In this episode of The Weekly Defence Podcast, we speak about the latest upsurge in the Gaza-Israel conflict and look at the capabilities fielded by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and Hamas; and we catch up with Shephard’s Military Training Editor to discuss some of the latest developments in his domain.

Newsround [01:07]

In Russia, Rosoboronexport has delivered underwater pistols and assault rifles to an unnamed foreign customer.

Turkey has begun tests of an indigenously produced engine to power the Altay main battle tank.

As the virtual SOFIC event kicks off this week, speakers call for US special forces to leverage and blend three kinds of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capability to operate in semi-permissive and potentially non-permissive environments.

In France, industry has until 25 May to respond to a Request for Proposals for 500 small UAVs and nanodrones.

In Focus 

Defence journalist Alix Valenti, Senior Land Reporter Tim Fish, and Air Editor Tim Martin engage in a roundtable discussion about the capabilities fielded by Israel and Hamas across the air, land, and sea domains. 

Topics range from the Iron Dome air defence system to Ayyash 250 rockets, Shebab drones, Eitan and Hermes drones used by the IAF and IDF, and Sa’ar 5-class corvettes. 

Deep Dive – News from the Simulation and Training sector [23:49]

Multimedia Journalist Noemi Distefano is on the line with Military Training Editor Trevor Nash to discuss recent developments from the S&T domain. 

They discuss Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UPRT), including the recent agreement between FlightSafety International and Flight Research which will kickstart a new UPRT programme. As the grey warfare calls for new requirements, Trevor also looks at how the British Army is changing the way it trains its soldiers. 

This episode is brought to you in partnership with Raytheon Intelligence and Space.

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