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Weekly Defence Rundown 6th – 12th October

by CMS Team on 13 October, 2025

The Conservatives held their annual party conference in Manchester last week. Coming at a difficult time for the Party after several high-profile defections to Reform UK, Kemi Badenoch gave one of the biggest speeches of her political career, which included the announcement that the next Conservative government would abolish stamp duty on the purchase of main homes.

In a major breakthrough in the two-year conflict, Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of President Trump’s 20-point peace plan, involving a ceasefire and hostage release. All living Israeli hostages and the remains of those who have died will be released in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees. The IDF has also begun to pull back from Gaza, allowing thousands of displaced Palestinians to return home.

Sir Keir Starmer was in Mumbai this week, meeting with Prime Minister Modi to discuss UK-India business and trade links. In particular, Starmer hailed a £350 million deal to support 700 jobs in Northern Ireland with the delivery of Belfast-manufactured Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMM) to the Indian Army.

Defence Brief: Key Insights from the Week        

  • Santander hires former head of British Army (The Telegraph)
  • Europe cannot rely on Elon Musk’s SpaceX, top investor warns (Financial Times)
  • Major security breach at British army garrison as wire fence cut and fuel stolen – as investigation launched (LBC)
  • British parts found in Russian drones, Zelensky says (BBC)
  • Defence companies sound warning to the UK (Financial Times)
  • Cooper’s £4m plan to turn tables on Russian hackers (The Telegraph)
  • White House warns UK over China spy case fiasco (The Times)

Industry Latest:

  • BAE Systems partners with Forterra on AMPV prototype drone (UK Defence Journal)
  • UK’s Project Vanquish sets sights on ACP carrier demonstration (Janes)
  • Sikorsky Unveils Nomad Family of UAS designed to land anywhere (Calibre Defence)
  • Varjo unveils ‘refreshed’ XR-4 series mixed reality headset for air, land, and sea training (Janes)
  • Germany’s Helsing to acquire Australian underwater drone maker (Reuters)
  • Germany signs off on $4.4 billion Eurofighter Typhoon deal (Breaking Defense)
  • Challenger 3 – An Overweight Tank? (Defence Eye)
  • UK secures £350m defence contract with India (Army Technology)
  • Loitering with the L-Spike 4X from Rafael (Calibre Defence)

Direct from Government:

  • New defence deals with India deepen strategic partnership and boosts UK business (MoD Press Release)
  • Royal Marines’ bullseye shot stops £35m illegal drugs shipment in the Middle East (MoD Press Release)
  • Hundreds of missiles delivered to Ukraine months ahead of schedule as UK leads Kyiv trade delegation (MoD Press Release)

News from Further Afar:

  • After a tumultuous week in French politics, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has revealed his new government, just days after he resigned and was subsequently reappointed. Lecornu is expected to unveil his budget for next year on Monday (Politico)
  • Amidst France’s political crisis, industry have expressed fears that this could further derail the already troubled Future Combat Air System fight jet, which is being developed alongside Germany and Spain (Politico)
  • Denmark will spend $8.7 billion on 16 F-35 fighter jets, ships, drones, and a new military headquarters in Greenland. $4.5 billion will be spent on increasing its F-35 fleet to 43 jets, while the other $4.2 billion will go towards increasing Arctic security, including investments in two military units in the region, a joint Arctic command HQ in Nuuk (Greenland’s capital), two ships, and maritime patrol aircraft (Financial Times)
  • Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, announced that the country will accelerate plans for a multi-layered ‘T-dome’ missile defence system, amidst growing threats from China (Financial Times)
  • President Trump has suggested that NATO should exclude Spain from the alliance in response to the country’s lagging military spending (Reuters)
  • After languishing on the floor for more than a month, the US Senate has finally passed its $913.9 billion National Defense Authorization Act for FY26 (Breaking Defense)
  • On Friday, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth and his Qatari counterpart signed an agreement allowing Qatar to build an air force facility at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho. The base will host Qatari fighter jets and pilots, who will train alongside Americans (Financial Times)
  • The Pentagon is working to procure $1 billion worth of critical minerals as part of a global stockpiling effort to counter China’s dominance over rare earth metals. This comes after export restrictions imposed by Beijing on many critical minerals and permanent magnets that are critical to defence manufacturers (Financial Times)

CMS Podcast of the Week:

The Rest is Politics | Defence Secretary, John Healey: Is Britain Ready For War?

Coming Up This Week:

President Trump arrived in Israel early this morning, and after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu, is due to address the Knesset. Trump will subsequently due to fly to Egypt, where he will co-chair a ‘peace summit’ with President Sissi, which will be attended by a number of world leaders. Sir Keir Starmer arrived in Egypt late on Sunday night for the summit.

On the domestic front, Parliament has returned from Conference Recess. The first House of Commons Defence Committee session is due to take place on 21st October, while House of Commons Defence Questions doesn’t return until 3rd November.

 

Image: LPhot Bill Spurr 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.

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