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.

Influential union says UK should buy Eurofighter over F-35A

The influential union Unite has urged the UK’s Labour government to procure additional Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighters in order to…
UK’s future fighter and early warning programmes ‘unachievable’

Two of the UK’s main air domain defence programmes, the Future Combat Aircraft System (FCAS) and E-7 Wedgetail, have been…
Dassault outlines Rafale deliveries as France eyes upgrades

Providing its annual production update in early January 2025, French aerospace manufacturer Dassault confirmed delivery of 21 Rafale multirole fighters…
UK odd one out as European allies commit to the Eurofighter

The UK is the only lead nation of the multinational Eurofighter programme not to have placed an order for additional…
UK seeks to “mitigate” loss of Brunei-based helicopters

The UK government is looking at ways to potentially “mitigate” the loss of key functions being performed by the outgoing…

Synth Wave: Global Defence Technology 150

The 150th issue of Global Defence Technology once more brings you all the insight and analysis into the technologies, policies,…
Serious Fraud Office announces bribery investigation into Thales

The UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has launched an investigation into suspected bribery and corruption at multi-national aviation and defence…
UK scraps 25% of Chinook helicopter force and entire Puma HC2 fleet

The UK has axed 25% of its existing heavy lift CH-47 Chinook fleet and all 17 Puma HC2 helicopters as…
UK fires new SPEAR 3 cruise missile, but service entry still years away

Despite the UK government announcing the successful firing trials of the SPEAR 3 cruise missile, a system that will provide…
UK PM lauds £1bn aerospace boost days after Reaction Engines’ bankruptcy

The UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, announced a near £1bn ($1.2bn) investment drive into the UK’s aerospace sector just days…