“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.
The UK MoD has confirmed that it expects to move to the invitation to tender (ITT) stage on its JAMES (Joint Asset Management and Engineering Solutions) logistic system replacement requirement, and will select a preferred bidder this year.
In late May, the MoD received responses to pre-qualification questionnaires (PQQs) for the successor to JAMES, which is used by British armed forces. Once all the PQQs are evaluated, between three and six bids will go through to the ITT stage.
While the MoD was unwilling to say which companies have submitted PQQs ‘for commercial reasons’, Lockheed Martin is known to be
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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.