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02 Sep 25. EU sets military spending record, expects more growth in 2025. The European Union collectively spent €343 bn ($402bn) on defense last year, exceeding projections and setting a new record, according to a new report by the European Defense Agency. The agency said it expected defense spending to increase further in 2025 to €381bn ($446bn). The bloc’s total defense spending in 2024 exceeds China’s by about one-and-a-half times, and is more than three times as high as Russia’s military budget. Only the United States has higher military expenditures. The figure represented 1.9% of the bloc’s GDP, and a 19% increase over the previous year. The high level of defense spending is driven primarily by countries’ purchasing of new equipment, as well as by increased research and development funding across the EU’s 27 members. Both combined are collectively referred to as “defense investments” in EU parlance, as opposed to the money spent on troop salaries or upkeep of facilities. Investment accounted for 31% of total defense spending, or €106bn ($124bn), of which €13bn ($15bn) was used on R&D. Equipment purchases were up 39% year over year, the EDA calculated; research and development, meanwhile, grew 20%. The record spending is driven by growing budgets throughout the bloc, not just individual capitals’ aims to expand their militaries, with all but two countries growing their defense budgets in 2024. Of the 25 that increased defense expenditures in 2025, 16 capitals spent over 10% more in 2024 than they did in 2023. Among them are Germany, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands. Only Portugal’s and Ireland’s military budgets decreased in 2024. European military spending has been growing exponentially since 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine. At the time, defense expenditures across the bloc had reached their lowest levels since data collection began in 2005, at €189bn ($221bn), adjusted for inflation. Although already on the rise, this trend was turbocharged by Russia’s intensified, full-scale assault in Ukraine, which began in February 2022. In fact, defense spending last year grew even faster than the EDA had expected, exceeding the agency’s predictions from late 2023 by €17bn ($20bn). Many of the EU’s largest defense spenders are in Russia’s immediate vicinity. Poland leads the pack, at close to 4% of GDP last year, followed by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, each spending well over 3% of GDP on the military. The EU itself has played an increasingly active role in coordinating cross-national projects and mobilizing military funding that had previously been set aside for civilian purposes. Defense matters have long been jealously guarded as a national prerogative by many EU countries’ capitals, but many of those attitudes have recently softened in light of the threat from Russia and an increasingly icy United States, and eased by the promise of cheap money facilitated by Brussels. The 2025 edition of the annual report placed special emphasis on comparing European military capabilities to those of the U.S., including juxtaposing how many battle tanks and fighter jets they each have, and how effective their R&D investments were. The numbers show that the EU lags behind in air force numbers, while well exceeding American totals when it comes to infantry fighting vehicles and main battle tanks. Europe’s strength lies in cooperation across national borders, the EDA concluded, underscoring in its report the need for coordination in procurement, interoperability, and joint research and development.
“Europe is spending record amounts on defence to keep our people safe, and we will not stop there,” said Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief. “Defense today is not a nice-to-have but fundamental for the protection of our citizens. This must be the era of European defense.” (Source: Defense News)
02 Sep 25. Non-UK defence firms net higher average contract award from MoD. The average contract value awarded to non-UK defence companies was over 20% higher than deals given to UK firms. Contracts awarded to non-UK companies in the 12 months from July 2024 by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) were 23.1% higher on average compared to UK-based defence companies, according to official figures. Detailed in a 1 September UK parliamentary written response, UK Defence Procurement Minister Maria Eagle disclosed that between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2025, 1,244 contracts valued at £17bn ($23.2bn) were awarded to suppliers based in the UK. By contrast, 174 contracts, worth £3bn, were awarded to suppliers located outside the UK. Extrapolating the median contract value from the number of contracts and combined amount, it can be determined that non-UK companies received an average slightly in excess of £17.2m per award, compared to just over £13.6m for UK-based companies. The contracts were among 2,674 awarded in the reporting period, with the remaining 1,256, representing £3bn, “currently under reconciliation” to determine the actual location of the supply base, Eagle stated. Further, Eagle said the while MoD records contract awards based on the administrative address provided in the supplier’s successful tender, actual delivery of goods or service “may be carried out by an international parent company”.
Where are the UK’s industrial strengths?
