Weekly Defence Rundown 30th June – 6th July 2025

by CMS Team on 07 July, 2025

While Defence garnered fewer headlines than in previous weeks, last week was nonetheless a busy week for UK Defence in Parliament, with House of Commons Defence Questions being followed by two Defence Committee Sessions – on access to Defence finance and the work of the Secretary of State for Defence.

In other news, as reported by POLITICO, the UK and Germany are shortly due to sign a comprehensive defence treaty, which will include a mutual assistance clause, in the event of a threat to either country. Building on the Trinity House Agreement signed last year, it is believed that this will signed on 17^th July before both country’s Parliaments rise for summer recess.

It has also been reported by the Financial Times that British production of the Eurofighter Typoon has now halted, with final orders of the aircraft drying up. This raises concerns that key industrial skills needed for GCAP may be lost.

Defence Brief: Key Insights from the Week

British-made Typhoon production grinds to a halt raising fears about UK defence skills (Financial Times)
Defence companies facing uphill battle for financing (The Observer)
UK and Germany prepare to sign wide-ranging mutual defence treaty (Politico)
UK halts resettlement scheme for Afghans who worked alongside British forces (Financial Times)
Four remanded in custody after £7m of damage caused to aircraft at RAF Brize Norton (Sky News)
Royal Navy warship tracks Russian sub in UK waters (BBC)

Industry Latest:

Bernd Kogel to lead DSEI Germany as global defence event expands (Army Technology)
KNDS, Rheinmetall form JV for MARTE tank in Europe (Army Technology)
Skyeton and Prevail Partners Form Drone Joint Venture (Calibre Defence)
Hanwha Aerospace wins contract to develop new UAV engine (Janes)
Finland signs LoI to acquire SAR satellites from ICEYE (Airforce Technology)
RTX, Shield AI announce new partnership for drone & counter-drone tech (Breaking Defense)
Terma to deliver EW upgrades for Argentinian F-16 aircraft (Airforce Technology)

Direct from Government:

Launch of new body to harness innovative tech for the UK’s Armed Forces (MoD Press Release)

News from Further Afar:

Following the White House’s decision to halt shipments of high-value weapons, Ukraine summoned John Ginkel, the US embassy’s deputy chief of mission in Ukraine. Defence department spokesman Sean Parnell later said that the halt came after a “capability review” aimed to ensure “US military aid aligns with defence priorities” (Financial Times)
Lieutenant General Alfons Mais, head of the German Army, was fired following a series of blunt public comments about the state of the armed forces (The Times)
Russia claimed that it has taken full control of Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region. If true, this would make it the first Ukrainian region to fall fully under the control of Russian forces since the country annexed Crimea in 2014 (Reuters)
The Carrier Strike Group was joined by Australian frigate HMAS Sydney in preparation for Exercise Talisman Sabre (Forces News)

CMS Podcast of the Week:

BFBS Radio Sitrep: Defence Explained | Are we preparing for the wrong war?

Coming Up This Week:

Potentially another quiet week in Defence, with only one Defence Committee session due to be held on the UK’s Contribution to European Security. As part of the Committee’s ongoing inquiry, members will have the chance to question Minister for the Armed Forces, Luke Pollard.

Elsewhere in Parliament, Yvette Cooper will face questions from MPs in Home Office oral questions on Monday, while on Tuesday, a Westminster Hall Debate is being held on military helicopters and blood cancers.

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