“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.
flydubai has announced two new GCC routes to Kuwait City and Muscat, which will take the carrier’s network to thirteen routes, four of which now go to GCC countries.
Both destinations will get a double daily service from Dubai with the flights to Muscat beginning on Sunday 28 March and the Kuwait service starting two days later on 30 March.
“A strong GCC network is at the heart of flydubai’s strategy in this region so Kuwait and Oman were natural choices to be our next two destinations,” declared Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai. “Both are old friends of the UAE and we are deeply committed to strengthening our links further by providing the friendly low-cost air service with the lowest prices that flydubai is becoming known for. We have worked closely with the authorities in both countries and we are very appreciative of the help and support they have given us. We look forward to continuing to work with them to provide a service that will be of benefit to all parties.”
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.