In this episode of The Weekly Defence Podcast we talk with Shephard’s Military Training editor for an update from his domain, and we are joined by Defence Insight’s Naval Analyst for a discussion about today’s second-hand warship market. 

Newsround [00:46]

In Europe, the four NATO allies in the Visegrad Group aim to acquire more sophisticated defence equipment after recently deciding to jointly procure small arms ammunition.

In the US, Air Force Research Laboratory scientists and Boeing engineers are assembling hardware for the first Self-Protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator pod, or SHIELD.

In news from the naval domain, Huntington Ingalls Industries is providing more long-lead time materials to the Navy for the fourth America-class amphibious assault ship.

Elsewhere, a report issued on 24 February by the Canadian Parliamentary Budget Officer indicates that plans to build 15 new frigates for the Royal Canadian Navy could run significantly over budget. 

In focus 

News Editor Ben Vogel discusses a story from Shephard’s contributor Alex Tarasoff who reports on new design developments of the Russian Udar armed UGV.

As Poland has once again revised its Kruk attack helicopter programme, Air Editor Tim Martin reports on the current status of affairs.   

And in news from the land desk, Land Reporter Flavia Camargos Pereira talks about a new tender expected to be released under the CATV programme. 

Deep dive – News from the Military Training sector [22:39]

Multimedia Journalist Noemi Distefano speaks with Military Training Editor Trevor Nash for a catch up on all the recent stories from the sector including the acquisition by Canadian company CAE of L3 Harris technologies business.

Interview- Defence Insight [40:20]

Senior Editor (Naval) Richard Thomas welcomes to the show Naval Analyst Harriet Haywood for a conversation around second-hand warships, which remain an attractive solutions for developing navies with budgets constraints. 

This episode was produced by Noemi Distefano with music and sound mixing by Fred Prest.