• Air Warfare

  DSEI 2023: MBDA details CONOPS for Spear-EW stand-off jammer as MoD releases development funds

  13th September 2023

  Spear-EW, an airborne electronic warfare (EW) system under development by MBDA for use on the UK F-35 fleet, is set to receive additional funding for its rapid design phase from the MoD, the company has announced.

• Naval Warfare

  Future of the South African Navy looks bleak despite new ships entering service

  29th November 2023

  The commissioning of SAS King Shaka Zulu, a Multi-Mission Inshore Patrol Vessel, into the South African Navy masks serious problems for the service as fleet availability falls dangerously low and capability atrophies.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Royal Navy uncrewed aircraft trial marks European first

  17th November 2023

  UK flight test sees largest unmanned aircraft take off from a Royal Navy aircraft carrier.

• Land Warfare

  Swiss join new-generation Patriot missile club

  1st November 2023

  US officials have finalised an agreement for Switzerland to buy Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missiles.

• Naval Warfare

  France and Italy's Horizon-class destroyers to receive mid-life upgrade

  1st August 2023

  The Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) has awarded Naviris and Eurosam a €1.5 billion ($1.65 billion) contract for the mid-life upgrade (MLU) of the French Navy’s Forbin-class destroyers and Italian Navy’s Orrizonte-class destroyers.

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2023: MVRsimulation launches mixed reality Sand Table

  29th November 2023

  MVRsimulation's Sand Table users could operate physically emulated military equipment through the with imagery-correlated terrain.

• Land Warfare

  Detroit Arsenal delivers bumper month for Oshkosh Defense

  23rd November 2023

  Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, has selected Oshkosh Defense for multiple deals in November including contracts for medium equipment trailers and JLTVs for domestic forces and international allies.

• Air Warfare

  Brazil receives first fully operational upgraded E-99M AEW&C

  24th November 2023

  The updated E-99M aircraft features an updated Erieye Radar and C2 systems, as well as new EW and Identification, friend or foe (IFF) systems.

• Air Warfare

  Dubai Airshow 2023: GA-ASI and Edge forge MQ-9B weapon integration partnership on future UAE drones

  13th November 2023

  The partnership between Edge and General Atomics aims to concentrate on incorporating precision-guided munitions and guided-glide weapon systems onto forthcoming MQ-9Bs, provided that the Gulf Country gains access to the platform.

• 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.

• Air Warfare

  Insight: What does the future hold for the Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft?

  11th September 2023

  The Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 3A has been adopted by Middle Eastern air forces as well as the European partner nations. Shephard Defence Insight analyses its next-generation radar, cockpit technology and future upgrade plans.

• Air Warfare

  Australia increases Ukraine support and deploys Wedgetail to Germany

  30th October 2023

  Australia has committed AUD910 million (US$579 million) to Ukraine after increasing its contribution with the provision of more equipment.

• Air Warfare

  Roke to launch C-UAS system and showcases AI architecture on Boston Dynamics UGV

  3rd November 2023

  Roke will attempt to integrate systems and its own architecture to create a C-UAS system ready for launch in 2024.

• Air Warfare

  Germany's expansion of P-8 Poseidon fleet casts further doubt on Franco-German MAWS

  20th November 2023

  The recent approval by the German Budget Committee to acquire three additional P-8s has ignited further concerns about potential setbacks in the joint Franco-German Maritime Airborne Warfare System (MAWS) initiative.

• Air Warfare

  Slovenia secures second C-27J Spartan tactical transport aircraft

  23rd November 2023

  A new agreement between Leonardo, the Italian government and Slovenia has marked the procurement of a second C-27J Spartan medium tactical transport aircraft for Slovenia, following an earlier deal signed in March 2022.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Light attack, Trainer

  IAR-99 Replacement (Romania)

  On 29 August 2017, Leonardo announced that the IAR-99 trainer technology demonstrator (TD) will be fitted with company's Vixen 500E AESA radar. The Vixen 500E AESA ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-16V [Türkiye]

  Programme Background Requirement Turkish Air Force ordered 100 F-35A aircraft as a partner nation, however, the country was removed from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  AW101-Norway

  AgustaWestland is also providing initial support and training services, including spares at each of the operating bases and aircrew training. It will then provide performance ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Horizon 2 - Multirole Fighter Programme [Philippines]

  Programme Background Requirement The Philippines wants a fighter able to perform score missions such as air-to-air combat, air-to-ground tasks and reconnaissance, including over water. It ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Project Halcon I [Spain]

  Programme Background The Spanish Air Force began requirements assessments, although potential suppliers including Boeing (F/A-18E/F), Lockheed Martin (F-35), Airbus-BAE-Leonardo (Eurofighter Typhoon) are already engaged with ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Multi Role Combat Aircraft [Bangladesh]

  Programme Background The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) continues its quest to acquire a new multirole combat aircraft. Under the country’s Forces Goal 2030 plan, which ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-15SA Saudi Arabia

  The aircraft deal includes 170 APG-63(v)3 AESA radar sets, 193 F-110-GE-129 Improved Performance Engines, 100 M61 Vulcan Cannons, 338 Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems amongst ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-16V (9-16) [Bulgaria]

  Programme Background In April 2022, the US State Department approved a potential FMS worth $1.673 million to procure eight F-16Vs to Bulgaria. The aircraft are ...