Analysing the UK’s defence industrial base finds severe capability gaps in the delivery of specific complex items, particularly in the land domain which is heavily reliant on overseas expertise to deliver upgrades and new vehicles into service. This is less apparent in the areas of the air and naval sectors, where UK companies still maintain, the ability to provide turnkey platform delivery to UK forces. However, recent decision to sideline UK equipment for overseas-origin platforms, such as the F-35, could weaken extant industrial capability. Some non-military SMEs in the UK have found success in entering the defence sector, although issues remain in better understanding the labyrinthine contractual corridors of Main Building.
UK wants to use defence to drive economic growth
Since coming to power in mid-2024, the new UK government has sought to leverage the country’s defence sector as a lever for economic growth, seeking to use it to create jobs and inward investment. To this end, the government has claimed an intention to increase defence spending to some 5% of GDP, although this is due to be delivered over a glacial decade-long roadmap. Previous analysis of defence funding increases by the UK government found that the budgets of non-military entities, such as the intelligence agencies’ Single Intelligence Account, will be included in overall defence spending for budgetary purposes. Of the intention to spend 5% of GDP on defence, some two-thirds of this could be claimed on investments into infrastructure that could have defence benefits, such as telecommunications and roads. (Source: army-technology.com)
03 Sep 25. Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General
MoD does not know exact cost to date of Afghan data breach resettlement scheme
- MoD cannot calculate exactly how much it has spent on the ARR scheme because it did not separately identify the costs in its accounting system.
- Around £850m – MoD’s estimated cost to government for resettling people in the UK through the ARR scheme as a result of the February 2022 data breach, not including legal costs or compensation claims.
- 7,355 – estimated number of people who will be resettled through the ARR scheme in the UK as a direct result of the data breach.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) cannot determine exactly how much it has spent on resettling people in the UK through the Afghanistan Response Route (ARR) scheme and to date has not provided enough evidence to give the National Audit Office (NAO) confidence in its estimate of £850m in relation to past and future costs, according to a new report.1,2.
In April 2024, the government launched the ARR scheme specifically for those whose personal information was leaked in a February 2022 data breach, who were ineligible for any of the other government resettlement schemes in operation,3 and who were at significant risk of reprisal by the ruling Taliban regime in Afghanistan. The MoD did not record exactly how much it had spent on resettling people through the ARR scheme because it did not separately identify these costs in its accounting system, instead including them within its total spending on Afghan resettlement activities. It has stated that it did this to maintain the secrecy of the ARR scheme while a super-injunction was in place preventing disclosure of both the data breach and the existence of the injunction itself.4
The MoD has estimated the total past and future costs of resettling individuals through the ARR scheme to be around £850m, of which it estimates it had spent around £400m by July 2025. However, at the time of the report’s publication, it had not provided sufficient evidence to give the NAO confidence regarding the completeness and accuracy of its estimates. The MoD will incur at least £2.5m in related legal costs. It does not yet know how much related compensation claims may cost.
The total cost to the MoD of all Afghan resettlement activity between 2021 and 2029 is forecast to exceed £2bn. Between 2021-22 and 2024-25, the MoD recorded spending a total of £563 m on Afghan resettlement schemes, including the ARR scheme. It expects to spend a further £1.5bn by March 2029.5
In early July 2025, the government closed the ARR scheme to new applicants. At the end of the same month, the MoD estimated that 7,355 people would be eligible for resettlement in the UK through the scheme directly as a result of the data breach.6
- The report will be available on the NAO website via the following link from 00:01 Wednesday 3 September: https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/the-afghanistan-response-route/
- The report is a factual account of the ARR scheme which the NAO has prepared to support the Public Accounts Committee’s scrutiny of the MoD. The MoD set up the scheme to mitigate the security risks arising from a data protection breach and the unauthorised disclosure of personal information which occurred in February 2022. The report does not seek to evaluate the MoD’s management of or spending on the ARR scheme, nor does it assess the evidence which led to the super-injunction being issued, maintained and then lifted, or any other aspects of the legal process. The NAO has reviewed financial information on the costs of the ARR scheme, but it has not audited this information.
- Figure 1 in the report lists the five Afghan resettlement routes established by the government between 2010 and 2025.
- In reaching its decision to grant the super-injunction, the High Court accepted the MoD’s assessment that if the existence of the data loss became widely known, the Taliban would be highly likely to obtain the data, which would put the safety and lives of many individuals and their families at risk.
- Figure 5 in the report sets out at a high level the MoD’s actual spending and future funding on Afghan resettlement schemes. The NAO is intending to perform further analysis of these costs in an upcoming report on Afghan resettlement schemes, which is due for publication in Spring 2026.
