UK injects £16.5 billion into defence, China’s microwave weapons and Sense-Through-The-Wall capabilities

In this episode of The Weekly Defence Podcast we speak with UK-based company Iceni Labs on its work with the UK MoD to develop a range of technologies including the SafeScan Tactical Sense-Through-The-Wall radar, and we catch-up on all the news from the Asia Pacific.

Newsround (00:38)

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on 19 November a £16.5bn defence spending injection, the biggest boost for the sector since the Cold War. The new package includes a new focus on the space domain.

In the same statement to the House of Commons, he also provided an update on the Integrated Review and said its results would be released in early 2021. 

The US Missile Defense Agency and industry partners are claiming a breakthrough in defence against long-range ballistic missiles after conducting an interceptor test against an ICBM target on 17 November.

The Aegis Combat System on the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS John Finn was upgraded to integrate the Standard Missile 3 Block 2A missile. 

The Pakistan Navy commissioned into service the newest member of its fleet, PNS Tabuk, at a ceremony at the port of Constanza, Romania on 12 November, before it begins its transit home to begin operations in 2021. 

News in Focus

Land Reporter Flavia Camargos Pereira reports on the Brazilian MoD’s new line of investments which calls for higher defence spending across the country’s military forces. Can Brazil afford to make plans for the procurement of new capabilities? 

The US Army has awarded Lockheed Martin a $339 million contract to field a prototype Mid-Range Capability battery by 2023 to integrate the Tomahawk cruise missile and Standard Missile-6 into a new ground-launch system. News Editor Ben Vogel looks at what the US Army is looking to achieve with this new capability.

A report from the UK Public Accounts Committee has raised questions about the UK's carrier strike capabilities. The 13 November report claims that the Crowsnest AEW radar system has been subjected to ‘poor contractor performance and inadequate departmental oversight.’ Air Editor Tim Martin reports on the matter. 

Deep Dive – News from the Asia Pacific (25:50)

Senior Editor Naval Richard Thomas is on the line with Asia Pacific Editor Gordon Arthur to discuss the major defence headlines from the past month in the region.

Interview- Iceni Labs (47:12)

Ben Vogel speaks with Alexander Giles, Chief Commercial Officer at UK- based enterprise Iceni Labs, about the newly developed SafeScan Technology. This Sense-Through-The-Wall (STTW) capability allows operators to identify individuals through barriers such as walls and doors without the requirement to physically penetrate a structure.

This episode was produced by Noemi Distefano with music and sound mixing by Fred Prest