Chinese military modernisation, German defence procurement and ‘leading from home’ in a COVID-19 world

In this episode of the Weekly Defence Podcast, we focus on how some countries such as Germany continue to run their domestic procurements as scheduled despite the COVID-19 crisis; we take a deep dive into China’s military modernisation; and we consider the challenges for the defence media industry due to defence exhibitions being postponed or cancelled. 

Newsround (00:22)

In the news this week…

The US DoD has established five new ethical principles to operate in a future where AI technologies are fielded at scale. A group within the DoD will provide procurement guidance, test and evaluation capabilities, training strategies and a range of other measures.

DARPA’s Collaborative Operations in Denied Environments (CODE) has reached a new stage with its transition to NAVAIR’s supervision. The software, which will allow UAVs to retain their mission data, could ultimately be installed on existing and new unmanned air vehicles in the next five years.

The Czech Army is improving the mobility and situational awareness of its ground forces as the Czech MoD announced the delivery of four new command-staff and communication variants of the 8x8 Pandur II to provide better communication on the battlefield. The vehicles were procured under a $650 million contract awarded to Tatra Defence Vehicle in 2017.

On the naval side, we hear how senior former UK defence officials have called for the country to renew its MCM fleet once the current Hunt and Sandown classes leave service, given the importance of their role in the Arabian Gulf and the key capability its US ally relies heavily upon.

Focus: Air Editor Tim Martin focuses on the latest news on the air domain coming from Germany this week. The German MoD’s has announced that their domestic procurements schedule is coping with the COVID-19 pandemic with just a few hints of running behind schedule.  

Deep Dive – Interview IISS (17:09) 

Senior Editor - Naval Richard Thomas interviews Meia Nouwens, IISS Research Fellow for the Chinese Defence Policy and Military Modernisation, to discuss China’s military modernisation efforts, how its doctrine supports its aims and the strategic intentions over key infrastructure programmes such as the Belt and Road and String of Pearls initiatives.  

Interview – Shepard Media CEO (35:35)

VP content Tony Skinner talks to Shepard Media CEO Darren Lake about the implications of defence exhibitions around the world being cancelled or postponed due to coronavirus.

Industry Voice: Nammo (45:05)

Tony grabs a chat with Endre Lunde, senior vice president communications at Nammo, about some tips on working from home and how to approach this extended period of remote working as smoothly as possible.

Music and sound mixing provided by Fred Prest