LOCATIONS
LAND
05 Mar 25. Robosys Automation, has celebrated the opening of its new UK headquarters in Southampton, UK, in support of the company’s global expansion. The new office features workshops and administration offices to accommodate Robosys’ growing team, which consists of software developers, technologists, vessel integrators, and administration staff.
The new headquarters are also adjacent to Southampton Water which have the added benefit of a launching ramp close to the premises, enabling the swift deployment of craft for commissioning and testing.
AIR
05 Mar 25. Morocco receives first AH-64 Apache helicopters. The Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF) has taken delivery of its first AH-64E Apache helicopter from the United States. Deliveries of 24 aircraft were originally scheduled to take place from last year, but were delayed, with the first aircraft arriving in the North African country on Monday 3 March. Footage showed six of the rotorcraft being unloaded from a vessel. Newly built Moroccan Apaches were seen on 27 January at Midland/Odessa Air Terminal in Texas on an overnight stop before heading east to board a ship for Morocco. Anwar Press reported that the first six helicopters were delivered to the 7th Air Base in Khouribga, with the remaining rotorcraft to follow through mid-2026. The base has been upgraded to accommodate the new helicopters.
Boeing began manufacturing Morocco’s first AH-64Es in late 2023 after receiving an order for 24 in June 2020. The company is building the new Moroccan Apaches under a contract with the US Army through the US government’s Foreign Military Sales process, and has apparently completed the first ten. In November 2019 Morocco requested the sale of 24 new helicopters and 12 options, along with AGM-114R/L Hellfire missiles, Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System munitions, AIM-92H Stinger missiles, M261 rocket launchers, 70 mm rockets and 30 mm cannon ammunition in a deal worth $1.5bn. The AH-64E that Morocco has ordered features an improved Modernized Target Acquisition Designation System that provides day, night and all-weather target information, as well as night vision navigation capability. In addition to classifying ground and air targets, Boeing said the Longbow Fire Control Radar has been updated to operate in a maritime environment. Morocco has been seeking a new attack helicopter for some time. In early 2019, reports emerged that Morocco had selected the Apache over the T-129 ATAK and Bell AH-1Z. Morocco’s military has no dedicated attack helicopter, instead relying on two dozen Gazelles, which are flown by both Army Aviation and the Royal Moroccan Air Force. Morocco is also acquiring other military aviation assets from the United States, including 25 F-16C/D Block 72 fighter jets to replace the Mirage F1s it received in the 1970s, the Northrop F-5E/F Tiger IIs it received in the 1980s, and to augment and eventually replace the F-16C/Ds it received from 2011. Other purchases from the US include 18 M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers, M57 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) rounds, 40 AGM-154C Joint Stand Off Weapons (JSOW), and 612 FGM-148F Javelin missiles, among others. Morocco is also seeking $175m worth of AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles and GBU-39B Small Diameter Bombs from the United States. The North African country is keen to bolster its military capabilities amid rising regional tensions and boosted its defence budget for 2025 to about $13bn. Its defence budget was $12 bn in 2024 and $11.4 bn in 2023, according to Morocco World News. The country is Africa’s second-largest military spender behind Algeria, which has a 2025 defence budget of $25.1bn. Recent Moroccan acquisitions from other countries include Barak MX air defence systems and two spy satellites from Israel, 40 Caesar self-propelled howitzers from France, 36 Atmos 2000 self-propelled howitzers from Israel, and 200 Cobra II armoured vehicles from Turkey. An agreement was also signed in September 2024 with the Indian company Tata Group on the joint production of 150 wheeled WhAP infantry fighting vehicles. In addition, the Kingdom agreed to establish a subsidiary of the Turkish company Baykar on its territory. (Source: https://www.defenceweb.co.za/)
04 Mar 25. USAF Names New OA-1K Light Attack Aircraft ‘Skyraider II.’ The U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) has officially named its forthcoming OA-1K light attack and reconnaissance aircraft the Skyraider II, reviving the legacy of the Douglas A-1 Skyraider, a rugged close air support aircraft that saw extensive combat in Korea and Vietnam. The announcement was made at the recent Special Air Warfare Symposium in Florida as the Air Force prepares for the aircraft’s arrival in the coming weeks.
