The Shephard Defence Podcast

In this episode of The Weekly Defence Podcast, we discuss UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Integrated Review announcement in the House of Commons on Tuesday 16 March ahead of the MoD Command Paper to be released next week; and we look at attitude of the Biden administration to Indo-Pacific partnerships.  Newsround [00:48] Raytheon Missiles & Defense claims to have successfully completed the ‘...

In this episode of The Weekly Defence Podcast, we talk to BAE Systems Hägglunds about a midlife upgrade of CV90 combat vehicles; and we also hear from Swedish security network company Clavister about their development of a cyber security solution for the same platform.  Newsround [00:58]  The Belgian Air Component has been forced to ground its entire F-16 fleet for urgent checks, following an inci...

In this episode of The Weekly Defence Podcast we talk with Shephard’s Military Training editor for an update from his domain, and we are joined by Defence Insight’s Naval Analyst for a discussion about today’s second-hand warship market.  Newsround [00:46] In Europe, the four NATO allies in the Visegrad Group aim to acquire more sophisticated defence equipment after recently deciding to jointly pr...

In this episode of The Weekly Defence Podcast, we discuss some of the main highlights from the floor of IDEX 2021; and in an interview with Curtiss Wright company PacStar we discuss developments in battlefield tactical communications and the challenges ahead.   Newsround [00:46] The Shephard news team is joined by freelance contributor Leonid Nersisyan, calling in from Abu Dhabi where he attended...

In this episode of The Weekly Defence Podcast we are joined by Shephard Defence Insight team for a close look at the surge in procurement  of tactical transport aircraft, due to increased airlift requirements brought by the COVID-19 pandemic; and in a conversation with US company FLIR we look at the current use, benefits and challenges of robotic ground vehicles.  Newsround [00:35] The Indian mili...

In this episode of The Weekly Defence Podcast we talk to the International Centre for Defence and Security in Estonia to explore threats posed by Russia to countries in the Baltic region, and in an interview with Raytheon we talk about digital engineering and its use to create virtual platforms and systems to facilitate real world programmes. Newsround [00:38]  At Aero India 2021 , Hindustan Aeron...

In this episode of The Weekly Defence Podcast, we talk to our Asia-Pacific editor about the coup in Myanmar and all the other key defence news from his region; and in an interview with UK-based urban combat training specialists, 4GD, we discuss newly launched capabilities which will add to their Smart Facility training environment. Newsround [00:35] Russian state media report that the Sprut-SDM1 s...

In this episode of The Weekly Defence Podcast, we talk to Elbit Systems UK about the company’s recent award by the UK MoD to provide shore-based training; and in an interview with Huntington Ingalls Industries, we discuss recent unmanned acquisition and challenges to CONOPS in the maritime domain. Newsround [00:31]  In Russia, the Atlet family of armoured vehicles is set to enter state trials in e...

In this episode of The Weekly Defence Podcast, we look at how armed forces respond to the growing grey zone threats to critical communications; and in an interview with Leonardo we get an update on their Falco Xplorer MALE UAV programme.  Newsround [00:36] In Brussels, where the European Council has established a set of common features for export end-user certificates for small arms and related am...

In this episode of The Weekly Defence Podcast we speak to a Washington DC-based defence industry advisor about the upcoming US presidential transition and the challenges ahead for the US defence community, and in an interview with a Security Researcher at DomainTools we discuss evolving cyber threats and what countermeasures countries worldwide are developing. Newsround [00:39] Russia remains opti...

In this first episode of Season 3 of The Weekly Defence Podcast, we talk to the Director of Analysis at Shephard Defence Insight for a glimpse of what to expect from current and new defence programmes in 2021; and in an interview with CSIS we discuss recent developments in the US Army OMFV programme. Newsround [00:40] Australia has become the seventh country to declare initial operational capabili...

In this episode of the Weekly Defence Podcast, we say goodbye to 2020 by looking back at some of our best coverage of the year across the land, air and sea domains. Naval desk coverage and worldwide defence news [00:38] News Editor Ben Vogel highlights some of the main stories written by Shephard’s contributors reporting from outside the UK. - In March, we reported on deployment of a new Turkish r...

