Weekly Defence Rundown 16^th-22^nd June 2025

The past week in the defence and security landscape was undoubtedly extremely busy. With the conflict between Israel and Iran escalating and the US targeting three of Iran’s nuclear facilities, the world waits to see what the fallout will be both in the short and long term.

Geopolitics continued to capture the headlines, as the leaders of the G7 met in Canada (albeit this was marked by Trump’s early exit) and NATO members prepare for the alliance’s summit in The Hague this week. Meanwhile in France, Paris Air Show kicked off in the blazing Parisian sun.

Things were also busy in the UK, where RUSI Land Warfare Conference was underway, with keynote speeches delivered by the country’s top military leaders. Later in the week, questions were raised over security on RAF bases, after a Voyager aircraft at RAF Brize Norton was vandalised by Palestine Action.

Defence Brief: Key Insights from the Week        

• Pro-Palestine protesters ‘damage RAF planes at Brize Norton’ (The Telegraph)
• Row erupts between France and Germany over next-generation fighter jet (The Telegraph)
• Lockheed Martin approaches UK government with air defence pitch (Financial Times)
• Israel furious as France shuts weapons stands at Paris Airshow (Reuters)
• No 10 gags military chiefs at events where a minister is present (The Times)

Paris Air Show 2025:

The world’s largest aviation trade fair kicked off at Le Bourget on 16^th June amid bright sunshine and deepening pockets for defence spending. However, the event was promptly overshadowed when the stands of the main Israeli companies were boarded up and closed, sparking a furious reaction from Israel.

Day 2 of Paris also held drama, with France’s Dassault Aviation and the German arm of Airbus engaging in a public spat over who should lead the £85bn project.

With CMS’ Toby and Jemima on the ground in Paris, here are the key highlights and announcements of the week:

• Terma highlights role of its PIDS+ pylon in protecting Ukraine’s F-16s (Flight Global)
• MBDA unveils One way Effector (Calibre Defence)
• LBA Systems, Leonardo and Baykar join forces to expand their footprint on the UAV market (European Defence Review)
• France selects GlobalEye as AWACS replacement (Janes)
• Lithuania selects C-390 Millennium (European Security & Defence)
• Parrot’s new microdrone ANAFI UKR breaks cover (Shephard Media)
• MBDA details its new VSHORAD missile named Fulgur (European Defence Review)

RUSI Land Warfare Conference:

Taking place on 17^th-18^th June, this year’s RUSI Land Warfare Conference included speeches from Defence Secretary John Healey, General Sir Roly Walker, General Sir Jim Hockenhull, and Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton – the incoming Chief of the Defence Staff.

However, the conference was also overshadowed by reports from The Times of “unprecedented” interference from Downing Street, as Knighton and Hockenhull’s speeches would not be made public.

Key takeaways from General Walker’s opening address – which was on the record – included a pitch for the Transformation model to deliver growth for the British Army. As reported by Janes, this model would entail a ’20-40-40’ mix of platforms, achieved by 50% of spending to be directed towards 20% of crewed platforms, and the other 50% on attritable and consumable uncrewed systems.

Meanwhile, John Healey’s speech emphasised the benefits the Strategic Defence Review will bring to the British Army and the Government’s commitment to reaching 2.6% of GDP on defence by 2027. Importantly, Healey announced £100 million of investment to develop land drone swarms to fly alongside Apache helicopters. Moreover, from this summer, the Army will begin rolling out 3,000 strike drones and 1,000 surveillance drones. It seems that the ten-fold increase in the lethality of the Army is now underway…

Latest Developments in the Defence Industry:

• British Army gets logistics boost as new support vehicles delivered (Army Technology)
• Scott Aerospace wins £114m MoD contract to support UK’s nuclear-powered submarine fleet (The Business Desk)
• UK procures thousands of UAVs (Janes)
• GCAP partners name Edgewing joint venture to deliver next generation fighter (Breaking Defense)
• ICEYE supports Portugal’s space-based defence capabilities (Airforce Technology)
• French government to lead Eutelsat’s $1.56 billion capital boost (Space News)

Direct from Government:

• 1,500 jobs created at UK nuclear weapons headquarters as sector boasts above average wages (MoD Press Release)
• Defence Secretary RUSI Land Warfare Conference 2025 speech (MoD Press Release)
• Boost to UK defence and trade as Carrier Strike Group arrives in the Indo-Pacific (MoD Press Release)
• Homes England acquires Ripon Barracks from the Ministry of Defence to pave way for 1,300 new homes (MoD Press Release)

News from Further Afar:

• A Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) Anzac-class frigate has joined the UK Carrier Strike Group, to enhance interoperability (Janes)
• Held in Canada, the G7 summit was one leader short, after Donald Trump abruptly left, reportedly due to the rapidly evolving situation in the Middle East (BBC)
• Despite a US review into the tri-lateral programme, at a joint press appearance in Canada, Donald Trump and Keir Starmer have agreed that AUKUS will go ahead (Politico)
• Also at the G7 summit, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese held formal negotiations to join a new defence agreement with the EU (The Guardian)
• With the air war between Israel and Iran escalating, The White House announced that it will decide in the next two weeks whether the US will get involved. Shortly after, on Sunday evening, the US announced that it had completed Midnight Hammer, an operation involving 125 US military aircraft targeting three Iranian nuclear facilities: Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan. Iran promised strong retaliation (BBC)

What We’re Keeping an Eye on:

China and the North Pole (The James Gray Chronicles)

• The real long-term strategic threat in the Arctic is not from Russia, but from China, whose military and commercial activity there has vastly increased in the last 6 to 12 months.
• For example, I have it on good authority that as soon as this summer, China is planning a 2.5 mile submersible dive under the ice to the actual sea-bed surface of the North Pole matching the famous exploit on 2 August 2007, when two submersibles planted a rust-proof Titanium alloy Russian flag there.
• A Chinese organisation called the Institute of Deep Sea Scientific Exploration, have a brand new ice-capable polar research vessel Tan Suo San Hao and initial tests of her submersible have recently been completed.
• Read more about geopolitical tensions in the region in former MP James Gray’s book, War in the Arctic?

CMS Podcast of the Week:

Allies in Innovation | Defending Europe, Now and in the Future: Live from Paris Air Show

Coming Up This Week:

Sir Keir Starmer will fly to The Hague for the NATO summit, where he will be under pressure to agree to the alliance’s new target of spending 5% of GDP on defence by 2035. How this increase will be funded will raise questions, given the publication of the Spending Review earlier in June.

Across the world, people will be watching the unfolding conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Iran, with the latter promising a strong response to the US attacks against its nuclear facilities.

Meanwhile, within the UK, all eyes will be on Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, as it is expected that she will proscribe Palestine Action, following the attack at RAF Brize Norton. This would make membership or support of the organisation a criminal offence.

Armed Forces Week also begins on the 23^rd, culminating on the 28^th with Armed Forces Day. The CMS team will be out in full force to support our Armed Forces, and will be participating in the SSAFA 13 Bridges Challenge. Please find the link to our fundraising page here. Any donations to this great cause are appreciated!

Image: Cpl Phil Dye and is under UK MOD © Crown copyright 2024

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