“I am excited about the Skyraider II,” Lieutenant General Michael Conley, AFSOC’s commander, said in a press release. “I think we have a capability that’s only ours, and we are going to have the ability to shape that into something that the rest of the nation might not even know they need right now.”
The Skyraider II, developed under U.S. Special Operations Command’s (SOCOM) Armed Overwatch program, is a militarized version of the Air Tractor AT-802 crop duster. Designed as a crewed, multi-role aircraft, Skyraider II is expected to support the AFSOC through close air support, precision strikes, surveillance, and reconnaissance. The Skyraider II can carry up to 6,000 pounds of ordnance, including precision-guided bombs, laser-guided rockets, and air-to-ground missiles. It is also equipped with electro-optical and infrared sensors for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.
“Providing scalable and precision effects is where the Skyraider II will come in. The Skyraider II could take on missions from the southwest border to Africa and create dilemmas for those we are in competition with,” Brig. Gen. Craig Prather, AFSOC’s director of strategic plans said.
The aircraft is set to replace older ISR platforms, such as the U-28A Draco, and supplement A-10 retirements, as the Air Force gradually phases out the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II—a legendary close air support platform that has long been the subject of debate over its relevance in modern warfare. AFSOC expects the first operational Skyraider II aircraft to arrive at Hurlburt Field in late March. (Source: https://www.sofx.com/)
02 Mar 25. Australia commits to “reinstating” fourth F-35 squadron as election anticipation heats up. Opposition Leader, Peter Dutton and Shadow Minister for Defence, Andrew Hastie have announced plans to reinstate the planned acquisition of a fourth squadron of F-35A fighter aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force. As anticipation about the upcoming Federal Election heats up and amid growing national security concerns, the Coalition appears to have fired the first salvo, with Opposition Leader, Peter Dutton and Shadow Minister for Defence, Andrew Hastie confirming an elected Dutton Government would “reinstate” the acquisition of a fourth F-35 Lightning II squadron for the Royal Australian Air Force.
This commitment would see an additional AU$3 bn to fund the acquisition of up to 28 additional F-35A Lightning II fighter aircraft, bringing the nation’s total F-35 acquisition to 100, as was originally planned in the program of record with Lockheed Martin.
The Coalition announcement stated the speed to delivering the capability to the Royal Australian Air Force, stating, “Negotiations will commence immediately upon coming to government to ensure we can acquire the aircraft in a timely manner; with the aim to begin delivery of additional aircraft within the next five years.”
Shadow Minister for Defence and Defence Industry, Andrew Hastie said, “Despite repeatedly warning that Australia is facing the most strategic circumstances since the end of the Second World War, Labor has spent three years dithering and delaying.
“We have a Prime Minister misleading the public and not across his brief, while his Defence Minister plays down national security issues. As an island nation in an increasingly contested Indo-Pacific region. It is essential that we are able to defend ourselves and protect our nation’s interests. Increasing our F-35 capability is an effective way we can do so,” Mr Hastie added.
Australia received it’s first F-35A Lightning II, in 2018, and has steadily grown it’s fleet of fifth generation fighter aircraft since then, culminating in the delivery of the “final” of the original 72 aircraft in 2023.
The Coalition added, “Labor has cut, delayed and reprioritised more than $80 bn of funding from Defence. This is a Government who less than a year after promising to grow defence spending to 2.4 per cent of GDP, have backflipped and reduced the target to “over 2.3 percent”.”