• Fighter - multirole

  H-X Fighter Programme (Finland)

  Programme Background In June 2020, Finnish MoD announced that the Hornet fleet life extension programme is neither cost-effective solution nor sufficient in terms of Finland’s ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-35A Denmark

  Denmark joined the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program in 2002 during the System Development and Demonstration phase and has influenced technical elements of the ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) [Japan]

  Programme Background Shephard notes that GCAP's Japanese, British and Italian components are tracked in separate entries. Programme Timeline 2020: The Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency of Japan issued ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Project Quadriga [Germany]

  Programme Background Under Project Quadriga, Berlin is seeking a replacement for its 33 Typhoon Tranche 1. Furthermore, Germany is offering its Tranche 1 fleet to ...

• Fighter - multirole

  Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA)

  Programme Background Five prototypes will be manufactured for developmental tests. Indian Air Force will buy 36 AMCA Mark-I aircraft from 2029-30. The Mark-I configuration will ...

• AEW&C

  Airbus A330 AWACS (India)

  Programme Background India is planning to increase its AEW&C; capabilities with indigenous radar systems. IAF has requested to procure six Airbus 330 airliner to host ...

• Frigates

  FFX Batch III - 1 [South Korea]

  Programme Background The new Chungnam-class (FFX Batch III) will consist of six new improved anti-aircraft detection vessels to replace the ageing escort and patrol ships ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-83 SABR

  The AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) is an active electronically scanned array (AESA) fire control radar being developed by Northrop Grumman using its own ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-16V Block 70/72

  The F-16 Block 70/72, also referred to as the F-16V, is a fourth-generation multirole fighter aircraft. It is the latest version of Lockheed Martin's F-16 ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  Raven ES-05

  The Raven ES-05 is an AESA fire-control radar developed by Leonardo in close collaboration with Saab for the Gripen E/F. It features a repositionable AESA ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-81

  AN/APG-81 is operating in the X-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) fire control radar designed by Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems for the F-35 “Lightning” all-weather ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-63(V)2

  The AN/APG-63(V)2 is a significant radar upgrade for the U.S. Air Force F-15C aircraft. This upgrade replaces the mechanically-scanned antenna (MSA) with an AESA antenna,  ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-82(V)1

  The AN/APG-82(V)1 is an X-band active electronically scanned array radar system that combines the AN/APG-79 processor with the AESA antenna of the AN/APG-63(V)3. The system ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-68

  The AN/APG-68 is a pulse-Doppler radar with increased range, modes, and resolution compared to the APG-66 radar. The F-16C/D Block 25 was the first Fighting ...

• Air: air combat simulators

  USAF F-16 Training System

  L3Harris Technologies is supporting approximately 180 F-16 pilot and maintenance trainers as part of the USAF’s F-16 Training System. Programme contract options extend through 2019. ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-76

  The AN/APG-76 is a Ku-band multimode radar system providing high-resolution synthetic aperture radar capabilities with moving target indicator overlays. The system was developed primarily for ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-16C/D Block 50/52/52+

  A member of the F-16 Fighting Falcon family, the F-16C/D Block 50/52 ('C' single-seat, 'D' dual-seat) is a third-generation multirole fighter that was rolled out ...

• Fighter - multirole

  F-16C/D Block 25, 30/32, 40/42

  The F-16C/D ('C' one-seat, 'D' two-seat designation) is the second generation of the F-16 Fighting Falcon family. The production of the F-16C/D began in 1983 with ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-79

  The AN/APG-79 is an agile beam radar with a solid-state digital array that scans at nearly the speed of light, enabling detection and tracking of ...

• Air: Displays

  F-16 Center Pedestal Display

  Produced by Elbit Systems of America, the F-16 Center Pedestal Display (CPD) provides a high-resolution colour display that replaces several legacy instruments on F-16 aircraft. 

• Air: air combat simulators

  Air Combat Training

  Boeing has experience in delivering training for fixed-wing air combat platforms including F-15C/E, F-16, F/A-18E/F, EA-18G, F-22 and MV/CV-22.

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-77

  The AN/APG-77 is a low-probability-of-intercept fire control radar for the F-22 Raptor. It is designed to significantly improve capability in air-to-air combat, allowing the pilot ...