“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.
Republic Airways Holdings has promoted James Reichart, a 24-year veteran of Midwest Airlines, to the key position within the company’s branded network of vice-president of sales, distribution and loyalty programmes.
Reichart will be responsible for agency and corporate sales; the company’s e-commerce internet presence; loyalty and reward programmes, including direct marketing to its frequent flyer members; sponsorships; and distribution, including online travel agencies.
Republic is currently completing customer focus groups as it works to harmonise the customer experience across its branded network, which features recently acquired Frontier and Midwest Airlines.
Reichart holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communications/broadcasting from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Most recently, he served as director of advertising and brand for Midwest Airlines.
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.