For the RAAF, the F-35A’s combination of full-spectrum, low-observable stealth coatings and materials; advanced radar-dispersing shaping, network-centric sensor; and communications suites – combined with a lethal strike capability – means the aircraft will be the ultimate force multiplying air-combat platform. Australia has committed to purchasing 72 of the advanced fifth-generation fighter aircraft as part of the AU$17 bn AIR 6000 Phase 2A/B program to replace the ageing F/A-18A/B Classic Hornets that have been in service with the RAAF since 1985. (Source: Defence Connect)
28 Feb 25. Mozambique Air Force gets a C295. Mozambique’s Air Force has taken delivery of a C295W transport aircraft from Airbus as it continues to expand its transport fleet. The C295W (FA655) departed Seville, Spain, on its delivery flight on 24 February. It arrived in Maputo on the 27th, according to flight tracking data, after stops in Senegal, Benin, and Angola. The Mozambican C295 was first seen in mid-2024 in temporary Spanish markings while undergoing flight testing prior to delivery. The order has not been officially announced by Airbus, but the company has noted an undisclosed African customer for the type. Mozambique’s Air Force has been expanding its transport fleet of late, notably acquiring a second hand CN235M and a Let-410 from Paramount Group in late 2022. Air Force officials at the time of delivery said the two aircraft would be used to transport cargo and troops and deploy special forces and paratroopers. Paramount supplied the aircraft as well as training and maintenance. The company has also delivered several second hand Mi-24, Mi-8/17, and Gazelle helicopters to Mozambique and sold its Mwari multi-role aircraft to Mozambique – these have been used operationally in northern Mozambique since December 2022 to combat the Islamist insurgency there. With three Mwari aircraft ordered, Mozambique is the type’s launch customer. Airbus continues to grow its C295 customer base in Africa. Angola recently took delivery of the first of three new C295 transports from Airbus, with the aircraft (T-214) arriving in Luanda in July 2024. Two of the aircraft will be specifically equipped for maritime surveillance with the Airbus-developed Fully Integrated Tactical System (FITS) mission system. FITS includes a search radar, electro-optical sensors, magnetic anomaly detector and other avionics. Weapons can include torpedoes, missiles, mines and depth charges. Other African countries to have acquired the C295 include Algeria (6), Egypt (24), Equatorial Guinea (2 on order), Mali (2), Gabon (1), Burkina Faso (1), Ivory Coast (1), Ghana (3), and Senegal (one delivered, one on order). In total, ten countries (including one undisclosed customer that is presumably Mozambique) operate or have ordered 44 aircraft in Africa, and these have reached over 100 000 flight hours since 2005.
“Africa is the only region in the world that has acquired C295s every year since 2018 – when one aircraft was ordered by Ivory Coast followed by Burkina Faso one year later. Even in 2020 during COVID-19 times, when the entire market was challenged, Mali acknowledged the great performance of the C295 and decided to acquire an additional aircraft. Senegal, Angola and Gabon came next, between 2021 and 2023,” Airbus said.
The company cited a good example of “resiliency and outstanding performance of the C295 in African territory” during the international peacekeeping mission that the Senegal Air Force performed in Mali in September 2023, with 28 troops rotations in 14 days, performing a total of 200 flight hours – 16 hours per day. (Source: https://www.defenceweb.co.za/)
MILITARY AND GOVERNMENT
PERSONNEL
05 Mar 25. Trump administration plans to cut 80,000 VA employees, memo says. The Department of Veterans Affairs is planning a reorganization that includes cutting over 80,000 jobs from the sprawling agency that provides health care for retired military members, according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press. The VA’s chief of staff, Christopher Syrek, told top-level officials at the agency that it had an objective to cut enough employees to return to 2019 staffing levels of just under 400,000. That would require terminating tens of thousands of employees after the VA expanded during the Biden administration, as well as to cover veterans impacted by burn pits under the 2022 PACT Act.
The memo instructs top-level staff to prepare for an agency-wide reorganization in August to “resize and tailor the workforce to the mission and revised structure.” It also calls for agency officials to work with the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency to “move out aggressively, while taking a pragmatic and disciplined approach” to the Trump administration’s goals.
