Weekly Defence Rundown 20th – 26th October

Labour was dealt a blow this week after it suffered a major by-election defeat in Caerphilly, losing the seat for the first time in a century to Plaid Cymru. Also at home, the Defence Committee met for their first session post-recess on AUKUS. The Committee heard evidence from defence giants, including Rolls Royce, Babcock, and BAE Systems.

As the long-awaited budget nears, The Telegraph published a leaked MoD internal spending estimate, which revealed that the department is attempting to find over £2.6 billion of cuts to avoid blowing its budget for the 2025/26 financial year. This also comes as the Defence Investment Plan is expected to be published before the end of the year.

Ukraine hit a Russian chemical plant with UK-made Storm Shadow missiles. While the Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration lifted restrictions on Ukraine’s use of the missile inside of Russia, Trump later denied this. Starmer gave his approval last November for Ukraine to use Storm Shadows to strike inside Russia. Later in the week, Starmer hosted Zelenskyy in London for a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, where he pushed allies to donate long-range missiles to Ukraine.

Defence Brief: Key Insights from the Week        

• Royal Navy to spend £150m on mine-hunting drones to counter Russia threat (The Telegraph)
• Army helicopter manufacturer facing staff walkouts in row over pay (The Telegraph)
• MoD faces £2bn budget black hole (The Telegraph)
• Army medical examiners ‘sexually abused new recruits over decades’ (The Telegraph)
• Airbus, Leonardo and Thales strike space deal to rival Musk’s SpaceX (Financial Times)
• How British firms unwittingly helped build Putin’s submarine defences (The Times)
• British and German military aircraft join forces to hunt down Russian submarines (The Independent)
• Babcock hires 300 foreign welders because Scots lack the skills (The Times)
• UK ‘ready to spend well over £100m’ on possible deployment of British troops to Ukraine (Sky News)
• Troops given powers to shoot down drones on sight (The Telegraph)

Industry Latest:

• UK government consultation on new defence procurement strategy (Army Technology)
• ADEX 2025: Hanwha Aerospace unveils K-NIFV (Janes)
• Army reveals formal requirements for howitzer competition (Breaking Defense)
• Britain assessing options for future Hawk jet replacement (UK Defence Journal)
• UK confirms 2028 service entry for new sub-hunting frigates (UK Defence Journal)
• Boeing taps former defense procurement minister for president of its UK arm (Breaking Defense)
• MOD seeks industry partners for new drone testing framework (UK Defence Journal)
• AUSA 2025: GM Defense to deliver over 1,200 ISV-Us in 2026 (Janes)

Direct from Government:

• UK and Germany to jointly hunt Russian submarines from Lossiemouth one year after landmark defence agreement (MoD Press Release)
• Major expansion of Digital & Cyber Bursary scheme in Lancashire to strengthen UK’s ‘Cyber Corridor’ (MoD Press Release)

News from Further Afar:

• The summit in Budapest between Presidents Trump and Putin was cancelled last week. This announcement came after a call between US Secretary or State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, where Russia reportedly failed to budge on its demands to a ceasefire (Financial Times)
• After the summit was cancelled, Russia test-fired a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk launch facility, as well as a Sineva ICBM being launched by a submarine in the Barents Sea (The Telegraph)
• The next day, footage emerged of the aftermath of an attack on Ukrainian civilians in the front-line city of Pokrovsk, marking yet more evidence of Russian war crimes (The Telegraph)
• Following this escalation, Trump announced that the US was imposing sanctions on Russia’s two biggest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil (Financial Times)
• As relations between the US and Russia deteriorated over the past week, Putin revealed that Russia is preparing to deploy a nuclear-powered cruise missile following a successful test flight. According to the Kremlin, the Burevestnik missile – designated Skyfall by NATO – has an unlimited range because it is powered by a small nuclear reactor. Previous tests are believed to have been unsuccessful (The Times)
• Days after Trump terminated US-Canada trade talks over Ontario’s anti-tariff ad featuring Ronald Reagan, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has stated that the country is ready to resume talks (Reuters)

CMS Podcast of the Week:

The General & the Journalist | How does a war over Taiwan play out?

Coming Up This Week:

On Monday afternoon, key officials will face a grilling from MPs on the China spy trial. The saga of the spy case comes as Trump undergoes his five-day Asian tour, which is expected to include a meeting between the US President and China’s Xi.

In a setback for Trump’s Gaza peace plan, King Abdullah of Jordan has stated that foreign countries will reject being drawn into the Israel-Hamas conflict as part of an international force to secure the ceasefire in Gaza. Netanyahu has also entered into the discussion, arguing that Israel will decide which foreign troops are acceptable, insinuating that it will not allow Turkey to deploy troops as part of the force.

On the domestic front, Starmer’s attention for the week appears to be focused on the grooming gang inquiry. While there are no upcoming Defence Committee sessions, House of Commons Defence Questions returns next Monday.

 

Image: LPhot Stainer- Hutchins and is under UK MOD © Crown copyright 2025

CMS Strategic specialises in defence communications and government relations, helping clients operating in the cybersecurity, aerospace, maritime, land, and defence technology fields to stay ahead. CMS Strategic supports defence companies of all sizes in navigating policy changes, engaging with key stakeholders, and aligning their messaging with evolving government priorities.

By continuously monitoring the defence landscape, CMS Strategic ensures its clients stay informed, proactive, and strategically positioned in a fast-changing industry.

Find out more about how our team can assist you

Discover More