- 1,531 individuals and an estimated 5,824 of their family members who were affected by the data breach.
31 Aug 25. Boost for UK Growth and Security as Norway Selects UK Warships in £10bn partnership. Billions of pounds will be pumped into the UK economy following Norway’s decision to select British warships for their Armed Forces – securing thousands of jobs in Britain for years to come.
- Major export deal sustains 4,000 UK jobs including more than 2,000 in Scotland.
- £10bn boost to UK economy is expected to support more than 400 British companies, delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change.
- Norway’s biggest ever defence procurement deal will see a combined fleet of 13 Anti-Submarine Warfare frigates – eight British and at least five Norwegian – operate jointly in Northern Europe, significantly strengthening NATO’s northern flank.
The UK, in its biggest ever warship export deal by value, will supply Norway with Type 26 frigates designed for anti-submarine warfare in the deal worth £10bn announced today, a clear example of this Government is delivering on its Plan for Change.
The deal will support 4,000 jobs across the UK supply chain until well into the 2030s, including more than 2,000 at BAE Systems’ Glasgow shipyards. The programme is also expected to support 432 business, including 222 small and medium enterprises, across the UK including 103 in Scotland, 47 in the North West of England and 35 in the West Midlands. Norway’s selection of the UK’s world leading Type 26 frigates builds on decades of close cooperation between close NATO allies and strengthens both nations’ strategic partnership and maritime security in the face of increasing Russian threats in northern Europe. Both Australia and Canada have also selected the design for Type 26 for their Navies.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “This £10bn deal is what our Plan for Change is about – creating jobs, driving growth and protecting national security for working people. This Government has forged new partnerships across the world to deliver for people at home and the export of our world leading Type 26 frigates to Norway will do exactly that, supporting well-paid jobs up and down the United Kingdom, from apprentices to engineers. This success is testament to the thousands of people across the country who are not just delivering this next generation capabilities for our Armed Forces but also national security for the UK, our Norwegian partners and NATO for years to come.”
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Støre said: “Norway and the United Kingdom are close allies, with common interests and strong bilateral ties. I am confident that the strategic partnership with the UK for purchasing, developing and operating frigates is the right decision. This partnership enables Norway to reach the strategic objectives our Parliament set out in the current Long-Term Plan on Defence. The decision comes ahead of a new UK-Norway defence agreement that will strengthen Euro-Atlantic security while bringing the two countries’ defence industries closer together to boost jobs, growth, and innovation. Norway’s operation of identical Type 26 ships alongside the Royal Navy hails the deepening of a long term-strategic relationship that will see a combined fleet of 13 Anti-Submarine Warfare frigates – eight British and at least five Norwegian – to detect, classify, track and defeat hostile submarines – significantly reinforcing NATO’s northern flank. This ambitious partnership will also cover shared maintenance, extensive crew training, in-service support and personnel exchanges. As outlined in this year’s Strategic Defence Review, Norway remains one of the United Kingdom’s most valued strategic allies, serving as the only nation participating in the UK Carrier Strike Group’s complete 2025 deployment whilst also collaborating with the UK and NATO partners in safeguarding critical undersea infrastructure in Northern Europe.”
Defence Secretary, John Healey MP said: “For over 75 years, Britain and Norway have stood together on NATO’s northern and north-eastern frontiers, keeping the UK and Europe safe. This historic defence deal deepens our strategic partnership. With Norway, we will train, operate, deter, and – if necessary – fight together. Our navies will work as one, leading the way in NATO, with this deal putting more world-class warships in the North Atlantic to hunt Russian submarines, protect our critical infrastructure, and keep both our nations secure. This deal confirms Britain’s defence industry as world-leading. It will support thousands of high-skilled jobs for the next 15 years and beyond, driving forward this Government’s Plan for Change and making defence an engine for growth.
On behalf of Team UK industry partners, Charles Woodburn, Chief Executive of BAE Systems, said: “The Norwegian Government’s decision reflects its confidence in British industry’s ability to deliver a superior anti-submarine warfare platform, together with systems and equipment, that will support its future maritime security and reinforce its position within NATO. We look forward to playing our part in further strengthening the strategic partnership between the UK and Norway, as we work together with Norwegian industry to deliver this important capability to the Royal Norwegian Navy.The Type 26 features sophisticated weapons, advanced sensors, and cutting-edge communications, with a flexible design that enables future upgrades to counter emerging threats. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
31 Aug 25. The Norwegian Government has selected the United Kingdom as a strategic partner for the acquisition of new frigates. The purchase of British frigates will be the largest Norwegian defence capability investment to date.
