The Defence Secretary announced a £48m contract extension to train air and ground crew on the Apache AH64-D at the RUSI Landwarfare Conference. The contract will support around 70 jobs, and the reorganisation of the Royal Signals and Intelligence Corps to better meet current and future challenges. Coverage is carried in the Daily Mail, which reflects that the new generation of around 50 Apache attack helicopters is entering service with the Army in the early 2020s. The article links the announcement to reporting this week that the US has tested a laser cannon on an Apache helicopter, posing the question whether the UK will have something similar.  Separately, The Mirror picks up Sir Michael Fallon’s comments at the RUSI conference that the Armed Forces must “reach out to the brilliant brains of tomorrow” to combat hackers.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said, “This £48 million contract will support UK jobs and provide world-class Apache training for our personnel. The Apache is a vital part of the British Army’s fighting force that is helping to keep this county safe.

We are also preparing our forces for the battlefields of tomorrow in an era of complex global challenges by ensuring our formidable Signals and Intelligence Corps are ready for the information warfare of the 21st Century.

This investment is only possible thanks to a rising defence budget and a drive for efficiency and innovation which will help our Armed Forces stay at the cutting edge.”