UK's new Defence Secretary sets out commitment to AUKUS to drive regional British growth

New Defence Secretary, John Healey, has set out Britain’s commitment to the AUKUS partnership as an important driver of jobs and growth in Yorkshire and across the UK. 

Defence Secretary and Australian Deputy Prime Minister tour UK military steel production plant. 

Site supports hundreds of local skilled jobs with bright future under AUKUS. 

Steel components from Sheffield to be used on future UK and Australian nuclear-powered submarines. 

Joined by the Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, Richard Marles, on a tour of a key military steel supplier in Sheffield, the pair saw first-hand how the business is benefiting from AUKUS – the trilateral defence and security partnership between the UK, US and Australia.  

John Healey today reaffirmed the UK’s staunch commitment to AUKUS and the jobs and growth it can deliver for Britain.  

The AUKUS submarine programme will generate 7,000 additional British jobs. At its peak, there will be over 21,000 people working on the SSN-AUKUS programmes in the UK supply chain.

The visit comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, with the leaders outlining their commitment to the strong AUKUS partnership.  

Australia and the UK are close partners, working together on the most pressing global security issues. The two ministers also discussed UK-Australian cooperation to support Ukraine, our close coordination in the Indo-Pacific and our joint commitment to ensuring the AUKUS partnership fully delivers its potential.  

Defence Secretary, John Healey said:  "Working with allies and partners is fundamental to our security and so it is a pleasure to host my Australian counterpart within my first fortnight as Defence Secretary. The UK and Australia are the closest of friends and our work through AUKUS is testament to this.  

Sheffield Forgemasters is a shining light of UK industry that helps boost global security and employs skilled staff from the local community. This is just one example of how our hugely important partnership with our Australian and American partners can help drive jobs and growth across Britain."

Sheffield Forgemasters manufacture specialist steel parts used in critical UK defence programmes, including highly complex, nuclear-grade steel components for nuclear-armed submarines. Their parts will also be used in future UK and Australian conventionally armed, nuclear-powered, submarines – known as SSN-AUKUS – which will be the largest, most advanced and most powerful attack submarines ever operated by the Royal Navy.  

UK and Latvia launch industry competition to provide thousands of drones for Ukraine

The drones will be procured as part of the Drone Capability Coalition for Ukraine, co-led by the UK and Latvia.

In February, the UK and Latvia announced that they would lead the new Drone Capability Coalition, designed to rapidly supply Ukraine with tens of thousands of first person view drones.

Today, the UK and Latvia have opened the bidding for companies to supply FPV drones to Ukraine, on behalf of the Drone Capability Coalition. This competition aims to produce these drones at scale and at an affordable price point, leveraging the strength of Western industry.

Industry can find the details of how to apply via the Defence Sourcing Portal. This competition is open to industry from any nation in the Ukraine Defence Contact Group.

Companies have until 28 June 2024 to submit their proposals, which will then be considered by the Drone Capability Coalition members and evaluated. Successful companies will receive orders to supply drones to Ukraine and, upon receipt of positive operational feedback, the intent is to place larger, follow up orders for FPV drones. Additional FPV competitions are expected to take place through 2024, building on the lessons learned from this first competition.

First person view drones have proven highly effective on the battlefield since Russia’s full-scale invasion, providing Ukrainian operators with situational awareness to target enemy positions, armoured vehicles, and ships with explosive ordnance.

Members of the coalition include: UK, Latvia, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and Ukraine. Further countries are considering joining the coalition.

.

Serious data breach at UK's Ministry of Defence...... up to 272,000 armed forces personnel may have had details exposed.

The UK's Defence Secretary, The Rt Hon Grant Shapps appeared in the House of Commons on Tuesday to confirm to the house that a data breach at the MoD could have left the bank details and possibly other personal data of over 272,000 personnel exposed.  

Shapps told MPs that the Ministry of Defence had identified someone had gained access to part of the Armed Forces payment network. The details exposed in the hack include names and bank details, and, in some cases, addresses of serving, retired and reserve staff.  

During the statement in Parliament, Shapps said: "For reasons of national security we cannot release further details of the suspected cyber activity behind this incident.  However, I can confirm to the House that we do have indications that this was the suspected work of a malign actor and we cannot rule out state involvement."

