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Russian military flights near UK rising, defence chief says
The head of the British military has said Russia has flown as many long-range strategic aircraft near the UK's northern approaches so far in 2026 as it did in the whole of 2025, in remarks warning that the country faces its most dangerous period since the Cold War.
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’s plan for 7000 new long range weapons still waiting
A year after the Strategic Defence Review pledged up to 7,000 new long range weapons, the commitment still has no published timeline, because the plan meant to translate it into firm orders has yet to appear.
NAVAL NEWS
UK had Gulf bases but no ships to use them, peer says
The UK had military bases across the Gulf but largely no vessels stationed in them when conflict with Iran erupted earlier this year, a peer has told the House of Lords.
British aircraft carrier to set sail from Norway
HMS Prince of Wales has completed a port visit to Stavanger and is prepared to continue Operation Firecrest, the ship announced on Saturday, with the carrier having addressed a minor technical issue during its time alongside.
Only one bidder for navy base support vessel contract, MP told
The government has defended a contract that will see 24 new support vessels built by a Dutch shipbuilder, telling an MP that only one company bid to both run the service and replace the vessels.
British guns on US ships but few British ones, MPs told
A British firm's naval guns are fitted to almost all US Navy and Coast Guard ships but hardly any Royal Navy vessels, the Treasury Committee has heard, in an example of domestic capability the UK is said to be overlooking.
No firm in-service date for HMS Venturer
The first Type 31 frigate, HMS Venturer, is still only committed to being handed to the Royal Navy "by the end of the decade", a defence minister has said, declining to give a firm initial operating capability date.
AVIATION NEWS
Denmark to buy long-range stealth cruise missiles from U.S.
The United States Department of State has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Denmark covering 200 AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles with Extended Range, with an estimated value of USD 842 million.
Autonomous weapons an ‘Oppenheimer moment’, peer warns
A Conservative peer has told the House of Lords that autonomous weapons may represent a threshold as significant as the arrival of nuclear arms, warning that, unlike nuclear weapons, they are cheap, scalable and hard to contain.
Britain explores ground-based air defence radar testing
The Ministry of Defence is sounding out industry on developing a ground-based system to test the accuracy of air defence radars, a method intended to replicate the flight checks currently flown to verify them.
Russian military flights near UK rising, defence chief says
The head of the British military has said Russia has flown as many long-range strategic aircraft near the UK's northern approaches so far in 2026 as it did in the whole of 2025, in remarks warning that the country faces its most dangerous period since the Cold War.
Britain’s plan for 7000 new long range weapons still waiting
A year after the Strategic Defence Review pledged up to 7,000 new long range weapons, the commitment still has no published timeline, because the plan meant to translate it into firm orders has yet to appear.
LAND NEWS
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.
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