• Digital Battlespace

  Paris Air Show: Thales unveils TrUE AI approach

  20th June 2019

  With technological innovation continuing to influence the defence industry, the growing application of AI has begun to surface. In response, Thales has presented its TrUE …

• Land Warfare

  Japan fires howitzers in Australia

  5th June 2019

  The Japan Ground Self Defense Force (JGSDF) has fired two FH-70 howitzers at the Australian Defence Force’s Shoalwater Bay Training Area during Exercise Southern Jackaroo.Southern …

• Naval Warfare

  LCS 20 delivered to USN

  25th June 2019

  The US Navy has accepted delivery of Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) 20 from Austal, to be named USS Cincinnati.  Accepted on 21 June during a …

• Naval Warfare

  Argentinian Navy OPV deliveries on the horizon

  27th June 2019

  Argentina’s naval forces should welcome the first of four OPVs from Naval Group in 2020, as work continues in the upgrade of L’Adroit in preparation …

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy pleased with industry input on Large Surface Combatant

  23rd June 2019

  The US Navy, which released two RfIs for its future Large Surface Combatant (LSC) in February 2019, has received responses from more than 30 potential …

• Defence Helicopter

  Russian MoD to get Hips on steriods

  3rd July 2019

  The Russian military is set to get ten new Mi-8AMTSh-VN Hips between 2019-2020 and they will be built at the Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant. These heavily-armed …

• Defence Notes

  Malaysian MPA and UAV programmes approved

  21st June 2019

  The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) has confirmed to Shephard that the government has given approval for the service to prepare for the acquisition of …

• Defence Notes

  Paris Air Show: Future fighter hard sell undermined by soft detail

  18th June 2019

  Two fighter jet mock-ups unveiled in a matter of minutes at Le Bourget, emboldened by the presence of political figures including French President Emmanuel Macron, left many …

• Special Operations

  Red Flag Rescue training for special forces

  12th June 2019

  US special forces worked alongside US Air Force and US Navy personnel to carry out a number of missions, ranging from rapid infiltration and exfiltration, to …

• Digital Battlespace

  Saab adds GlobalEye to Finland fighter offer

  20th June 2019

  Saab has announced that it will include two GlobalEye Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C;) aircraft as part of its Gripen offer to Finland.GlobalEye is …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  NW-44 engine logs flight hour milestone

  20th June 2019

  Northwest UAV’s NW-44 Heavy Fuel Engine has logged 1500 sorties on combat and commercial small UAS, the company announced on 20 June.The purpose-built commercial off-the-shelf …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US allocates ScanEagles for Southeast Asian nations

  4th June 2019

  The US, via its FMS scheme, is supplying a total of 34 Insitu ScanEagle systems to four partner countries in Southeast Asia. In an announcement …

• Naval Warfare

  LCS 21 launched and christened

  17th June 2019

  The US Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) 21, has been launched at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard and christened as the future USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul. …

• Digital Battlespace

  Spanish Army's soldier modernisation efforts advance

  29th May 2019

  The Spanish Foot-Soldier System (SISCAP) soldier modernisation effort will shortly enter its test readiness review (TRR) phase, Shephard has learned.  It passed its critical design review (CDR) …

• Naval Warfare

  Ford-class integrated combat system tested

  6th June 2019

  The integrated combat system for the USS Gerald R Ford has undergone final developmental testing off the coast of California.Carried out by Raytheon and the …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Loitering munitions

  Warmate (2017) [Poland]

  Background Order In November 2017, Poland ordered 100 sets of Warmate loitering munitions, each consisting of ten platforms, for a reported 100 million Polish Zloty ($26.49 ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Stryker (Sergeant Stout) [USA]

  Programme Background As part of the Army Transformation Initiative the US DoD is fundamentally reorganising the structure of the US Army. As part of this all Infantry ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Combat General Purpose Vehicle [Netherlands]

  Programme Background The Dutch military is currently modernising its armoured vehicle fleet. The Combat General Purpose Vehicle (CGPV) programme is one of several procurement programmes currently ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) Project [UK]

  Programme Background Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) Project The British Army launched the RAS project to provide the "direction required to exploit emerging technologies to ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  CV90 [Slovakia - Second Batch]

  Programme Background Requirements The Slovakian Armed Forces are currently lumbered with an ageing inventory of legacy platforms that are not interoperable with its allies and ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Mini-UAVs [Czechia]

  Programme Background Tactical UCAV Halted The effort to acquire mini-UAVs is directly linked to the Czech MoD's now-delayed procurement programme for tactical or MALE drones, such as ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  6x6 APC (Philippines)

  Programme Background The Philippine Army has identified an urgent need for new wheeled APCs, after the Battle of Marawi exposed shortcomings in its existing fleet ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  CV90 [Slovakia - First Batch]

  Programme Background Requirements The Slovakian Armed Forces are currently lumbered with an ageing inventory of legacy platforms that are not interoperable with its allies and ...