Government Executive first reported on the internal memo.
Veterans have already been speaking out against the cuts at the VA that so far had included a few thousand employees and hundreds of contracts. More than 25% of the VA’s workforce is comprised of veterans.
The plans underway at the VA showed how the Trump administration’s DOGE initiative, led by bnaire Elon Musk, is not holding back on an all-out effort to slash federal agencies, even for those that have traditionally enjoyed bipartisan support.
Michael Missal, who was the VA’s inspector general for nine years until he was fired last month as part of Trump’s sweeping dismissal of independent oversight officials at government agencies, told the AP that the VA is already suffering from a lack of “expertise” as top-level officials either leave or are shuffled around under the president’s plans.
“What’s going to happen is VA’s not going to perform as well for veterans, and veterans are going to get harmed,” said Missal, who was a guest of Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., at Trump’s Tuesday address to Congress.
Rather than leaning on the missions of inspectors general, whose job is to search out waste and fraud at government agencies, Trump has moved forcefully against them, flouting statutes that require a 30-day notice and specific reasons for their dismissals. Missal is challenging his dismissal in court alongside seven other fired inspectors general.
Missal described the VA as “a really complicated, hard to manage organization” that is similar in size to the largest corporations in America. He defended his work at the agency as committed to make it more efficient and responsive to veterans. By Missal’s count, the VA inspector general’s oversight resulted in $45 bn being saved at the agency during his tenure.
But he added that Trump’s actions against the inspectors general is making it more difficult for the officials still in those offices to do their jobs.
In Congress, Democrats have decried the cuts at the VA and other agencies, while Republicans have so far watched with caution the Trump administration’s changes.
Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the Senate committee that oversees veteran’s affairs, said in a statement that the Trump administration “has launched an all-out assault” against progress the VA has made in expanding its services as the number of covered veterans grows and includes those impacted by toxic burn pits.
“Their plan prioritizes private sector profits over veterans’ care, balancing the budget on the backs of those who served. It’s a shameful betrayal, and veterans will pay the price for their unforgivable corruption, incompetence, and immorality,” Blumenthal said in a statement.
Democratic leaders in the House also spotlighted the impact of Trump’s cuts on veterans Wednesday.
“Democrats are here to say in unison we will not allow our veterans to be defined as government waste,” said Rep. Katherine Clark, the No. 2 ranked in House Democratic leadership, at a news conference. (Source: Army Times/AP)
U.S. APPOINTMENTS
INDUSTRY
PERSONNEL
EUROPE APPOINTMENTS
03 Mar 25. The European Leadership Network (ELN) announced that the next ELN Executive Director will be Dr Robert Ondrejcsák – a diplomat, defence expert, think tank founder and prolific author who served most recently as Slovakia’s Ambassador to the UK since 2020.
04 Mar 25. NSSLGlobal, a leading independent full-service project engineering, satellite communications and systems integrator, has appointed Andrew Burns as its new Group Sales Director to take the next step in its growth in the maritime, enterprise and defence sectors.
Andrew brings over 35 years of global experience in sales and business development of solutions and services in the defence sector and will oversee the sales strategy of the group companies. Andrew’s background includes senior international management roles in commercial marine and defence markets driving teams that ensure exceptional customer satisfaction as well as developing new markets. Having proven his ability at mentoring teams to increased order inflow across maritime markets while developing new defence verticals worth millions, Andrew had the ability to help businesses grow profitably.
U.S. APPOINTMENTS
29 Feb 25. MITRE’s Board of Trustees elected Richard Clark, a global finance and transformation executive formerly with Accenture, to serve as a member. With a life-long commitment to governance that blends resilience with innovation, Clark retired in 2023 as chief transformation officer of Accenture, where he led global change initiatives across the company’s full infrastructure. During his 39-year career at Accenture, Clark spearheaded numerous transformational programs that streamlined global processes, optimized operations, and integrated cutting-edge technologies, delivering significant strategic and financial impacts. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)