UK defence budget needs £3bn boost for ‘broken’ armed forces, top general warns February 19, 2023 A top general has warned Britain’s armed forces are “at their most broken since the Cold War” and need a £3bn boost to ramp up the UK’s military capabilities. General Sir Richard Barrons has urged Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to fund the replacement of weapons and tanks given to Ukraine in the budget next month. Barrons, [...]
UK military risks NATO downgrade, security think tank warns February 16, 2023 Britain risks no longer being NATO’s top military power in Europe, a think tank report has warned, in the midst of growing security issues. The French military has more troops, jets and ships than the UK, despite spending £13bn less on defence, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) found. France boasts 203,250 personnel compared [...]
China sanctions US defence giants Lockheed Martin and Raytheon for supplying Taiwan weapons February 16, 2023 China imposed trade and investment sanctions on Lockheed Martin and a part of Raytheon for supplying weapons to Taiwan. The move steps up efforts to isolate the island democracy claimed by the ruling Communist Party as part of its territory. Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Missiles and Defence are barred from importing goods into China or [...]
Sunak under pressure to increase defence spending amid NATO warnings February 13, 2023 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under pressure to increase the UK’s defence spending after NATO called for allies to boost ammunition production to support Ukraine. Tory backbenchers have issued stark warnings that Britain’s armed forces are “woefully ill-prepared” for a major conflict and that low defence spending is a “false economy”. It came as NATO [...]
MoD accused of ‘blowing millions’ on car hires while cutting Army size January 2, 2023 The Ministry of Defence has been accused of “blowing millions” of pounds on hire cars and taxis last year while cutting the size of the Army. A freedom of information (FoI) request by the PA news agency revealed the MoD spent £16.6m on hire cars for staff in the year to November, up from £12.9m [...]
MoD awards Lockheed Martin with £129m 10-year drone contract December 16, 2022 The Ministry of Defence has awarded aerospace giant Lockheed Martin with a £129m contract to provide drones to the UK’s army. As part of the ten-year deal, the group will provide more than 250 drones with high-resolution imaging that can identify targets far from the operator. Lockheed Martin’s technology is already being used by the [...]
BAE Systems post revenue over £10bn with Saudi deals a tenth of this as new chair brought in July 28, 2022 BAE Systems reported higher sales and revenue for the first half of 2021 helped by work with Saudi Arabia as it met market expectations and announced a new Chair from next year. The defence company’s sales were up 2.8 per cent from the previous year’s first half to £10.6bn as its revenue climbed 4.3 per cent [...]
Defence giant Lockheed Martin strikes deal with north east firm to help companies get manufacturing contracts June 21, 2022 Lockheed Martin has teamed up with a northern firm in a partnership to help companies get lucrative manufacturing contracts. The US defence giant, which works in aerospace and security, announced the deal with RTC North following the UK Space Sector Skills and Supplier Summit it hosted in Newcastle. It is considering basing its UK operations [...]
Lady Cobham: UK mustn’t sell off defence crown jewels June 19, 2022 LADY Cobham, the daughter-in-law of the founder of the defence giant Cobham, has warned the UK government it cannot afford to allow British defence firms to fall into foreign hands. Cobham was bought by a US private equity firm in 2020, with Lady Cobham at the time warning the government it should have stepped in [...]
Australia reaches settlement with French firm to ease ‘Aukus’ tensions June 12, 2022 Australia has reached a settlement with France's Naval Group, as compensation for scuppering a submarine contract with the country.