“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.
Indaer International has announced that it and its joint venture partner AvCraft Support Services have completed their first ATR 42 heavy check for launch customer CAIRE Air Antilles Express.
The aircraft was redelivered in a traditional ramp ceremony at AvCraft’s Myrtle Beach facility with an arch of water provided by Myrtle Beach International Airport firefighters.
“We’re proud to be achieving this milestone,” remarked Santiago Hoyos, Indaer’s ATR heavy maintenance project manager. “Our success on this first ATR heavy check clearly demonstrates the technical expertise at AvCraft and Indaer; the strength of our supply chain; and the capability of our programme management and reporting systems.”
Eric Lambert, AvCraft’s director of operations, added, “Although this was our first ATR heavy check, it reflects the experience we’ve earned completing more than 50 checks on other regional jets and turboprops, and our partnership with Indaer worked flawlessly.”
CAIRE and its subsidiary Air Antilles Express operate ATR aircraft on regional routes in the Caribbean from a base in Guadeloupe, French West Indies. After the ceremony in Myrtle Beach, the aircraft returned home on a flawless five-and-a-half-hour non-stop ferry flight.
“I’m very impressed by my experience here in Myrtle Beach,” reported Jean-Phillipe Coudrat, who is responsible for continuing airworthiness at CAIRE. “The Indaer and AvCraft team exceeded my expectations. They are professional, productive, and very knowledgeable about the ATR. We see this in the quality of the work performed on our aircraft, which was completed on time and on budget.”
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.