The MoD uses an external system operated by a contractor for its payroll systems and is not connected to the main HR systems of the armed forces. However, the name of the contractor concerned has not been released or if it was connected to a hack of Fujitsu systems a couple of months ago. 

Shapps also said: "We've launched a full investigation, drawing on Cabinet Office support and specialist external expertise to examine the potential failings of the contractor and to minimise the risk of similar incidents in the future."

Many believe that China is behind the hack which has been going on for around three weeks, yet only came to light last week after a pattern of unusual activity was spotted by investigators. It is understood that the hack can be traced back to certain hacking groups, yet who employed them is less certain. In previous years both China and Russia have used such hacking groups to infiltrate the systems of other nations. 

Another computer security expert has contended that another undisclosed state actor could also be responsible for the hack. For example, both France and the USA have government-backed hacking and infiltration operations that have been known to explore vulnerabilities in other countries' official systems. 

A Chinese embassy spokesperson said: “China has always upheld the principle of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs. China has neither the interest nor the need to meddle in the internal affairs of the UK. We urge the relevant parties in the UK to stop spreading false information, stop fabricating so-called China threat narratives, and stop their anti-China political farce.”

In the statement, Shapps listed eight steps the department was taking to protect the details of those whose data had been breached in this latest of a series of attacks on UK Government.

Future UK military helicopter reaches next competition stage

The next stage of the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) Programme has been announced by the Minister for Defence Procurement, James Cartlidge.

Bids open for New Medium Helicopter contract, as it moves to the Invitation to Negotiate phase

The new helicopter model will support Defence operations around the globe

The New Medium Helicopter will deliver up to five rotary wing requirements

The next stage of the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) Programme has been announced by the Minister for Defence Procurement, James Cartlidge this week.

The NMH Programme is an initiative to acquire a modern medium-lift support helicopter, which will deliver up to five rotary wing requirements using a single aircraft-type. This means that the platform will be able to undertake Defence tasks that were previously undertaken by up to five different aircraft types, streamlining our capabilities. This will improve efficiency and operational flexibility, positively impacting ongoing and future UK operational capability.

Once in service, it will provide the Armed Forces with a new medium lift aircraft capable of operating in all environments in support of a broad spectrum of Defence tasks, from warfighting to humanitarian efforts and operations around the world.

It was announced at the International Military Helicopter conference in London today that the Invitation to Negotiate has been released, meaning the three NMH candidate suppliers - Airbus Helicopters UK, Leonardo Helicopters UK and Lockheed Martin UK - will now compile their bids to be evaluated by the Ministry of Defence to determine the winning bidder.

The competition will be managed by Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) and proposals will be evaluated through 2025 when, subject to Government approvals, a contract award is anticipated.

Minister for Defence Procurement, James Cartlidge said:  "The New Medium Helicopter will provide essential support to our military operations, and we’re pleased to have reached this next important stage of the programme.

The programme’s competition includes essential criteria that are key to securing vital rotary wing Operational Independence, allowing us to respond swiftly to emerging threats in a highly contested world."

The NMH competition will include essential industrial considerations, spanning design, production, manufacture and importantly, export potential. This means that the New Medium Helicopter contract will secure the vital operational independence we require, as well as investing in UK skills for the long-term and demonstrates the UK Government’s commitment to the Defence & Security Industrial Strategy.

Your travel planning isn’t complete without learning the language—or at least some essential phrases. Fully immerse yourself in the language, or use Phrasebook to learn travel essentials—the choice is yours!

Airbus awarded MOD contract to provide design authority support for UK’s critical military satellite communications system

Airbus has been awarded the Skynet Design Support Contract (SDSC) to provide design authority services support for the UK’s SKYNET military satellite communications systems.

 

The contract will provide post-design services to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and its future service providers to support the transition from SKYNET 5, which was procured under a PFI arrangement that began in 2003, towards an MoD-owned, contractor-operated system under SKYNET 6. This includes SKYNET 6A, which Airbus is currently developing.

 

Steven Fisher, the MOD's Director Delivery (Intelligence and Expeditionary Services), said: “SDSC reflects our ongoing commitment to maintain the SKYNET 5 system that forms the backbone of UK military satellite communications.

"It also recognises Airbus as the design authority for SKYNET 5, alongside being a key strategic supplier of UK sovereign space capability in the form of SKYNET 6A, which is a vital first step in our programme to replace and replenish our space-based assets.”

