UK Defence Journal 'Weekly Brief'

Posted: 26th May 2024

Welcome to the UK Defence Journal ‘Weekly Brief’. Below you will find some of the most popular articles on our website over the last week.

Britain takes delivery of more new F-35 jets

With one aircraft lost in an accident and four test jets in the US, there are now 30 of the type in operational service in the UK.

British Typhoon jets conduct Agile Combat Employment

The ACE deployment concluded with the Typhoons returning to Romania, where they will continue their NATO enhanced Air Policing mission until the end of June, before heading back to RAF…

US releases new images of B-21 stealth bomber in flight

The US Air Force has released the first images of the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider stealth bomber during flight testing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Ukrainian forces sink Russian corvette in Sevastopol

An attack, which likely included a combination of one-way attack drones and ATACMS missiles, almost certainly resulted in the sinking of the KARAKURT-Class Corvette ‘TSIKLON’.

2F%2Fukdefencejournal.org.uk%2F%3Fnltr=NjA7MzAxOTtodHRwczovL3VrZGVmZW5jZWpvdXJuYWwub3JnLnVrL3N1cnZleS1yZXZlYWxzLTIzLW9mLXBlcnNvbm5lbC10by1sZWF2ZS1mb3JjZXMtZHVlLXRvLXBheS87OzA2ZTZmNDhjNmYyNTUyZDkzYWE2Yjc1YWExYjRjYWEz/3/0102018fb2c39222-29147a76-5b2e-4651-83c2-5650ef3102a3-000000/qurcu-FvnwTWtSNf3esgQs3-JPc=375”>British Army personnel are the most satisfied with service life (44), followed by RAF (37%), then Royal Marines and Royal Navy personnel (33% and 32%, respectively).

New frigate crew follow the guns of Glasgow

The crew of Britain’s newest frigate, HMS Glasgow, embarked on a pilgrimage to the sites where the original HMS Glasgow fought 80 years ago during the D-Day landings.

New record 34.8-hour Global Hawk flight

This surpasses the previous record of 34.4 hours and the manufacturer’s record of 30 hours and 24 minutes.

Royal Marines prepare for Normandy landings

Commandos will provide a dramatic commemoration of the Normandy landings by deploying landing craft.

Minister for Defence Procurement visits Boxer factory

During the visit, the ministerial delegation engaged with the skilled team of welders, fitters, and mechanics working on the new armoured vehicles.

British F-35 fleet to increase to 74 aircraft by 2033

Discussions are underway for the procurement of an additional 27 F-35 aircraft in Tranche 2, aimed at enhancing the UK’s Carrier Enabled Power Projection capability.

MoD to boost armed forces munitions production

£10 billion will be allocated to munitions production.

BAE signs contract with Sweden for new CV9035 MkIIIC vehicles

BAE Systems has signed a contract with the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) for new CV9035 MkIIIC vehicles, as well as associated integrated logistic support.