Boats on a plane, Turkish sanctions and corvette market insight

In this episode of The Weekly Defence Podcast, our news team looks into a new UK airdrop boat requirement and discusses the state of play in Turkey vis-à-vis US sanctions; we speak to our naval analyst at Shephard Defence Insight about trends in the corvette market; and our sponsor Bell sheds light on its plans for a US Army future helicopter programme.

Newsround [ 01:51]

At the Sea-Air-Space show in Maryland this week, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Mike Gilday said the navy and industry are tackling shipbuilding delays. Heavy use of analytics has resulted in an 80% cut in delays in public shipyards, and a 60% cut in private yards.

In China, analysis of commercial satellite imagery shows another large ICBM silo facility under construction in eastern Xinjiang. Together with a similar facility in Gansu Province, this developments reflects a massive and unprecedented investment in China in intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The UK has joined the growing group of nations that are dedicating more resources to the space domain. The new Space Command, which officially opened on 30 July, will oversee assets such as the UK Space Operations Centre, RAF Flyingdales, SKYNET and more.

In focus:

Host Alix Valenti, Air Editor Tim Martin and Senior Naval Reporter Harry Lye delve into an RfI from the UK MoD for a new airdrop boat capability for the A400M, and the team also takes a look at how Turkey is forging ahead with military air programmes despite the imposition of US sanctions last December.

Deep Dive - Corvettes [27:11] 

Multimedia journalist Noemi Distefano speaks with Harriet Haywood about market trends and procurement gaps for corvettes.  Which countries need these vessels, and why?

Industry Voice – Bell [45:45]

Chris Gehler, Vice President and Program Director for the 360 Invictus, speaks to Tony Skinner about Bell's new Systems Integration Lab (SIL) and the company's proposal for the US Army’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft.

This episode was produced by Ben Vogel with music and sound mixing by Fred Prest.