Sponsored by TEK Military Seating Limited
http://www.tekmilitaryseating.co.uk/
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
09 Apr 25. New British Army robotic mine plough aims to better shield soldiers from danger. British soldiers are to be better shielded from danger as a new high-tech, remote-controlled mine plough system is put through its paces.
- New remote-controlled mine plough device for safer minefield clearing.
- The system can be adapted to all suitable military vehicles.
- Trials will inform future British Army mine clearing capabilities.
By cutting through minefields, the device clears explosives and pushes them aside, opening a safe path for troops to move faster and more securely towards critical enemy positions or key objectives, outpacing current methods in speed and safety. The device, called WEEVIL, was developed collaboratively by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and Pearson Engineering Ltd – a British company based in the north-east – using the latest tech. WEEVIL can clear minefields quicker and safer than present capabilities, reducing risk to soldiers on the front line. Current mine-clearing methods include the TROJAN Armoured Vehicle, which requires a three-person crew to operate directly within hazardous areas. The system prototype currently uses the Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicle, fitted with a full-width mine plough, advanced remote-control system, and vehicle-mounted cameras. This allows it to be operated by a single person from several miles away from danger and is expected to be able to adapt to work with any suitable vehicle platform. The ground-breaking trials are set to continue with the British Army, who will push the robotic system to its limits, providing vital insight to inform future mine-clearing capabilities. The prevalence of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines in modern warfare to slow troop movements has been highlighted in by the conflict in Ukraine. In the Spring Statement, the Chancellor announced an additional £2.2bn for defence in 2025/26. This comes on top of the announcement of the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War, as the government will hit 2.5% of GDP spend by April 2027 and has a commitment to hit 3% in the next Parliament.
Minister for the Armed Forces, Luke Pollard said: “It won’t be a moment too soon when we no longer have to send our people directly into harm’s way to clear minefields. This kit could tackle the deadly threat of mines in the most challenging environments, while being remotely operated by our soldiers several miles away. It demonstrates British innovation, by British organisations, to protect British troops.
Delivering on the Plan for Change by driving defence as an engine for economic growth, the government is also significantly increasing the proportion of MOD’s equipment procurement spend on novel technologies like dual-use tech, uncrewed and autonomous systems and AI-enabled capabilities, spending at least 10% from 2025-26.”
Dstl Military Advisor Major Andrew Maggs, who pioneered WEEVIL, said: “WEEVIL is the perfect combination of tried and tested technology and modern advancements. By enhancing existing vehicles with new capabilities, we’re able to maximise their potential and give our troops a much-needed advantage, particularly in missions where time and safety are critical. Dstl and Pearson Engineering have successfully tested this prototype in Newcastle on a surrogate minefield. The concept is now being passed for further development to the British Army who are seeking to optimise and modernise in-service capabilities as well as develop new solutions for future challenges.”
Chief Executive Officer at Pearson Engineering Ian Bell said: “We are proud to contribute to such game-changing capability. It brings together decades of development by Pearson Engineering, delivering the very best of minefield breaching technology proven around the world, and contemporary developments in teleoperation. Work with UK MOD is an incredibly important part of our business, ensuring our troops get the latest in combat engineering capability and that we can effectively defend our nation and allies.” (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
08 Apr 25. Minister visits Telford to see logistical heartbeat of UK Defence. The Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry, Maria Eagle MP, has paid her first visit to the DE&S-owned Defence Fulfilment Centre (DFC) in Telford. Operated by Team Leidos, the £83m cutting-edge, end-to-end logistics centre at MOD Donnington is a hub for the storage of the UK’s defence inventory, ensuring the efficient delivery of critical equipment and supplies across the globe. This includes clothing, medicines, and many other essential items needed on the front line. Touring the facility that employs close to 400 staff, the Minister experienced how the Defence Fulfilment Centre (DFC) supports UK Armed Forces. It is one of two major storage and distribution locations for the MOD – the other at MOD Bicester – with a new facility at Longtown in Cumbria currently nearing completion. The Minister also found out more about the Logistics Commodities Services Transformation (LCST) Programme, of which the DFC is a key element. Since 2015, the programme has delivered over £1 bn worth of products to the UK military – getting food, rations and boots exactly where they need to be at the right time.
