US general rebuffs Russian offer to facilitate Afghan government-Taliban peace deal

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  In Conversation… Shephard’s Andrew White talks to Zafer Şen, CEO and co-founder of OBSS, about the future of command-and-control software in the age of artificial intelligence, and his company’s ambitions in the UK defence market.

• “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.

• Canada’s new military drone marketplace targets rapid acquisition pipeline

  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.

• Ukraine turns legacy Kongsberg land turrets into semi-autonomous USV weapons

  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.

• UK urged to prioritise sea, air and space over heavy armour

  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.

• Thales: deployment speed to determine winners in ‘production versus production’ era

  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.