All articles by Richard Thomas

Richard Thomas

Richard is editor-in-chief for defence and transport at GlobalData. He has worked the UK defence beat since 2014, and previously the defence and diplomatic beats in Muscat, Oman, from 2008-2013.

UK has “no plans” to hand over MQ-9A Reaper drones to Ukraine

Ukraine will not receive the UK’s MQ-9A Reaper drones when they leave service, the UK government has confirmed, a state…
Dangerous Waters: Global Defence Technology 152

This latest issue of Global Defence Technology once more brings you all the insight and analysis into the technologies, policies,…
Business case for Royal Navy Merlin life extension not due until 2027

The planned business case for the Royal Navy’s Merlin AW101 Merlin helicopters service life extension programme is expected to be…
F-35 vs Eurofighter: UK decision will have consequences

The prospect of a UK acquisition of more F-35 stealth fighters in favour of Eurofighter Typhoons continues to hold the…
Donald Trump has named new F-47 fighter after himself

The storied history of US air combat platforms runs the gamut of modern aviation, from the F-14 Tomcat to the…

Service vs sovereign: UK defence space assesses options

As the role of space-based military capabilities becomes critical, the UK’s military services with a stake in the sector are…
Missile developments in the AI era

Technology companies integrating AI-enhanced back-end military functions with defence companies’ missiles will be the first step in a new partnership…
GCAP production expected for 350 fighters: how many will the UK get?

The tri-national Global Combat Air Platform (GCAP) programme, intended to deliver a next-generation fighter to the air forces of the…
UK debated providing Typhoon fighters to Ukraine “multiple times”

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) assessed the merits of providing Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 1 air superiority fighters to Ukraine…
UK defence funding rise “opportunity to invest” in country’s industry

Central the UK’s investment into defence is the demand to generate economic opportunity for the country’s industry, from large defence…