The defence industry briefing

The news, views and numbers you need to know about this month

News in numbers

8%

China's planned defence budget increase for 2018

$325bn

Value of new state arms programme signed by Russia President Putin

$137.6m

Japan's projected cost per plane for the F-35, up 53% from 2012 projections

$3.9bn

Cap on developing new Air Force One planes as agreed informally by Trump and Boeing

Quotes from the industry

“This is no bluff.”

Russian deputy defence minister Yury Borisov following President Putin’s unveiling of several new types of nuclear weapons.

“We are the service that must lead joint war fighting in this new contested domain.”

US Air Force Chief of Staff David Goldfein on war in space, which he predicted is only "a matter of years" away. 

“It’s important that we have a voice not only with the Department of Defense, which is our largest customer, but with our intel agencies, with the [Department of] Homeland Security, with NASA, with Commerce Department and others.”

Lockheed Martin CEO  Marillyn Hewson, speaking to DefenseNews about the company's role with the US Department of Defense in response to questions over the Lockheed Martin's influence on the Pentagon.

“Based on talks with my colleagues in NATO and in the Nordic group of countries, it is clear we are all stepping up and taking respective precautions. The correlation is clear: Russia’s actions require a credible deterrence on our side.”

Danish defence minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen writing for Fifth Domain on the challenges of deterring Russia on the cyber battlefield.

Around the world

News from militaries and defence departments around the globe 

Thyssenkrupp blocked from German warship tender

ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems has been barred from bidding to build Germany's next generation of battleships. This comes as a further blow to the company, which is already dealing with allegations of bribery and cost overruns on several naval orders. The German defence ministry said it did not trust ThyssenKrupp and its partner, Lürrsen shipyards,to build the new warship and the proposed price of €4bn for four warships was too high. 

Source: Handelsblatt

Trump wants to create a new US 'space force'

US President Donald Trump has told troops that he wants the US military to create a new 'space force'. "My new national strategy for space recognises that space is a war-fighting domain, just like the land, air and sea," Trump said. "We may even have a space force... We have the air force, we'll have the space force, we'll have the army, the navy." The president made the comments during a visit to Miramar Marine Corps Air Station near San Diego.

Source: Telegraph

Rheinmetall wins $4bn Australian combat vehicle contract

German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall Landsysteme has beaten British rival BAE Systems to win a A$5bn ($3.9bn) contract to build more than 200 combat reconnaissance vehicles for the Australian defence forces. The company has pledged to set up a manufacturing facility in Queensland to build most of the 211 Boxer CRV vehicles, using Australian materials and creating up to 1,450 jobs over 30 years.

Source: Financial Times

UK's military credibility 'at risk without defence budget increase'

Britain will put its status as a "credible military power" at risk unless it increases its defence budget, former commander of the UK's Maritime Forces Rear Admiral Alex Burton has said. "If you do not spend more on defence than we currently are as a percentage of GDP, then we put at risk the fact that we are currently a credible military power, and from that we put at risk our position on the global stage," he told the BBC. His comments come amid a black hole of at least £20bn in the defence budget over the next decade, with widespread speculation about possible cuts to personnel and equipment.

Source: BBC

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