“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.
SuperJet International has been awarded Approval Certificate AFL/047 for the MRO EASA Part 145 from Aeroflot Russian Airlines.
This certificate denotes that Aeroflot recognises SuperJet International as a Part 145 approved maintenance organisation with a European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Approval certificate and that certifying staff are also authorised by the Agency.
The Certificate allows SuperJet International to provide line-maintenance and to issue a Certificate of Release to Service for aircraft operated by Aeroflot Russian Airlines, in accordance with an existing agreement.
The maintenance activities will be performed on the carrier’s A320s at the SuperJet International line maintenance base in Venice (hangar shown in picture). This will ensure an increasing ability to perform line maintenance, while waiting to start the support on the Sukhoi Superjet 100.
The certificate represents an opportunity for SJI to prove the reliability of its support services and to strengthen the collaboration with Aeroflot, which is the SSJ100 launch customer. The approval is a significant step forward in the SJI Customer Services activities aimed at supporting the upcoming Sukhoi Superjet 100 entry into service.
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.