• Naval Warfare

  UK and France signal shift to autonomous helicopters to boost naval power

  16th January 2026

  Recent developments in France and the UK highlight how autonomous helicopters are becoming central to naval force design as navies seek to integrate crewed and uncrewed systems at sea.

• Naval Warfare

  Ireland’s strategic cable role grows as naval capacity falls behind

  21st August 2026

  Around 75% of the northern hemisphere’s undersea cables transit Irish waters, but personnel shortfalls and a stalled multirole vessel programme leave patrol capacity in question.

• Naval Warfare

  Critical infrastructure protection fuels growth in maritime counter-drone market

  9th July 2026

  Operational lessons are pushing navies towards counter-uncrewed aerial systems at sea, creating a fast-emerging industrial opportunity for radar and effector makers.

• Land Warfare

  NATO’s Crystal Arrow factors in Ukrainian UGV lessons as European interest grows

  19th May 2026

  One goal of NATO’s Exercise Crystal Arrow was to identify the potential uses of uncrewed ground vehicles – as seen on the Ukrainian battlefield – and put platforms into the hands of users.

• Land Warfare

  Indian Army’s new battle blueprint takes shape

  23rd January 2026

  The Indian Army’s modernisation plans reflect the lessons learned from ongoing conflicts and threats as it continues its push for indigenous capabilities.

• Naval Warfare

  US Navy to acquire micro-uncrewed underwater vehicles for ISR and coastal data collection

  22nd December 2025

  The Naval Supply Systems Command is seeking authorised resellers of JaiaBot uncrewed underwater vehicles and multivehicle pods. The platforms will support undergraduate education at the US Naval Academy.

• Naval Warfare

  How will the Canadian Coast Guard’s transfer to the DND umbrella affect its capabilities?

  4th December 2025

  By joining the defence department, the coast guard will need to acquire new solutions and adapt its in-service capabilities to ensure interoperability with the Canadian Armed Forces.

• Air Warfare

  Singapore’s Hermes 900 buy to enhance multi-domain ISR capabilities

  20th November 2025

  Drawing on its endurance and substantial payload capacity, the Hermes 900 would provide a boost to Singapore’s ISR capabilities, particularly in the maritime domain.

• Naval Warfare

  UK DIP: Royal Navy bets on defence technology over bigger fleets

  7th July 2026

  The Royal Navy’s transition towards a hybrid fleet could prove to be less about building more hulls and more about delivering the autonomous technologies, AI and digital integration that will support future maritime operations.

• Land Warfare

  Textron unveils a smaller, low-cost variant of the Ripsaw family of UGVs

  29th April 2026

  Ripsaw M1 has been designed to support the US Marine Corps’ littoral missions by carrying diverse types of payloads and performing multiple missions. Shephard spoke with Textron to find out more.

• Land Warfare

  DroneShield signs agreements and US contract in the face of surging demand

  30th June 2026

  DroneShield has been at the forefront of CUAS capability despite being founded only 12 years ago. The company’s early move into the counter-drone arena has put it on the crest of the rapidly expanding technology field.

• Naval Warfare

  Babcock onshores 85% of Canada’s submarine supply chain as it eyes future CPSP programme

  30th July 2026

  By moving most of the Royal Canadian Navy’s submarine supply chain into Canada, Babcock Canada is driving to strengthen sovereign sustainment capabilities while preparing to compete to maintain the future Canadian Patrol Submarine Project.

• Air Warfare

  September crewed air review: established platforms retain their grip on the market

  30th September 2026

  With many next-generation capabilities still years from operational readiness, several of the month’s largest developments demonstrated that governments remain willing to invest heavily in aircraft with proven capabilities and established support networks.

• Defence Notes

  UK urged to prioritise sea, air and space over heavy armour

  21st September 2026

  A report from the Council on Geostrategy argues the UK should move away from a traditional balanced force and shift investment to naval, air and space capabilities, backed by a larger fleet of attack submarines and deeper AUKUS integration.

• Naval Warfare

  First Canadian River-class destroyer to have its keel laid in June

  12th May 2026

  Currently at the block fabrication and construction stage, the HMCS Fraser’s keel-laying ceremony is scheduled to take place next month as a step towards increasing the Royal Canadian Navy's anti-submarine and air defence capabilities.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Naval: Combat Management Systems

  Naval: Combat Management Systems | Multirole Underwater Seabed Surveillance Ship (MU3S) [Italy]

  In June 2024, during a presentation provided at the NATO Maritime Security Centre of Excellence (MARSEC COE), the Italian Navy detailed the new capabilities it ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  Naval: shipboard communication systems | Multirole Underwater Seabed Surveillance Ship (MU3S) [Italy]

  In June 2024, during a presentation provided at the NATO Maritime Security Centre of Excellence (MARSEC COE), the Italian Navy detailed the new capabilities it ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Multirole Underwater Seabed Surveillance Ship (MU3S) [Italy]

  Programme background Requirements According to the presentation provided by the Italian Navy, the MultiroleUnderwater Seabed Surveillance Ship (MU3S) will:operate a wide range of uncrewed systems, ...

• Maritime patrol

  C295 MPA [Angola]

  Programme Background Requirement Angola uses a mix of Dornier Do-28s, A-29s and EMB-312 Tucanos for maritime surveillance duties. The country's dedicated maritime patrol capability was ...

