Background Ageing MQ-9A Reapers In November 2022, Shephard reported that GA-ASI would continue supporting contractor SMX with its MQ-9A after winning a $2.3 billion task ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Space: radar systems

  RISAT-1

  Radar Satellite-1 (RISAT-1) is a microwave remote-sensing satellite carrying an SAR payload operating in C band (5.35GHz), which enables imaging of surface features during both ...

• Naval: Radio and SATCOM

  OceanTRx 4MIL

  The OceanTRx 4MIL is a ruggedised maritime SATCOM solution featuring simultaneous multi-band communication and advanced antenna management capabilities.  It was introduced at the Euronaval 2022 ...

• Major networking projects

  Skynet 6 SATCOM

  Skynet 6 is designed to replace Skynet 5. The PFI contract for Skynet 5,  held by Paradigm Secure Communications and Airbus DS, ends in 2022. As ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Osprey u8 HGL

  Launched in 2023, Kymeta Osprey u8 HGL is a hybrid Geostationary/Low-Earth Orbit terminal that provides satellite communications on the move. Notably, it can be mounted ...

• Naval: Radio and SATCOM, UAS: communication systems

  Multi-Purpose Terminal (MPT)

  Orbit's Multi-Purpose Terminal (MPT) is a family of stabilised VSAT systems suitable for installation on smaller vessels and airborne platforms including uncrewed vehicles. 

• Space: radar systems, Space: satellite surveillance systems

  Radarsat-2

  Owned and operated by MDA, Radarsat-2 was launched in late 2007 as a follow-on radar satellite to Canada’s Radarsat-1. The satellite's resolution ranges from a ...

• Naval: Radio and SATCOM

  SURFSAT-L

  Produced by Thales, SURFSAT-L is a SATCOM terminal designed for medium to large surface vessels. According to the manufacturer, it is designed to achieve a ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  MONDO Satellite Terminal

  The Multi Orbit Network, Dual Operation (MONDO) Satellite Terminal is a developmental SATCOM solution that provides continuous communication links on GEO, LEO and MEO networks. ...

• Space: satellite surveillance systems

  Helios

  The Helios system consists of the Helios 2A and Helios 2B satellites, the latter of which was launched in December 2009, five years after Helios ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  Multi-Orbit Tactical Terminal

  Intelsat Multi-Orbit Tactical Terminal (MOTT) is a ruggedised terminal with a low-profile design. The vehicle-mountable terminal features an electronically steered array antenna, edge computing capabilities ...

• Data links

  GSNC

  Global Secure Network Connection (GSNC) provides a global data communications solution for military aircraft, including bomber, refuelling and transport aircraft. The GSNC system uses Iridium ...

• Space: radar systems

  ESA Sentinel-1

  Sentinel-1 is a planned constellation of four satellites with two already in orbit and two on order. They carry a payload of a C-band SAR ...

• Space: radar systems

  NISAR

  The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) is a joint programme between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to build and launch an observation ...

• Space: radar systems

  TerraSAR-X and ​TanDEM-X

  TerraSAR-X and the more advanced TanDEM-X (TerraSAR-X add-on for digital elevation measurement) are designed to operate closely together to generate an accurate 3D image of ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  RIM-161 Standard Missile-3

  The RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) is a ship-based, surface-to-air missile designed to intercept short-range ballistic missiles. It is also able to perform anti-satellite duties ...