In this episode of the Weekly Defence Podcast, as we welcome in the new year, we take the chance to look back at some of our best coverage from across the Asia-Pacific region and the military training sector. Asia Pacific 2020 highlights [00:44]  Senior Editor Naval Richard Thomas is on the line with Shephard’s Asia-Pacific Editor Gordon Arthur to wrap up some of the main news from his region in 2...

In this episode, we talk to a defence and aerospace analyst about next-generation air-to-air missiles, and in conversation with the Netherlands chapter of EuroDefense, a private and independent initiative, we gain an insight into their paper proposal. Newsround [00:42] In Turkey, the navy took delivery of its first P-72A maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft. This platform brings capabilitie...

In this episode of The Weekly Defence Podcast, we discuss the virtual I/ITSEC exhibition with our Military Training Editor, and following the Sandia National Laboratories test which saw a mock B-61-12 weapons drop from an F-35A, we talk to the  director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists for an expert insight on this new capability. Newsround (00:51) In Rus...

In this episode of The Weekly Defence Podcast, we discuss Russia's efforts to develop a tactical hypersonic weapon, talk to Defence Insight's Analyst-Air Ilker Aktasoglu about contemporary training aircraft capabilities, and in an interview with Supacat we find out about some of the company’s vehicle technology programmes in the broader context of UK defence policy. Newsround  General At...

In this episode of The Weekly Defence Podcast, we go in-depth with Defence Insight's Senior Land Analyst on the Middle Eastern and North African armoured vehicle market, and the head of CAE’s defence division casts an eye over the military simulation and training sector. Newsround: (00:41) Iran last week unveiled a large multipurpose combat vessel called Shahid Rudaki , although official clai...

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 f...

In this episode of The Weekly Defence Podcast,  we talk to the Australian Strategic Policy institute to discuss what side-effects the US election results could have on defence and security policies in the Pacific region, and in an interview with BAE Systems we discuss ongoing cyber developments set to support land forces in the future battlespace. Newsround: (00:38)  In Australia, the KF41 Lynx wi...

In this episode of The Weekly Defence Podcast, we bring together our team of journalists and editors to discuss the influence and impact of the result on the defence sector, the potential policy implications for the US military, and the potential effects of the result on European defence and relations with NATO countries; and we get the perspective of a former US Army Lieutenant General. Newsround...

In this episode of The Weekly Defence Podcast our Air Editor talks to Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies about Skyborg and Loyal Wingman programmes and we consider how the UK MoD integrated review could change UK defence and security policy in the Asia-Pacific region. Newsround: (00:40) The US Army will evaluate the Patria Nemo 120mm turreted mortar system in a Foreign Comparative Testing ex...

In this episode of The Weekly Defence Podcast we talk to software supplier Aerogility about its cloud-based predictive maintenance and forecasting solutions; and catch up with our Military Training Editor on recent developments and technologies in that field. Newsround (00:32) In the US, GM Defense is set to deliver the initial batch of prototype Infantry Support Vehicles to the US Army for testin...

In this episode of The Weekly Defence Podcast, we talk to the CEO of Infrastrata about the company’s acquisition of two historic UK shipyards and we take a plunge into the world of loitering munitions after US manufacturer AeroVironment released a new variant of its Switchblade series. Newsround (00:35) Researchers funded by the US Army have developed a method of fabricating 3D photonic crystals ,...

In this episode of The Weekly Defence Podcast we bring you all the news from across the Asia Pacific and talk with Leidos UK about the how the company is looking to expand its services in national security and defence. Newsround (00:35) In Europe, two types of UGV from Estonia -based Milrem Robotics can now be equipped with a loitering munition launcher from Israeli firm UVision. In Bulgaria, prop...

In this episode of The Weekly Defence Podcast, we talk to Blighter Surveillance Systems about 3D drone detection radar technology; we explore the concept of hybrid and grey zone warfare in an interview with QinetiQ; and we chat to our sponsor IAI about cyber security challenges facing governments in a post-Covid world. Newsround (00:45) In the Caucasus, fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over...