Britain's New Stealth Fighter

Your weekly dose of defence news, biased opinions and poorly curated content. You’re welcome.

The British Tempest programme has been shrouded in mystery for a few years now (as any self respecting stealth fighter programme should). Luckily (for us) The Telegraph finally got a meeting in with BAE Systems last week to discuss the sixth-gen fighter. The main takeaway: ohhh boy “she’s going to be big”. At 19m the Tempest will be more than 3m longer than the F35 and Typoon she will be replacing. This is important because bigger = more range and payload.

Now, some big numbers are getting bandied around but, if true, The Tempest could be a serious force to be reckoned with. The range of the F35B is 580miles and the Typhoon is 865miles. The Tempest, on the other hand, is looking to be capable of eyeing up targets some 1,500miles away - ladies and gentlemen that is serious deep strike territory.

A while back the Royal Navy discussed options for developing three motherships that would form the backbone of their counter-mining operations. These “non-complex warships” were intended to provide floating bases for autonomous systems to launch from.

One such mine hunter - the RFA Stirling Castle - has been berthed for months because the Royal Fleet Auxiliary couldn’t find people to sail it (this is a common theme with the RFA). The Royal Navy eventually snapped and decided to just make it the HMS Stirling Castle by painting it grey, thereby relieving the RFA of their responsibility. Last week the handover was completed, to muted fanfare.

ASGARD - a sort of digital targeting mesh - has been successfully trialled in Estonia by the British army. The big idea is targets can be identified, shared and neutralised in a fraction of the time it takes a little green man who has been licking batteries for 24hrs to do the same. An AI and drone company called Helsing is responsible for most of the heavy lifting here - their tech was used to identify and report on threats in real time. You are then given the choice of drones, artillery and other excitements to neutralise said threat. You always know a company means business when they have a section of their website entitled “navigating the ethical landscape”. One to watch.

Hot off signing the Northwood Declaration with France, Sir Kier has now signed the Kensington Agreement with the Germans. This wide ranging treaty covers all sorts of gems like direct trains to Berlin and e-gates at airports…in the defence sphere we’re talking cooperation on tanks, drones and missiles. The bromance between the biggest militaries in Europe is intended to strengthen the continent. Commentators have raised an interesting point though: by encouraging Germany to re-arm (which it now is, with gusto) - Britain has been nudged from the top spot as Europe’s biggest defence spender - this is important because that position gave Britain a seat at the NATO top table…how long will Germany be willing to sit on the sidelines?

Big events from the past, covered in brief and probably inaccurately.

On 23rd July 1940, as Britain braced for a possible German invasion during WWII, the Local Defence Volunteers got an official rebrand: the Home Guard.

Dad’s Army sealed the reputational fate of the Home Guard as a shambolic force of bank clerks and old men, but it had an important role as the last bastion of civil defence if the worst should happen. Within a few months of LDV becoming the Home Guard, some 1.7million people had signed up. Not bad. Fast forward to 2024 and Rishi Sunak’s national service proposal was met with widespread laughter and eye-rolls.

A far cry indeed.

Sky have decided to map out what a legit attack on the UK from Russia would look like. Guests from all over the shop. Not bad at all.

Changing things up? This is where we briefly look at career options from across the civvy world - everything goes here so expect some absolute drivel. Sometimes Forces Assist can help place you, sometimes we can’t. Either way we can offer advice.

Head for heights? Not ready to be an actual surgeon? Get up a tree.

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Forces Assist.