 

Richard Budd, Head of Secure Communications UK, US and Australia, Airbus Defence and Space, said: “The scope of SDSC - which runs from March 2024 for five years - includes both the satellites and the infrastructure on the ground.

"The contract supports the retention of specialist space and ground-segment roles and confirms Airbus’ ongoing involvement in the SKYNET programme, including the production of the SKYNET 6A satellite in our world-leading Stevenage and Portsmouth facilities.”

Babcock has been awarded a six-year contract to manage and operate Skynet, the MOD’s military satellite communications system.

As part of the £400 million Skynet Service Delivery Wrap (SDW) contract, Babcock and their partners will operate and manage the UK MOD’s constellation of military satellites, ground stations and integrate new user terminals.

Skynet operations deliver information to UK and allied forces around the world, enabling a battlefield information advantage anywhere, anytime.

Delivering on the Prime Minister’s priority to grow the economy, creating better-paid jobs and opportunity right across the country, this contract is expected to support around 400 UK jobs in Corsham, Bristol and Plymouth. Those benefiting will include engineers, scientists, space technicians and administrative staff.

Their work will ensure that our deployed forces have a world-leading capability to communicate back to the UK, whether on the battlefield, onboard a ship or in the air.

The SDW contract is part of the wider satellite communications SKYNET 6 programme which will provide space-based communications to 2041 and beyond, with an overall government investment of £6 billion.

Royal Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office announce review of Project Mosquito

Royal Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office announce review of Project Mosquito

Project Mosquito, the future uncrewed Combat Aircraft Technology Demonstration being explored by the Royal Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO), will not proceed beyond the design phase.

The decision, taken by mutual agreement with industry partners, follows a detailed review of the technical demonstrator and the broader Lightweight Affordable Novel Combat Aircraft (LANCA) Programme.

Air Commodore Jez Holmes, Head of the Rapid Capabilities Office said: Through Project Mosquito and other experimentation activities the Royal Air Force has made substantial progress and gained significant value in understanding and harnessing a range of future uncrewed capabilities. This decision maximises the learning accrued to date and enables a change of direction for the LANCA programme.  The Rapid Capabilities Office will now quickly launch activities to aggressively pursue the RAF’s unchanged firm commitment to integrate advanced uncrewed capabilities into the near-term force mix with more immediate beneficial value.

The Royal Air Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) aims to enhance capability delivered to the front line, explore opportunities presented by emerging technologies, and leverage diversity in thought with novel and innovative ways of working.

KBR introducing sustainable aviation options for UK's Ministry of Defence

KBR Joint Venture Introduces Sustainable Aviation Options for UK Ministry of Defence

 

 

KBR announced that it has embarked on a series of electric aircraft test flights for the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to assess the feasibility of environmentally friendly alternatives to current military aircraft, through its Affinity Capital Works Limited Joint Venture with Elbit Systems UK.

The concept of trialling zero-emissions aircraft was brought to the MoD through Affinity – demonstrating its commitment to providing innovative solutions for the UK Armed Forces and addressing the needs of the future to help realize net-zero ambitions in line with the MoD's green transformation.

The test flights will help the Royal Air Force (RAF) assess the technology of electric aircraft, determine its effectiveness as an impactful pilot training capability, and explore the implications on functional areas like aircraft and airfield operations on the ground and while flying, logistics support and infrastructure, as well as safety.

The flights will use a fully certified two-seater pilot training aircraft, the Velis Electro. Flight and safety assurances were developed during the summer of 2021, which was organized and delivered through Affinity, in partnership with the UK Civil Aviation Authority.

The program began with test flights in December 2021 ahead of the aircraft joining Affinity's existing fleet at RAF Cranwell, where up to twenty additional pilots will fly the sustainable, eco-friendly aircraft in the months ahead.

"We are tremendously proud to support this initiative. The project builds on KBR's proud history of pioneering new technologies and aligns with our vision to deliver solutions that help customers accomplish their most critical objectives in a safer and more sustainable way," said Andrew Barrie, President, KBR Government Solutions EMEA.

KBR has been instrumental to the UK military flying training program since 2016, helping procure nearly 50 aircraft and supporting over 100 staff across three RAF bases in the UK through its Affinity Joint Venture with Elbit Systems UK.

Want me in your inbox? Follow here for email updates Air101 here.