• 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.

• Air Warfare

  Philippines ponders SAR helicopters, and Chinooks instead of Mi-171s

  25th August 2022

  In some areas, the rotary-winged fleet of the Philippine military has progressed, but in others, it has stagnated or even reversed.

• Defence Helicopter

  MSPO 2022: Poland surprises with size of Apache request

  12th September 2022

  Poland aims to order three times as many AH-64E attack helicopters as previously expected.

• Land Warfare

  Lockheed Martin exploring opportunity to perform M270 recapitalisation and sustainment work in UK

  9th September 2022

  Shephard has learned that Lockheed Martin is exploring opportunities to perform recapitalisation work on British Army's M270 multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) at Ampthill under plans being assessed and pending US DoD and UK MoD approval.

• Air Warfare

  Myanmar receives first Su-30SME fighters from Russia

  7th July 2022

  New Su-30SME fighters from Russia began trickling into Myanmar earlier this year.

• Land Warfare

  MSPO 2022: Hanwha Defense wants cooperation, not competition with Polish industry

  8th September 2022

  Hanwha Defense pledges to work closely with Polish partner PGZ after the two companies signed a new MoU during MSPO 2022.

• Naval Warfare

  Estonia, Finland plan to throw noose around Russian Baltic fleet

  15th August 2022

  A move by Estonia and Finland to integrate their respective coastal defence systems would turn the Gulf of Finland into an ‘internal sea’ for NATO.

• Defence Notes

  UK says Saky explosions leave Russian Navy Black Sea aviation fleet 'significantly degraded'

  12th August 2022

  Russian Black Sea naval aviation has taken a serious hit from a recent Ukrainian strike, according to analysis from the UK MoD.

• Land Warfare

  Alkon fuze guidance kit to be qualified in 2023

  16th September 2022

  Fuze guidance kit for 155mm and 140mm projectiles could also extend the range and improve the accuracy of 122mm artillery rounds.

• Digital Battlespace

  Ukrainian satellite imaging intelligence gains boost from ICEYE constellation

  19th August 2022

  ICEYE is giving the Ukrainian military access to synthetic aperture radar imaging data from its constellation of 21 satellites.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Claims of Iran drone deal highlight Russia's UAS capability gaps

  2nd August 2022

  The US National Security Advisor's statement about the supply of Iranian drones to Russia has sparked considerable attention, but is this deal viable and really wanted by Moscow?

• Land Warfare

  MSPO 2022: Mesko improves Piorun MANPADS as more orders flow in

  13th September 2022

  New and more capable versions of the Piorun MANPADS are in development even as orders continue to roll in for the baseline system, with Estonia being the newest customer.

• Defence Notes

  Accelerated introduction of new military procurement law reflects changed priorities in France

  15th August 2022

  The French government is bringing a new Military Programming Law into force two years ahead of schedule.

• Land Warfare

  US greenlights sale of Javelin Lightweight Command Launch Units to the UK

  3rd August 2022

  The US State Department has approved the possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of Javelin Lightweight Command Launch Units (LWCLUs) to the UK worth up to $300m.

• Land Warfare

  Complex urban warfare scenarios rise in importance for British Army

  18th July 2022

  Observing the ongoing war in Ukraine, UK defence experts and high-ranked officials claim that urban warfare would be a significant component in a future conflict with Russia.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

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

  Akinci [Ukraine]

  Programme Background Two Export Contracts In January 2022, the Daily Sabah reported that Baykar had "recently" signed its first export contract for the Akinci. Haluk Bayraktar ...

• Tanks

  T-90S (Saudi Arabia)

  Programme Background.  The status of the Saudi Arabian T-90 deal is unclear, it is possible that these tanks may be purchased to replace stocks of ...

• Loitering munitions

  ZT-180 [Russia]

  Programme Background Claims On 23 February 2023, DER SPIEGEL reported that, according to information it had gathered, China and Russia were negotiating the purchase of 100 ZT-180 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Shahed-136 [Russia]

  Programme Background Iran's Involvement On 11 July 2022, according to US intelligence, Jake Sullivan, US National Security Advisor, announced during a statement that the Iranian ...

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

  Vector / Scorpion (Selected) [Ukraine]

  Programme Background 500 Systems Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Quantum-Systems has provided many drones to Ukraine. Over 400 units have been provided as aid ...

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

  SkyRanger R70 (Ukraine Aid) [Canada]

  Programme Background On 19 February 2024, the Canadian Defence Minister, Bill Blair, announced that the country would donate more than 800 SkyRanger R70 UAVs to ...

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

  T-150 (Ukraine)

  Programme Background Virtual Address On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. On 3 May 2022, the UK's Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, virtually addressed the Ukrainian ...

