UK Defence Forum

ArmChairCivvy wrote:They don't have any QE design expertise or technology to transfer.
... then they have good salesmen

You're putting a shed load of credibility on the "Korean Herald". A source that I'll bet you've never heard of before.

Can't see anything wrong with them:
www.koreaherald.com
The Korea Herald is South Korea's largest English-language daily and the country's sole member of the Asia News Network (ANN).

ArmChairCivvy wrote:Can't see anything wrong with them:
http://www.koreaherald.com
The Korea Herald is South Korea's largest English-language daily and the country's sole member of the Asia News Network (ANN).

Google to the rescue eh?

Isn't "The Sun" the leading English language newspaper in the UK

leading,,, as for reading age, yes.

But you know full well that in Asia dailies in English are not for the visiting tourists, but people who need to look (and connect) across borders
- FT's German edition (no, it's not in German) comes to mind as a parallel. The contents are not identical between the editions

You are only annoyed because they (Herald) said the exact opposite about Babcock compared to what you been saying. You know, that company that was bidding 'lego ships' into a serious competition

Not annoyed but puzzled why you would take a newspaper from the opposite side of the world, which you had never heard of before, as being gospel about a naval technicality in the UK.

As for who designed the QE's, that's a matter of historical fact: Babcock's didn't.

End of discussion.

Not so fast...
the news piece had carrier aviation (not carriers per se) and submarines. The latter you have chosen to overlook, but the UK Gvmnt says that they have
"a critical relationship with our major Tier 1 suppliers - BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Babcock - as well as our wider supply chain. Building on the Submarine Enterprise Performance Programme, we balance commercial tension with the necessary partnering behaviours "

By now we have ticked off the two items that the Herald wrote about
... but not the fact that you try to write off Babcock at every opportunity. They did win the "Lego" contest, despite your many attestations to the contrary.

OK, the two items they wrote about, and your hidden agenda 'ticked' off
... happy now? We can close this off NB I am not even saying who was on the opposite side of that 'third' Babcock disagreement on these pages

https://news.sky.com/story/defence-chie ... r-12151847

Defence chiefs are in talks about a move to take over one of Britain's oldest steelmakers in an attempt to shore up the supply chain of Britain's nuclear submarine fleet.

Sky News has learnt that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is holding preliminary discussions about acquiring control of Sheffield Forgemasters, which traces its roots back to the 1750s.

Steel industry sources said this weekend that the MoD had enlisted the accountancy firm Deloitte to advise it on the talks with the privately owned company.

They cautioned that an outright takeover of the business was only one of a number of options being examined, and that any agreement was likely to be several months away.

Certainly a change in attitude from the government, even if it comes to nothing. The fact they've got this far is saying something.

topman wrote:Certainly a change in attitude from the government, even if it comes to nothing. The fact they've got this far is saying something.

The irony is that if the Government had given them a business loan back in the financial crisis 10+ years ago we wouldn't need to be thinking about taking them over. They were trying to diversify into other steel products but were up against it due to the huge subsidies that other steel makers got from national governments. They're one of the most skilled metal working companies on earth. We could even get them to make gun barrels in country again...

A super gun perhaps!!

whitelancer wrote:A super gun perhaps!!

Seems like we have one already
"Gerald Bull’s story is a fascinating one full of intrigue and tragedy. Like very few others, his fate was tied to events on the world stage. Yet his ill luck owed much to his personality and insensitive pursuit of his dream. After the fall of Iraq in Operation Desert Storm, Project Babylon was dismantled entirely and shipped back to the UK where most of its parts had originated."
- if we have not done Aluminium Alloys Mk2 and shipped it all across the Atlantic

https://www.damninteresting.com/project ... -downfall/

Could we go the whole Hogg and have a completely unmanned islander

https://britten-norman.com/britten-norm ... n-network/

https://www.cityam.com/uk-to-announce-s ... ssion=true

UK version of DARPA to be announced, and with funding of £200 million per annum over the next four years. It seems the money is coming from HMT, rather than the already tight MoD budget

dmereifield wrote:https://www.cityam.com/uk-to-announce-s ... ssion=true

UK version of DARPA to be announced, and with funding of £200 million per annum over the next four years. It seems the money is coming from HMT, rather than the already tight MoD budget

DERA reborn?

I feel something was lost went QientiQ was spun off, commercialised and eventually went public. Still an exciting company but that creative drive was never adequately replaced, inhouse at least, by the MoD/government.

I agree exactly
"DERA reborn?

