Furthering defence innovation, military procurement across Asia-Pacific and navigating global uncertainty

In this episode of the Weekly Defence Podcast, we take a look at the European defence industrial landscape and how to foster innovation and agility, hear about defence developments from across the Asia Pacific and consider the response to times of global uncertainty.

News-round (00:37)
News editor Ben Vogel talks about the militarisation of space with the news that Russia has conducted another direct-ascent anti-satellite (DA-ASAT) missile test.

According to a USPACECOM statement,the Russian system is capable of destroying satellites in low Earth orbit, and the latest tests may be related to movements of Cosmos 2542 and Cosmos 2543 satellites in February, when they carried out manoeuvres near a US government satellite.

Land Reporter Flavia Camargos Pereira discusses France and Germany announcement of a cooperation to develop the Main Ground Combat System.

Deep Dive – News from the Asia Pacific (11:41)
Asia Pacific Editor Gordon Arthur discusses all the latest defence news from this key region, including:

Philippines
The Philippine Air Force’s search to obtain new helicopters made a step forward as the US State Department announced a potential FMS of either the Bell AH-1Z Viper or Boeing AH-64E Apache.

China
The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) commissioned two new Type 094 Jin-class nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarines (SSBN), according to Chinese media reports. This brings to six the number of Type 094s in the PLAN.

South Korea
Kia Motors in South Korea had been awarded a $1.36 billion contract to provide thousands of new 2.5t and 5t tactical trucks for the nation’s military.

Interview: Innovation of the defence ecosystem (30:00)

Ben Vogel is on the line with Lorenz Lemhaus, a defence innovation consultant for SMEs in Germany, who considers how the defence industry has evolved over the years from sourcing funds nationally to be open to international partnerships.  Lorenz also explains what needs to change to pave the way for SMEs to be closely aligned with defence bodies. 

Industry voice: Nammo (51:53)
VP content Tony Skinner speaks to Senior VP Communications at Nammo Endre Lunde about new requirements for the defence industry in a time of global tensions, how industry is dealing with uncertainty, and the importance of international cooperation.

Music and sound mixing by Fred Prest