Spending watchdog warns of drift at the Ministry of Defence
The Public Accounts Committee has delivered a stinging assessment of the Ministry of Defence's 2024-25 accounts, warning that years without a credible long-term plan have damaged the UK's credibility with allies and industry.
Parliament to host Ukraine defence innovation roundtable
Graeme Downie MP has warned the UK must move away from "slow, traditional cycles" ahead of a parliamentary roundtable examining closer industrial collaboration with Ukraine.
Heckler & Koch set to supply UK machine guns for a decade
The Ministry of Defence intends to award Heckler & Koch a ten-year contract worth around GBP 70 million to supply L7A2 general-purpose machine guns and associated equipment to the British armed forces.
First prototypes of troop-protection jammer due in 2027
Project Crenic, the British programme developing electronic countermeasures to protect troops, vehicles and bases, passed its critical design review last summer, with the first prototype systems expected in early 2027 for testing.
Starmer sets release deadline for Defence Investment Plan
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed that the government's long-awaited Defence Investment Plan will be published before the NATO Summit in July.
Britain set to award AI military decision-support contract
The Ministry of Defence intends to place a contract for the prototyping of an artificial intelligence decision-support capability, known as Project Strong.
Claim on defence spending with UK firms questioned
The Ministry of Defence's headline claim that the bulk of its contracts are placed with UK-based businesses has been questioned by industry, which says the figure depends on what counts as a British company.
UK training for Ukraine shifts to specialist skills
Operation Interflex, the UK-led programme that has trained more than 63,000 Ukrainians since 2022, is entering a new phase moving away from mass infantry training towards specialist areas including aviation, medical, engineering and logistics.
Future of Army Reserve training at Grantham unresolved
The Ministry of Defence has said it cannot yet confirm how Army Reserve basic training will be delivered once the Grantham barracks closes, or what any change would cost, pointing to a review of training across the UK due to report in autumn 2026.
Back-loading defence budget ‘a disaster’, MPs told
Putting off the bulk of Britain's planned increase in defence spending until the years immediately before the 2035 target would be a serious mistake, the Director-General of Make UK Defence Andrew Kinniburgh has warned MPs.