John Farrow, Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) Logistics, Services and Commodities Director, said: “We welcomed the opportunity to demonstrate the logistical effort that goes into the management and delivery of the UK’s defence inventory from our MOD Donnington hub. Working in collaboration with Team Leidos, our Defence Fulfilment Centre has supplied more than £1 bn worth of military kit to those on the front line, and our people have played an instrumental role in providing support to Ukraine and numerous other operations worldwide. We are proud to have showcased the work we do to contribute to the continued prosperity and security of our nation and our allies’.”
The Minister was shown the Leidos Support Chain Integration Platform IT service in action at the DFC. The platform’s best-in-class technology enables the delivery, inventory and transport management, storage, demand placement and supply chain orchestration of military kit in a way that reduces costs and improves distribution accuracy.
Simon Hutchings, Leidos Vice President Logistics and Mission Support and Programme Manager LCST, said: “I am immensely proud of what Leidos has achieved to date on the development of the Defence Fulfilment Centre in Telford and as the prime integrator for LCST. The flexible capacity and strategic network resilience we’ve established have significantly bolstered defence resilience and enhanced our ability to support war fighters with better, more agile adaptive logistics.”
On the same day, the Minister also visited the nearby Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land’s (RBSL) Hadley Castle Works Factory, where she met defence staff working on DE&S-managed programmes for the Challenger 3 and Boxer armoured vehicles. The factory, alongside its Stockport location, is at the forefront of producing the Challenger 3 tank, a vital component of the British Army’s modernisation efforts.
Under an £800m contract, Challenger 3 production has generated nearly 300 highly-skilled jobs within RBSL, including 130 engineers and 70 technicians, with an additional 450 roles supported across the UK supply chain.
Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry, Maria Eagle MP, said: “Telford is at the heart of UK Defence, and I was pleased to witness first-hand how our defence industry is equipping the armed forces with 21st century armoured fighting vehicles. In the face of global threats, the upcoming Defence Industrial Strategy will drive economic growth, boost British jobs, and strengthen national security.”
The Defence Industrial Strategy underlines the government’s commitment to forging long-term partnerships with the defence industry. The strategy will ensure economic growth, regional prosperity and resilience by supporting skilled jobs and apprenticeships, while meeting the strategy’s broader goals such as Net Zero and national security. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
08 Apr 25. A fleet of UK designed and built heavy lift drones will transport vital supplies between UK Carrier Strike Group ships for the first time during its deployment to the Indo-Pacific this year. Nine all-electric uncrewed quadcopters, produced by Malloy Aeronautics, a BAE Systems entity, will shift supplies such as defence equipment, food and packages from home around the task group throughout its mission. With a top speed of 60mph and capable of lifting up to 68kg, the Malloy T-150 uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) will be tested as an alternative to the more expensive option of carrying out this work using helicopters, freeing them up to focus on their primary role of protecting the task force.
Neil Appleton, CEO of BAE Systems’ Malloy Aeronautics, said: “It’s an exciting moment to see the Royal Navy deploying with our T-150s as an efficient and cost-effective ship-to-ship resupply logistics solution. We are proud to contribute to this important deployment and look forward to watching these versatile drones prove their worth during operational duties.”
The Royal Navy’s drone specialist 700X Naval Air Squadron (NAS) will embark a team of 12 sailors to operate the nine UAS, initially from three ships in the group to test the capability.
Lieutenant Matt Parfitt, 700X Naval Air Squadron, said: “There is a statistic from previous carrier strike deployments that shows 95 per cent of stores transferred weigh less than 50kg. They could be anything from parcels from home to a vital engineering part.
“In the past we’d have used a helicopter if a part was urgently needed on another ship. This time we’re going to use a remotely-piloted, uncrewed system instead. This is exactly the sort of thing we joined the navy to do, and certainly why we joined this squadron.”
