“Capital follows confidence” as defence courts private money
Outside investment and the direction in which venture money flows may reveal what defence will buy years before formal programmes begin.
American Eagle Airlines is to begin First Class service on all of its Bombardier CRJ700s from 2 July this year.
With the introduction of nine First Class seats, Eagle will offer customers a premium product with the same level of service customers experience on American Airlines.
The carrier will offer a complimentary First Class dining service that includes a Continental breakfast with cereal or hot oatmeal and yogurt and a lunch or dinner that includes a fresh salad or a sandwich and dessert. First Class customers receive warm, cleansing towels and mixed nuts prior to their meals, which are served on china. On flights of shorter duration, beverage service will be accompanied by a gourmet snack mix.
“We’re pleased to introduce First Class service on our CRJ700 aircraft,” commented Peter Bowler, president and CEO of American Eagle. “By July we will have our fleet of 25 CRJs converted by American Eagle mechanics to the new First Class and main cabin design, and we will have taken delivery of the first two of our 22 new CRJs that will also feature First Class comfort and amenities.”
American Eagle will offer First Class service from its Chicago and Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) hubs. From Chicago, customers will experience First Class service on flights to Atlanta, Washington Reagan National, Newark, Houston Bush, Oklahoma City, Minneapolis-St Paul, Philadelphia, San Antonio, and Salt Lake City. From DFW, customers can fly First Class to Cleveland, Milwaukee, Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport in Bentonville/Springdale, and Little Rock.
American Eagle worked closely with the engineers at Bombardier to design new custom leather seating for both the premium and main cabins. With ergonomically-contoured back and seat cushions, seats throughout the aircraft will offer more comfort and luxury than ever before.
With the addition of the First Class seats, the CRJ700s will have either 63 or 65 seats in the main cabin and nine seats in First Class.
Outside investment and the direction in which venture money flows may reveal what defence will buy years before formal programmes begin.
The Department of National Defence expects initial contracts to deliver thousands of uncrewed systems, but has yet to establish the quantities, capability mix or deadline behind Ottawa’s promised tenfold expansion.
The company told Shephard that Ukraine is operating modified Protector weapon stations originally supplied for armoured vehicles, with human operators authorising engagements from hundreds of kilometres away.
A report from the Council on Geostrategy argues the UK should move away from a traditional balanced force and shift investment to naval, air and space capabilities, backed by a larger fleet of attack submarines and deeper AUKUS integration.
At its technology summit in London, attended by Shephard, Thales UK examined the importance of speed to delivery, the growing focus on cross-domain capabilities and how procurement reform could be crucial for future battlefield advantage.
Are all systems ready for the next mission? Have upgrades been applied? Are all assets aligned to deploy together, on time and fully prepared? In modern defence operations, readiness is no longer measured platform by platform. It is measured by how well people, assets, data and decisions move together — across land, sea and air.