Armoured vehicles analysis, Kuwaiti rotary-wing troubles, and German-Norwegian submarine code debate

In this episode of the Weekly Defence Podcast, we bring you the latest from land, air and naval domains. 

We discuss the armoured vehicle sector, especially in Asia and Europe where ageing vehicle fleets have implications for procurement, and Air Marshal Gerry Mayhew gives us his insight into new-generation capabilities and aircraft.

• News Round (00:50)  

Land Reporter Flavia Camargos Pereira describes Finnish and Latvian cooperation to produce an armoured wheeled vehicle system. After the two countries signed a technical agreement, a new high-performance vehicle will be supplied that is based on Patria’s 6x6 platform. This is an armoured wheeled vehicle chassis that Finland and Latvia hope will provide mobility to a low cost. Deliveries will begin next year, after completion of the research phase.

Flavia also discusses a programme milestone in Canada, where the Department of National Defence announced completion of their Medium Support Vehicle System programme. This replaces a 30 year-old fleet of medium logistic vehicles. 

News Editor Ben Vogel looks into problems in Kuwait, after the strange decision of the MoD to announce via social media that it is halting acceptance of Airbus H225M Caracal helicopters. Based on the latest reports, technical faults were found on two Caracals and a technical committee has been set up to examine the issues – but Airbus say it is still awaiting official notification.

Senior Editor- Naval, Richard Thomas, describes how Germany and Norway’s different use cases and operating environments for their jointly developed Type 212CD submarine programme remain obstacles, as the two countries continue to debate how to apply the Naval Submarine Code. The code is designed to ensure safety and best practices for industry and operators. Discussions between Germany and Norway on how best to utilise the submarine code have been in progress for up to two years, although the two parties are yet to find common ground and finalise an agreement.

• Deep Dive – Armoured Vehicle market forecast

Senior Analyst at Shephard, Sonny Butterworth sits down for a chat with our news editor to talk about the latest market forecast based on our Defence Insight research. Specifically, Sonny focuses on the armoured vehicle market both in Europe and Asia-Pacific regions. With the 2019 being a notable year for the global AV market, the procurement spending for ground forces is expect to increase by 9.5% with over $26 billion expected to be spent in 2020. 

• Interview with Air Marshal Gerry Mayhew

VP Content Tony Skinner talks with UK Royal Air Force Deputy Commander, Operations
Air Marshal Gerry Mayhew, for insight on progress and status of the new generation of aircraft and new capabilities that are being introduced in the air domain. 

Music and sound mixing provided by Fred Prest