• Maritime patrol

  Dornier 228 MPA - India

  Programme Background In October 2014, the Defence Acquisition Council of India approved RS.1850 core ($302 million) for the purchase of 12 Dornier 288 maritime surveillance ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Surveillance & Maritime Drones (Ukraine Aid) [UK]

  Programme Background 2024/2025 Military Aid Package On 12 January 2024, the UK government announced it would provide Ukraine with £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) in military ...

• Maritime patrol

  AVSIMAR (France)

  Background In November 2018, the French MoD announced that it awarded a contract for the detailed definition study of the future surveillance and maritime intervention ...

• ISR/special mission, Maritime patrol

  C295 MPAs/MSAs [Spain]

  Programme Background Required to replace Spain's existing P-3M Orion fleet set to reach OSD in the mid-late 2020s, Airbus' C295W has been selected as the replacement ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton [NATO]

  Background NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum During the July 2026 NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum in Ankara, Türkiye, NATO announced that Denmark, Finland, Germany and Norway ...

• Maritime patrol

  Maritime Patrol Aircraft Procurement [Italy]

  Background Requirement history In an appearance before the Italian parliament’s Foreign and Defence Affairs Committee on 14 July 2022, Italian Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), ...

• Sealift/replenishment vessels

  Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance (MROS) Ship [UK]

  Background Requirements The 2021 Defence Command Paper, Defence in a competitive age, outlined the plan to develop a new Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance (MROS) vessel to ...

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) services [USN]

  In April 2026, AeroVironment (AV) and Shield AI announced that they had been selected to compete for a US$800 million task order to provide Contractor-Owned, ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) services [USN]

  In April 2026, AeroVironment (AV) and Shield AI announced that they had been selected to compete for a US$800 million task order to provide Contractor-Owned, ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | Multi-Mission Aircraft (1-14) [Canada]

  The objective of the Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft project is to equip the Canadian Armed Forces with a long-range manned Command, Control, Communications and Computers (C4) and ...

• Data links

  Data links | Multi-Mission Aircraft (1-14) [Canada]

  The objective of the Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft project is to equip the Canadian Armed Forces with a long-range manned Command, Control, Communications and Computers (C4) and ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Land: battlefield and ground surveillance radar

  Blighter B400 Series Radars

  Blighter B400-series radars are long-range movement detection sensors for fixed and mobile surveillance applications. Modular construction provides azimuth e-scan angles from 90° for a single ...

• Land: battlefield and ground surveillance radar

  Blighter Explorer Nexus

  In February 2017, Blighter Surveillance Systems announced the development of the Blighter Explorer Nexus, an integrated, battery-operated, man-portable radar/camera surveillance system designed for rapid deployment. ...

• Land: battlefield and ground surveillance radar, Land: coastal surveillance radars

  A400 Series Radars

  The A400 is a series of electronic scanning, modular air security radars manufactured by Blighter Surveillance Systems. It is designed to provide reliable, slow and small ...

• Land: battlefield and ground surveillance radar

  Orbiter

  Orbiter is a Ku band ground surveillance radar developed by Blighter. The system employs 15.7 to 17.2 GHz  E-scan Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) Doppler Ground ...

• Land: coastal surveillance radars

  Blighter C400

  The C400-series radar is a coastal surveillance and security radar manufactured by Blighter. The system is based on the company's B400 ground surveillance systems.  It ...

• CUAS - hybrid effector systems

  AUDS

  The Anti-UAV Defence System (AUDS) is designed to disrupt and neutralise UAVs engaged in hostile airborne surveillance and potentially malicious activity. The AUDS combines directional ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  Surveillance Systems Integration

  HISS has designed and installed complete mission systems in 24 countries around the world. These include a range of rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft, rugged ground ...

• Sea: sonar systems

  Sphere Passive Surveillance

  Sphere Passive Surveillance is an advanced, fully integrated sonar system designed to meet the mission requirements of modern conventional submarines. It was developed by ELAC Sonar.  The system is ...

• Land: vehicle surveillance/target acquisition systems

  Hawkeye Land Surveillance Systems

  Launched at DSEI 2015, the Chess Dynamics Hawkeye family of multi-sensor surveillance systems is designed to provide short- to extended-range optical surveillance and target acquisition ...

• Sea: weapon training

  IS Coastal Surveillance Simulator

  Image Soft unveiled its new IS Coastal Surveillance Simulator (IS CSS) at UDT Europe in May 2017. The IS CSS features simulated distance measurement and ...

• Land: air defence radar

  3D Primary Surveillance Radar

  The Primary Surveillance Radar (PSR) 3D is part of the Lanza family of 3D radar systems. It has been designed especially for airport and air ...

• Land: battlefield and ground surveillance radar

  SR Hawk Ground Surveillance Radar

  The SR Hawk surveillance radar provides continuous 360° surveillance of the ground, ports and harbours and airspace. It detects personnel, land vehicles, marine vessels, avian ...

• EO/IR systems, Sea: ship surveillance and fire control systems

  Ship Surveillance and Fire Control

  L3 produces a range of IR systems with thermal sensitivity that meet naval specifications for surveillance, reconnaissance and target acquisition. They can be installed in ...

• Land: battlefield and ground surveillance radar

  Retinar PTR Perimeter Surveillance Radar

  The Retinar PTR Perimeter Surveillance Radar is a medium-range radar system developed by the Turkish defence manufacturer Meteksan Savunma Sanayi. It is designed for the ...

• Land: battlefield and ground surveillance radar

  Retinar OPUS Perimeter Surveillance Radar

  The Retinar OPUS Perimeter Surveillance Radar is a multifunctional surveillance system developed by the Turkish defence manufacturer Meteksan Savunma Sanayi. It's design is based on ...