UK awards £67m Wildcat data link upgrade to Leonardo
The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded Leonardo a £67.27m contract for Phase 3 of the Wildcat Tactical Data Link upgrade under the Joint Modification Contracting Arrangement.
The enhancement integrates Link 16 and Bowman Data, connecting Army and Royal Navy Wildcat helicopters to the Army’s digital network for near real-time sharing of positional and targeting data. Officials say this will cut reliance on voice comms, speed reconnaissance-to-effects timelines, and enable automatic target transmission to artillery fire control.
Paired with the AH-64E, the upgrade is expected to sharpen Attack Reconnaissance Team effectiveness across the battlespace.
DASA boosts Small Business Saturday with £35m for defence SMEs
The MoD has showcased how £35m in DASA funding since July 2024 is accelerating UK SMEs from concept to frontline capability, supported by Defence Innovation’s £400m annual budget and a target for 10% of equipment spend to back novel tech.
Recent successes include QuickBlock blast/ballistic structures, Trauma Simulation full-body medical trainers, and Sentinel Photonics laser-protection sights now entering service on KS1 rifles.
A new review shows DASA-backed firms have delivered £1bn in economic value and 1,800 jobs, with £174m raised in 2024 alone. Combined with the new Defence Office for Small Business Growth, the MoD aims to grow SME spending by £2.5bn by 2028, strengthening high-skill employment, supply-chain resilience, and rapid delivery of advanced kit to UK forces.
UK Space Agency Invests £17m in Space Innovation
The UK Space Agency has awarded £17m to 17 projects to advance UK capability in Earth observation, satcoms, space surveillance, propulsion, and in-orbit servicing.
Announced at Space-Comm Expo, the funding accelerates technologies including quantum communications, AI pollution monitoring, green and refuellable propulsion, and robotic satellite servicing. The programme will create up to 140 jobs and strengthens the UK’s £18bn space sector, following the UK’s £1.7bn ESA investment.
Key Awards
Magdrive (£2m), B2Space (£2m), Lightricity (£1.9m), BAE Systems (£1.47m), Toshiba Europe (£1.45m), Filtronic (£1.18m), Lodestar (£1m), Protolaunch (£1m), Univ. of Edinburgh (£850k), Orbit Fab (£340k), HR Wallingford (£320k).
Pulsar Fusion wins €500k ESA contract to advance Hall thrusters
Pulsar Fusion has secured an 18-month, €500,000 ESA contract co-funded by the UK Space Agency under the GSTP programme to mature its 500W Hall-Effect Thruster (HET) for future missions. The work will validate the HET in relevant conditions and position the Bletchley firm for further EU funding and procurement.
It follows confirmation that Momentous will flight-demonstrate Pulsar’s HET on a mission launching in late 2026. Pulsar says the deal strengthens UK sovereignty in in-orbit propulsion and raises its profile with NASA, ESA and UKSA. Hall-effect propulsion now standard on many satellites underpins a space electric-propulsion market forecast to exceed $1.5bn by 2033.
ADS October aircraft deliveries hit 7-year high orders soften
UK trade body ADS reports 132 commercial aircraft delivered in October 2025 up 67% year on year and the strongest October since 2018. Orders totalled 127, down 12% from October 2024 and the weakest October since 2021.
Year-to-date deliveries reached 1,092 (+25% YoY), keeping industry on track for ADS’s high growth target of 1,340 aircraft in 2025. The global backlog stands at 16,133 jets worth up to £260bn to the UK and equating to 16+ years of work at current rates.
ADS chief economist Aimie Stone said the focus is on maintaining momentum into year-end and urged supportive, stable government policy to strengthen the UK aerospace supply chain.
Blighter unveils BlighterNexus Track target-tracking module
Blighter has launched BlighterNexus Track, a built-in radar target tracker for its BlighterNexus multisensory platform. The module fuses Blighter radar plots into continuous tracks with position, speed, size and heading, using adaptive Kalman filtering and probabilistic data association to boost detection and cut false alarms.
It runs on industrial PCs with a web UI, integrates tightly with Blighter signal processors, and remains compatible with third-party trackers. Part of a 30-module ecosystem, it speeds radar-to-C2 integration and sensor fusion with EO/IR, RF DF and other sensors.
Not long to go now!