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

  Latvian Drones (2024) (Ukraine Aid) [Latvia]

  Background Ukrainian Defence Contact Group (UDCG) In January 2024, the Ukrainian Defence Contact Group (UDCG), a multi-nation organisation that coordinates military aid for Ukraine, established a drone ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6, MPVs - 4x4

  Armoured Vehicles (Ecuador)

  Programme Background In November 2022, the Ecuadorian Army confirmed it had placed an order with Elbit for 137 armoured vehicles required for military combat operations against ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  Company Level Small Uncrewed Aircraft System (SUAS) Directed Requirement (DR) [US Army]

  Programme Background Requirement The US Army approved the Co-Level SUAS DR acquisition in June 2023 to supply Brigade Combat Teams with an "immediate, commercially available capability" to ...

• MPVs - 4x4

  Interim Air Assault Vehicle (Netherlands)

  Programme Background As part of its Defence-wide Replacement Programme of Wheeled Vehicles (DVOW), the Dutch Army initiated the 12kN AASLT Air Assault Vehicle procurement programme ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  CV9035NL [Estonia]

  Programme Background In its previous National Defense Development Plans, the Estonian MoD identified the need for a mechanised infantry brigade that would enable its forces ...

• Tanks

  Leopard 2A8 [Germany - Forecast]

  Programme Background The SPD-led approach Since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany has been under consistent pressure to increase its defence spending. In the ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Puma IFV [Germany - Forecast]

  Programme Background The SPD-led approach Since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany has been under consistent pressure to increase its defence spending. In the ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Major networking projects

  Army BCT Modernisation Program Increment 1

  The US Army brigade combat team (BCT) modernisation strategy will build a mix of mobile, networked BCTs that can gain leverage from mobility, protection, information ...

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

  Aerosonde Mk 4.8 HQ FTUAS

  From the Texton family of Aerosonde UAS, the Aerosonde Mk 4.8 Hybrid Quad (HQ) FTUAS is a tactical drone purpose-built to meet the US Army's Future Vertical Lift ...

• Short Range Missile Defence Systems: 0 to 20 km range

  Initial Maneuver - SHORAD

  Unveiled at AUSA 2019, Initial Maneuver Short Range Air Defense (IM-SHORAD) is a multipurpose platform, based on the Stryker IFV, which moves and maneuvers in ...

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  CATS CTC

  The CATS Combat Training Centre (CTC) trains armed forces in simulated opposition. Features: direct-fire weapon effect simulation with laser engagement systems; area weapon effect simulation ...

• Construction vehicles

  HMEE

  The JCB High Mobility Engineer Excavator (HMEE) was originally designed to support the US Army’s Stryker brigade combat teams and has been proven on operations ...

• Armoured engineer vehicles

  M1150 ABV

  The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) project, launched by the USMC in 2002, is a joint programme to meet the requirements of both the US ...

• Armoured engineer vehicles

  JAB

  The US Army is leading the Joint Assault Bridge (JAB) project to replace legacy M60A1-based bridge launchers in service with itself and USMC with an M1-based ...

• Land: C2 simulators

  Collective Combat Training

  Thales offers a global simulation and training approach that links together various simulators to perform the full spectrum of military operations (offence, defence, stability and ...

• Land: battle management systems

  FüInfoSys Heer

  FüInfoSys Heer (Army Command and Control Information System) is the first common, integrated and mobile system of its kind in the German Army. It is ...

• Land: tactical engagement simulators

  GAMER Deployable CTC

  Saab’s GAMER Deployable Combat Training Center (CTC) is an instrumented training system, enabling a military to train on home bases and deploy worldwide for training ...

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

  RQ-7 Shadow 200

  The Shadow 200, designated RQ-7B by the US Army, is flown by the army brigade combat teams and combat aviation brigades along with the UAV ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  M3 Bradley Cavalry Fighting Vehicle

  The tracked M3 Bradley Cavalry Fighting Vehicle (CFV), developed in parallel with the M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV), equips reconnaissance units within the US ...

• Surface-to-surface missiles

  Iskander-M/E/K

  The Iskander-M (NATO reporting name: SS-26 'Stone') is a short-range ballistic missile. It was the second attempt by Russia to replace the Skud after its ...

• Subsystems: software

  Simulation-based Embedded Training Software Package

  This software package is installed in the Stryker Interim Armoured Vehicle (IAV), supporting US Army brigade combat team training requirements. It has been in service ...

• Land: COMINT and ELINT systems

  EWPMT

  Raytheon’s Electronic Warfare Planning and Management Tool (EWPMT) is a US Army programme which began in 2014, designed to support electronic warfare officers and provide ...