Up to 3,000 workers at the Leonardo Helicopters facility in Yeovil face the risk of losing their jobs, highlighting the significant human impact of delays affecting the UK's only complete helicopter design and manufacturing capability.
Leonardo owns Britain's last military helicopter manufacturing site, employing 3,000 workers, and was the only bidder for the contract. It is understood that the chancellor and prime minister chose to intervene to ensure the project would go ahead, in part to protect UK jobs.
Keir Starmer said there was an urgent need for a closer UK defence relationship with Europe, covering procurement and manufacturing, so that the UK is at the centre of a stronger European defence setup. In a rare visit to the Munich Security Conference, the British prime minister told the audience, to applause, we are 10 years on from Brexit. We are not the Britain of the Brexit years.
Small British defence companies are set to gain easier access to Ministry of Defence contracts after the government launched a dedicated unit to simplify procurement and boost spending with smaller suppliers. The Ministry of Defence has unveiled the Defence Office for Small Business Growth, a new service designed to cut through what ministers describe as labyrinthine procurement processes that have historically shut small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) out of the defence market.
German lawmakers Wednesday approved about €50 billion in military purchases, as Berlin accelerates defence spending in the face of a hostile Russia and signs of weakening security commitments from Washington. The extensive list of procurements ranged from missiles to artillery, torpedoes, armoured vehicles, satellite systems and new uniforms as Berlin races to overhaul the long-neglected Bundeswehr. Officials said that the new purchases, greenlighted by parliament's budget committee, mean a "historic" number of defence acquisitions have been approved this year, worth nearly €83 billion.
PA Media Defence minister Luke Pollard has said he was "disgusted" when he heard that soldiers were injured while using Ajax armoured vehicles, which he had previously been assured were safe. Last month, the Army paused its use of the vehicles after 30 soldiers became ill from noise and vibration during a military exercise. The 6.3bn Ajax project had been due to deliver 589 armoured vehicles with the first entering service in 2017. However, the programme has been beset by problems and repeatedly delayed.