UK buys six Land Ceptor systems
The MoD has signed a £118m, three-year deal with MBDA for six Land Ceptor launchers, doubling deployable UK air-defence units and supporting 140 jobs in Bolton.
The systems integrate with Sky Sabre and will bolster 16 Regt RA (two batteries in the Falklands, five in the UK after the Poland deployment ended).
The purchase aligns with the 2 June SDR pledge to invest £1bn in IAMD, with a detailed plan due in the autumn.
MoD awards £125m AFV track deal to Cook Defence Systems
The UK MoD has let a three-year, up to £125m contract to Cook Defence Systems for spare tracks across the Army’s armoured fleet, including Challenger 3.
The deal supports 125 jobs and £5m of upgrades at the firm’s County Durham plant.
As the UK’s sole AFV track manufacturer, Cook underpins Army readiness and ongoing Ukraine support, the award aligns with the June Strategic Defence Review and the forthcoming Defence Industrial Strategy.
Briggs Marine Wins Serco RN Subcontract
Briggs Marine has been named a key subcontractor to Serco on the Royal Navy’s Maritime Services programme. From October 2025, Briggs will deliver a five-year Range Safety and Aircrew Training service, operating 15 vessels across UK sites.
The work part of Serco’s Inshore Support to Military Training, Testing & Evaluation/DMS-NG contract follows Briggs’ recent MoD award for moorings, aids to navigation and target maintenance in the UK, Gibraltar, Cyprus and the South Atlantic, taking its 2025 defence order book to £250m.
MoD launches £900m DDAD AI framework
Re-openable Digital Decision Accelerators for Defence framework to deliver the Army’s ASGARD, focusing on the “Decide” phase with AI/ML decision tools over four years.
Five £180m lots, Data Integration, Accelerators, Applications, Edge Storage & Compute Services. SME-friendly, with awards based on experience, product maturity, collaboration/scalability, and alignment to the Land Industrial Strategy & R&D.
UK defence investment surges dual-use leads
European defence VC hit a record $5.2bn in 2024 (5 times in six years), led by the UK and Germany. The UK’s ADS&S sectors delivered £100bn turnover and 443k jobs in 2024, defence turnover is +64% since 2014.
Public and private capital are rising (NATO €1bn, EU EDF €8bn, potential SAFE access; NSSIF/DASA at home), with investors pivoting to AI, cyber, autonomy, quantum and M&A (e.g., IBM Six Works $150m).
Policy tailwinds 2.5% of GDP on defence by 2027 and MoD R&D 7% by 2030 (£4bn/yr) signal sustained growth.
Royal Navy orders C-Enduro USV with VOYAGER AI
The University of Plymouth will supply a C-Enduro USV, “Bauza,” to the Royal Navy, integrated with Robosys VOYAGER AI for hydrographic/oceanographic survey and training. Integration completes Q3 2025.
VOYAGER AI delivers mission planning, radar/AIS situational awareness, autopilot and collision avoidance, a weatherproof remote-control waist pack enables local control and seamless handover with the University’s Remote Operations Centre.
Army Expo 2025 in Edinburgh
The British Army’s flagship showcase runs 18–23 August 2025 at Redford Cavalry Barracks, featuring Ajax, AH-64E, Challenger 2, Jackal 2 and modular Boxer MIV, and highlighting modernization and NATO integration.
Aimed at senior decision-makers, partners and youth, the immersive event includes a replicated conflict environment and direct engagement with soldiers.
UKSA to join DSIT by April 2026
The UK Space Agency will become a unit of DSIT by April 2026, retaining its name/brand to streamline policy and delivery under ministerial oversight. No immediate changes to grants or contracts.
Alongside the move, UKSA/DSIT/CAA published 60+ RPO sandbox recommendations (Stage 2 underway) to unlock IOSM growth aiming for up to 25% global share and a UK debris-removal mission by 2028.
ZeroAvia gets FAA P-1 for 600kW electric propulsion
ZeroAvia has secured an FAA-signed P-1 Special Conditions paper for certifying its 600kW electric propulsion system (EPS) advancing from G-1 (Feb 2025) toward defining means of compliance once the rule is published.
The EPS uses four 200kW inverters driving a direct-drive motor (2,200 rpm) and targets battery, hybrid and fuel-cell aircraft, rotorcraft and UAVs.
It underpins the ZA600 hydrogen-electric powertrain for up to 20 seats, already flight-tested on a Dornier 228; ZeroAvia is pursuing an STC for the Cessna Grand Caravan with Textron and lists RVL Aviation as UK launch customer.
Defence fast-tracks post-quantum shift
Quantum computing threatens today’s encryption, the UK NCSC urges a phased move to post quantum cryptography prepare by 2028, early migrations by 2031, full readiness by 2035.
Agencies should map crypto dependencies and data flows, build a PQC roadmap aligned to NIST standards, ensure legacy interoperability, and deepen NATO industry academia collaboration to build a quantum ready ecosystem.
Hope everyone had a nice bank holiday! Let’s get back to it 😀