The new Officer Commanding Number 617 Squadron, Wing Commander John Butcher, has taken his first flight in an F-35B Lightning, the UK’s new multi-role stealth combat aircraft. 617 Sqn ‘Dambusters’ is designated as the first frontline UK F-35B Lightning squadron and will return to RAF Marham next summer. The first flight followed weeks of ground […]

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The wider defence industry makes an invaluable contribution to the UK’s national security and economic prosperity. According to figures from leading trade body ADS, the UK Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space sectors support 900,000 jobs across the country. In 2016, the turnover for these sectors was a combined £72 billion with £37 billion worth of […]

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Defence Minister Mark Lancaster has visited Kosovo and Serbia to commemorate the past and discuss future defence cooperation. Mr Lancaster’s visit to Kosovo comes at a time when the UK has boosted its presence in the country, having recently deployed 30 troops to NATO’s Force based there to work with allies to promote safety, security and […]

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Cubic Global Defense has been awarded a contract worth more than $61 million from the US Army Contracting Command to support rotational and pre-deployment training exercises at the US Army’s Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC). Cubic will continue to assist the JRTC with integrating US and allied forces into rotational training exercises through scenarios focused […]

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The Defence Minister Harriett Baldwin has revealed a new cutting-edge fingerprint technology aimed at targeting criminals. The technology uses an innovative chemical to recover fingerprints from surfaces that were previously extremely challenging or even impossible to work with, making them visible so that forensic scientists can identify guilty individuals. This includes items exposed to high […]

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France’s defence procurement agency,  the Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA), has  accepted the delivery to the French Armed Forces of the first batch of 50 missiles and 20 firing posts from the new MMP system. The new system will gradually replace the Milan, the HOT missiles mounted on VAB Armoured Fighting Vehicles and the ERYX for some of these missiles. It […]

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General Dynamics Information Technology has secured the Mission Training Complex Capabilities Support contract by the US Army Contracting Command. The company will provide simulation and training support including live, virtual, constructive and first-person gaming exercises. Additional support will include technical, logistical and administrative services for designated mission training complexes. The multiple award, indefinite delivery, indefinite […]

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The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) has appointed Gary Aitkenhead as its new Chief Executive. Mr Aitkenhead will formally take up post on 1 January 2018 as he replaces outgoing David Marsh, who has been Acting Chief Executive since the previous Chief Executive Jonathan Lyle left the organisation in September. He brings with him a […]

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The government of Romania agreed a deal to buy Raytheon’s missile defence system, Patriot, from the US Army. The agreement paves the way for Romania’s Patriot force to rapidly reach Initial Operational Capability, and sets the stage for the US government to begin contract negotiations with Raytheon. Patriot is a purely defensive system that forms […]

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Typhoon Fighter jets from the Royal Air Force will take to Qatari skies as part of a joint training exercise with the Emir of Qatar’s Air Force. Operating from the Headquarters of Qatar’s Fighter Wing at Al Udeid Air Base, the exercise will allow Royal Air Force personnel to pass on their experiences flying and maintaining […]

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Lockheed Martin has contracted Rockwell Collins to deliver display systems in service of two international F-16 training programmes. Rockwell Collins has been tasked with customising the configuration of its Griffin rear-projection dome and SpectraView display systems to meet the specific needs of Lockheed Martin’s international client-base. “With only slight modifications to existing products, international customers […]

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Ball Aerospace has been chosen by the US Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center to deliver the next-generation operational environmental satellite system, Weather System Follow-on – Microwave (WSF-M), for the Department of Defense. The contract will encompass system design and risk reduction of a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite with a passive microwave imaging […]

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Engility has won a contract a contract worth $30m to support the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Facility in its mission to modernise its systems engineering and aircraft launch and recovery equipment capabilities. The company will assist the US Navy in advancing existing products including launch, recovery, and visual landing aids and with the […]

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Meopta, the Czech optical specialist, will lend its line-of-sight expertise to BAE Systems in support of the CV90 Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV). Meopta’s appointment forms part of a newly penned Memorandum of Understanding signed at NATO Days 2017 in Ostrava, the Czech Republic. Up for discussion was the potential for local production of key components […]

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