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

  Black Hornet 3 (Ukraine Aid) [UK & Norway]

  Programme Background Russo-Ukraine War Since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, UAVs have proved vital to the country's defence. Consequently, as in this programme, the ...

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

  Quantix Recon (Ukraine)

  Programme Background April Meeting In mid-April, just shy of two months after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, the Ambassador and the Defence Attaché at the Embassy of Ukraine met ...

• Tanks

  Leopard 2A8 [Germany]

  Programme Background Germany has operated the domestically produced Krauss-Maffei Wegmann Leopard 2 since its inception in the 1970s. Spanning now eight versions, the Leopard 2A8 is the ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  Air: Radio and SATCOM | E-7 Wedgetail - UK (Second Order)

  The UK MoD signed a £1.51 billion ($1.98 billion) deal to purchase five E-7 Wedgetail aircraft from Boeing for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in ...

• Data links

  Data links | E-7 Wedgetail - UK (Second Order)

  The UK MoD signed a £1.51 billion ($1.98 billion) deal to purchase five E-7 Wedgetail aircraft from Boeing for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in ...

• Air: Head-up displays

  Air: Head-up displays | E-7 Wedgetail - UK (Second Order)

  The UK MoD signed a £1.51 billion ($1.98 billion) deal to purchase five E-7 Wedgetail aircraft from Boeing for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in ...

• Transponders and IFF

  Transponders and IFF | E-7 Wedgetail - UK (Second Order)

  The UK MoD signed a £1.51 billion ($1.98 billion) deal to purchase five E-7 Wedgetail aircraft from Boeing for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Heavy Lift Helicopter [Philippines]

  Programme Background Procurement from Russia In November 2021, Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana confirmed that a contract had been signed to acquire 16 Mi-171 heavy ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Tanks

  T-80UD

  The 125mm-armed T-80UD MBT is a variant of the T-80 which was in production in Ukraine when the Soviet Union broke up in 1991. An ...

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

  Supercam S350/S350F

  The Supercam S350/S350F is a mini fixed-wing that Supercam Unmanned Systems Group manufactures. The Russian UAV features a modular design and has been primarily designed ...

• Transport

  An-140

  The An-140 is a light turboprop military transport aircraft developed from the An-140 regional airliner, which first flew in September 1997. It is designed to ...

• Loitering munitions

  AQV 100 Scalpel

  The AQV 100 Scalpel, or AQV-100, is a low-cost loitering munition manufactured by One Way Aerospace.  The drone is operated using a first-person view and ...

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

  Mini 2

  The Mini 2 is a micro rotary-wing drone from DJI. It features a 3-axis gimbaled 12MP camera for photographs and 4k/30fps for video capture. Shephard believes ...

• Loitering munitions

  Shahed-136

  The Shahed-136 is an Iranian loitering munition. The aircraft has a delta-wing configuration and is launched through a Rocket-Assist Take-off (RATO) method. Russia operates the platform and ...

• Fighter - ground attack

  Su-25

  The Su-25 (NATO reporting name Frogfoot) is a single-seat ground attack aircraft developed for close combat air support missions. Production of the Su-25 began in ...

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

  Orlan-10/10E

  Developed by the Russia-based Special Technology Center, the Orlan-10 is a medium-range UAS with many variants, such as the 10E, an export version introduced in 2017. The ...

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

  Matrice 300 RTK

  The Matrice 300 RTK is a rotary-wing UAV manufactured by DJI. Despite being primarily aimed at industrial applications, militaries utilise it for ISR tasks.  In ...

• Fighter - air superiority

  MiG-29

  The MiG-29 (NATO reporting name Fulcrum) is an air superiority fighter aircraft designed to engage air targets in any weather, day and night.  The production ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  SURA HMTDS

  SURA is a helmet-mounted display system produced in Ukraine. Notably, it offers off-boresight acquisition capability to pilots and can cue the aircraft's sensor systems using ...

• Transport

  An-22

  The largest transport aircraft of the time, the An-22 Antei (NATO reporting name Cock) is a heavy military transport aircraft developed by Antonov in the ...

• Transport

  An-148

  Developed by Antonov, the An-148 is intended for passenger, mixed cargo-passenger and cargo transport operations for both military and civilian roles. Its maiden flight took ...

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

  Eleron T-16

  The Eleron T-16, or Valdai, is a small fixed-wing Russian drone.  Multiple media outlets in August 2023 reported that the first Russian Eleron T-16 had ...

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

  Orion / Orion-E

  The Orion, sometimes called the Inokhodets, is the first Russian-manufactured MALE UAV that has been designed to carry out a wide variety of military surveillance applications. Russia has ...