First flight with an F-35 carrying Meteor BVRAAM conducted (its a tight fit on the smaller internal bay of the F-35B) Initially aimed to be operational by mid-2020s, has now slipped to before the end of decade Hopefully a sign the process is speeding up www.raf.mod.uk/news/article...

Latest update to 🇬🇧 armed forces and equipment lists is now out (after a few days delay) Lower numbers in most areas as you would expect, & that is without latest cuts factored in, but with some growth in new equipment (eg Ajax up to 128 from 44 and MLRS up to 43 from 29) www.gov.uk/government/s...

An interesting read: There will be some frustrated at the development budget cut & there will be some frustrated defence spending didn’t go further But the words & actions of the last few hours are a great sign 🇬🇧 is prepared to step up to the challenges we face; hopefully more to come

Agree on this sentiment: a greater degree of clarity is also needed on timelines and priorities (the job of the SDR) to help MoD/Armed forces/industry make long-term planning assumptions Hopefully will come in time. 🇦🇺 produced a detailed Integrated Investment Plan alongside its defence strategy

Some thoughts three years on from 🇷🇺’s full scale invasion of 🇺🇦 Focusing energy on fixing the twin problems of limited material aid & clear sanctions evasion would have far more impact on bolstering the security of 🇺🇦 than talk of deploying ‘deterrent’ forces www.lbc.co.uk/opinion/view...