Craig Langford
Trained as a mechanical engineer, Craig took an unconventional route into journalism, bringing with him a rare technical precision and analytical depth that continues to set his reporting apart.
Britain’s ‘improved Ajax’ coming in two phases
The Ministry of Defence will restart trials of the British Army's troubled Ajax armoured vehicle under tightly controlled conditions, with a second phase of fixes to air filtration, crew heating and electrical power due within months.
NATO turns drone Task Force X to the Arctic
NATO has launched Task Force X-Arctic, an eighteen-month run of trials off Iceland testing whether networked uncrewed systems can deliver persistent watch over the High North, extending a model first tried in the Baltic.
QinetiQ boosts UK mine-hunting drone testing at Portland
QinetiQ has installed a new six-metre water tank at MOD Portland Bill to measure the magnetic signatures of the uncrewed mine-hunting vessels Britain is bringing into service.
Britain’s new battle tank pushes through trials
RBSL says its Challenger 3 trial tanks have been driven hard across country, run on roads and exercised through gunnery and full crew drills in recent Battlefield Mission serials.
Rheinmetall lands huge Romania deal for Lynx, Skyranger
Rheinmetall says it has signed a EUR 5.7bn order to supply Romania with Lynx armoured vehicles, Skyranger air defence systems, ammunition and four small warships, funded through the EU SAFE defence finance mechanism.
Returns of 2014 service leavers fell after 2016 peak
New Ministry of Defence figures, released to Defence Committee chair Tan Dhesi, show how many personnel who left the trained regular forces in 2014 later rejoined.
Irish alumina factory accused of supplying Russia’s war
Aughinish Alumina, Europe's largest alumina refinery, has become the focus of mounting political pressure after an investigation linked material from the Irish plant to the supply chain feeding Russia's arms industry.
Kyiv puts Russia’s road to Crimea under fire
A month of what Ukraine calls "middle-strike" operations has brought Russia's main overland supply route to occupied Crimea and its logistics network across occupied Luhansk under sustained drone fire.
Forces recruitment turns a corner but cause unclear, MPs say
More people are now joining the armed forces than leaving for the first time in years but the Ministry of Defence does not know whether its own measures drove the improvement or whether it can be sustained.
Unrealistic expectations placed on Ajax crews says PAC
The PAC has criticised the Ministry of Defence for placing unrealistic demands on how soldiers operate Ajax and has demanded to know how much the long-troubled programme will ultimately cost.