I feel something was lost went QientiQ was spun off, commercialised and eventually went public. Still an exciting company but that creative drive was never adequately replaced, inhouse at least, by the MoD/government."

But £200 mln pa of funding for projects that are now risk free; with the ones on the go capped at two makes it 100 mil per piece, so not spread wafer-thin
- you can always cancel one, to get to the next one
- and the now public company has many follow-on capabilities that will not need to be rebuilt

As regards our AFV industry (the loss of it), I am still in mourning as it works on constant improvement, revolutions come as few and far in-between, so could have worked just fine without needing any 'crutches'

DPRTE 2021 :-

https://www.defenceonline.co.uk/2021/03 ... prte-2021/

We have all kinds of constructs, like a 'Golden Share' that flies in the face of all Governance Guidelines developed later, after the Golden Share mechanism was put in place.

Rather more straight-forward action seen in Germany:
DefenceNews reports from BERLIN —
The German government is buying a minority stake in defense supplier Hensoldt, a company that derives from European aircraft manufacturer Airbus’ former defense and security electronics division.

The state-owned KfW development bank said Monday that it was buying 25.1 percent of the shares in Hensoldt on behalf of the federal government in Berlin. That gives the government a blocking minority under German law.

Germany’s Cabinet decided in December to buy the stake to prevent “unfriendly powers” from acquiring materiel such as sensors and encryption technology for military use, news agency dpa reported."

ArmChairCivvy wrote:
Germany’s Cabinet decided in December to buy the stake to prevent “unfriendly powers” from acquiring materiel such as sensors and encryption technology for military use, news agency dpa reported."

Doesn't seem to stop Germany doing the same to its "partners".

Ron5 wrote:

ArmChairCivvy wrote:
Germany’s Cabinet decided in December to buy the stake to prevent “unfriendly powers” from acquiring materiel such as sensors and encryption technology for military use, news agency dpa reported."

Doesn't seem to stop Germany doing the same to its "partners".

C'on Old Boy; what have they done (this time around) ?

An interesting development

https://www.defensenews.com/global/euro ... -hensoldt/

ROME – Italy’s Leonardo will buy a 25.1 percent stake in Germany sensor company Hensoldt for 606 million euros ($730 million), the company said.

By purchasing the stake from U.S. investment fund KKR, Leonardo will become the joint largest shareholder in the company alongside German state-controlled bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW).

The move brings together two firms that have worked on the Eurofighter program and gives a nudge to European consolidation in the defense electronics sector.

Leonardo CEO Alessandro Profumo said the deal would bring together the firms’ “complementary strengths,” while “preserving national technologies and capabilities.”

He added, “This investment reflects our long-held view on the importance of building cooperation across the European aerospace and defense industry.”

Upon closing of the deal, which prices Hensoldt at 23 euros a share, Leonardo will propose two new members to join the German firm’s board.

Ron5 wrote:

ArmChairCivvy wrote:They don't have any QE design expertise or technology to transfer.
... then they have good salesmen

You're putting a shed load of credibility on the "Korean Herald". A source that I'll bet you've never heard of before.

Guess what

If you are reading these more serious docs - or may be not - you will find that the company you ridicule
all the time (for an unknown reason ) - is providing the weapons handling system for sub-surface ; for the next order of the Korean Navy submarines

In-Space Missions Ltd awarded contract for Titania research satellite :-

https://www.joint-forces.com/space-and- ... e-contract

Jankel invests in new UK factory :-

https://www.joint-forces.com/defence-eq ... production

jonas wrote:Jankel invests in new UK factory :-

https://www.joint-forces.com/defence-eq ... production

Interesting, they are assembling 199 vehicles for export to Belgium at the site....

https://www.ukdsc.org/press-releases/sp ... te-member/

UK Defence Solutions Centre is pleased to announce that Spirit AeroSystems has become a UKDSC Associate Member.

Spirit AeroSystems is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of aerostructures for commercial aircraft, defence platforms, and business/regional jets. Headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, Spirit has two key UK facilities in Prestwick and Belfast with around 3,600 employees. Major drivers in their local economies, both sites have extensive UK supply chains, and state-of-the-art, collaborative innovation centres. The Prestwick centre has recently been completed with investment of £25m. Spirit is Northern Ireland’s single largest exporter, inward investor and manufacturer.

The company is supporting the Ministry of Defence’s Mosquito and Tempest projects and its Belfast operation is leading Team MOSQUITO on the development and manufacture of a technology demonstrator, with a full-scale vehicle flight test planned for late 2023. The programme is enabling the development of cutting-edge technologies, which will create and sustain high-value jobs, and maintain critical skills in the UK.