UK Defence Journal 'Weekly Brief'

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.

A report from the heart of British warship building

June 27, 2025 

This video report covers the opening of the Janet Harvey Hall, progress on the Type 26 frigates, the transformation of BAE’s Clyde shipyards, and the Skills Academy training the next…

Onboard the world’s most advanced anti-submarine frigate

June 27, 2025 

“If you come across an a frigate with this level of capability, you’ll think twice about taking it on” — inside the build of HMS Glasgow, the Royal Navy’s submarine…

BAE Systems targets faster shipbuilding with eyes on exports

June 27, 2025 

Overlooking the new Janet Harvey Hall on Glasgow’s River Clyde, Sir Simon Lister laid out a clear ambition for British warship production: pace, precision, and purpose.

Leonardo bags Merlin MK4 life extension contract

June 27, 2025 

Leonardo Helicopters has been awarded a £14.6 million to assess how best to extend the service life of the Royal Navy’s fleet of Merlin MK4 helicopters into the 2040s.

Royal Navy again hunting German subs in Norwegian fjords

June 27, 2025 

Royal Navy aircrew have returned from Norway after testing their submarine-hunting skills against German and Norwegian diesel-powered boats.

Ships aren’t just Clydebuilt—The skills are too

June 27, 2025 

At BAE Systems’ Applied Shipbuilding Academy, we saw how the Clyde isn’t just building ships—it’s building the people who make them. Clydebuilt, skill by skill.

RAF bases under threat amid Palestine Action escalation

June 26, 2025 

Telegraph journalists infiltrated a recent online planning meeting in which members allegedly discussed forming autonomous cells to conduct covert actions against defence contractors and military sites.

UK ‘committed’ to E-7 Wedgetail as oversight continues

June 26, 2025 

The Ministry of Defence has stated the strategic importance of the E-7 Wedgetail early warning aircraft, while confirming that the programme remains under regular scrutiny to assess cost-effectiveness and ensure…

British attack helicopters ‘open fire’ across Europe

June 26, 2025 

British Army attack helicopter crews are conducting live-fire and tactical manoeuvres alongside NATO allies in northern Europe as part of Operation Razoredge, the UK’s major summer deployment across the continent.

MP calls for more frigates as Scotland now frontline nation

June 26, 2025 

The UK must act urgently to expand frigate production and bolster air defences to match growing threats in the High North and beyond, an MP has told Parliament.

BAE open huge new shipbuilding facility in Glasgow

June 26, 2025 

The state-of-the-art shipbuilding hall, officially named the Janet Harvey Hall, will allow two Type 26 frigates to be constructed side by side for the first time fully undercover.

New British nuclear strike jet can’t be refuelled by RAF

June 26, 2025 

Since the RAF’s Voyager fleet lacks the boom-type system required by the F-35A, the aircraft cannot currently be refuelled by UK tankers and will rely on NATO aircraft.

Minister defends Middle East deployments

June 25, 2025 

SNP MP Graham Leadbitter also raised concerns that “years of under-investment” had compromised security at UK bases.

BAE Systems, Hanwha partner on sensor satellite tech

June 25, 2025 

BAE Systems and South Korea’s Hanwha Systems have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly develop a new generation of multi-sensor satellite systems aimed at the international intelligence, surveillance and…