“Capital follows confidence” as defence courts private money
Outside investment and the direction in which venture money flows may reveal what defence will buy years before formal programmes begin.
Photos released by state media showed the maiden launch of the Hwasong-18 ICBM on 13 April. (Photo: KCNA)
North Korea reached another milestone in its nuclear ambitions by successfully launching a solid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time on 13 April.
Pyongyang called the new-type ICBM a Hwasong-18. The missile followed a lofted trajectory after being launched from a nine-axle transporter-erector-launcher (TEL).
Kim Jong-un was in attendance with his daughter, who is now a constant fixture at such missile launches.
State media said: ‘The test firing was aimed at confirming the performance of the high-thrust solid-propellant multistage motors, the stage separation technology and the reliability of various functional control systems, and appraising the military utility of
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Outside investment and the direction in which venture money flows may reveal what defence will buy years before formal programmes begin.
The Department of National Defence expects initial contracts to deliver thousands of uncrewed systems, but has yet to establish the quantities, capability mix or deadline behind Ottawa’s promised tenfold expansion.
The company told Shephard that Ukraine is operating modified Protector weapon stations originally supplied for armoured vehicles, with human operators authorising engagements from hundreds of kilometres away.
A report from the Council on Geostrategy argues the UK should move away from a traditional balanced force and shift investment to naval, air and space capabilities, backed by a larger fleet of attack submarines and deeper AUKUS integration.
At its technology summit in London, attended by Shephard, Thales UK examined the importance of speed to delivery, the growing focus on cross-domain capabilities and how procurement reform could be crucial for future battlefield advantage.
Are all systems ready for the next mission? Have upgrades been applied? Are all assets aligned to deploy together, on time and fully prepared? In modern defence operations, readiness is no longer measured platform by platform. It is measured by how well people, assets, data and decisions move together — across land, sea and air.