South African Army chief on budget issues; ITEC committee chair on simulation and training trends

This week in the Weekly Defence Podcast, we talk to Chief of the South African Army Lieutenant General Lindile Yam about the finance issues facing the service, have a conversation with Dr Elaine Raybourn, ITEC 2019 Committee Chair, about simulation & training, and hear from our sponsor Nammo.

• News Round Up (01:06)

Kicking things off this week, our new sea reporter Jack Richardson talks about the relocation of the EU’s Operation Atalanta command and control centre from the UK to Spain.

Editor-in-chief Richard Thomas covers the US Navy’s progress on their Guided Missile Frigate (FFG(X)) programme, as well as the stalled submarine plans for both the US and UK navies.

Air domain reporter Tim Martin touches upon the current state of Airbus’ UAS programme, currently seeking funding and partners, while Helen Haxell rounds things off with news from SAAB’s annual Gripen briefing. 

• Interview – Lieutenant General Lindile Yam (15:01)

Deputy land editor Beth Maundrill is off travelling the world, and during her time in South Africa she was able to sit down with Lieutenant General Lindile Yam of the South African Army, to talk about the financial problems facing the military in the region. 

• Interview – Dr Elaine Raybourn (29:48)

Trevor Nash, our military training and simulation editor, talks to the committee chair of ITEC, Dr Elaine Raybourn, about the importance of modelling and simulation in modern military training. Technologies such as augmented reality and virtual reality have opened new approaches alongside other technologies, which the ITEC show highlights.

• Industry Voice (41:59)

Tony Skinner, our VP of content, is joined again by Endre Lunde, SVP of Communications for Nammo, who discusses the annual reports being released by the industry and the major trends they reveal.

Music and sound mixing provided by Fred Prest