“Norway and the United Kingdom are close allies, with common interests and strong bilateral ties. I am confident that the strategic partnership with the UK for purchasing, developing and operating frigates is the right decision. This partnership enables Norway to reach the strategic objectives our Parliament set out in the current Long-Term Plan on Defence,” said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
In connection with the Norwegian defence pledge, the Parliament decided that Norway should select a strategic partner for the acquisition of new frigates, as quickly as possible. This is now being followed up by the Norwegian Government. The Storting has been consulted through the expanded Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence. Delivery of the British Type-26 frigates to Norway will start in 2030.
“Selecting the United Kingdom as a strategic partner for frigates was also recommended by the Chief of Defence. The choice represents a historic strengthening of the defence cooperation between our two countries,” said Støre.
Since November last year, Norwegian authorities have considered France, Germany, USA and UK as a strategic partner on frigates.
“It has been a difficult choice. The four candidates, France, Germany, USA and the UK, have provided strong and competitive proposals. They are all close allies, and I wish to express my appreciation for a constructive process and dialogue. All four allies are strategic partners for Norway. The extensive cooperation on security and defence policy will continue at full strength with all of them,” said Støre.
A stronger strategic partnership: A long-term, strategic partnership on frigates requires deepened and strengthened cooperation in the time to come.
“Together we will acquire frigates to the British Royal Navy and the Royal Norwegian Navy. We will operate and develop the frigates for the coming decades. This will strengthen our and NATO’s ability to patrol and protect the maritime areas in the High North. This is of great importance to Norwegian, British and allied security in these times of global instability,” said Støre.
Norway and the United Kingdom have long lasting, close ties. After having operated British vessels during World War II, the post war navy was largely built on British doctrines, tactics and operational concepts.
“We have strong shared interests in the North Atlantic. Our Armed Forces maintains a close cooperation, and with a joint frigate program, we will be able to operate seamlessly and integrated in our joint areas of interest,” said Defence Minister Tore O. Sandvik.
Extensive industrial cooperation: The strategic partnership with the United Kingdom will be accompanied by extensive industrial cooperation. In the draft agreement the United Kingdom has guaranteed for industrial cooperation with Norwegian industry equivalent to the total value of the acquisition.
“This is positive for Norwegian industry and Norwegian jobs. The industry will play a vital role especially in maintaining and keeping the vessels up to date. We have identified a wide range of industrial and technological areas of cooperation where Norwegian industry can compete for contracts,” says Støre.
Ships for anti-submarine operations: The British Type 26 frigates are warships specifically designed to detect, track down and combat submarines. The Norwegian and British vessels will be as identical as possible, and have the same technical specifications.
“Having identical vessels will enable us to operate even more efficiently together on challenging missions. It will also reduce costs and make joint maintenance easier. Additionally, it opens up the possibility for us to perform joint training of personnel, and perhaps even use Norwegian and British crew interchangeably. This is something we will look into further within the framework of the strategic partnership,” said Sandvik.
The Norwegian frigates will be equipped with anti-submarine capable helicopters. A decision on what type of helicopter the Norwegian frigates will be operating has not yet been made.
“The Norwegian frigates will be equipped with helicopters with anti-submarine capability. At the same time, it is important that we consider the rapid technological developments, and explore the possibilities for utilising unmanned platforms. This is something we will look further into together with British partners,” said Sandvik.
Separate government agreement: The Norwegian and British governments will soon finalise a binding agreement which sets the framework for the strategic partnership. Once the agreement is signed, the two parties will enter into contract negotiations with the main British supplier, BAE Systems. In parallel, Norwegian and British authorities will negotiate separate industrial cooperation agreements for various collaborative projects with relevant industrial partners.
“Our first goal is to finalise the Government agreement shortly. Then we will move into contract negotiations. We will negotiate, among other things, the price and delivery schedule for the vessels, before returning to the Parliament with an investment decision,” said Sandvik. (Source: joint-forces.com)
19 Aug 25. Cohort plc, the independent defence technology group, will be showcasing the latest innovative technology from its seven specialist businesses at DSEI UK, 9 – 12 September 2025. Located on stand N6-120, the Group’s subsidiaries will be demonstrating a variety of defence solutions across areas including electronic warfare, communications, and anti-submarine warfare.
