“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.
L-3 Warrior Systems – Advanced Laser Systems Technology (L-3 ALST) has delivered the first Scarab Ground Laser Target Designator (GLTD) to South Korea, it announced on 14 January.
The Scarab will provide laser designation, range-finding and thermal imaging capabilities for day and night deployment of precision, laser-guided ordnance. System deliveries are expected to be complete by mid-2015.
L-3’s Scarab is a compact, lightweight, man-portable and fully self-contained precision targeting system that quickly converts from backpack to full operational capability. The Scarab system provides warfighters with the latest in targeting capability to identify and accurately designate objects for precision ordnance delivery during the day and at night, and in nearly all battlefield conditions.
This battery-powered system is capable of providing more than 60 minutes of total designation time from a single battery charge.
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.