IMDEX Asia, Maritime Cyberspace and all hail the King Stallion

What is it like to fly the King Stallion? What’s the naval news from IMDEX Asia 2019? What was covered at the co-located UDT/EW Europe/ITEC show in Stockholm? 

This week on the Weekly Defence Podcast, we cover the ITEC, UDT and EW Europe shows in Stockholm, talk to Sikorsky’s CH-53K test pilot and our sponsor Nammo features in our Industry Voice segment. 

• News Round Up (01:14)

At IMDEX Asia 2019, the team saw numerous companies touting their naval wares – ST Engineering was present, showcasing their Vanguard 130 vessel, which seems to tick all the requirements the Singapore Navy has recently announced regarding their next multirole combat vessel.

Drass Galeazzi, an Italian defence company, revealed that it was building multiple ‘midget submarines’ (ranging from 30m to 40m). However, the company was tight-lipped regarding who the submarines were for, not even hinting at a region.

Meanwhile, Vard Marine has identified a possible replacement for the Protector-class OPVs operated by the Royal New Zealand Navy - the Vard 7-110 platform, itself the basis of the US Coast Guard’s future Offshore Patrol Cutter.

The team also cover the various conferences that took place at the event, reporting on topics such as the threat of increased connectivity between maritime vessels and how it may be subverted, the threats posed by contractors accessing ships during their maintenance cycles and the continuing demand for innovation.

IMDEX Asia 2019: Vard Marine identifies design for possible Protector replacement
IMDEX Asia 2019 Daily News – Day One
IMDEX Asia 2019 Daily News – Day Two
IMDEX Asia 2019 Daily News – Day Three

• Event Attendance – UDT, EW Europe and ITEC Report (13:17)

Helen Haxell, air editor, Beth Maundrill, deputy land editor, and Kate Martyr, staff reporter, were in Stockholm attending the co-located UDT, EW Europe and ITEC events. They cover Leonardo’s BriteCloud being picked up by the US for trials, Sweden upgrading its naval fleet with two A26 submarines, as well as speaking with the CEO of JFD Sweden, Anders Magnerfelt, about military diver capabilities and CAE’s VP and general manager, Europe and Africa, Marc-Olivier Sabourin about military pilot training demands and key European training programmes.

EW Europe 2019: Leonardo’s BriteCloud squares up to US testing
UDT 2019: Swedish navy re-equips to face future challenges
ITEC 2019: CAE addresses pilot shortage (video)

• Interview – John Rucci, Sikorsky (25:37)

Tim Martin, our senior reporter, met with John Rucci, Sikorsky test pilot, to talk about the CH-53K King Stallion. Set to replace the CH-47 Chinook, they discuss the capabilities of the prototype helicopter, what it’s like flying such a platform, and the current status of the program.

• Industry Voice (45:50)

This week in our Industry Voice, Tim Martin talks to the SVP of Communications for Nammo, Endre Lunde, about new technologies and the state of innovation as displayed at the Sea Air Space show in Maryland.

Music and sound mixing provided by Fred Prest