Andy Thomis, Chief Executive of Cohort plc said: “We’re excited to again be part of one of the largest defence and security events in the calendar, where we can demonstrate how Cohort and its subsidiaries are driving innovation across defence and security domains. DSEI offers a vital platform to showcase our cutting-edge solutions, from advanced communications and electronic warfare training to next-generation sonar, satellite communications, and unmanned systems, that address the complex and evolving challenges faced by armed forces worldwide. By leveraging the combined expertise of our diverse portfolio and working closely with our customers, Cohort remains committed to enhancing the operational capabilities and resilience of the UK and its allies’ armed forces.”
Maritime & Naval Operations
ELAC SONAR brings its comprehensive suite of advanced sonar capabilities for submarine operations and surface vessels, Sphere® – the surveillance, mine and collision avoidance, underwater communication and measurement system. The company is also unveiling a next-generation all-in-one system for seabed warfare, combining advanced sonar processing with fibre-optic technology for superior underwater detection and deterrence.
SEA presents its ship and fleet protection and undersea surveillance capabilities, headlined by KraitSense – a comprehensive ASW, ISR and MSA sonar solution featuring the innovative low size, weight and power, miniaturised KraitArray, and intelligent processing software. Also on display: the Ancilia trainable decoy launcher, selected by the Royal Navy for its Maritime Electronic Warfare Programme (EWCM1A), and the latest Torpedo Launcher Systems, integral to the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate upgrade.
Advanced Communications & Satellite Technology
EID showcases its full range of communication solutions: OCEANEX, the advanced shipborne C4I solution offering secure, reliable naval communications; TERRANEX, a versatile tactical communication system designed to perform across all terrains; and EIDNEX, EID’s innovative system integration platform tailored for defence, security, and critical sectors.
EM Solutions, the newest member of the Cohort Group, highlights its maritime satellite communications capabilities, with specialists on hand to discuss the King Cobra satellite-on-the-move (SOTM) terminal. King Cobra offers high-capacity, resilient, multiband communication and has been selected by the Royal Australian Navy for fleet-wide SATCOM modernisation. The EM Solutions team will be displaying the compact Cobra terminal – a lighter SOTM solution for smaller vessels, known for its multiband flexibility and robust tracking.
Electronic Warfare & Surveillance Systems
MASS demonstrates its cutting-edge Electronic Warfare (EW) capabilities and training solutions designed for today’s complex multi-threat environments. Its immersive EW and Cyber Electromagnetic Activity (CEMA) training combines real-world military experience with MASS’s software-based Networked Electronic Warfare Training Simulator (NEWTS). MASS will also spotlight its new JCAST training solution, developed in partnership with Hadean, delivering a highly realistic, simulated environment for the UK Ministry of Defence’s Joint Command and Staff Training programme.
MCL presents several key innovations, including its hyperspectral imagery camera technology – a defence industry first that detects subtle variations invisible to the human eye and conventional cameras, enabling identification of ‘cold’ objects. The company will also showcase its new flight and speed controller for FPV drone use, alongside its advanced communications, surveillance, and hearing protection systems.
Fire Control & AI Target Detection and Tracking
Chess Dynamics demonstrates its next generation naval fire control systems – SeaEagle FCEO-D (Fire Control Optical Digital) and SeaEagle FCRO (Fire Control Radar Optical) – alongside its Hawkeye AD ground-based air defence (GBAD) solution. Chess’ Vision4ce brand will highlight AI-enabled video and image processing, target detection and tracking, including its DEFT CORE video tracking capability and CHARM 150AGX image processor.
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Founded in 1987, Exensor Technology is a world leading supplier of Networked Unattended Ground Sensor (UGS) Systems providing tailored sensor solutions to customers all over the world. From our Headquarters in Lund Sweden, our centre of expertise in Network Communications at Communications Research Lab in Kalmar Sweden and our Production site outside of Basingstoke UK, we design, develop and produce latest state of the art rugged UGS solutions at the highest quality to meet the most stringent demands of our customers. Our systems are in operation and used in a wide number of Military as well as Homeland Security applications worldwide. The modular nature of the system ensures any external sensor can be integrated, providing the user with a fully meshed “silent” network capable of self-healing. Exensor Technology will continue to lead the field in UGS technology, provide our customers with excellent customer service and a bespoke package able to meet every need.
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