The T-150 is just one model in a suite of UAS that Malloy Aeronautics has designed and built for both civil and military customers to make ‘last mile’ logistics more cost-effective and efficient. Its range of uncrewed, heavy lift quadcopters are capable of lifting payloads from 68kg to 200kg over short to medium range missions and it is working to increase this to 300kg.
07 Apr 25. Trax to enable SIA Engineering Company’s new MRO facility in Malaysia. Trax, a leading global provider of paperless aviation maintenance and engineering software products, announced it will enable the fully digital maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) platform of SIA Engineering Company’s (SIAEC’s) state-of-the-art heavy maintenance facility in Malaysia. This collaboration signifies a prominent milestone in the paperless movement for the aviation industry, as the new facility will leverage cutting-edge technology to streamline and enhance maintenance operations. With the application of Trax’s eMRO and eMobility products, operational processes at SIAEC’s facility in Malaysia, Base Maintenance Malaysia (BMM), will be entirely digital, including MRO planning, task execution, release management, and costing. The facility will benefit from:
- Paperless task execution: Trax’s TaskControl application will support the facility by eliminating paper-based workflows and allowing seamless electronic task card execution, increased speed and accuracy, and dependable compliance in maintenance operations.
- Expedited check packages: The use of Trax products will significantly reduce turnaround time for maintenance events via a fully digital check package process.
- Optimized resource planning: Trax’s Production Control application will be deployed to optimize manpower allocation and slot planning processes, enabling the MRO facility to operate at peak efficiency.
- Comprehensive inventory and tool management: Trax’s eMRO platform will manage all aspects of inventory, warehouse, and tooling, providing maintenance teams with access to real-time information on part availability and tool utilization.
- Contract and cost management: eMRO will facilitate contract management and introduce digital invoicing, which will simplify administrative tasks and provide users with transparent and efficient financial interactions.
“Developing a new facility that is entirely paperless from the onset marks a significant milestone for Trax, SIAEC, and the industry as a whole,” said Andrew Schmidt, Trax’s Executive Vice President.
“Trax’s suite of cloud-based products will advance seamless and efficient planning, control, and execution processes at BMM,” said Jeremy Yew, SVP of Base Maintenance. “When BMM commences operations, this modern, digital MRO facility will support our commitment to quality, safety, and operational reliability for our global customers.”
About Trax
Trax is the premier provider of aviation maintenance mobile and cloud products in the global aviation market and a wholly-owned subsidiary of AAR CORP. (NYSE: AIR). Trax products support digital signatures, paperless working, including workpacks and manuals, RFID-capability for logistics, biometric security, offline capability for its suite of mobile apps, web-based applications, and the ability for users to work anywhere with easy access to real-time information. Through its eMRO and eMobility products, Trax provides comprehensive software solutions designed to manage all aspects of aircraft maintenance. Additional information can be found at trax.aero.
About SIAEC
SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC) is a major provider of aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services in Asia-Pacific. SIAEC has a client base of more than 80 international carriers and aerospace equipment manufacturers. It provides line maintenance services at more than 30 airports in 9 countries, as well as airframe, engine and component services on some of the most advanced and widely used commercial aircraft in the world. The 25 subsidiaries and joint ventures with original equipment manufacturers and strategic partners in Singapore, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, United States of America and Vietnam increase the depth and breadth of the Company’s service offerings. SIAEC has approvals from 28 national aviation regulatory authorities to provide MRO services for aircraft registered in the United States of America, Europe, China and other countries.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
TEK Military Seating Limited
TEK Military Seating Limited is a UK based designer and manufacturer of ProTEK military vehicle seating which offer the highest standards of safety and protection. The ProTEK brand is well respected across the globe for its robust construction, innovative design, built in modularity and cost effectiveness. Our superior products are supported by our experienced team who endeavor to offer unrivalled service to our customers from enquiry, through design and acceptance, to through life support.
From its inception ProTEK seats have been designed around a family of innovative seat frames onto which tested and certified modules can be fitted to create a bespoke solution for the user. These include Blast protection to Stanag 4569 standards, vibration reduction, head and body protection, seat risers and turntables, fore & aft adjustment, and seat back rake along with viable seat dimensions without the need for additional tooling costs.
Contact: Paul Fleming
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-