Marshall wins Turkey C-130J support deal
Turkey has awarded Marshall Aerospace a multiyear contract to induct and sustain 12 C-130J aircraft, covering scheduled maintenance, spares, tooling and training to build local capability.
Marshall principal resale partner with UK DE&S E&S stored the jets in Cambridge and will replace each centre wing box before service entry. The win reinforces Marshall’s C-130 track record with eight operators, including Austria, Bangladesh and the US Navy Blue Angels.
Bovis Lands £237m MoD Upgrade for Kendrew and Bulwell
DIO has awarded Bovis a £237m contract part of the £5.1bn DEO to modernise Kendrew Barracks and Bulwell Army Reserve Centre. Kendrew, new Single Living Accommodation, regimental offices, medical/catering and supporting infrastructure, becomes home to 36 Engineer Regiment (moving from Maidstone). Bulwell, new band facility, unit offices and secure storage; wider moves from Grantham, Telford and Nottingham enable site disposals. Build starts, autumn 2026.
Navantia UK speeds £115m yard upgrades
Delivery has begun of a Pemamek panel line to Harland & Wolff, Belfast, part of Navantia UK’s £115m investment across four UK yards for the Fleet Solid Support ships. The line will automate flat-panel fabrication, boosting productivity and quality.
Build plan: blocks from H&W UK yards and Navantia Spain, with final assembly/integration in Belfast and £100m yard recapitalisation.
After H&W’s insolvency, Navantia UK took over the four yards and restarted modernisation and apprentice recruitment.
Amey secures £70m refinancing to 2030
Amey has closed a £70m asset-based facility with HSBC and NatWest, running to June 2030, to bolster delivery on MoD contracts including MITER.
The funding adds headroom for asset upgrades and infrastructure investment to keep equipment mission ready.
Advisors, KPMG (debt), Osborne Clarke/CMS (Amey), Norton Rose Fulbright (lenders), Chatham Financial (hedging).
UK confirms Typhoon upgrade review
MoD says a full Typhoon upgrade assessment radar, DASS, avionics, weapons is underway, with details due in the Defence Investment Plan.
In parallel, the four-nation P4E programme is in System Definition de-risking (post-2024 contract), moving to Design/Development/Demo with early work on long-lead items.
Targets: stronger EW, sensor fusion, connectivity, and wider weapons integration keeping Typhoon central to NATO alongside GCAP.
SYOS buys Bay Dynamics enters underwater domain
SYOS Aerospace has acquired Bay Dynamics, adding uncrewed underwater systems to its air/land/sea portfolio and pushing toward full-spectrum autonomy.
The UK–NZ firm (fresh off a £30m UK MoD deal) will expand its Fareham site now building 40 USVs/month to produce underwater drones for Europe, targeting pipeline/telecom protection and rapid seabed inspection.
HAV secures first military Airlander reservation
Bedford Hybrid Air Vehicles has reserved three Airlander 10s for an undisclosed defence contractor the type’s first military-destined aircraft.
The reconfigurable airship offers 3-ton payloads, up to five days’ endurance, and operations from flat ground or water, enabling ISR, lift to austere sites, and drone-swarm host/recovery.
HAV is pitching roles in elevated sensing/missile defence support, counter-drone/persistent surveillance, and maritime patrol/ASW sensor deployment, with more reservations expected.
Royal Navy clears Martlet missile for frontline use
The Royal Navy has finished day/night trials of Thales’ Martlet LMM, declaring it operational after shooting down drones and hitting surface targets off Wales and in the French Med during NATO exercise Wildfire.
Fired from Wildcat helicopters, the compact missile reaches Mach 1.5 and proved effective against small uncrewed boat surrogates at Aberporth. Built in Belfast, Martlet underpins a £350m export to India (sustaining 700 NI jobs) and has been delivered to Ukraine under the UK gifting programme.
Leonardo–Uplift360 recycle rotor into drone part
Uplift360 used its low-temperature ChemR process to recover aerospace-grade carbon fibre from an end-of-life EH101 rotor blade and, with Leonardo, turned it into a prototype drone arm.
The project validates chemically recycled composites for structural use and supports the UK Strategic Defence Review goal of supply-chain resilience by creating a domestic stream of secondary carbon fibre.
Leonardo says material recirculation is central to its sustainability plan; Uplift360 calls it “mission-ready” material from waste.
NP Aerospace debuts upgraded armoured Land Cruiser LC300
NP Aerospace has relaunched the LC300 armoured SUV-first to achieve VPAM VR7 (Edition 3) with a 2m side blast while retaining a third row-also meeting PAS 300/301.
The bolt-in armour, modular electrics and structural variants (double-cab, extended chassis) target a 10-year life, with integrated comms and a new global CAV support service; defence and NGO customers are already signing on.
Robosys wins AMC Search USV training deal
AMC Search will retrofit its OPT WAM-V 16 with Robosys’ VOYAGER AI, bringing autonomous navigation and COLREG-compliant avoidance from simulator to sea.
The upgrade supports new Remote Operator Training courses, giving students hands-on experience with AI-driven USV operations.
SEA scoops four NDMA awards
Barnstaple Defence manufacturer SEA (Cohort plc) won Manufacturer of the Year, Team of the Year, Product of the Year, and Outstanding Individual (Callum Matthews) at the NDMA 2025 awards. The wins follow a site expansion creating 120+ jobs.
Ancilia a trainable decoy under a £135m MoD contract took Product of the Year, while Krait Sense towed-array sonar underpinned the Manufacturer award.
ODU launches rugged AMC HD–to–USB-C umbilical
ODU has introduced a hardened cable linking base equipment to COTS handhelds: AMC High-Density (12.8 mm) on one end, right-angled USB-C on the other.
Built for harsh use with IP68/IP6K9K, EMC shielding, break-away or screw-lock, –40°C to +85°C, and 5,000 mating cycles.
Delivers up to 5 A, 480 Mbit/s, and lengths to 4 m a compact, field-ready alternative to fragile commercial USB.
SatVu adds thermal activity layer to NATO APSS
SatVu has joined NATO’s Alliance Persistent Surveillance from Space, training NCIA staff in The Hague on high-res thermal imaging (to 3.5 m).
The data complements optical/SAR by showing activity, day and night supporting site monitoring, infrastructure protection, border/counternarcotics work, and energy surveillance.
SatVu says this “activity layer” will speed richer, cross-domain ISR to NATO decision-makers.
UK boosts Lancashire cyber bursary to 500 places
The government is expanding its Digital & Cyber Bursary Programme in Lancashire from 100 to 500 students across 10 colleges, delivered with DS4D and the Lancashire Skills & Employment Hub, with a focus on cyber, data, AI and increased female participation.
The scheme feeds Defence and industry talent pipelines ahead of the National Cyber Force’s 2025 arrival, aligning with the Strategic Defence Review’s skills push.
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